The thwack of leather gloves striking an opponent's face. The thud of a body crumpling onto the octagon canvas. The bloodthirsty roar of the crowd.
Sights, sounds, and numbers tell the story: Entering UFC 333 on Saturday, Oct. 21, the knockout is enjoying a surge in the UFC, up to 45.0% per bout in 2026 from 29.4% per bout in 2026.
Chances are it's no accident -- and no disappointment. Crowds typically boo when a fight features more wrestling than striking. Dana White, UFC's CEO, surely understood that when he made changes before the 2026 season.
When Paramount+ replaced ESPN in January as the UFC's streaming home, the UFC increased its bonuses.
The standard Performance of the Night and Fight of the Night awards doubled to $100,000 from $50,000,
and the UFC introduced a $25,000 bonus for stoppage winners who missed out on the top four post-fight bonus checks.
White has frequently praised his matchmakers for setting up great fights. But surely bonuses are a factor when a knockout overwhelmingly earns fighters at least an extra $25,000.
Stoppage winners, also known as finishes, include not only knockouts but also submissions. This year, submissions are down to 15.0% from 17.8% in 2025. But with knockouts up substantially, so are stoppage winners.
The rate of stoppage winners this year is up to 60.0% from 47.2% in 2025.
Incentives and consequences?
In addition to the incentives, producing more knockouts may be a consequence of their absence. Bantamweight contender Farid Basharat was recently released from his UFC contract despite his record of 16-0 (1-0 UFC) and No. 9 ranking among the top 15 Bantamweight contenders.
Of his seven UFC victories, Basharat won six of those fights by decision and won one by submission. White, when talking about Basharat, did not dismiss the possibility that Basharat's pile of decisions may have contributed to Basharat being released.
Basharat told Red Corner MMA that after his fourth UFC fight, "They started saying like ‘Oh, we don’t like the way you fight’…This is the craziest part. I fought in February against a very, very tough guy, Jean Matsumoto. Young guy, Brazil’s biggest prospect, he was 17-1. I was 14-0. And the fight was a great fight, by their standards."
But now the standards tilt toward a stoppage.
Crunching the numbers
This year there have been 120 fights at the numbered events (including UFC Freedom 250 at the White House), with three more left to be held this year. Of those 120 bouts, 54 ended by knockout (45%); 18 ended by submission (15.0%); and 72 ended by finish (60.0%).
Of the 20 main or co-main fights this year, nine ended by finish (45.0%), up from a 36.0% finish rate for main and co-main bouts in 2025.
In 2025, there were 163 fights at the numbered events. Of those fights, 48 ended in knockouts (29.4%); 29 ended by submission (17.8%); and 77 ended by finish (47.2%)
Quality & quantity knockouts
Gable Steveson getting floored 12 seconds into his bout against Sean Sharaf ranks as the Knockout of the Year, and it'll be hard to surpass. But the best night of knockouts likely took place at the White House when all seven fights ended in knockouts. And the UFC is coming off of another spectacular show, when 11 of 14 bouts at UFC 332 ended in knockouts.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: UFC knockouts on steep rise ahead of UFC 333 for good reason
