With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from April 2026: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie's Knockout of the Month award for April.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.
After a disappointing UFC debut, 20-year-old Alice Pereira regenerated her lost buzz with a massive step-knee knockout of Hailey Cowan.
The massive left knee from Pereira (6-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) stiffened Cowan (7-5 MMA, 0-3 UFC) like a board – a level of power and violence not often seen in the women's bantamweight division. No follow-up shots were necessary, but they still rained down on Cowan's unconscious body.
STEP IN KNEE GETS THE KO 👏@AlicePereiraUFC gets her first UFC win in STYLE![ #UFCVegas115 | LIVE NOW on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/Miqx9P6zaU
Dean Garnett faced heavy forward pressure from Ciaran Clarke from the onset of their bantamweight bout, but that played right into his game.
Garnett's (15-4-1) counter left hook landed a few times, but it was a spinning back elbow out of nowhere that landed flush on Clarke's (10-1) jaw, sending him crashing to the mat for the knockout.
DEAN GARNETT MONSTER KNOCKOUT 😱Dean Garnett hands Ciaran Clarke his first loss as a professional with a spinning elbow 💥#PFLBelfast | Thursday , April 16th | SSE Arena | Belfast, N. Ireland | LIVE NOW on ESPN App | Main Card 7PM EST | ESPN 2 pic.twitter.com/zOQbO0yfEZ
Jay Jay Wilson viciously took out replacement opponent Darragh Kelly with one of the best PFL knockouts of the year so far.
Kelly chopped away with hard leg kicks early. Kelly doubled up the left jab, but boom. Wilson knocked Kelly out with a left hook after a body kick. A few unnecessary follow-up shots later, the celebration was on after the vicious first-round knockout.
JAY JAY WILSON DIDN'T WASTE ANY TIME 😱🔥He hands Darragh Kelly his first ever loss, amateur or pro. #PFLBelfast | Thursday, April 16th | SSE Arena | Belfast, N. Ireland | LIVE NOW on ESPN 2 pic.twitter.com/BntmqGjjr2
Mario Barbosa logged one of the most spectacular debuts of 2026 so far when he put Dennis Buzukja to sleep in just 80 seconds.
Brazil's Barbosa (18-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) winded up in an early exchange with Buzukja (12-6 MMA, 1-4 UFC) and put a clean left hook to the chin that immediately led to the end of the featherweight fight, marking a grand entrance into the octagon.
RIGHT. ON. THE. BUTTON.📺 @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/bc3DEozrhJ
— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount) April 18, 2026
Carlos Ulberg appeared to be all but finished and then he flipped the script and won light heavyweight gold.
Moments after he suffered a torn ACL that has since required surgery, Ulberg (14-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) knocked out Jiri Prochazka (32-6-1 MMA, 6-3 UFC) to win the vacant title at 3:45 of Round 1 in Miami.