Some of the best and worst memories fans have from watching MMA are always crazy upsets, wither it is your favourite fighter winning or loosing or simply watching history unfold in front of you. When you boil it down and put the dramatics aside a MMA match is just a fight and anyone can win on any given night, and it is this factor that makes the sport so intense dynamic and thrilling and is the reason we all love it!
I will have a look at my top 10 most shocking upsets in MMA.
Number 10. Conor McGregor Vs Jose Aldo
Taking the number 10 spot on my list is the fight that really propelled McGregor into super stardom, despite Conor's die hard fans not many expected Conor to win this fight, he was still relatively unproven in the minds of many fans and experts and they thought he would not be ready for a challenge like Aldo who had not lost in 10 years and was at the time the P4P #1 fighter in the world and the UFC's only FW champion. However McGregor was confident as ever and backed up his talk with the fastest finish in UFC title fight history with a 13 second KO of the FW king something no one expected, setting the MMA world alight.
Number 9. TJ Dillashaw Vs Renan Barao
Next on the list is a fight that didn't have as many eyes on it as the previous but it was still one of the biggest upsets we have ever seen, Renan was regarded as one of the best fighters in the world at the time of this fight, dispatching any and all comers to the 125lbs throne, he had not lost in 9 years and had accumulated 31 wins in that time. He was scheduled to fight Raphael Assuncao and he was the favourite for this fight however Raphael pulled out of this fight with a rib injury and in stepped Dillashaw, he was an even bigger underdog than Raphael having lost to him in the past and was not expected to be any where near the level of Renan. However Dillashaw stamped his authority quickly with with a knock down in the first round and went on to look really good in ever round an ultimately snapping Renan's winning streak and claiming the belt with a stoppage win in the fourth round. He would also repeat this performance in the rematch to prove it was no fluke.
Number 8. BJ Penn Vs Matt Hughes
This was a fight that was never supposed to happen and started one of the best rivalries in the sport that helped put the LW division on the map in the UFC. Matt Hughes was one of the most dominant champions the UFC had ever seen defending his bet 5 times beating some excellent fighters, and BJ Penn was still considered relatively new, or at least not to the level of Hughes as he had had 7 fights in the UFC already loosing a title shot opportunity, so when it came time to fight no one seen BJ beating such a dominant champion but BJ started strong with an early knock down and quickly went on to finish Matt via rear-naked-choke in the first round, and would go on to win their trilogy 2-1. One of the most iconic moments in the UFC's storied LW division and played a pivotal role in the growth of the sport.
Number 7. Fedor Emelianenko Vs Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Coming in at 7th is a fight that made people pay attention to one of the best fighters to ever live Fedor, at the time of this fight Fedor had had some good performances beating a few decent names before making his way to pride but was still an unknown fighter. He was taking on a man who was seen as untouchable, Nogueira, he had beaten any one who was a someone at the time including a David and Goliath type bout against the giant Bob Sapp, ulitmatley a common theme no one gave Fedor much of a shot, however he not only beat Nogueira, but he dominated him even landing brutal ground and pound within the ultra dangerous guard of Nogueira and would prove this is no fluke by smashes him again in the rematch. this amazing upset is one of the reasons many consider Fedor to be the GOAT.
Number 6. Rose Namajunas Vs Joanna Jedrzejczyk
This fight took place on a card that involved many upsets, including GSP coming from a long lay off to win the MW belt off Michael Bisping, however Rose delivered the biggest shock of the night. To set the stage for this bout we need to understand where both fighters where at in their careers at the time of the fight Joanna had been a dominant female champion the likes we had not seen since the great Ronda Rousey, she dominated every fight not with immense physical attributes but supreme technique that seemed way ahead of anyone in the division, and Rose was a young fighter who had had up and downs in her career loosing to Carla Esparza and Karolina Kowalkiewicz both of whom lost handedly to Joanna. So when the fight came to be it looked a guaranteed win for the champion, but what followed was one of the most incredible upsets I have ever seen as Rose showed once again that MMA math never adds up and she knocked out Joanna with strikes 3 minutes into the first round handing Joanna her first ever loss in MMA and would also defend her belt to her with a close decision win in the rematch
Number 5. Nate Diaz Vs Conor McGregor
This fight came off Conors incredible win against Jose Aldo, that placed 10th in this list and he was scheduled to face RDA the then LW champion as he pursued his goal of becoming the first ever simultaneous two division champ in the UFC. However this would not go to plan and a little over two weeks away from the fight RDA would break his foot in training and had to pull from the fight as a late notice replacement Conor acepted to fight Nate Diaz. Nate was a populat fighter in the MMA scene with him and his brother Nick being fan favourites but despite this he did not have a very impressive record and had never even fought for a title and so none seen him being able to beat the enigmatic McGregor especially on such short notice and as the fight began this seemed to be business as usual for Mcgregor as he teed off on Nate in the first round busting his face up badly and started early in the second the same way, however in the second it became clear that Conor was slowing down rapidly as the bigger Nate Diaz could absorb the punches and Conor had over exerted himself looking for the KO sensing this Nate pilled on the pressure landing many of his own on Conor and eventually rocking him hard sending him reeling, Conor shot a takedown under the pressure and this was the beginning of the end as the BJJ black belt quickly moved to back mount and sunk in a rear-naked-choke in the second round handing Conor his first UFC loss.
Number 4. Fabricio Werdum Vs Fedor Emelianenko
This fight went under the radar from the casual fans taking place at Strikeforce, Fedor after beating Nogueira as mentioned above went on to beat everyone in his path barely being tested in his 10 year unbeaten streak and was regarded already as one of the best if not the best ever and Werdum was known as a world class BJJ practitioner and had always fallen short against the big opposition. The fight looked like it would go the favourites way as Fedor knocked down Werdum early on in the first but Werdum put him in an armbar which he shook off but then caught him in a triangle choke which, seemingly as surprised as everyone else was, Fedor tapped just once submitting to Werdum and completing a massive shock as the consensus best ever fell to an unsuspected challenger.
Number 3. Chris Weidman Vs Anderson Silva
From one GOAT contended to another this fight shocked the fighting world as easily the best Middleweight of all time and possibly the best ever fell to a division new comer. Silva had beat everyone they had put in front of him and often in brutal fashion with incredible technique unique style and surprising power finishing fighters like Vitor Belfort with one of the best KO wins we have ever seen, he had defended the belt a record 10 times in a row and seemed untouchable. As a result the challenger Weidman had no chance in the eyes of many. He was a strong wrestler with some impressive performances and found himself across the octagon from one of the best fighters to ever live just 9 fights into his professional MMA career. Silva started this fight in his signature way playing with Chris goading and mocking him not taking the wrestlers striking seriously and he spent most of the first round feeling out, getting Weidman's timing down and not too much happened in the first but come the second round Weidmans corner urged Chris to pursue the striking and not a takedown which seemed foolish with his head coach Ray Longo famously saying "I want you to punch a whole in his f***ing chest!"this was the motivation Chris needed to trust his hands against the spider and he landed on Silva slightly and Silva faked being hurt again to mock Chris but this time Chris followed up this strike and landed the killer blow knocking Silva down and following up with a few strikes on the ground knocking Silva out cold, the green wrestler had just knocked out one of the best ever in the second round, this would go down in history as one of the most shocking moments in MMA history.
Number 2. Holly Holm Vs Ronda Rousey
This fight had the whole world watching, it took place in Melbourne Australia and sold over 56,000 tickets and 1.1 million PPV buys, this was all done to the super star power of Ronda Rousey. Ronda was a pioneer in MMA single handedly convincing Dana White to introduce women to the UFC something he said would never happen, she one the inaugural FBW belt and during her reign set a still unbroken title defence streak beating the best in the world in dominant fashion for example Cat Zingano the last women to beat the current champ Amanda Nunes, who Ronda Beat in 14 seconds. Her talent and personality and being such a dominant female fighter gained her adoration worldwide, this came with an aura of invincibility with people like Joe Rogan claiming her to be the best ever. So when she was taking on Holly Holm she was a massive favourite, Holly had had only two fights in the UFC as well as an extensive Kick Boxing record but her UFC performances where not impressive winning two decisions one being split. However the fight went the opposite way and from the get go Holly looked fantastic, she picked Ronda off with her clearly superior striking making Ronda look completely out of her depth, often what she done to her opponents, a stunned Ronda seemed to not know what to do when returning to her stool and could not turn the tide in the second with Holly continuing to dominate and everyone began to realise they where witnessing an amazing upset and Holly delivered with a thunderous headkick followed up with hammer fists that put Ronda to sleep in the second round and everyone went crazy after witnessing not just Holly beating Ronda but demolishing her.
Number 1. Matt Serra Vs Georges St Pierre
Taking the number one spot on this list for me had to be this fight Matt Serra was a good fighter but looked to be nothing more than a middle tier fighter in the UFC, he had lost fighters such as Din Thomas and BJ Penn and never showed that championship calibre, to get his shot at the UFC WW strap he took place on the UFC's reality TV show TUF the "comeback" season, which was marketed as fighters who had a Dana put it fallen off, and to win this competition they would earn a shot at the champion. this series was widely criticized as many seen it as giving people a shot at the belt who did not deserve it and they would only set up a mismatch. The champion they would face would be GSP who had just beaten Matt Hughes and showed promise to be one of the greatest in the sport and accolade he later solidified, he was on top of the world and facing the winner of this series was not a challenge that looked daunting. Serra won the series and earned his shot but was still never expected to come close to the quality of GSP, however around three minutes into the first round Serra landed a big hook that sent GSP reeling, and he was unable to recover form this, Serra's killer instinct kicked in and he swarmed GSP with a barrage of strikes so overwhelming that GSP even tapped to strikes giving Serra the win and the biggest upset we have ever seen. In his post fight interview Matt even acknowledged that this was the biggest upset ever and that GSP was the future of the sport, and unlike many other upsets on this list Serra would not go on to prove he was a top level fighter as he lost the rematch in convincing fashion and had an average end to his career, showing that this was a pure fluke and the ultimate shock upset in MMA history.
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