What is tko?

TKO, which stands for Technical Knockout, is a term used in combat sports such as boxing, mixed martial arts, and kickboxing to denote a stoppage of a fight by the referee, ringside doctor, or cornermen due to one fighter being unable to continue or being deemed unfit to continue by the officials.

A TKO can occur when a fighter is knocked down and unable to get up before the referee's count of ten, when a fighter is taking too much punishment and the referee decides to stop the fight for the fighter's safety, or when a fighter is injured and unable to continue.

In boxing, a TKO is different from a knockout (KO) in that a KO occurs when a fighter is knocked out cold and unable to continue, while a TKO is when the fight is stopped due to other factors such as the fighter being unable to defend themselves adequately.

TKOs are recorded as a victory for the winning fighter, and can occur in any round of a fight, not just the final round.