Top 5: Fastest Finishes in UFC Heavyweight Title Fights

It happened so quickly that almost no one was quite sure what they had witnessed in real time.

Andrei Arlovski retained the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title when he punched out Paul Buentello in the first round of their UFC 55 main event on Oct. 7, 2005 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Buentello clocked out a mere 15 seconds into Round 1, suffering his first defeat in more than two years.

Just 26 years old at the time, Arlovski had been promoted from interim to full-time champion two months earlier after Frank Mir suffered career-threatening leg injuries in a motorcycle accident. Buentello, meanwhile, secured his shot at the title with six straight victories, highlighted by back-to-back first-round finishes of Justin Eilers and Kevin Jordan inside the Octagon. He stepped forward with unbridled aggression, let his hands go and walked into a devastating overhand right from Arlovski. Buentello slumped across the back of the Belarusian and slid slowly to the canvas, where referee John McCarthy was on the spot to call for the stoppage.

More than two decades later, Arlovski’s knockout of “The Headhunter” remains the fastest finish in a UFC heavyweight title fight. The best of the rest:

Frank Mir vs. Tim Sylvia

UFC 48
June 19, 2004 | Las Vegas
They say those who place a conch shell to their ear and listen closely enough can still hear the snap, crackle and pop of Sylvia’s arm. Mir laid claim to the vacant heavyweight championship when his armbar on the 6-foot-8 Pat Miletich protégé broke bones in the first round of their co-feature at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. It ended 50 seconds into Round 1. Operating in the shadows of the Ken Shamrock-Kimo Leopoldo headliner, Mir clinched early, ate a few knees to the body and separated. Sylvia followed a straight right into a takedown, then found himself entangled in his counterpart’s notoriously venomous guard. Mir pushed himself away from the cage, angled his hips and caught the armbar. The leverage proved to be too much for Sylvia’s right forearm to bear, and though the Maine native refused to tap, referee Herb Dean still elected to intervene on his behalf.

Junior dos Santos vs. Cain Velasquez

UFC on Fox 1
Nov. 12, 2011 | Anaheim, California
Dos Santos cracked the American Kickboxing Academy ace with a brutal overhand right behind the ear, followed him to the canvas, finished him with a slew of ground strikes and captured the undisputed heavyweight crown in the first round of their historic main event at the Honda Center. The stoppage was called 64 seconds into Round 1. Velasquez seemed content to keep the fight standing against the superior boxer, as he tagged the Brazilian’s lead leg with kicks and exchanged when the distance between the two closed. A clubbing overhand right countered a left jab from Velasquez, put the champion on all fours and forced him to retreat to his back. He found no refuge there. Dos Santos closed with patience and precision, unleashing first with lefts and ending it with hard rights to the unguarded head of his fallen opponent.

Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Silva

UFC 160
May 25, 2013 | Las Vegas
Velasquez stopped “Bigfoot” with punches to strengthen his hold on the heavyweight crown in the first round of their headliner at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Referee Mario Yamasaki called it off 1:21 into Round 1. Silva denied a pair of takedown attempts from the two-time NCAA All-American wrestler, but he had no answer for the champion’s speed and technique on the feet. Velasquez countered an ill-advised right uppercut from the former Cage Warriors Fighting Championship and EliteXC titleholder with a left jab and straight right, dropping the monstrous challenger to a knee. He then swarmed with punches for the finish.

Tim Sylvia vs. Gan McGee

UFC 44
Sept. 26, 2003 | Las Vegas
Sylvia retained the undisputed heavyweight championship when he disposed of the 6-foot-10 John Hackleman disciple with punches in the first round of their co-feature at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. McGee succumbed to blows 1:54 into Round 1. Sylvia leaned into his jab, absorbed a few leg kicks and circled to the center of the cage. McGee, one of the few men in the sport with a height advantage over “The Maine-iac,” uncorked a few sweeping hooks from both hands but failed to force the champion to retreat. Sylvia backed the North Dakotan to the fence and decked him with a vicious right cross. McGee faceplanted to the canvas, where he was met with a burst of right hands that separated him from his senses.