UFC 136 Fight Card: Jose Aldo and the 10 Heaviest Hitting UFC Featherweights

This Saturday night, the trilogy between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard will finally be settled, as these two will meet with the lightweight title on the line once again.

In the co-main event of the evening, the featherweight title will be on the line, as champion Jose Aldo will look to defend his belt against longtime lightweight contender Kenny Florian.

Aldo is a devastating knockout artist who is known as one of the hardest hitters not only in the featherweight division, but in all of MMA.

Check out Aldo and nine more of the hardest hitting featherweights in the UFC today.

Jose Aldo

Jose Aldo is the current UFC featherweight champion and is known as a vicious knockout artist.

Aldo has 12 of his 19 wins via TKO, and one of those can be seen above, as he double-flying kneed Cub Swanson to earn the victory in only eight seconds.

He got a shot at the title soon after.

I can't really say I'm surprised.

Mark Hominick

Mark Hominick was the challenger to Jose Aldo's title at UFC 129, and he put on one of the gutsiest performances you will ever see.

He had a massive hematoma on his head, but he just kept on fighting like it was nothing.

Not only is he gutsy, but he's also a devastating kickboxer, with nine of his 20 victories coming by way of TKO and one coming through submission to punches.

He earned the shot against Aldo by TKO-ing George Roop in only 88 seconds.

George Roop

Hey, weren't we just talking about him?

George Roop may have been demolished by Hominick, but that doesn't mean he's not a strong striker in his own right.

He's been inconsistent throughout his last nine fights, going 4-4-1, but two of those were impressive knockout victories.

In his last three fights, he has two TKO's, including a knockout of the night via head kick, and a TKO from a body shot.

He may not have as many knockouts as the others on this list, but he's certainly finding his power.

Bart Palaszewski

Bart Palaszewski is one of the most experienced fighters in the featherweight division, and at the age of 28, he already has a record of 33-13.

Of those 33 victories, 16 have been via TKO, including a knockout in his WEC debut.

Palaszewski has yet to make his UFC debut, but he is scheduled to take on Tyson Griffin at UFC 137.

Erik Koch

Erik Koch is another fighter who doesn't have a lot of knockouts, but as of late he has found his power.

In his career, Koch is 13-1 with three TKO's.

However, in his past three fights Koch has two first-round knockouts, both of which won Knockout of the Night, as well as a unanimous decision over Jonathan Brookins.

Koch is being pegged by many as a future title challenger. It'd be interesting to see who's power will win out if he ever were to face Aldo.

Josh Grispi

It has been a bad year for Josh Grispi.

He was originally going to challenge Jose Aldo for the featherweight title at UFC 125. When Aldo was forced out, Grispi decided to fight anyway and lost a 30-27 unanimous decision.

After that, he lost again to George Roop via TKO from a body shot.

He hasn't been great lately, but he does still have six TKO victories in his career, including ones over Spencer Paige and Micah Miller.

Yuri Alcantara

Yuri Alcantara is the best prospect you haven't heard of.

Alcantara is 26-3 in his MMA career, and has 11 TKO's and 12 submissions. The kid is a finisher.

At one point, he won five fights in a row via TKO in under four minutes.

He's going to make some noise in the division.

Pablo Garza

Pablo Garza is another fighter who doesn't have the knockouts, but when he connects, he hits hard.

Some of you may remember Garza for that flying-knee knockout in under a minute in his UFC debut, in the first featherweight bout in UFC history.

Yeah, that was him.

That was his second career TKO, and his other one before that was the fight before he was signed by the WEC.

Roberto Peralta

Roberto Peralta is a name you've likely never heard.

He had one fight in Strikeforce, and then fought on the undercard of UFC Fight Night 25. He won both of those fights.

In his career, of 15 total victories, 11 have been by way of TKO.

He'll be taking on submission specialist Mackens Semerzier in his next fight, which could end with a big knockout.

Maximo Blanco

Maximo Blanco is yet to make his UFC debut, or his featherweight debut for that matter, but he immediately becomes one of the hardest hitters in the division.

Blanco has eight career victories, and seven of those have come by TKO.

His last fight took place in Strikeforce lightweight division, as he succumbed to a submission from Pat Healy.

As soon as he debuts in the UFC, he could make a strong case for being a top-five featherweight and a future contender to Jose Aldo.

This Saturday night, Jose Aldo will attempt to defend his featherweight title against Kenny Florian, at UFC 136. You can catch all the action on pay-per-view.

Tim McTiernan is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. For the latest news on everything MMA, follow me on twitter @tmt2393.