The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has seen a rather large, overarching upheaval in recent times, and indeed it has not been overstated. Every champion at the start of 2014 except dominant flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson is now gone, with a new crop of talented – and perhaps unexpected – new titleholders set to usher in
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has seen a rather large, overarching upheaval in recent times, and indeed it has not been overstated.
Every champion at the start of 2014 except dominant flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson is now gone, with a new crop of talented – and perhaps unexpected – new titleholders set to usher in a new and prosperous era for the promotion.
While that’s obviously great news for the UFC as a business (especially since one of the new champions is Conor McGregor), it also begs to question as to whether or not these supposedly dominant champions that were, in certain cases, built up to almost unattainable levels in UFC promos, were actually far from the indestructible machines they may have appeared to be at that time.
There’ve been a number of UFC champions who, while no doubt wholly talented and effective fighters in their own right, just didn’t quite deliver the goods as champion due to one reason or another. Let’s take a look back at the most overrated champions in UFC history.
Throughout the comparatively short history of mixed martial arts (MMA), there’ve expectedly been a host of fights that stand out as one-sided beatdowns from one man or woman to another. The bout’s referee stopped some of these fights mercifully, a participant’s corner stopped some, and some went to a decision, but ultimately they all featured
Throughout the comparatively short history of mixed martial arts (MMA), there’ve expectedly been a host of fights that stand out as one-sided beatdowns from one man or woman to another.
The bout’s referee stopped some of these fights mercifully, a participant’s corner stopped some, and some went to a decision, but ultimately they all featured one-sided results
To be clear, we aren’t talking about one-punch or kick knockouts; those are a defined subset of a different sort. These bouts are just the most devastatingly one-sided contests in MMA history regardless of if they ended with a single knockout blow or not, and the magnitude of the fight was taken into account for judging.
They also not surprisingly feature some of the greatest fighters who’ve truly helped shape thee polished MMA picture we enjoy today.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at the 10 worst beatdowns in MMA history.
Glover Teixeira was able to get the job done at UFC Fight Night 73 on Saturday, when he put Ovince Saint Preux to sleep in the third round of their bout.
It was an important win for the Brazilian, as he was riding a two-fight losing streak into Saturda…
Glover Teixeira was able to get the job done at UFC Fight Night 73 on Saturday, when he put Ovince Saint Preux to sleep in the third round of their bout.
It was an important win for the Brazilian, as he was riding a two-fight losing streak into Saturday’s matchup. Looking forward, there are a number of interesting opponents who can be slated to face him in the future. These are five fights that would keep Teixeira relevant in the division.
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua has had a pretty volatile run in the UFC. He’s a former champion who has fought the absolute best of the best since he first showed up in the Octagon, but he’s also 7-8 in the promotion and has been a baffl…
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua has had a pretty volatile run in the UFC. He’s a former champion who has fought the absolute best of the best since he first showed up in the Octagon, but he’s also 7-8 in the promotion and has been a baffling watch at times, even in spite of his UFC 190 win over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.
Prior to getting back on track against Nogueira on Saturday night, he lost two in a row and four of five—six of nine if you want to go back a little further. But in that run, he lost to Jon Jones and narrowly to Dan Henderson a couple of times, smoked James Te Huna and totally overwhelmed Brandon Vera.
He’s incredibly, remarkably contradictory in his performances.
In his wins, he often produces the type of violence that has people exuberantly claiming that he’s back and motivated and ready to become champion again. In his losses, he tends to have people mourning his very existence and hoping that he’ll consider retirement given the punishment he’s absorbed in his career.
The Nogueira win produced something in between.
The first round saw him rocked a couple of times, falling back against the cage and covering up long enough to sloppily return fire from the pocket. The second saw him collect himself and begin a more conservative fight, thudding body kicks and punching combinations around clinching and takedowns. The third was close but resembled the second enough for the judges to side with Rua and award him his first win in nearly two years.
Afterward, no one was claiming he was back, but no one was claiming he was done either. It’s that kind of even-handed approach to the years Rua has left that might allow him to flourish for a final time.
With the pressure of having to fight the best every time out, Rua has struggled to gain momentum. His wins have come every time the UFC has tried to force him into the role of gatekeeper, a role he continuously proves resistant to, but his losses have come whenever he’s been thrust back into the realm of contendership.
This time, with no egregious celebrations of his latest win, perhaps he can get his footing back under him. A fight with Rampage Jackson or JimiManuwa—should he survive his bout with Anthony Johnson next month—would make a lot of sense, as both are guys the UFC has no particular plans for, and it would put no pressure on Rua to provide a given outcome—a situation very much analogous to his fight with Nogueira.
At 33 years old, the Brazilian is relatively young, but he’s shopworn in a way that almost no one in the sport is at that age. He’s been in more crazy wars than most guys have had fights, and that’s obviously going to add up over time. But he’s still got skill and a reunion with Rafael Cordeiro, buoyed by training partners like Fabricio Werdum and Rafael dos Anjos, which will only sharpen it further.
All of this is to say that Shogun Ruaisn’t back, but he’s not done either. He beat a 39-year-old warhorse on Saturday night and needed the scorecards to do it, but a win is a win. He looked like he could rack up a few more against the right opponents and with the right training.
Simply accepting that fact, without the euphoric highs of title talk or the dizzying lows of requesting a retirement, is a pretty good place to be for one of the sport’s true legends.
Ronda Rousey’s entrance into the Octagon has become a grand spectacle in the sports world.
The women’s bantamweight phenom has become one of the biggest stars in the mainstream sporting sphere, and her presence draws attention far beyond the borders of…
Ronda Rousey’s entrance into the Octagon has become a grand spectacle in the sports world.
The women’s bantamweight phenom has become one of the biggest stars in the mainstream sporting sphere, and her presence draws attention far beyond the borders of the MMA community. In less than three years competing under the UFC banner, the former Olympic judoka turned MMA sensation has dominated the women’s 135-pound ranks to become one of the biggest stars on the landscape of combat sports.
Rousey’s championship reign has kicked open the doors to Hollywood for the California native to produce roles in blockbuster franchises, and the future appears to be megawatt for the 28-year-old wrecking machine. That said, everything that could potentially materialize on the horizon for Rousey is directly attached to her ability to continue her dominance on the biggest stage in MMA.
All she needs to do is continue doing what she does best, and her next opportunity to do so came front and center at UFC 190 on Saturday night in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The women’s bantamweight titleholder put her strap on the line against undefeated contender Bethe Correia in a highly anticipated grudge match that came on the challenger’s native soil. Pitbull worked a diligent campaign to earn her shot at championship gold, and Rousey was determined to prove the scrappy Brazilian had bitten off more than she could chew.
And while the UFC touted Correia as Rousey’s biggest test inside the Octagon to date, those are the measures a promotion has to take when their champion has looked nothing short of bulletproof in her five previous title defenses in the UFC. She was a heavy favorite going into the main event tilt, and rightfully so, as Rousey absolutely trucked Correia via knockout 34 seconds into the fight.
Rousey came out guns blazing from the jump, and half a minute later, Correia went crashing face first into the canvas. Going into the fight, many figured turning the bout into a brawl would be Correia’s only hope, but even a slug fest couldn’t save the challenger, as Rousey snuffed her out with a right hand in a wild exchange to make her sixth successful title defense.
It was another amazing showing from Rousey and added one more lightning-quick finish to her already amazing resume.
It was a solid night of fights in Rio de Janeiro. Let’s take a look at the good, the bad and the strange from UFC 190.
The Good
If there is a ceiling for Rousey’s talent, it has yet to be found.
The women’s bantamweight champion has steamrolled and finished every opponent she’s faced inside the Octagon, and she added another victim to her list on Saturday night at UFC 190. The Rowdy one absolutely drubbed title challenger Correia in a fight in which she abandoned her signature clinch game and employed a full-throttle striking attack. Rousey went after the scrappy Brazilian from the get-go, and a short time later, Correia was lights out on the canvas.
Where she earned her superstar status for her penchant for armbarring her opposition, Rousey has added a new page to her run of dominance over the past year, as she’s been settling opponents at the end of her strikes. Rousey has always been well above her competition from a technical and athletic standpoint, but developing knockout power in her hands serves to create that much more distance between the champion and the rest of the women’s 135-pound collective.
And that brings us to Cyborg. Cristiane Justino is the only fighter in the realm of women’s MMA who could compete with the juggernaut that is the current version of Rousey. The Brazilian wrecking machine and the bantamweight phenom have been hovering around one another since they were both fighting under the Strikeforce banner, and the time has come for the UFC to go all out to make their long-awaited fight finally come to fruition.
Granted, getting Cyborg down to 135 pounds will be a big hurdle to clear, especially with USADA’s upcoming IV ban coming into place, but that is the only fight left to make. Rousey is slated to face Miesha Tate for a third time in the coming months, but with the previous two fights ending in dominant fashion, there is no reason to think the third fight will end any differently.
Rousey is just that good, and from the work she showed en route to toppling Correia on Saturday night, she’s only getting better.
***
While he’s no longer the perennial contender he once was, Mauricio Rua can still get out there and bang with the best of them. Anytime the former UFC champion steps into the cage, he brings the violence, and there was certainly plenty of brutality to go around in his rematch with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 190.
Lil Nog rocked Rua in the opening round, which forced the legendary striker to shift into full desperation mode. Fortunately for fight fans, a desperate Rua means fists fly with reckless abandon, and the opening round turned into a full scale shootout between the two gritty veterans.
The final two rounds slowed down a bit, as Rua and Nogueira went to the ground, but the closing moments of the tilt saw the fisticuffs once again in full force. Rua ultimately took the win on the judges’ scorecards and snapped a two-fight skid in the process.
***
Stefan Struve broke out of his recent rough patch on Saturday night, outworking Brazilian legend Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira to pick up unanimous-decision victory at UFC 190.
The Skyscraper used his reach advantage to pepper Minotauro with big shots throughout the three-round affair, as he wobbled the former heavyweight champion with crisp punches on several occasions. While the Dutchman was unable to put Nogueira away, Struve did enough to sweep the judges’ scorecards and pick up his first win inside the Octagon since defeating Stipe Miocic back in 2012.
***
No fighter on the lineup for UFC 190 needed a victory more than Antonio Silva. The former heavyweight title challenger came into his bout with Soa Palelei having failed to find the win column in four straight showings inside the cage, and a loss to the Hulk would have all but sealed his fate in the UFC.
Nevertheless, Bigfoot rebounded from a tough opening round to flex his power on Palelei and put away the veteran powerhouse with a flurry in the second round. It wasn’t a pretty performance from Silva, but his win guarantees he’ll live to see another day under the UFC banner.
***
After the women’s strawweight title barely eluded Claudia Gadelha in her first attempt at championship gold, the Nova Uniao product wants nothing more than to get another crack at Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
The 26-year-old Brazilian striker left zero doubt about a title shot being next up for her as she battered highly touted newcomer Jessica Aguilar from pillar to post in their fight on Saturday. While Aguilar has built a career on her aggression, Gadelha’s out-savaged her en route to picking up the unanimous-decision victory.
The only fight to make is a rematch with Joanna Champion. It needs to happen. It needs to happen so much.
***
Demian Maia has been competing against the best fighters in the world for the better part of the past decade, and he was determined to stop Neil Magny’s attempt to break through into deeper waters at UFC 190.
As it was, the Brazilian submissions ace allowed the Colorado native to step out into the deeper waters, then drowned The Ultimate Fighter alum with his signature brand of jiu-jitsu. Maia snapped Magny’s seven-fight winning streak by working his ground talents until the up-and-coming welterweight was forced to tap to a rear-naked choke in the second round.
It was a clinic in ground fighting from Maia from start to finish, and his win on Saturday night will keep his status in the talent-rich 170-pound division intact.
***
There isn’t a whole lot of flash in Patrick Cummins’ game, but he continues to get the job done inside the Octagon. The former Penn State wrestler played to his strengths once again, pounding out Rafael Cavalcante in the final round of their tilt at UFC 190.
While Durkin’s face got shredded in the first two rounds, he stuck to his guns and used his wrestling to wear down the heavy-handed Brazilian until he used a storm of elbows on the canvas to secure the victory. With his win on Saturday, Cummins has now found victory in four of his six showings under the UFC banner.
***
The welterweight division has a certified prospect in Warlley Alves. The undefeated 24-year-old Brazilian gained entry into the UFC by winning the third season of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil and has carried that momentum into his run in the 170-pound ranks under the UFC banner.
With each step taken, the buzz around him has increased, and it will do so even more following his submission victory over Nordine Taleb at UFC 190. It was a closely contested affair, but Alves secured the guillotine choke in the second round to pick up his third consecutive victory inside the Octagon.
The Bad
There was a time where Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira was one of the best heavyweight fighters in the world. Those days have officially come and gone.
While walking away from the fight game is a decision every fighter makes on their own, retirement seems to be a conclusion Minotauro will be arriving at soon. The former UFC and Pride champion suffered his third loss in as many fights when he came out on the wrong end of a unanimous decision at the hands of Stefan Struve at UFC 190. Nogueira has now been defeated in all but one of his past five showings inside the Octagon and has looked to be a shell of his former self in the process.
That’s a tough look for a fighter who was once at the top of the game, but time and a collection of memorable wars under the bright lights, have combined to take their toll on Nogueira. The 39-year-old Brazilian grappling ace simply can’t perform at the physical level he once could, and when a fighter is unable to use the weapons that made him successful in the first place, it’s high time to call it a day.
Nogueira built a legendary career on his ability to overcome adversity, but Father Time is an opponent who won’t let up at the bell.
***
The rough road Rafael Cavalcante has been traveling of late is about to get a lot rougher following his loss at UFC 190. The former Strikeforce champion was outworked by Patrick Cummins en route to taking a loss via TKO on Saturday night, which is his third setback over his past four showings inside the Octagon.
While only two of those defeats have come in consecutive fashion, and he’ll more than likely hold his roster spot following his performance in Rio de Janeiro, the days of Cavalcante being considered a major threat in the light heavyweight ranks are all but over.
***
While a Ronda Rousey fight is going to amp up any card, filling said card with six other fights is a tough pull for fans tuning into a pay-per-view. Granted, more action is typically something fans are going to celebrate, but seven bouts was just too much.
A lot of that had to do with the UFC planting two TUF fights in the middle of the main card line up. Granted, at least one of those bouts turned into all-out slug fest, but having no clue about who was involved in the bouts only made them more of an annoyance in the grand scheme of things.
All we can hope is that putting TUF fights on a pay-per-view card is a decision they don’t make again. Even UFC fanatic Mario Lopez thought it was too much to handle, and he put up with Screech for five seasons.
The Strange
The Ronda Rousey Effect is true cultural phenomenon.
While anything that manages to carry out of the small, insular bubble that is the MMA community and reach the mainstream is always worth noting, the level of insanity of Rousey’s climb to the top of the combat sports world has produced a reaction never before seen in mixed martial arts.
Pound-for-pound greats such as Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva never registered the pop the women’s bantamweight champion brings, and even the tremendous buzz surrounding Irish star Conor McGregor pales in comparison.
That’s an impressive accomplishment by any measure, especially since UFC President Dana White once infamously stated women would never compete inside the Octagon. Rousey has broken down barriers during her time competing in the structure, and her efforts to blaze a trail have extended far beyond the sport she competes in.
Fans cry when they meet her. Celebrities take to Twitter in force to show their support for her on fight night. Joe Rogan threw around labels such as “cultural icon” and “hero” to describe her in the buildup to her bout with Bethe Correia on Saturday night. While you can either take or leave any one of those things, the thing that can’t be denied is the caliber of dominance and destruction she brings into the Octagon.
Rousey is simply a force of nature, and one that delivers punishment with the worst of intentions. Neither of her previous two opponents coming into UFC 190 made it out of the opening round with her, as she used Alexis Davis and Cat Zingano to cement her place in the record books with 16- and 14 second finishes respectively. Finishing elite-level fighters with tornadoes of violence will make people sit up and take notice, but continuing to do it is going to launch her even further out into the stratosphere.
Her meteoric rise will have only picked up more speed after she smashed Correia in 34 seconds at UFC 190. Deservedly so. At this point, it seems as if Rousey is in full control of how far she will travel into stardom, and the higher she flies, the greater her impact will become. Her continued rise will also serve to the greater overall good of the sport, and that’s just one of what seems like a million feathers in Rousey’s cap at the current time.
The dominant champion has truly transcended the sport in which she competes, and fans need to enjoy her while she’s around. No fighter stays great forever, and there is no question we are seeing Rousey at her greatest. How long will that last? Only Rousey knows that at this point, but with big Hollywood gigs and paydays that don’t involve eating punches filling up her schedule, it’s safe to say Rousey’s run in the UFC could be ending just up around the bend.
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
The rematch of one of the best MMA fights in PRIDE history took place at UFC 190. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira went toe-to-toe.
There was a feeling out process early, but they were searching for homeruns. Both Shogun a…
The rematch of one of the best MMA fights in PRIDE history took place at UFC 190. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira went toe-to-toe.
There was a feeling out process early, but they were searching for homeruns. Both Shogun and Nogueira narrowly missed heavy punches as they wanted to end it early. They were not afraid to mix it up in the pocket.
Nogueira stunned Shogun, but the former champion covered up and responded. He was on wobbly legs for a long time, but he stayed right in the fight. Shogun then landed clean to stun Nogueira. A crazy end to the first round helped revitalize a crowd that had lost some of its enthusiasm prior to the contest.
Shogun opened the second round with a takedown. Eventually, Nogueira used his jiu-jitsu experience to work his way back to the feet. It was evident that Rua was less interested to have a pure striking exchange after being badly hurt in the first round.
Rua was looking for the takedowns again in the final round. He landed some strong leg kicks in the final two frames, but he was avoiding a wild exchange at all cost. He got more patient, and it paid off. His more methodical approach allowed him to score enough to win the fight on the scorecards.
What We’ll Remember About This Fight
A crazy flurry in the final minute-plus of the first round was the most memorable portion of the fight.
They worked out their range and pacing early in the round, and when Nogueira clocked Shogun he went in for the finish. It didn’t prove to happen as Shogun covered up well and fired back, but that only made it more fun.
Shogun landed flush to back Nogueira off of him, but soon he returned. They threw heavy leather in the pocket. The horn sounded and the crowd rose to their feet.
What We Learned About Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Is it wrong to say that we learned nothing?
This was the same old Nogueira, and after he rocked Rua in the first round he didn’t turn up the tempo again. He didn’t try to make it ugly. That was where he had the most success, but then he abandoned it. It cost him the fight.
I think we have learned just about all we can from Nogueira. There’s nothing new to his tactics.
What We Learned About Shogun Rua
We learned that he can still fight smart.
His aggression has been a downfall for him in recent outings, and it was very nearly his downfall at UFC 190. However, he survived and fought much more smartly in the final two rounds. If he does that, he can still compete with many in this division.
Rua has quality striking and grappling, but he just doesn’t have the chin to use all-out aggression anymore.
What’s Next for Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Patrick Cummins.
Yes, Nogueira lost, but he still looked pretty good out there. The matchup against Cummins would be a good test for Cummins‘ evolution as a fighter. He loves to use his wrestling and grind, but Nogueira’s ground game would be a serious threat.
That would be a quality fight for a Fight Night event. It has a little value for both men with their ranking in the division.
What’s Next for Shogun Rua
Shogun is a top 10 fighter in a thin division. The ranking is misleading because he isn’t an upper echelon fighter anymore. The fight that makes the most sense is against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.
It is another PRIDE rematch that hardcore fans can enjoy without having any big impact on the division.
If the UFC could make that happen for their return to Japan it would make even more sense, but that may be unlikely. Regardless, Shogun should not be involved in any top tier bout in the light heavyweight division. No value in that.
Mauricio “Shogun”