The UFC’s Fastest Knockout Took Five Seconds

Jorge Masvidal holds the UFC’s recognized record for the fastest knockout: five seconds. He stopped Ben Askren with a flying knee at 0:05 of Round 1 at UFC 239 on July 6, 2019.

The UFC Record Book ranks Masvidal first among KO/TKO finishes, one second ahead of Duane Ludwig. UFCStats lists Masvidal–Askren as a Round 1 KO/TKO at 0:05 and identifies the decisive technique as a flying knee to the head (UFC Record Book; UFCStats bout record).

Enter a Round 1 finish time to compare it with the overall or title-fight record.

Masvidal Leads the Official KO/TKO Ranking

The UFC Record Book’s KO/TKO leaderboard, captured on September 28, 2026, places Masvidal’s five-second finish at the top. Ludwig is next at six seconds, followed by four seven-second knockouts and four eight-second knockouts in the leading group shown below.

Rank	Winner	Opponent	Time
1	Jorge Masvidal	Ben Askren	0:05
2	Duane Ludwig	Jonathan Goulet	0:06
T-3	Todd Duffee	Tim Hague	0:07
T-3	Chan Sung Jung	Mark Hominick	0:07
T-3	Ryan Jimmo	Anthony Perosh	0:07
T-3	Terrance McKinney	Matt Frevola	0:07
T-7	James Irvin	Houston Alexander	0:08
T-7	Makwan Amirkhani	Andy Ogle	0:08
T-7	Leon Edwards	Seth Baczynski	0:08
T-7	Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev	Julius Walker	0:08

Those results came at UFC 239, UFC Fight Night 3, UFC 102, UFC 140, UFC 149, UFC 263, UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Lauzon, UFC on FOX: Gustafsson vs. Johnson, UFC Fight Night: Gonzaga vs. Cro Cop 2 and UFC Fight Night: Fiziev vs. Torres, respectively.

The UFC Record Book states that its records cover UFC 28 onward. The ranking therefore has a defined historical scope rather than representing every bout from every period under one uninterrupted data policy. Within that stated scope, Masvidal is the listed record holder.

The shared ranks are also significant. All four seven-second results are tied for third, while all four eight-second results shown are tied for seventh. The table should not be read as though the first seven rank numbers correspond to seven fights. Ties mean multiple bouts can occupy the same leaderboard position.

Each time is the promotion’s listed elapsed time. It is not an estimate of the exact frame when the knockout blow made contact. That distinction is central to Masvidal’s record and to the disputed timing attached to Ludwig’s finish.

The Five Seconds Measure the Official Stoppage

Masvidal sprinted across the Octagon at the opening horn as Askren lowered his level. The flying knee landed almost immediately. Two recorded ground strikes followed before the stoppage, and UFCStats credits Masvidal with three significant strikes in total.

That sequence can produce two different answers depending on what is being timed. One is the moment the decisive knee connected. The other is the official elapsed time entered for the completed bout. Only the second number is used on the UFC leaderboard.

UFC coverage says Askren appeared to be unconscious when the knee landed, roughly three seconds into the action. The same coverage identifies five seconds as the official time and the UFC record (UFC). The UFC 239 event results likewise report a Round 1 KO/TKO at 0:05.

The difference does not reduce the record to three seconds. A knockout record is based on the recorded end of the contest, not a retrospective video estimate of the first decisive impact. The referee still has to recognize the finish and stop the action, and the result must be entered with an elapsed time.

This is why descriptions such as “the knee landed in about three seconds” and “the fight ended in five seconds” can both refer to the same sequence without measuring the same event. The first describes an observed impact. The second states the official bout result.

For record comparisons, the listed result is the consistent number. Substituting an estimated impact time for one fight while retaining official stoppage times for the others would no longer be a like-for-like comparison.

Duane Ludwig’s Six-Second Finish Has a Timing Dispute

Duane Ludwig’s knockout of Jonathan Goulet is recognized by the UFC at six seconds, one second behind Masvidal. Its timing history is less straightforward than the current leaderboard suggests.

The original timekeeper recorded the finish at 11 seconds. A later video review placed it at 6.06 seconds, and the UFC recognized Ludwig’s performance as its fastest knockout at the time. The Nevada State Athletic Commission did not change its original ruling, according to the UFC’s account of the dispute.

That produces two institutional records attached to the same bout: the UFC’s recognized six-second time and the commission’s unchanged original ruling. The UFC leaderboard uses the former, which is why Ludwig appears second at 0:06 rather than farther down the list at 0:11.

The dispute matters when describing Ludwig’s result precisely. Calling it an uncontested six-second commission time would overstate what the source says. It is the time recognized by the UFC after review, while the Nevada commission retained the original figure.

It no longer changes the identity of the overall UFC record holder. Masvidal’s official five-second result is faster than the UFC’s six-second figure for Ludwig. It is also faster than the original 11-second time that the Nevada commission left in place.

Ludwig’s 6.06-second reviewed figure is generally presented on the UFC leaderboard as 0:06 because the results are listed in whole seconds. Masvidal’s result remains ahead under that presentation. The one-second leaderboard gap is based on the displayed official times, not on an attempt to compare frame-level video measurements.

The Fastest UFC Title-Fight Knockout Is 13 Seconds

Masvidal–Askren was a three-round welterweight bout, not a championship contest. The record for a UFC title fight belongs to Conor McGregor, who knocked out José Aldo in 13 seconds at UFC 194 and won the featherweight championship.

UFCStats identifies McGregor–Aldo as a five-round title bout ending by KO/TKO at 0:13. The UFC described it as the fastest finish in a UFC world-title fight (UFCStats; UFC).

The categories should not be merged. Masvidal’s five seconds are the overall KO/TKO record in the UFC Record Book. McGregor’s 13 seconds are the title-fight record. McGregor does not replace Masvidal on the overall list, and Masvidal’s non-title bout does not qualify for the championship-only mark.

The numerical difference between the two records is eight seconds. That gap reflects the official elapsed times, with both contests ending in Round 1. It does not imply that title fights use a different clock during the round. The distinction comes from which bouts are eligible for the category.

A standard UFC round allows five minutes of action. Masvidal’s official five-second time used 1.7% of one round. McGregor’s title-winning finish also occupied only the opening portion of Round 1, but its listed 13-second time is more than twice Masvidal’s overall record.

The scheduled number of rounds does not alter either elapsed result. Masvidal–Askren was scheduled for three rounds and McGregor–Aldo for five, yet both records are determined by the time shown in the first round where the stoppage occurred. See how UFC round and fight timing works for the clock rules.

The Record Is for KO/TKO Finishes, Not Every Timing Claim

The leaderboard cited here is specifically the UFC Record Book’s KO/TKO ranking. It combines knockouts and technical knockouts under the record book’s KO/TKO finish category. Masvidal’s bout is recorded that way even though the commonly used description emphasizes the flying-knee knockout.

The record also depends on the UFC’s stated coverage beginning with UFC 28. That scope should accompany any claim intended to describe the underlying database precisely. The source supports saying that Masvidal holds the UFC’s recognized fastest KO/TKO record; it does not establish an all-promotions MMA record or a record under every athletic commission’s independent timing decisions.

Likewise, the event time should not be replaced with a stopwatch estimate from footage. Video can help explain why a strike is described as landing before the official stoppage, as it does in the Masvidal and Ludwig discussions. It does not create a uniform alternative leaderboard unless every bout is measured under the same method.

The most direct record summary is therefore: Masvidal over Askren in five seconds for the overall UFC KO/TKO mark, Ludwig over Goulet in six seconds as the nearest listed challenger, and McGregor over Aldo in 13 seconds for the separate title-fight mark.

For broader context beyond the shortest individual results, compare the record with UFC finishes by round and year. That distribution addresses when finishes occur across a larger set of fights, while the leaderboard here identifies the extreme at the fastest end.