Top 10 Worst Losing Streaks In UFC History

With competition for places on the roster being so fiercely contested there’s no substitute for winning in the UFC, and as such it’s every fighters worst nightmare to find themselves trapped in the midst of a losing streak they just can’t seem to break out of. Every defeat brings a greater likelihood that their next

The post Top 10 Worst Losing Streaks In UFC History appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

With competition for places on the roster being so fiercely contested there’s no substitute for winning in the UFC, and as such it’s every fighters worst nightmare to find themselves trapped in the midst of a losing streak they just can’t seem to break out of.

Every defeat brings a greater likelihood that their next fight could be their last in the Octagon, bringing even more pressure, anxiety and self-doubt that only seeks to further compound the problem.

For some fighters back-to-back defeats is all it takes before they are unceremoniously shown the exit door, but for one reason or another, some are cut a little more slack, which at first might seem like a blessing, but can often prove to be something of a curse as they dig themselves into an even deeper hole on the sports biggest stage.

It’s those unfortunate fighters that are the focus of this article as we count down the worst losing streaks ever recorded inside the UFC’s Octagon.

10. Gray Maynard – 4 losses in a row

Truth be told there’s a number of fighters who have suffered four-fight losing streaks in the UFC over the years, but Gray Maynard makes it onto this list due to the fact his slump came in the midst of a six-year spell in which he would register just two wins in nine Octagon outings.

A former two-time challenger for the lightweight belt, Maynard entered into another title eliminator with TJ Grant in 2013 having only lost once in his previous 14 bouts, but surprisingly was TKO’d barely two minutes into the fight.

Worrying signs that Maynard’s chin was deserting him then emerged when he was also TKO’d in the first round by Nate Diaz, and then Ross Pearson also finished him with strikes.

A further loss to the unheralded Alexander Yakovlev took his losing streak to four fights, but Maynard resisted talk of retiring and instead took over a year out before dropping down to the featherweight division.

He then briefly broke his losing streak with a win over the unheralded Francisco Bruno, but a loss to Ryan Hall since then leaves the 37-year-old’s fighting future in doubt again.

The post Top 10 Worst Losing Streaks In UFC History appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Coach: Yair Rodriguez Was ‘Tough Fight For B.J. Penn Coming Off Layoff’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEQz7HGT_-0&t

When B.J. Penn was preparing for his return fight against rising featherweight Yair Rodriguez, his team had a strong belief in their guy. The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Hall of Famer looked…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEQz7HGT_-0&t

When B.J. Penn was preparing for his return fight against rising featherweight Yair Rodriguez, his team had a strong belief in their guy. The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Hall of Famer looked for his first win since Nov. 2010.

Instead, “The Prodigy” got smoked. Round one was one-sided in favor of “El Pantera,” and the second round was mercifully stopped 24 seconds in. Penn was simply too slow and couldn’t react to Rodriguez’s offense quick enough to do much.

The official YouTube channel of the UFC uploaded a post-fight interview done with Penn’s coach Jason Parillo. He expressed his sorrow for Penn:

“We’re sad. We obviously have high hopes for B.J. What he’s done in the sport and the type of fighter that he is, they always say there’s one more fight in a great fighter and we felt that it was it. We felt that this kid was beatable. We felt we could beat him and you know, I’d like to think we still can. But we’re always gonna think that about B.J.”

When Penn’s bout with Rodriguez was announced, a lot of fans and analysts were left scratching their heads over the booking. Rodriguez looked prepared for a top 10 ranked opponent, while Penn needed someone to ease his way back to competition. Parillo admitted the match-up was difficult.

“It was a tough fight to come in after a two and a half, almost three-year layoff. You know, you’re fighting a top 10 guy. That’s something B.J. has always done. B.J. never comes off a long layoff, I mean his two-year layoff prior to that was Frankie Edgar the number two guy in the world. Unfortunately B.J. never gets put in there with a guy that, we call it a shake off the rust a little bit or a tuneup fight I guess.”

UFC Fight Night 103 Pulls In Big Ratings

Despite being out of the sport for a few years, BJ Penn is still a name and still a draw for the UFC. The UFC Fight Night 103 main card did an average of 1,090 million viewers. This is was up from the UFC Fight Night 101 main card, which drew 686,000 viewers. The prelims

The post UFC Fight Night 103 Pulls In Big Ratings appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Despite being out of the sport for a few years, BJ Penn is still a name and still a draw for the UFC.

The UFC Fight Night 103 main card did an average of 1,090 million viewers. This is was up from the UFC Fight Night 101 main card, which drew 686,000 viewers. The prelims for the event drew 824,000 viewers, which is up from the UFC FN 101 prelims that did 654,000 viewers. The post-fight show drew 364,000 viewers. The UFC held up very good against a massive audience for an NFL divisional playoff game between Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs on NBC that drew 37 million viewers. The game was originally supposed to be at 1 PM EST, but weather forced its pushback to 8 PM EST instead.

UFC Fight Night 103 took place on Sunday, January 15, 2017, at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona.

UFC Fight Night 103 drew less than half the audience of the Sunday night show a year ago, but that card had a much bigger lineup and main event (Dominick Cruz vs. then-bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw). The event would have been the fifth-highest rated Fight Night show in 2016 and marks the biggest number since the September 26 Cyborg Justino-headlined show which, did 1,109 million viewers

The UFC will be away for a week but not to fear fight fights, the promotion will hold its next event on January 28th (UFC on FOX on 23), which is headlined by Valentina Shevchenko vs. Julianna Pena in a #1 women’s bantamweight contender bout.

The post UFC Fight Night 103 Pulls In Big Ratings appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

UFC Fight Night 103 Ratings Crack Million Thanks to BJ Penn, Yair Rodriguez

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6GxAKELF-I

Despite going up against the second half of Pittsburgh-Kansas City in the NFL playoffs, the main card for UFC Fight Night 103 still cracked the million viewers mark.

According to a tweet by Jason Floy…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6GxAKELF-I

Despite going up against the second half of Pittsburgh-Kansas City in the NFL playoffs, the main card for UFC Fight Night 103 still cracked the million viewers mark.

According to a tweet by Jason Floyd of The MMA Report, the FOX Sports 1 four-fight main card was watched by 1.090 million viewers. That number topped the FS1 prelims, which were watched by 824,000.

The early prelims streamed on UFC Fight Pass, while the post-fight show was viewed by 364,000 on FS1.

The card featured BJ Penn returning, but losing to Yair Rodriguez. Also, Joe Lauzon defeated Marcin Held in a lightweight showdown.

Kenny Florian Calls For B.J. Penn’s Retirement: ‘The Sport Has Passed Him By’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAy5VTQrJ7A

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Hall of Famer B.J. Penn had a rough return to the Octagon this past Sunday night (Jan. 15). He took on Yair Rodriguez in the main event of a UFC Fight Night card in Pho…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAy5VTQrJ7A

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Hall of Famer B.J. Penn had a rough return to the Octagon this past Sunday night (Jan. 15). He took on Yair Rodriguez in the main event of a UFC Fight Night card in Phoenix, Arizona. The speed difference was glaring and “The Prodigy” was never in the fight.

“El Pantera’s” flashy kicks had Penn off balance and backing up in the first round. Even when Penn tied his opponent up against the fence momentarily, he couldn’t hold him there. At the start of the second round, Rodriguez blasted Penn with a front kick followed by a straight punch that dropped him. A series of strikes later and the fight was stopped.

Former UFC fighter and opponent of Penn’s Kenny Florian said enough is enough at the FOX Sports 1 post-fight show. The analyst made his advice to Penn clear:

“Retire, at this point. No one needs to see a legend like B.J. Penn go out like that. That was very hard to see and not to mention the last fight against Frankie Edgar was very hard to see. And now we’re seeing it again against Yair Rodriguez.”

While there have been exceptions to fighters excelling beyond their supposed prime such as Randy Couture when he won the UFC heavyweight title at the age of 43, that was the exception and not the rule. Florian said there are other money making opportunities for the 38-year-old legend.

“The sport has passed him by. This is an eventuality for every single fighter. It doesn’t matter. Eventually, you don’t move the same way. If you don’t keep up with the sport, you’re gonna get beat down like this and this sport is way too hard. There’s other ways to make money and I hope B.J. Penn finds some kind of peace in retiring finally.”

UFC Fight Night 103 Medical Suspensions: Rodriguez, Penn Earn Long Stints

With every decision comes a consequence and for those fighters who took part in battle this past Sunday at UFC Fight Night 103, it’s their time to faces those consequences in the form of medical suspensions. Yair Rodriguez vs. BJ Penn in a featherweight bout was the main event while Joe Lauzon vs. Marcin Held

The post UFC Fight Night 103 Medical Suspensions: Rodriguez, Penn Earn Long Stints appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

With every decision comes a consequence and for those fighters who took part in battle this past Sunday at UFC Fight Night 103, it’s their time to faces those consequences in the form of medical suspensions.

Yair Rodriguez vs. BJ Penn in a featherweight bout was the main event while Joe Lauzon vs. Marcin Held in a lightweight was the co-main event. Rounding out the main card was Court McGee vs. Ben Saunders in a welterweight bout and John Moraga vs. Sergio Pettis in a flyweight bout.

Some of the more notable suspensions include Rodriguez being suspended indefinitely, pending clearance from a physician and Penn, who was finished by strikes, being suspended 180 days. Other fighters that were suspended indefinitely includes Saunders and Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger.

Here are the entire medical suspensions:

Yair Rodriguez: Suspended indefinitely, pending clearance from a physician

BJ Penn: Suspended 180 days

Joe Lauzon: Suspended 30 days

Ben Saunders: Suspended indefinitely, pending clearance from a physician

Court McGee: Suspended 45 days

Sergio Pettis: Suspended 60 days

Devin Powell: Suspended 180 days

Frankie Saenz: Suspended 60 days

Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger: Suspended indefinitely, pending clearance from a physician

Nina Ansaroff: Suspended 180 days

Walt Harris: Suspended 30 days

Chase Sherman: Suspended 60 days

Joachim Christensen: Suspended 30 days

Bojan Mihajlovic: Suspended 30 days

Dmitrii Smoliakov: Suspended 30 days

UFC Fight Night 103 took place on Sunday, on January 15, 2017 at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. The prelims on Fight Pass featured four bouts starting at 6:15 p.m. ET while the FOX Sports 1 prelims featured four bouts starting at 8 p.m. ET. The main card featured four bouts starting at 10 p.m. ET.

The post UFC Fight Night 103 Medical Suspensions: Rodriguez, Penn Earn Long Stints appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.