Going into Jon Jones' first title defense against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309, it's easy to forget how big a challenge Ciryl Gane was meant to be when he first won the title, because well... Jones just made it look so easy. That's what this list today is about. Those who were perceived as huge challenges, that just got immediately dealt with in the cage.
There is nothing like a first defense in MMA and just like Ilia Topuria's shocking KO of Max Holloway, the only question left is where does something like this rank among the best of all time? We answer that for you today.
It doesn't matter how much evidence you throw at some people, they just can't accept it. Whether like Ronda Rousey or Luke Rockhold, to this day, they just can't let it go.
Ilia Topuria just did the unthinkable to Max Holloway. No one has even dropped Max Holloway at featherweight before and the time against Gaethje was a flash knockdown. Ilia's abilities have barely even been tested.
The writing was on the wall when it came to the Zuffa sale to Endeavor, the sale of Strikeforce, several people's careers with Tito Ortiz and Ben Askren.... yeah when you look back there is a ton of foreshadowing that you would have never realized in the moment.
This weekend there is a massive title fight between Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway at UFC 308. Can you imagine if either guy pretty much just admitted they think they'll lose? Well, that's exactly what's happened in this video with the likes of Chael Sonnen and many others. Sometimes, you just know it's not going your way.
Everyone puts their foot in their mouth from time to time, but some definitely do it more than others. In the case of Julianna Pena or Jamahal Hill, sad to say, it happens quite frequently. That's what today's video is about, when the fighters just had no idea what they were saying and it was completely out of line with everyone else in MMA.
Even the best commentators make mistakes. In these cases, they definitely did. Whether it was Jon Anik getting a 209 tattoo cause he was so sure McGregor would be Diaz or Joe Rogan welcoming us all to the Machida era, they are perfect examples of commentators eating their own words.
It's hard to believe now but the UFC's lightweight division, you know a division that's featured the likes of Conor McGregor, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Tony Ferguson, Justin Gaethje, Max Holloway, BJ Penn and a litany of others actually got booted from the UFC at one point. Following a series of unfortunate events, the UFC got rid of the whole division. So what happened? And how did it get back to the UFC in the end anyway?
Khamzat Chimaev has had a rough past couple years hasn't he? Well he's not the only one. This list is all about those times fighters have had to pull out of fights and the fans....well, let's just say they were pretty skeptical as to the reasons why.
Doesn't matter who you are in MMA, at some point you are going to get tested and that included the pound for pound greatest fighters ever. So that's what we look into today, the entire timeline of all of these greats when they were on top, in or outside the UFC and dive through it all.
There a few that did pick Khalil Rountree to beat Alex Pereira last night, but most did pick Poatan considering the gap in opponents and even still, this fight managed to over deliver. Massive respect to both fighters, but what Pereira did was nothing short of a terminator like performance. He never took a back step the whole fight even after being rocked.
Most fighters simply win and become highly respected in MMA, but some just struggle to find that audience. These are the fighters that struggled the most to connect with fans.
It does matter it's Joe Rogan, Michael Bisping, Din Thomas, Paul Fedler... name an analyst or expert and they've all been wrong. We all are, that is normal, but in these cases it was almost like they all agreed despite all being wrong. No upsets by the way. They are massive underdogs for good reason usually.
It doesn't matter what some champs do, good luck getting fans to cheer for them and in fact, all the champions on this list couldn't have been boo'd more. So that's what this video is all about. The performances and personalities fans couldn't hate more.
Some fight endings are just extremely suspicious for all the wrong reasons. Were they really hurt? Did they want a way out? Could be either. And in these cases, let's just say it was all very questionable.
Dana White has said a ton of crazy things while promoting the UFC that are frankly hilarioius, including that Power Slap is bigger than soccer/football. Um... yeah... LOL.
These are the moments when the eir apparent takes the throne and just as you think they'll be off to an incredible title reign, they...well... lose. Bigger shoes to fill than perhaps they even expected themselves.
Before there was Alex Pereira or Israel Adesanya or really any of the most incredible kickboxers came over to MMA, there was Bas Rutten. He's the one to first blaze that trail and even retire on top. This is the story of Bas Rutten.
The UFC delivered and then some with the Sphere. It was legitimately amazing. The problem is, the title fights really didn't deliver. They should do this sort of thing more often, but it doesn't change the essential product.
We just wrapped up a season with Shevchenko and Grasso culminating in their fight at the Sphere which got us thinking, when was the last time the Ultimate Fighter was any good? Turns out there has been a slew of completely pointless seasons lately, but also all throughout the show's history.
MMA rivalries are already intense enough on their own and sometimes the fight itself doesn't really live up to the hype, but in these cases the ending couldn't be more brutal and definitive.
Some fights just look awful on paper. Maybe it looks boring as a style matchup? Or how about a squash match? For one reason or another, most of us fans pre-judged these fights and were just totally wrong. Literally some of the best ever.
These controversies in MMA were just totally pointless yet everyone made a massive deal out of them. Some were incredibly stupid while others turned out to be incredibly fun as it just didn't matter at all.
This question has been circulating a ton lately. Where are all the new huge superstars in the UFC. Conor and Jones are on the way out. Alex Pereira is enjoying a ton of new fame, but is he the only one? Even then it's still early for him. Sean O'Malley is struggling to sell out the overpriced Noche card at the moment. Not to mention there have been some truly awful fight nights lately. It all begs the question.... is the UFC in decline? Did it peak a few years ago and should we be worried as a r...
Ever seen an upset so shocking that you thought there was no way it could be anything other than a Fluke? Well a lot times that is in fact the case but for these fights, it turned out to be way more important than that.
Chances are, many of us have had bad run-ins with our bosses. In some cases that led to a firing and might even be for reasons we'd rather not admit. Well in this case these fighters definitely went way too far and sadly for them, the world witnessed it in real time.
These are the moments that collectively blew our MMA brains. They are the moments that made you bigger fans of the sport, in other cases bummed you out, but most of the time just had you losing it for all the right reasons.
For one reason or another some careers look incredibly promising, but whether it's due their own failures or circumstances getting in the way, we never really got to see any of these fighters' full potential.
Dricus' style doesn't make sense. He looks like he gassing and technique is going out the window and just when you though Israel's cardio would outlast him with fantastic striking, Dricus just ended it. What a wild and fun fight. Who do you favor in the Strickland rematch?
