UFC 200: Ranking 'The Super Samoan' Mark Hunt's Best Knockouts

Brock Lesnar’s return at UFC 200 might have already been the biggest story leading up to the event, and with the cancellation of the main event because Jon Jones failed a drug test, per ESPN.com, Lesnar is now the headliner.

The pressure for the new main event must be considerable. Can Lesnar, who hasn't fought in four years and is technically on a two-fight losing streak, put on a show?

New Zealand’s Mark Hunt (12-10), who welcomes Lesnar (5-3) back to the Octagon, almost certainly will. The Super Samoan, a longtime UFC veteran with almost three times as many MMA fights under his belt as Lesnar, is known for his walk-off KOs. After dropping an opponent with one final blow, Hunt walks away before the referee has even stepped in. He's confident the fight is over, and so far, he’s always been right.

Hunt has nine KO/TKO wins. We ranked his top seven. Click through to see whose sacrifice got the top honors.

No. 7: Tsuyoshi Kosaka, 2006

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Ten years ago, Mark Hunt got his third and final knockout/technical knockout in Pride FC on Tsuyoshi Kosaka. He fought twice more in Pride in 2006, losing by kimura to Josh Barnett and Fedor Emelianenko before moving on to Dream, K-1 and, ultimately, the UFC. In his last win in Pride, Hunt dominated most of the 10-minute first round, even knocking Kosaka down once.

The second round was going much the same way, with Kosaka on the receiving end of far more strikes than he delivered. In the last minute of Round 2, Hunt dropped an exhausted and bloodied Kosaka with a knee to the head, but Kosaka still wasn’t out. He got to his feet and kept coming forward—right into a powerful right from Hunt. Kosaka dropped to his knees and was unable to continue, and the ref called the fight at 4:15 of Round 2.

No. 6: Chris Tuchscherer, 2011

It was five years after his TKO of Kosaka before Hunt got his next win—and his first in the UFC—after a quick loss to Sean McCorkle in his debut. This win, in 2011 over Chris Tuchscherer, was also the first of his renowned walk-off KOs.

The first round stayed mostly on the feet, with Tuchscherer landing a hard left that sent Hunt reeling backward. By the end of the first round, however, Hunt had opened up a gaping cut on Tuchscherer’s eyebrow with a big left. The fight continued, and the round ended with Tuchscherer threatening Hunt with a kimura from half guard and elbowing him in the head.

Less than halfway into the second round, after Tuchscherer failed to do any real damage, Hunt caught him with an uppercut when he shot in for a desperate takedown attempt. Tuchscherer dropped to the mat on all fours, and Hunt turned and walked away as referee John Sharp rushed in to stop the fight.

No. 5: Cheick Kongo, 2012

Almost exactly one year later in February 2012, Hunt squared off with Cheick Kongo. Seconds into the first round, Hunt stumbled and fell after a leg kick, and Kongo pushed him against the cage. Hunt quickly reversed him, and soon they were back to the center of the Octagon. Hunt floored Kongo for a split second with a left.

Although Kongo immediately stood, it wasn’t long before Hunt dropped him for good. After backing Kongo up to the cage, Hunt landed a right that sent Kongo running. He couldn’t outrun Hunt, though, who grounded him with several more rights and some ground-and-pound until referee Herb Dean dove between them and called the fight.

No. 4: Frank Mir, 2016

Hunt’s fourth and most recent walk-off KO came in March 2016, when he stopped Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert Frank Mir with yet another right. Following three minutes of minimal action, where both fighters felt each other out and kept distance, Hunt caught Mir as he changed levels. With his vicious right landing with an audible thud just behind Mir's ear, the former champion crumpled to the mat. He even broke his fall, perhaps suggesting he wasn't out.

Though Mir appeared to recover his wits quickly, he said the strike was "by far the hardest punch I've ever received in my career," according to Lewis McKeever of Bloody Elbow. "Immediately, I felt like I was underwater. The lights were on, but for a good 10 to 15 seconds the room spun. Yes, it was a good stoppage. ... I had no bearings on where anything was coming from. So the effectiveness of me being able to defend myself was very low at that point."

No. 3: Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva, 2015

Hunt's first fight with Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva in December 2013 ended in a draw after five rounds, and they met in a rematch in November 2015. Hunt made quick work of the Brazilian who, at 6'4", is six inches taller than Hunt.

Silva, while game to engage with Hunt, got caught with an overhand right to the temple and fell on his hands and knees, looking over his shoulder. Hunt followed up with three more rights before referee John Sharp intervened at 3:41 of the first round.

No. 2: Roy Nelson, 2014

Big Country at first seemed reluctant to be aggressive in their September 2014 fight, keeping his distance and immediately disengaging when a strike or takedown attempt didn’t accomplish anything. Nelson found his rhythm later in the first round, leading to some vicious exchanges.

Hunt fought somewhat conservatively in Round 1, but after Nelson opened the second with a punch to the body, a flurry of activity followed. After trading blows, Nelson scored a single-leg and briefly took Hunt’s back. Upon their return to the feet, Hunt punished Nelson’s several level-change attempts with uppercuts. As the second round progressed, Nelson looked more and more stymied; none of his attacks fazed Hunt, and Hunt was landing consistent head strikes.

The last time Hunt forced Nelson up against the cage, Nelson had nowhere to go, and Hunt met his attempt to duck and strike with a nasty right uppercut. After teetering for a moment, Nelson took a hard dive face-first onto the mat, becoming Hunt’s third walk-off KO victim.

No. 1: Stefan Struve, 2013

Struve, at 7'0", towered over Hunt by 14 inches. The difference was so great it was almost comical. Hunt, ever game, was undeterred. He pushed forward steadily, if not aggressively, and survived ground-and-pound and an armbar attempt in the first round.

In the second, Hunt swung as high as he could, trying to connect with Struve’s head, but he didn’t seem to accomplish much—all Struve had to do was lean back slightly to avoid the strike. With Struve landing jabs that snapped Hunt’s head back, Hunt’s path to victory wasn’t obvious. But as the round progressed, Hunt started to find his rhythm, backing Struve up against the cage and closing off escape routes.

Despite more of his strikes landing, Hunt took Struve down and found himself on the receiving end of a leglock attempt. Another takedown landed him in ground-and-pound again. With both men visibly exhausted, Struve wasn’t able to finish Hunt before the round ended, by which time Hunt had managed to work his way back into Struve’s guard.

The third round opened with Struve throwing punches and not moving out of the way of Hunt’s striking. While both men were landing shots, Struve appeared to be taking more damage, with blood streaming from his nose. After Hunt threw a big right to the temple, he followed it with a giant left to the jaw that dropped Struve.

Although Struve wasn’t unconscious, Hunt walked away. Referee Herb Dean indicated that the fight wasn’t over, but as Hunt returned, Dean called the fight, making it Hunt’s second walk-off KO/TKO. Slumped against the cage, Struve pointed to his cheek; he later tweeted, “I wanted Herb to take the tooth out of my cheek and continue but then it turned out my jaw was broken.” He also tweeted that it was a punch about five seconds prior to the final two that broke his jaw.

Hunt’s gradual and comprehensive victory over Struve, culminating in a nasty broken jaw and a brutal TKO, makes this our No. 1 Hunt KO/TKO.