25 Most Explosive Fighters in the UFC

Most people can't accomplish very much in one minute and 51 seconds. You can sort through your junk mail. You can bang out a set of calf raises on the old Nautilus machine. You can dash off a text or two. Maybe you can even make coffee, if you have one of those K-cup things. 

But over the past two action-packed UFC events (141 and 142), that's all it took on average for six men to stake a claim to the title of most explosive fighter in the Octagon today. And it only took a little bit longer for a UFC veteran to reaffirm his own explosiveness while simultaneously sending another explosive fighter out of the promotion.

Here are the 25 most explosive combatants in the promotion, freshly prepared to account for the fireworks of a very eventful--dare I say explosive?--fortnight.

25. Erick Silva

He's only had two fights in the UFC, but it's tough to leave him out after he pounded out those first two opponents in 40 and 29 seconds.

It's unfortunate that his UFC 142 win over Carlos Prater was overturned and ruled a DQ loss immediately after, but something tells me the former Jungle Fight champion (who, in a pretty clear sign of what the UFC brass thought of the referee's decision, received a winner's bonus anyway) will bounce back.

24. Josh Koscheck

He doesn't explode with as much frequency as some others, but when he does, it is always packed with violence.

23. Gray Maynard

Maynard, primarily a wrestler, attacks with fierce blows and even fiercer slams.

22. Yasuhiro Urishitani

The Shooto 123-pound champ and recent signee to the UFC flyweight division will meet Joseph Benavidez in March to begin sorting out the new weight class pecking order.

That matchup should hold some excitement. Though most of his wins have historically come by decision, Yasuhiro has been letting his hands and feet do more of the talking lately. Three of his last five fights ended in stoppage wins, with the last two ending especially abruptly. 

21. Rousimar Palhares

With his 63-second submission win over Mike Massenzio at UFC 142, "Paul Harris" established himself as the master of the leg lock and one of the most explosive jiu-jitsu players in the cage today.

20. Alexander Gustafsson

Take a look at his record and note that all but one of his 13 victories (and his sole loss) came by way of stoppage. Nine came by KO or TKO, and three came by rear-naked choke.

Or, maybe just ask Vladimir Matyushenko whether the 23-year-old Swede deserves to be here. Or Matt Hamill, who called it a career after falling to Gustafsson. I wouldn't be shocked to ultimately learn Gustafsson retired two fighters in a row after mowing down those two.

19. Anthony Pettis

The creator and heretofore only in-fight practitioner of the Showtime Kick recently earned his first UFC victory over the hard-hitting Jeremy Stephens.

18. Nate Diaz

He's not explosive in the same one-punch type of way as some of these other guys. Consider his more of a slow-burning type of explosion.

Either way, his relentlessness (and dominance) in the face of great strikers Takanori Gomi and Donald Cerrone illustrate his ability to outwork, outlast, overwhelm and overpower opponents from the moment of the opening bell.  

17. Johny Hendricks

Hendricks only needed one punch and a near-record-low 12 seconds at UFC 141 to show welterweight elite Jon Fitch and the MMA-watching public that he can not only finish dramatically with either hand, but poses a threat to anyone at 170. He's one to watch in the welterweight rankings. 

Hendricks (12-1) now has seven wins by KO or TKO.

16. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson

No longer a spring chicken, but one of the most explosive wrestlers in MMA history still packs a wallop on the feet or on the mat.

15. Wanderlei Silva

Another fighter who has seen better days but may nevertheless still have some of the most explosive standup in the game.

Though it seemed his fastball deserted him when he fell to Chris Leben, he regained some momentum when he wrecked Cung Le at UFC 139.

14. Nick Diaz

As with brother Nate, Nick Diaz explodes from the first second of the fight. Hell, he explodes at the weigh-in.

13. Chris Leben

His personal life often seems as explosive as his fighting style, but his 12 T/KO wins (including seven "pure" knockouts) help ensure he'll always be a fan favorite.

12. Vitor Belfort

Belfort's chokeout of Anthony Johnson was a different kind of explosiveness for the lightning-fisted veteran, and also helped send one of his most explosive colleagues out of the Octagon.

11. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua

Shogun loses points here (and everywhere else) for inconsistency. But when he has the A material, he's one of the most remorselessly violent and explosive fighters in MMA history.

10. Edson Barboza

At UFC 142, Barboza's highlight wheel kick (see what I did there? MWAH!) was just the latest notch on the Brazilian Muay Thai phenom's belt.

It was probably the most glamorous of his seven T/KO wins, and as such will likely vault the undefeated 25-year-old much higher up the lightweight rankings (not to mention this list, which is definitely the higher honor).

9. Jake Ellenberger

The thunder-fisted welterweight can finish a fight at any moment. Four of his last five wins came by way of striking-related stoppage; his last two (including a crushing of contender Jake Shields) came in the first round.

His upcoming tangle with another explosive fighter, a Mr. Diego Sanchez, should be mildly entertaining. It could also help solidify the suddenly nebulous welterweight title picture. 

8. Diego Sanchez

Speak of the devil.

I love me some Diego Sanchez, and the whirling-dervish explosiveness that never seems to wane, whether it's the first round or fifth, winning or losing, cameras or no cameras. He has one speed, and that speed is "explode."

It's not hard to picture him 50 years from now, throwing down in spittle-flecked brawls for extra pudding at the retirement home.  

His wars with Martin Kampmann and Clay Guida are classics, and his nine wins by striking-related stoppage are often overlooked in favor of stats attached to newer or sexier names. But I imagine that as long as he's drawing breath, Sanchez will be chomping at the bit to explode on whoever's standing in front of him. 

(Photo credit: Heavy.com)

7. Frankie Edgar

What makes the lightweight champ so noteworthy in this context is his tendency to explode out of danger.

His two wins over B.J. Penn, followed by his two come-from-way-behind wins over Gray Maynard, are a testament to that.

To be dominated so thoroughly in the first round, then come back to score a knockout in the fourth, as Edgar did in his return bout with Maynard, is a truly rare accomplishment and a paragon of explosiveness. Or something like that.

6. Carlos Condit

The versatile striker can inflict damage using several different attack points. He has nine T/KO wins by punch, two by knee, one by stomps and one by kick. And that's to say nothing of his 13 wins by submission.

I am going to take a bold stand here and predict that when he fights Nick Diaz next month for the interim welterweight title, the fight will contain some excitement. 

5. Junior Dos Santos

Do not let yourself become beguiled by the dimples. It could be your last mistake.

The heavyweight champ is a deadly mix of quality and quantity; he hits early, he hits often and he hits hard. Very hard.

His two most high-profile victims--Cain Velasquez and Shane Carwin--ended up gone in 64 seconds and as a crimson heap in the corner, respectively. But you can pretty much get your evidence from anyone he has faced, seeing as how all but three of his wins came by striking-related stoppage. The two that went to decision did so mainly because dos Santos knocked out his opponents' wits and/or nerve endings before they could find the good sense to go down.

(Photo credit: ESPN)

4. Alistair Overeem

After their collision at UFC 141, Brock Lesnar reported that the strikes from Overeem felt like being kicked by a horse. I'm no Willie Shoemaker, but I'd say that's pretty explosive.

Overeem took 2:26 to retire Lesnar literally and set up a title fight with dos Santos. If the K-1 champ can work his kickboxing against JDS like he did against Lesnar, there'll be a new belt holder in 2012. 

3. Anderson Silva

The Spider explodes with an ease that can inadvertently downplay its violence. But then you see the opponent fall down, and you realize how nasty it really was.

(Photo credit: Cage Potato)

2. Jose Aldo

Aldo underscored his brilliance, and explosiveness, with a literal last-second knockout in the first round of his title bout with Chad Mendes at UFC 142.

Mendes, a strong wrestler, was almost completely powerless to take the fight to the ground, and ultimately paid the price in the form of a pulverizing knee from the featherweight champ. Aldo has now used his knees, fists, elbows and feet to score 14 striking-related stoppage wins in his career.

And he's still only 25. Who at 145 pounds can stand up to this guy?

1. Jon Jones

The one and only.

No one has yet to even touch the light heavyweight champ, who ensures that by using his 427-inch reach and stiletto knees and elbows to tear open and tear down his foes before they ever know what is hitting them.