The UFC have released a short montage for their nominees for Knockout of the Year.

Over the past year, the UFC has seen many memorable moments both inside and outside the Octagon. In what has been a strange year for many sports, the promotion has continued to show high-quality events.

From ‘The Notorious’ Conor McGregor’s short, dominant win all the way back in January against Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone, to rising stars such as Israel Adesanya and Justin Gaethje working their way through the ranks to compete at the top.

The official UFC YouTube channel has released a video, titled ‘2020 Knockout of the Year Nominees’, showcasing the best KOs from the fights over the past 12 months.

Let’s dive into the nominations.

Cody Garbrandt

As the co-headline fight on UFC 250 back in June, Garbrandt battled in a bantamweight clash against Brazilian Raphael Assuncao. On the final second of the second round, Garbrandt delivered a brutal overhand right that connected perfectly to stop the fight. A very strong contender.

Joaquin Buckley

In a year that brought us UFC Fight Island – due to the COVID-19 pandemic – the highlight of the event belonged to Joaquin Buckley. The middleweight against the odds travelled to Fight Island without his coaches and stepped in the Octagon against undefeated middleweight Impa Kasanganay. The rest, as they say, is history and Buckley’s unorthodox spinning kick will continue to be shown in highlight reels for eternity.

Khaos Williams

In a co-main event welterweight bout taking place last month in Las Vegas, Khaos Williams stole the show with his vicious right-hand KO, claiming his 11th victory in MMA. His opponent – Abdul Alhassan – was stunned late in the first round of the bout, and was definitely slow getting back to his feet afterwards.

Kevin Holland

The last clip in the video shows another middleweight bout, this time coming from UFC 256 that took place on December 12. In a stacked card, Kevin Holland made a mark on the event, with a relentless KO against Ronaldo Souza. A dominant right-hand struck Souza perfectly, and was repeated before the referee called an end to the fight.

GiveMeSport’s Jordan Noble says…

For me, the winner has to be the Joaquin Buckley KO. Not to take anything away from the other nominees, but this was special. Out of the four shown, this is the winner.

It will be shown in highlight reels forever, and it’s safe to say it’s one of the best knockouts I have seen from the Octagon.