Fireworks: Who are MMA's most explosive fighters?

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Coming off one of the most thrilling UFC events of the year and with Americans across the country just hours away from fully launching into Independence Day fireworks festivities, what better time than to celebrate the most explosive fighters in MMA today?

MMA Fighting's Jed Meshew and Alexander K. Lee go division by division to make their picks for the sluggers that have set themselves apart in recent years and are always one punch away from lighting up the cage like it's July 4.

HEAVYWEIGHT

Francis Ngannou

Look, I'm open to a Tom Aspinall conversation given how he has run through the heavyweight division recently, but before their was Tommy Aspinall, there was "The Predator." Now with PFL, Big Francis' UFC run saw him almost decapitate Alistair Overeem and he nearly became the first fighter in history to stop Tyson Fury despite never having boxed before. The man isn't just fireworks, he's Oppenheimer. — Meshew

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT

Alex Pereira

Major credit has to go to Magomed Ankalaev for avoiding the Pereira death touch in their UFC 313 duel, but even in defeat, the aura of "Poatan" loomed large. Before Ankalaev defused Pereira, the former kickboxing star had put together a Hall of Fame list of knockouts in just four years with the promotion. His soul-draining finish of Jiri Prochazka, the Khaby Lame shrug over a fallen Jamahal Hill, a shocking fifth-round TKO of Israel Adesanya that made him a UFC champion in record time. Take your pick, there's no wrong answer when it comes to choosing the finest example of Pereira's unreal punching power. — Lee

MIDDLEWEIGHT

Khamzat Chimaev

No disrespect to middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis, but when I think sheer dynamite at 185 pounds, I'm going with his UFC 319 challenger.

Chimaev has been a buzzsaw since he first stepped in the octagon and while his run to the top has been slowed by illness, injury, weight class shenanigans, and a few close calls on the scorecards, when "Borz" is at his best, few fighters are more feared and for good reason. Chimaev mauls professional fighters, turning them into training dummies before ripping the stuffing out of them. And when he's not wrestling men into oblivion, sometimes he decides to just one-punch KO people for the hell of it. — Lee

WELTERWEIGHT

Joaquin Buckley

Y'all remember when Buckley turned getting his kick caught into the coolest thing you've ever seen?

Need I say more? I know that was at middleweight, but since dropping to 170, "New Mansa" has been doing more ultra-violence, killing off Andre Fialho, Vicente Luque, and Stephen Thompson. — Meshew

LIGHTWEIGHT

Ilia Topuria

Moments after UFC 317 concluded, this was uploaded to the official YouTube page:

Here you go, everyone, here's the main event, free of charge. That's how good Topuria's knockout was and that's how much UFC wanted everyone to know that this is the dude not to be messed around with at 155 pounds. His work at 145 pounds wasn't shabby either. Did we mention he's the only guy to knock out Max Holloway? And the only guy to beat Alexander Volkanovski in a featherweight bout? Topuria was arguably the best pound-for-pound knockout artist before crushing Charles Oliveira. — Lee

FEATHERWEIGHT

Jean Silva

If Topuria were still a featherweight, this spot would undoubtedly go to him; however, in his absence, "Lord" is doing his best to pick up the slack. In five UFC bouts, Jean Silva has five stoppage wins — four knockouts and one brutal choke out — and three bonuses. Of all the many stars emerging from Fighting Nerds, Silva may end up the brightest. — Meshew

BANTAMWEIGHT

Malcolm Wellmaker

Speaking of emerging talents, hello Malcolm Wellmaker.

A former pipe-fitter, Wellmaker goes by "The Machine," but that's where the comparisons between he and bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili end. If Dvalishvili is a machine, he's a pneumatic press, slowly crushing opponents to death. Wellmaker is a machine like a T-800, a a man designed to obliterate opposition in the blink of an eye. Just ask Cameron Saaiman and Kris Moutinho. — Meshew

FLYWEIGHT

Manel Kape

All you have to do is watch Manel Kape's masterpiece against Bruno "Bulldog" Silva to understand why fans are clamoring for him to finally get his flyweight title shot and a second crack at beating Alexandre Pantoja.

Seriously, that was the biggest prolonged beatdown of 2025, and a tantalizing glimpse of how good "Starboy" is when he's clicking on all cylinders. No one at 125 pounds can match Kape's flow state wizardry, making him a threat to embarrass anyone on the right night. — Lee

WOMEN'S BANTAMWEIGHT

Amanda Nunes

Do I really need to explain this one? Aside from being the GOAT, Nunes holds the record for most knockouts in UFC women's history, along with a host of other records for her storied career of brutally thumping her opposition. After all, this is the woman who slumped Cris Cyborg in less than a minute. And soon, she returns with a chance to add Kayla Harrison to the hit list. — Meshew

WOMEN'S FLYWEIGHT

Dakota Ditcheva

How could we make this list and not include the most exciting fighter in women's MMA right now?

At one time thought of as an intriguing prospect PFL needed to protect, that all went out the window last year when Ditcheva lit the world on fire with a scintillating tournament run. "Dangerous" proved to be just that, stopping four women in a row to claim the PFL flyweight championship, including destroying Taila Santos in just two rounds. All told, thats nine consecutive finishes for Ditcheva under the PFL banner, making her the easy choice here. — Meshew

STRAWWEIGHT

Zhang Weili

The 115-pound division isn't exactly known for its roster of one-hitter quitters, but even if it were, Zhang would have a strong case to be its most dangerous finisher. Her spinning backfist knockout of fellow legend Joanna Jedrzejczyk might be the greatest KO in the history of women's MMA and even when she isn't ending fights inside the distance, her fearsome bursts of strength and athleticism can change the course of a contest in an instant. — Lee