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Introduction
Sure, in this post we are looking at blunders that have taken place in the UFC. But let’s not forget that mistakes in MMA are commonplace. It’s one of the hardest and most brutal sports on earth. Fighters at the top of this game must process an incredible amount of information and be mindful of multiple core disciplines with the sport to avoid a myriad of methods that could end the fight.
And mistakes in MMA aren’t like other sports. Hitting the net in tennis may suck, but it doesn’t hurt. Fighters risk it all in the ring and cage and when they make a bad choice, react too slowly or lose focus for an instance, they can be knocked unconscious or have a limb broken.
These injuries can sideline fighters for a long time and/or result in permanent injuries (some which get worse over time). The fact fighters can step into a cage, knowing the risks, is what makes them special athletes and fascinating humans. Their mistakes may be very public, and come at devastating costs, but they still deserve a ton of respect from us who watch on (especially since their hard work and pain is not adequately compensated).
Tim Bissell, Anton Tabuena and Nate Wilcox contributed to this article. Special thanks to all the BE writers past and present who were quoted in this piece.
UFC’s worst big fight blunders
10. Andre Soukhamthath shoots and misfires on Sean O’Malley
At UFC 222 in 2018 Andre Soukhamthath met an unheralded Sean O’Malley in the prelims. Soukhamthath, a former CES champ was three fights into his UFC career and coming off a TKO win over Luke Sanders. O’Malleu was a year removed from his contract winning performance on the Contender Series and had beaten Terrion Ware on the TUF 26 finale.
The bout didn’t disappoint early on, as both men showed their reputation as heavy hitters in the bantamweight division was well earned. Both landed good shots on the other, with O’Malley dropping Soukhamthath in round two.
In the third, with O’Malley leading on the scorecards, Soukhamthath landed a leg kick that buckled O’Malley. ‘Suga’ was hobbled by the kick. The loss of power in his legs meant he couldn’t throw much of a punch. And it felt as though another leg kick could put him down and maybe even lead to a rare leg kick TKO. O’Malley’s evasiveness was also zapped by the injury, meaning he was an easy target for Soukhamthath.
With multiple paths to stopping O’Malley opening up before him, Soukhamthath opted to shoot and wrestle O’Malley, giving his opponent all he needed to ride out the fight and secure a unanimous decision win.
Here’s how Tim Burke reacted to the incident live:
“Round 3 – Soukhamthath clinches right away. O’Malley fights him off. Front kick to the body from O’Malley. Front body kick and a jab from O’Malley. Soukhamthath lands a hard leg kick. It looks like O’Malley may have hurt his leg. Soukhamthath trying to batter him. He moves to side again. O’Malley returns to his feet. Or foot, since he can’t put any weight on one leg. Soukhamthath looks to drag him down again. O’Malley spins somehow, but Soukhamthath takes him back down. Soukhamthath looking for a guillotine. Knee to the body. Soukhamthath totally wasted an opportunity there. 10-9 Soukhamthath but 29-27 O’Malley.”
Dayne Fox further summed up Soukhamthath’s mistake in his Winners & Losers column.
“I really didn’t want to put Soukhamthath here [in the Loser section] as he fought back from a hell of a deficit to nearly pull off the upset. Then he foolishly went for a takedown when O’Malley could barely stand which was the best thing Soukhamthath could do… for O’Malley. I won’t deny Soukhamthath didn’t show a lot of heart and toughness, but he also showed some serious shortcomings in his mental capacity for the fight game.”
Souhkamthath would later spoke about this incident and remarked on how some had called him “the dumbest fighter in UFC history”.
“I’m getting trolled right now by so many people,” Soukamthath says. “They are calling me the dumbest fighter in MMA. The dumbest fighter in UFC history. Even my friend Rashad [Evans]. Everyone is wondering why I decided to wrestle, and I’m wondering the same thing.”
“After he rocked me, I still stayed in the fight, but I was kind of dizzy and dazed afterwards,” Soukhamthath says. “That shot really threw me off the rest of the game plan in the fight. I really wasn’t there.
”I think I was just fighting with instincts. I definitely regret it, because I’m a striker first and a wrestler second. If I would have just done my thing out there, I easily would have won the fight.”
This wasn’t a ‘big UFC fight’ like some of the others on the list. But with O’Malley going to being UFC bantamweight champion, and one of the biggest draws in the company, this mistake is a significant incident in UFC history. Had Soukhamthath gone for the kill at UFC 222 and stopped O’Malley, who knows what may have happened next?
9. Jon Jones breaks the rules
Before the hit-and-run, gas station d**k pills, the picograms and the battery charges, Jon Jones was a source of pride in the MMA community. He was a sensational talent who embodied mixed martial arts, capable of fighting across multiple phases and using devastating technique and creativity to ensure that he was leagues ahead of his competition.
After impressing early on in his UFC career with wins over Andre Gusmao, Stephan Bonnar and Jake O’Brien, Jones was given the co-main event slot on The Ultimate Fighter 10 finale (the series that included Kimbo Slice, Roy Nelson and Brendan Schaub).
In that slot he drew the popular—and pretty decent—Matt Hamill as an opponent (who was coming off a head kick KO win over Mark Munoz). This was Jones’ biggest test to date; someone who—on paper—could hang with Jones in the wrestling department and had dangerous power in his strikes.
But it didn’t take long for us to realize Jones really was as special as we thought. He schooled and pummelled Hamill. Towards the end of the first round he got full mount and rained down the most infamous elbows in UFC history.
Referee Steve Mazzagatti dove in to stop the fight before explaining to Jones that his ’12 to 6′ elbows were illegal in MMA. Mazzagatti then checked the replay (the first time a ref had ever done this in the UFC) and confirmed the elbows were illegal. Hamill didn’t know what planet he was on, so there was no way the fight could continue. That all adds up to a disqualification of Jones.
Jones will be remembered as the greatest MMA fighter ever (as well as one of the most controversial), but because he didn’t know the rules of his sport, he will never be undefeated.
BE Publisher Nate Wilcox covered the incident that night. Here’s his take on what went down:
“Jon Jones used his incredible greco-roman skills to get Matt Hamill on his back and followed with a vicious barrage of ground and pound to stop the fight in the first round. Unfortunately Referee Steve Mazzagatti declared a disqualification for an illegal 12 to 6 elbow strike. Jones threw an elbow straight down into Hamill’s face and the ref stopped the action to deduct a point but since Hamill was unable to continue and the fight was ruled a disqualification.
“Announcer Joe Rogan pointed out the ridiculous reasoning behind the downward elbow strike being banned when the unified rules of mma were adopted — a member of the original athletic commission had seen a demonstration of a martial artist breaking an ice block with a downward elbow and insisted on banning the move. Once again the poorly thought out rules set adopted from boxing has come back to bite MMA fans and fighters.”
UFC CEO Dana White would later claim that he “battled hard” to overturn that loss for Jones. Trent Reinsmith asked the Nevada commission if that was true. They told Reinsmith, writing for the Bloody Elbow Substack, that they had no record of the UFC trying to overturn Jones’ loss.
8. Valentina Shevchenko spins and misses
Valentina Shevchenko came into UFC 285 in 2023 on a nine fight winning streak, with just two close losses to Amanda Nunes spoiling her perfect UFC record. As UFC flyweight champion she had looked dominant, though not terribly exciting.
Check out Connor Reubusch’s piece on how Shevchenko ‘stinks up the joint‘, which was written ahead of her extremely dull win over Jennifer Maia at UFC 255. Around this time it felt like Shevchenko was unbeatable in the division, while also being largely unwatchable (despite her striking being so sharp and potentially lethal).
Shevchenko got some exciting wins after that oped and at UFC 275 she was finally made to look uncomfortable. Taila Santos took Shevchenko the distance and almost pulled off the upset. That shaky performance turned out to be foreshadowing, as the previously dominant ‘Bullet’ was dethroned the following year against fan favourite Alexa Grasso.
Grasso was giving a very good account of herself, but the win has to be attributed to a big mistake on the part of the then-champion. The mistake, as we’ll see a few times in this list, was being seduced into ‘spinning s**t’.
Tim Burke, who would later move to Mexico, was on the call that night. Read him reacting in real time to the fourth round spinning kick that spelled the end of Shevchenko’s long title reign.
“They trade jabs. Left from Grasso. Shevchenko misses with a kick and shoots. Grasso stuffs it. They trade. Champ sticks a jab. Grasso with her own. Inside leg kick from Shevchenko. Jab. Again. Grasso with her own again. Shevchenko with two quick rights, and a double jab. Grasso shoots in when Shevchenko goes to an orthodox stance. Doesn’t work. More jabs. Shevchenko spins and misses and Grasso jumps on her back! CHOKE! IT LOOKS IN! SHEVCHENKO TAPS!!!! NEW CHAMP! VIVA MEXICO!!!!”
Kristen King also recapped the fight:
” In the fourth round, Shevchenko made a huge mistake when she threw a spinning kick at Grasso. The Mexican fighter jumped on her back, worked her way to the rear-naked choke and squeezed until Shevchenko tapped. That was the first submission loss of her professional career. WOW!”
Shevchenko rematched Grasso a few months later. That fight resulted in a draw, meaning Shevchenko was unable to recapture the belt she had defended a record seven times.
7. Petr Yan gift wraps his belt for Aljamain Sterling
After a period of time spent as “the best fighter outside the UFC” Petr Yan joined the big promotion in 2018 and made an immediate impact. The Russian went on a six fight winning streak, beating up some big names in the bantamweight division (John Dodson, Jimmie Rivera and Urijah Faber). His head kick win over Faber set up a fight for the vacant bantamweight title against former featherweight champion Jose Aldo.
On Fight Island, at the height of the pandemic, Yan put away Aldo to hoist the UFC strap. But he wouldn’t hold it for long.
Aljamain Sterling rose to the top of the emerging shark tank at 135 lbs to earn a shot at Yan at UFC 259 in 2021. Many believed this would be a classic striker vs. wrestler bout and that if Sterling wanted to get anything out of it, he needed to avoid Yan’s strikes at all costs. However, no one could have predicted that a Yan strike would actually give Sterling the win.
Here’s what went down, courtesy of Dayne Fox:
“Petr Yan was in complete control, cruising on his way to a victory when he stupidly landed a knee to the face of a downed Aljamain Sterling. Despite many accusations of Sterling putting on an Academy Award winning performance, the knee that landed was a HARD knee that legitimately would have stopped the fight if it had been legal. Of course, it wasn’t and Yan threw it despite a firm warning from the ref not to throw the illegal strike. The rightful course of action was to give the belt to Sterling. Before everyone gets to feeling too badly for Yan, it’s a guarantee there will be a rematch.”
Trent Reinsmith talked about the knee the morning after:
“Petr Yan was fighting well and looked to be on his way to retaining his bantamweight title until he threw one of the most illegal knees in UFC history. The knee landed to a downed Aljamain Sterling and after a long and drawn out process the fight was waved off and the title went to Yan. Yan lost this fight the moment he made the decision to throw that knee.”
Reinsmith also defended Sterling.
“Now, let me say, I couldn’t care less if Sterling was “faking” or “acting” regarding how badly he was hurt. I believe he was, but in the big picture, what anyone thinks is irrelevant in this situation. Why? The rules, that’s why.
What would have Sterling got if he continued to fight after the knee? An “attaboy” or props for “doing the right thing?” Cool, what’s that worth? Zero. The odds are pretty good Sterling would have lost if he continued. Yan clearly kneed Sterling (illegally) in the head. That blow had to take something out of Sterling. If he had continued, the illegal blow would have left Sterling compromised. Why should Sterling — or anyone — agree to continue after they have been hurt by an illegal blow?
Short answer? They shouldn’t.”
Yan, whose bone-headed knee scuppered his title reign before it really got started, was able to pick up an interim belt with a win over Cory Sandhagen. Then, in the rematch with Sterling for the undisputed title, he was thoroughly flummoxed by Sterling pressure-wrestle game, which resulted in a split decision loss.
Since then, he has lost a split decision to Sean O’Malley and a unanimous decision to Merab Dvalishvili. Those losses put Yan back into the chasing pack at bantamweight, a division with no easy fights, where every mistake is amplified.
6. Cat Zingano launches herself into a trap
In 2015, Ronda Rousey was MMA and the UFC. She had ascended from being the most interesting character in a fringe sport to a mainstream pop culture phenomenon. A big reason for this was the ease at which she sliced through her opposition under the bright lights of the UFC. The only fighter who had given her any trouble was Miesha Tate (who was the only fighter to take her past the first round). Tate had yet to blossom into a championship calibre, but she still made Rousey uncomfortable with her wrestling and striking before eventually falling to Rousey’s signature armbar.
When Rousey was matched with Cat Zingano at UFC 184, many thought that this might be the opponent who could expose some niggling doubts they had over Rousey and her abilities. ‘Alpha Cat’ had the athleticism, ruthlessness and toughness that might have been enough to show that Rousey was a one-trick pony who had benefited from a shallow division and friendly match-making.
Zingano was 9-0 at the time and was coming off a TKO finish over Amanda Nunes (who would eventually become the hands down GOAT of women’s MMA). Against Nunes she started slowly and got better as the fight wore on. Against Rousey, she seemed intent on getting off to a quick start. And that would be her downfall.
Rousey vs. Zingano lasted all of 14-seconds.
Dallas Winston was doing play-by-play that night. Here is writing a summary of the bout, which probably took longer to write than the fight itself.
“R1: Zingano bull-rushes Rousey with a flying knee and nearly takes her down but Rousey counters amazingly with a head-and-arm-throw. By the time the scramble settles Rousey is stretching out a modified straight armbar.”
And here is Karim Zidan (before he found his niche with the intersection of sports and politics) recapping the fight:
“Faced with an opponent promoted as her toughest challenge to date, Rousey disposed of her as though she was one of her easiest obstacles yet. She was prepared for Zingano’s quick-attack and immediately flipped over and locked in the submission in fourteen seconds flat. It was a stunning conclusion to a fight many anticipated to be (slightly more) competitive. However, Rousey was certainly not interested in prolonging her victory a second longer than necessary.
“What was the high point of the fight?
“How can one visualize a high point for a fight that lasts a grand total of 14 seconds? The entire contest was one continuous sequence that began with Zingano bull rushing Rousey before eventually tapping out to a quick tapout in a modified armbar.”
Phil Mackenzie also wrote about the fight, wondering ‘what if’ Zingano didn’t rush in.
“Lastly, of course, there was Cat Zingano. She didn’t show any fear. The opposite, really, because she hurled herself straight at Ronda Rousey. If it wasn’t stupid, it was at the very least an extraordinarily risky gamble — raw flying knees worked for Jose Aldo and Jon Jones, but they didn’t for Caol Uno or Andrei Arlovski. In this case, it was a gamble which failed.
“Perhaps she showed so little caution because she just thought her heart and her athletic and technical gifts would get her out of bad spots, as they always had before. They didn’t, of course, and this is her first defeat, and it’s a bad one. She wasn’t just beaten but posterized, slotted into the record books, going in fourteen seconds from being Rousey’s biggest test to being her fastest title defense.”
Zingano sacrificed her talents (which could have troubled Rousey) to dive head first into her opponent’s wheelhouse. Had she shown patience, she may have been the one to knock Rousey out on her feet (which would happen seven months later).
5. Michael Bisping steps into a world of pain
UFC 100 will be remembered as one of the best fight cards ZUFFA ever put on show. The dynamite main card included Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir, Georges St-Pierre vs. Thiago Alves, Jon Fitch vs. Paulo Thiago and Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Alan Belcher. Finishing up that line-up was Dan Henderson vs. Michael Bisping, in a UFC middleweight title eliminator bout.
Henderson and Bisping were coming off a season of coaching The Ultimate Fighter, which was appointment viewing back in 2009. Part of why the season was so important was because the coaches’ fight had such significance.
The fight was for a title shot, sure, but it also represented an interesting culture clash. Henderson best known for his exploits in PRIDE, was no ZUFFA darling and his intermittent presence in the UFC, and American MMA, meant his following was purely hardcore. Meanwhile, Bisping was a ZUFFA homegrown talent and graduate from one of the best, and most meaningful, TUF seasons in the books. His intentionally prickish nature was a barrier for him gaining mainstream popularity among a fan-base who was starting to identify with the UFC as the sole brand of caged combat sports.
Bisping’s personality was a major factor why Henderson was so supported in their match-up and why the ending of that fight was met with such applause.
In the second round of their contest, Bisping was getting hurt by Henderson, who was looking for an opening for his famous over-hand right (the H Bomb − the fact it has a nickname should tell you how devastating it was). The threat of Henderson’s punches turned the commentators into coaches, as they talked about how Bisping could avoid that powerful right hand. Whatever he did, they uttered over and over again, was not step towards the punch.
Unfortunately for Bisping, he couldn’t hear that advice. He continued to circle to his left, towards Henderson’s payload. It didn’t take long for Henderson to meet Bisping as he stepped to the left. And when he did, The Count was levelled.
Tim Burke called “one of the most thunderous knockouts in the history of the sport”.
Bisping’s eyes were already rolling to the back of his head when he hit the ground. Sadly, Hendo decided to follow his opponent to the ground and land a hammerfist from hell which remains one of the most unnecessary and egregious strikes in MMA history.
Brent Brookhouse was doing play-by-play that night, here is reacting to the KO live:
“Michael Bisping vs. Dan Henderson – Round 1– 2 fights, 2 USA chants. Jab by Bisping. Dan is cutting off the cage and misses with the right hand. Nice counter by Bisping. Henderson lands a few power shots and Bisping has to retreat. Left hand by Bisping. Henderson again is loading up the right hand. Right hand again by Dan. High kick misses for Bisping. Right hand lands for Michael. Leg kick by Bisping and he is looking a little better here. 1-2 combo by Bisping. Right hand by Bisping again.
High kick, left hand which lands for Bisping. Right hand by Bisping again and he is winning the second half of the round. Hendo is mauling him against the cage but they separate. Hendo with a right hand to end the round. 10-9 Henderson. Round 2 – Leg kick by Bisping early. Right hand by Henderson, knee to the body for Bisping.
Right hand by Henderson lands solid. Jab by Hendo. Counter right by Bisping. Right hand by Bisping. Knee to the body by Bisping and Hendo is getting a bit off his game having to chase and get a little bit sloppy. Right hand by Henderson and Bisping is out cold! HUGE shot! Wow! Dan Henderson wins by knockout, round 2.”
Nate Wilcox had this to say about the fight:
“In a sick KO to end the fight Dan Henderson sent a message to Michael Bisping- watch what you say about me, son.”
Henderson would be out of the promotion soon after this, only to return a year later. In 2016 he and Bisping rematched for Bisping’s middleweight title. The pair put on a fantastic fight, with Bisping, who had far exceeded his old rival in fighting accomplishments and mainstream relevancy, getting his hand raised by unanimous decision.
4. Jose Aldo takes the bait
Jose Aldo was the MMA hipster’s favourite fighter during the early 2010s, thanks to his explosive exploits in first the WEC and during his early UFC run. His brutal leg kicks, dazzling speed and opportunistic grappling made him easy to watch and his cold and stoic nature made him easy to buy into as a badass and one of the greatest fighters in the sport.
While Aldo was quietly dispatching of his opponents and padding his record as the best featherweight ever, Conor McGregor was loudly climbing up the rankings. McGregor made Aldo his foil during his early UFC run and used Aldo’s name to create soundbites which would make him the most marketable man in the company.
After McGregor beat up Chad Mendes, he was awarded a shot at Aldo. The UFC then took the pair on a press tour to further hype McGregor. Aldo endured the tour, his quiet and peaceful demeanour being tested at every stop. Occasionally he would boil over, but when it came time to fight he looked loose.
During the weigh-ins he smiled and poked at McGregor, who looked rattled (and skeletal at 135 lbs) himself.
However, when the opening bell sounded, Aldo’s chill vibes disappeared. He rushed to the center of the cage, clearly wanting revenge for all the discomfort and anxiety McGregor had caused him over the previous months.
In rushing out to meet McGregor, all Aldo succeeded in was putting his chin on a plate. The Irishman, who was a good puncher back in his day, didn’t miss. Here’s how Mookie Alexander reacted to that fateful punch in his play-by-play coverage:
“R1: McGregor opens with a glancing left cross. Dear lord. As soon as Aldo steps forward and throws a right, McGregor detonates an atom-bomb of a left hook and Aldo crumples to the canvas. McGregor has time for one hammer-fist to Aldo’s face as the former champ is staring blankly up at the rafters. Another new champion is crowned.”
Victor Rodriguez summed up what went wrong for Aldo.
“Jose Aldo, one of the greatest fighters of all time, didn’t look like the legend we’d hope to see tonight. There could be myriad reasons for this – inactivity, injuries adding up, lack of desire, distractions from McGregor’s banter, etc. The result remained the same. It took 13 seconds and one punch to slay the legend, He may not get an immediate rematch, barring some contractual clause or some other reason most likely to be in Zuffa’s financial interest.
This is only his second loss ever, and he’ll be back. Also, there’s no shame in crying after that loss. That’s his right, and he’s putting more on the line than anyone that points and laughs at something so basically human. Personally, I already pity the next guy he fights.”
Aldo fought for another decade and tested himself against a who’s who of featherweight and bantamweight fighters before leaving the UFC in 2022. Emboldened from his Aldo victory, McGregor went on to some of the biggest PPV selling bouts in combat sports history.
However, while Aldo may have lost to McGregor, he is now remembered for his incredible performances inside the cage. McGregor, on the other hand, is mostly remembered for things he said and things which have happened far from a cage.
3. Chris Weidman whiffs on Luke Rockhold
One reddit user said that Luke Rockhold “beat the prime out of” Chris Weidman. And that statement feels every bit as true as it is sad.
Weidman came into UFC 194 on a high, having taken the belt from Andeson Silva and then defended versus Silva and then two other Brazilian legends (Lyoto Machida, Vitor Belfort). He was 13-0 when he was given Luke Rockhold as his next challenger.
Rockhold was a solid fighter, but not exactly a world beater, he was giving Weidman in their fight, but in the third round, Weidman made it easy for him.
Despite clearly being a level below Rockhold on the feet, Weidman opted for a spinning kick (something he’d never landed before) in the third round. Rockhold easily evaded the move and then pounced. He dragged him down and gave him the beating of his life, opening up a huge cut. The beating at the end of round three carried over to the fourth, where Rockhold cruised to victory against a hurt (and exhausted) Weidman).
Here’s what Tim Burke wrote about that big mistake (before foreshadowing what comes next on the list).
“Chris Weidman made one major mistake – a strange spinning kick. Just one. And Luke Rockhold made him pay dearly for that – beat him up, cut him open, and took his belt. It looked a lot like the Lyoto Machida fight. Rockhold’s killer instinct is something that’s hard to describe. He’s an animal on top. He absolutely destroyed Weidman with elbows, and the fight could very well have been stopped in the third. It wasn’t though, so he took the wrestler down in the fourth and put him away.
“Like Rockhold in his post-fight interview, I’m having trouble finding the words to explain what I just witnessed. It was beautiful and terrifying at the same time. Congrats to Rockhold for an amazing win.
“That missed kick by Weidman will go down next to Chael Sonnen’s missing spinning backfist in infamy.”
Mookie Alexander was on play-by-play that night, see how he reacted to this in real time:
“R3: Weidman glances with a right body kick, and then another after deflecting a Rockhold body kick. Weidman doubles up on body kicks and they land but not nearly as hard as Rockhold’s. Weidman makes a clinch entry and takes Rockhold down with surprising ease. Rockhold gets to his feet and Weidman keeps him on the cage. Rockhold separates and lands a left body kick on the reset. Glancing right hand from Rockhold. Weidman with two consecutive right kicks to the body. Straight left lands for Rockhold.
“Another body kick from Weidman, who then tries to go high with a kick. Now a spinning kick from Weidman and Rockhold steps inside to jam it, then hops on Weidman’s back. Both hooks in for Rockhold, who transitions to full mount when Weidman rolls. Weidman covers up on a prolonged flurry of rights and lefts from Rockhold, and the champ’s face is bleeding freely. Rockhold sees the blood and amplifies his attack in volume and with the addition of elbows. 10-8 Rockhold for the late-round mauling.“
2. ‘Second Place Sonnen’ biffs his shot at destiny
In retrospect, Chael Sonnen’s heyday was a fun time in MMA with a character who excelled at playing the heel in a manner that enhanced the heroes of the era. Sonnen’s trash talk is easy to look back on fondly, especially given Colby Covington’s noxious attempts at plagiarism.
Unlike Covington, Sonnen actually came close to backing up all his talk. Though, thanks to an epic mistake, close would not be close enough for ‘The American Gangster’.
His fatal mistake came at UFC 148 in 2012, opposite one of his favourite foils, Anderson Silva. Sonnen had already fought Silva two years prior and took ‘The Spider’ to the brink of a historic loss.
He beat Silva from pillar to post in that first match-up, before succumbing to a triangle choke in the final round. That loss can be chalked up to grit and brilliance on the part of Silva. The rematch, though, that loss is all on Sonnen.
At UFC 148 Sonnen showed his beating Silva to the punch and out-muscling him wherever he pleased was not a fluke. In the first round he took the champ down and scored a 10-8 round, blocking Silva from landing a single punch. In the second, he was on course to do the same when, instead, he opted for a high risk striking move against the greatest perhaps the greatest striker to ever wear UFC gloves.
The move missed and Sonnen ended up on his butt at the foot of the cage. Silva strolled to him and then landed a massive knee to Sonnen’s solar plexus. Sonnen then turtled up and Silva had all he needed to pound out a win and escape Sonnen, for the second time.
BE Publisher Nate Wilcox summed it up what went down with ‘Second Place Sonnen’.
“When UFC Middleweight Chael Sonnen attempted a spinning back-fist, missed badly and landed flat on his ass against Anderson Silva last night at UFC 148 he visibly gave up and lost the fight right there. Sure Silva proceeded to knee him viciously in the chest, drop him with a right hook and finish with ground and pound, but the fetal’d Sonnen had already surrendered in his mind.
“Sonnen’s coach at the time, Matt Lindland summed up Sonnen’s issues with this brutally honest soundbite, ‘I’ve said this before as his coach: He’ll put the work in, and he’ll stay dedicated, and he’ll stay focused,’ he said. ‘He’s an incredible athlete. He’s got all the tools. But in fighting, you have to be a tough mother[expletive]. And he’s just not very tough.’
“Lindland was in Sonnen’s corner before the fifth round of UFC 117 begging him to hold on for the win but fearing that Sonnen would look for, and find, a way to lose.
“As accomplished as Chael Sonnen is as an athlete, his two careers have both peaked with silver medal performances. As a Greco-Roman wrestler Sonnen took second place in the 2000 World University Championships and as an MMA fighter he twice fought for the UFC belt and came up short.
“Sonnen showed he still had the template for beating Silva by utterly dominating the first round last night. But when he couldn’t get the double leg take down to start the second, Sonnen floundered. He wasn’t able to establish his striking game as he did against Silva in their first fight and in short order found himself throwing the hopeless spinning back elbow that landed him on his ass.
“In seconds he was curled up in the fetal position, taking a beating and losing the fight. It’s where Sonnen knew he would be in the end all along.”
1. Anderson Silva clowns away his title
Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva tops our list with his loss to Chris Weidman at UFC 162, all the way back in 2013. During this time Silva had taken on mythical properties as the greatest fighters and martial artist on the planet (perhaps ever!), thanks to his creative, and often casual, destruction of his challengers.
He walked into UFC 162 on a 17-fight winning streak. That run included just two decisions, the stinkers he laid down versus Thales Leites and Demian Maia. Those performances, where Silva seemed more interested in showing his opponent up, than beating them in a fight, served as grim foreshadowing for what would happen against Weidman.
Silva, who had elicited boos in those bouts for antics that includes refusing to engage, dancing and goading his opponents, tried getting silly with Weidman. And he paid dearly for it.
In the first round Silva played around with Weidman, putting his hands on his hips, and acting like he had no fear, or respect, for what his opponent could do. After getting hit Silva laughed at Weidman and seemed to frustrate the American.
In the second round, Weidman again landed a hard shot on Silva. Silva, instead of defending himself, play-acted being rocked and wobbled. Then Weidman landed another punch, switching off the lights and sending ‘The Spider’ careening to the canvas. Weidman then pounded out Silva, with the now former champ’s eyes rolling around like The Cookie Monster’s.
Here’s how Brent Brookhouse called it on the night:
“Round 2 – Weidman shoots after Silva plays more and he gets stuffed. Silva landing the leg kicks now. Silva drops his hands and plays around and Weidman nails him and Silva goes down and it’s over! He just played around too much. Boy was I wrong. Chris Weidman wins by KO (punches), round 1.”
Tim Burke then summed up how most of us felt about Silva’s performance, sharing a frustration over the greatest MMA fighter of an era spurning his own talent in order to play the fool.
“Anderson Silva – That was all tactics? That was all an angle? Sorry, but that’s bulls**t to me. I paid to watch a fight, not a sideshow. Anderson’s days as a matador are over for the time being, and I’m honestly happy to see it at this point. I paid for the card expecting an actual fight. I bet on Silva expecting that he’d actually care about winning. Instead, he acted like a clown and didn’t take anything seriously.
Comeuppance can be beautiful, and it was last night. It was buried in in nine layers off shock and took a little while to bubble to the surface, but it was still beautiful. You deserved that, Anderson Silva. You deserved that. I never truly disliked you until last night. But you just burned through every ounce of credibility you had with me because you just didn’t care enough.”
In his recap, Zane Simon wondered what Silva’s reasoning was for his UFC 162 display.
“It’s hard to say if Anderson was looking to draw Weidman into making a glaring mistake that he could exploit, or whether he was just looking to humiliate him long term for forcing him into a fight he didn’t particularly care about. Either way it was his devotion to mockery and over emphasized showboating that spelled the quick and brutal end. Weidman looked to chase a flat footed Silva with a series of hooks, and rather than dance away Anderson attempted to limbo out of danger. A brutal left connected and sent him crashing to the canvas unconscious, an era ended in a flash.” Chris Weidman def. Anderson Silva via KO (punch) Round 2.”
In their rematch Silva would suffer a devastating leg injury. This loss, paired with the injury, conspired to rob Silva of his mystique and mojo. He would compete for a decade more, but never come close to reaching the heights of his championship run. It may have all been different had Silva not made such a brutal mistake at UFC 162.
Honourable/dishonourable mentions
Any list like this is going to be subjective by definition and there are plenty of classic moments we left out like: Art Jimmerson’s one boxing glove at UFC 1; Cody Garbrandt getting obsessed with the right hook and throwing nothing else at Pedro Munhoz at UFC 235 or for the moments of showboating and dancing he did against TJ Dillashaw about 2 minutes before he got finished at UFC 227.
There was also Forrest Griffin panicking and rushing straight into Anderson Silva’s right hand at UFC 101; Nate Diaz almost knocking out Leon Edwards in the 5th round at UFC 263 but electing to clown around instead of finishing his wobbled foe; Chael Sonnen giving Anderson Silva his arm all the time in the world to sink in a triangle at UFC 117; and Gray Maynard knocking himself and opponent Rob Emerson out at the same time with a slam at The Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale.
Well, that’s our take on the Top 10 UFC blunders, goofs, gaffes, mistakes and fight-losing moves. What do you think, how would you rank these? Did we miss any? Let us know in the comments below (also, feel free to share some that happened outside the UFC, too!).
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