3 of the most dramatic falls from grace in UFC history
They say when you reach the top there is only one way to go, and in the UFC this adage rings true. A combat sports phenomenon in the 21st century, professional MMA has never been more popular than right now.
However, popularity breeds competition and the pool of new MMA talent entering the Octagon is seemingly endless.
With this fresh influx of youth and skill, long UFC championship reigns are all the more impressive - even a win-streak of five ranked fights or more is now a rare occurrence.
Over the years we have unfortunately grown accustomed to watching some of our favorite elite fighters lose the top spot and struggle to climb back up the hill.
Let's take a look at three of the most dramatic falls from grace in UFC history.
Ben Askren
Before Ben Askren joined the UFC in 2019, he had amassed an incredible professional MMA record of 19-0. ‘Funky’ had also won the welterweight championship in both Bellator and ONE Championship, defending his titles an incredible seven times in total across both promotions.
Robbie Lawler was Askren's first test inside the Octagon at UFC 235 and he managed to win on his UFC debut. Askren submitted ‘Ruthless’ with a bulldog choke in the first round of the fight.
In his next fight in the UFC, Askren came up against ‘Gamebred’ Jorge Masvidal at UFC 239 in 2019. In one of the most spectacular moments inside the Octagon, Masvidal knocked out Askren with a flying knee, a mere five seconds into the fight - this remains the fastest knockout in UFC history.
‘Funky’s’ confidence never fully recovered from this embarrassing loss. He would have one more fight inside the Octagon (a loss to Demian Maia) and was recently knocked out inside a boxing ring by YouTuber Jake Paul.
Ronda Rousey
Ronda Rousey is a true legend of professional MMA. From her MMA debut in 2011 until 2015, ‘Rowdy’ not only won all 12 of her fights, but she completely annihilated all of her opponents. With11 of those wins coming inside the first round, Rousey was simply a phenomenon.
The queen of the bantamweight championship in both Strikeforce and the UFC, Rousey looked unbeatable - until she faced Holly Holm at UFC 193. In one of the most shocking upsets in UFC history, Holm dominated the first round and finished Rousey with a ferocious head kick in the second.
‘Rowdy’ had only one more appearance in the Octagon, a year later against current champion Amanda Nunes - she lasted a mere 48 seconds. While her retirement wasn’t formally announced, she has since made a career in the WWE and is unlikely to ever return to MMA.
Tyron Woodley
Before he fought ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ Kamaru Usman at UFC 235 in 2019, ‘The Chosen One’ Tyron Woodley was on a six-fight win streak in the UFC. He successfully defended his welterweight title four times during this run.
However, a loss to Usman marked a turning point in Woodley’s career. He then suffered consecutive losses to Gilbert Burns and Colby Covington without even winning a single round in either fight. The straw that broke the camel’s back was his most recent loss. Woodley was submitted in the first round by Vicente Luque at UFC 260 in March.
After four losses in a row before exiting the UFC, Woodley will now face YouTuber Jake Paul in a professional boxing match on 28 August.