The sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) is dictated by skill, athleticism, experience, and the willingness to put it all on the line. Throughout the years, countless combat crusaders have forged greatness inside of the cage by channeling these specific attributes. In turn, they’ve created unforgettable magic. But as good as some of these contests
The sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) is dictated by skill, athleticism, experience, and the willingness to put it all on the line.
Throughout the years, countless combat crusaders have forged greatness inside of the cage by channeling these specific attributes. In turn, they’ve created unforgettable magic.
But as good as some of these contests have been, there are those that produce polar opposite results. There are fights that seem to shrink the creativity of the sport itself, offering little to cheer and even less to be impressed with.
In many cases, both fighters are to blame. Whether due to cancelling fighting styles or hesitant trigger pulling, their matchups have failed miserably. As for the other group of terrible performances, those manifest from the actions (or lack thereof) of one, and only one, party involved.
Either way, these atrocious MMA contests should be swept under the rug until the end of time. Because no one is going to miss the worst of the worst.
Here are the 10 poorest fights in the history of the sport.
As arguably the most talent-rich habitat in mixed martial arts (MMA) today, the UFC’s lightweight division is consistently churning out world-class killers. From reinvented champions to undefeated Russian crushers, the 155-pound roster is chock-full of savage suitors. And considering the weight class attracts the likes of the featherweight and welterweight divisions, it’s become a popular
As arguably the most talent-rich habitat in mixed martial arts (MMA) today, the UFC’s lightweight division is consistently churning out world-class killers.
From reinvented champions to undefeated Russian crushers, the 155-pound roster is chock-full of savage suitors. And considering the weight class attracts the likes of the featherweight and welterweight divisions, it’s become a popular landing spot for aspiring title contenders of all shapes and sizes.
But with lightweight bouts such as Rafael dos Anjos vs. Conor McGregor and Anthony Pettis vs. Eddie Alvarez looming on the horizon, we’re reminded of past divisional tilts that have helped raise the weight class to unparalleled prominence.
In accordance with the blood, sweat, and tears put forth by past lightweights, here are the five best fights in division history.
At UFC Fight Night 77 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, former Strikeforce lightweight champion Clay Guida faced Brazilian Thiago Tavares, in what turned out to be a very short fight on Saturday. At just 39 seconds into the first round, Tavares tapped Guida with a…
At UFC Fight Night 77 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, former Strikeforce lightweight champion Clay Guida faced Brazilian Thiago Tavares, in what turned out to be a very short fight on Saturday. At just 39 seconds into the first round, Tavares tapped Guida with a guillotine after capitalizing on a mistake we’ve seen multiple times in MMA.
The round opened with an active and quick Guida, who deployed several jabs, stayed light on his feet and darted in and out as he moved across the cage. In what seemed to be an attempt to befuddle Tavares, Guida threw a right, two lefts, an inside leg kick and another left in rapid succession before shooting in for a double-leg takedown.
This is where Guida made his crucial mistake; like Cain Velasquez when he fought Fabricio Werdum, Guida was bent at the waist instead of the knees to change levels. This exposed the back of his neck, and his head was completely off center from the get-go as he shot in—so Tavares didn’t have to make that adjustment.
To change levels for a double leg, the fighter should bend at the knees while taking a penetration step, as demonstrated here. Instead, Guida dove straight in, and Tavares immediately sunk in the arm-in guillotine structure.
Undaunted, Guida still went for the takedown, lifting Tavares up and slamming him to the mat and ending up in Tavares’ closed guard. Guida then started pushing Tavares’ left knee with his free right hand, making a brace to try to pull his legs free—which he almost did, nearly pulling his shorts off in the process. But Tavares hiked up his legs to close his guard around Guida’s waist again, putting The Carpenter right back where he started.
For his next escape attempt, Guida somersaulted over his shoulder, effectively pulling Tavares into full mount on top of him, with the guillotine position still intact. We can see Guida’s forehead, and it’s darkened, even looking purplish. Tavares seems to know he has the choke in tight, because when Guida then rolls over sideways into Tavares’ closed guard again, and then once more to be in the Brazilian’s full mount, Tavares just goes with it.
And sure enough, Guida taps.
That was nasty! Thiago Tavares nearly choked the shorts of Clay Guida (literally) in under :60 seconds #UFCSPhttps://t.co/ajWEwhbVFJ
Tavares pushed his hips forward and kept his back arched to stay tight to Guida; as they rolled, Tavares didn’t move at all. Guida’s left arm is trapped in the guillotine, and his left hand seems to be caught in between his torso and Tavares. With his left shoulder so immobilized and Tavares so tight around his waist, Guida doesn’t seem able to free it. It’s possible that’s a defense attempt, but the contortion necessary to reach Tavares’ grip would likely severely limit Guida’s efficacy on that side. And given that Tavares’ hands are clasped more to that side of Guida, the grip is further from Guida’s free right hand, making it harder than it already was for him to reach for it in defense.
It was, perhaps, a flawless guillotine that left Guida with no real defense, and given how tight Tavares and the technique was, The Carpenter was quickly running out of time to employ one.
Both fighters are longtime UFC veterans who have been fighting professionally since 2003. With this fight, No. 11-ranked Guida’s record is now 32-16, while unranked Tavares moves to 20-6.
It had been 10 years since Urijah Faber lost a fight that was not for a WEC or UFC title. It took a world-class competitor in Frankie Edgar to defeat The California Kid in 25 minutes of action.
At 36 years old, Faber may be facing the last chapter of h…
It had been 10 years since Urijah Faber lost a fight that was not for a WEC or UFC title. It took a world-class competitor in Frankie Edgar to defeat The California Kid in 25 minutes of action.
At 36 years old, Faber may be facing the last chapter of his career. Looking forward, these are interesting fight suggestions for him to take before he calls it a career.
Clay Guida is coming off of a unanimous-decision victory over Robbie Peralta at UFC Fight Night in Fairfax, Virginia. Next to the belching in between rounds, his post-fight speech caught a bit of attention. Bleacher Report asked him to elaborate on tho…
Clay Guida is coming off of a unanimous-decision victory over Robbie Peralta at UFC Fight Night in Fairfax, Virginia. Next to the belching in between rounds, his post-fight speech caught a bit of attention. Bleacher Report asked him to elaborate on those comments, along with his thoughts about his performance against Peralta:
Bleacher Report: You said you had a sloppy fight. What was it about your performance that made you unsatisfied?
Clay Guida: A true champion and athlete is never satisfied with their performance. You can always do more and always improve. My wrestling needed some work. There were times where I could have gotten the takedown quicker or pulled him off the cage faster. That’s an opponent I should finish nine out of 10.
Robbie is tough. He hit hard and cut me open a little bit. I knew better than to trade with him.
To answer your question, I’m not satisfied with my victory. I always want to finish and try new things. The wrestling was a difference in the fight.
B/R: How has working with Team Alpha Male improved your wrestling?
CG: I split my time with Glendale, wrestling with some very tough Eastern European wrestlers, and at Ultimate Fitness at Team Alpha Male, wrestling with very successful collegiate and international wrestlers. I get to wrestle with more guys my size with more successful backgrounds, and that’s a recipe for improvement and success.
B/R: Why do you feel that fans give no credit to an intense grappling contest during a MMA battle?
CG: I would say the respect isn’t given to where it’s deserved. I think it’s because they’ve been spoiled with so many wild fights, sloppy striking matches, bloody boxing and kickboxing bouts, and over-the-top knockouts. That is what they’re used to, and that’s what they want to see.
The real true PRIDE fans, the real true old-school UFC fans that were built on the Dan Severns, the Royce Gracies, the Matt Hugheses and BJ Penns…the ones that know what the ground and stand-up game is and can leverage and balance both, those are the ones that the sport is all about. Sure, it’s also for the new fans who are watching on pay-per-view, Fight Pass or Fox Sports, as well.
The fans cheer louder and give more respect to the kickboxers, muaythai guys and strikers, but the sport wouldn’t be here for the wrestlers. It wouldn’t be as dynamic without the great wrestlers and jiu-jitsu practitioners.
B/R: What do you think can be done to help MMA fans better appreciate the grappling aspect in general?
CG: Start watching college wrestling. Start getting your kids into youth wrestling programs. Get educated and find out what the toughest sport in the world is. Realize that it’s the hardest-working sport that demands the most time and sacrifice, builds the most character and discipline.
People will respect what wrestling has to offer to this world. It will take educating themselves on more than just guys in there swinging for the fences.
B/R: How do you hope to educate fans in appreciating grappling?
CG: Just by spreading the word and telling people how it’s changed my life. Without wrestling, I wouldn’t know what MMA is, doing this interview or be in the UFC. Wrestling is what brought me here, and I came to the UFC to create financial stability.
I was never a standout in high school and college wrestling. But it helped me get to this place in my career.
These NCAA All-Americans realize the same thing, and they’re battle-tested through collegiate wrestling. Without that, 90 percent of them wouldn’t be in the UFC.
B/R: Which wrestlers do you think are on the rise in the MMA landscape?
CG: Lance Palmer is a teammate of mine that is over at the World Series of Fighting who is a champion at 145 pounds. He has a fight coming up in June.
Ben Askren, who is the welterweight champion at ONE. He’s just a pure animal.
There are many Russian fighters coming up in the UFC that are making a big name for themselves.
Also, Will Brooks, Michael Chandler…the list goes on and on.
Not every wrestler is going to be a Division I champion. Some guys may never make it to the Olympics. MMA provides another avenue for those wrestlers to continue their careers.
B/R: You called out President Obama during your post-fight speech. I know it wasn’t a political dig, but not many Presidents have attended a combat sporting event. Why did you feel that it was important for him to come visit you guys in Fairfax?
CG: I just wanted to make him aware of college wrestling. I know President Obama is aware of college wrestling, but it would be cool to see more of our leaders more vocal about the sport.
Do I see him being front row at a fight anytime soon? Probably not. But I want him to realize that we’re not a bunch of Neanderthals; MMA is a skilled sport. I know he’s a sports fan. Many of these other athletes are doing MMA training and do similar cross-training that we do.
MMA isn’t underground anymore. Fox Sports isn’t underground. I know he passes it out on TV once in a while; maybe throw a tweet out there or something.
The UFC is coming to Chicago. I’m from Chicago; he’s from Chicago. It would be cool to see him support some local fights.
B/R: Do you plan on making a run at the lightweight crown? Do you plan on staying at featherweight? Or are you going to bounce back and forth between both divisions?
CG: Ideally, it would be cool to do some superfights at both divisions. I’m not asking the UFC to cater to anybody. Or call me the utility guy. I’d like some bigger fights. I don’t expect them to give me a shot at [Rafael] dos Anjos. I fought seven or eight of the top 10 in the division.
I’m unimpressed with my performance at 145. 3-2 is not impressive.
It’s all good. I’m just excited about where this sport is going. It’s the fastest growing sport in the world.
B/R: Thanks for talking with me today.
All quotes obtained firsthand, via interview, unless otherwise noted.
Robbie Lawler and Matt Brown put on a show at UFC on FOX 12. It wasn’t the 5-star epic poem many were expecting, but it was still a fun, entertaining fight that made spending a night in front of the TV worth it.
But was it worth it for the fighters?
Heading into the card, media pundits discussed the potential paydays for the card’s fighters. They noted four fighters could earn six figures. Friend of CagePotato Trent Reinsmith summed up our thoughts on the issue:
Three fighters earned six figures. And only five fighters made fewer than $10,000 (this excludes “of the night” bonuses and the mythical locker room bonuses as well).
Lawler earned $210,000, the highest pay of the night. Matt Brown received $46,000.
Anthony Johnson made the easiest $106,000 of his life in a 44-second drubbing of Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, who took home $114,000 to act as a human punching bag–not bad!
Here are the figures for the entire card (all via MMAJunkie):
(Photo via Getty)
Robbie Lawler and Matt Brown put on a show at UFC on FOX 12. It wasn’t the 5-star epic poem many were expecting, but it was still a fun, entertaining fight that made spending a night in front of the TV worth it.
But was it worth it for the fighters?
Heading into the card, media pundits discussed the potential paydays for the card’s fighters. They noted four fighters could earn six figures. Friend of CagePotato Trent Reinsmith summed up our thoughts on the issue:
Three fighters earned six figures. And only five fighters made fewer than $10,000 (this excludes “of the night” bonuses and the mythical locker room bonuses as well).
Lawler earned $210,000, the highest pay of the night. Matt Brown received $46,000.
Anthony Johnson made the easiest $106,000 of his life in a 44-second drubbing of Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, who took home $114,000 to act as a human punching bag–not bad!
Noad Lahat: $16,000 ($8,000 win bonus)
Steven Siler: $15,000
And again: These numbers don’t account for magic locker room bonuses or “of the night” bonuses. Speaking of the latter: Lawler and Brown earned an extra $50,000 for “Fight of the Night.” Both Dennis Bermudez and Anthony Johnson got $50,000 for “Performance of the Night.”
At UFC Fight Night 77 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, former Strikeforce lightweight champion 
