5 Biggest mistakes made in UFC title fights
The UFC is without a doubt one of the world's greatest combat sports organizations today. The very best fighters from all over the globe put their skills to test inside the promotion's famed Octagon, doing battle with one another in a bid to prove their dominance in the realm of Mixed Martial Arts.
Considering the high stakes in a UFC fight, it's no surprise that the margin for error in the sport if extremely low. Resultantly, even a minor error could lead to a fighter falling victim to a brutal KO or submission -- losing the fight, as well as their career momentum as a whole.
Today, we take a look at some of the biggest mistakes made in UFC Championship fights. These mistakes often happened to be the turning point of the matchup, following which, the other fighter capitalized and went on to dominate the fight from there onward.
So, without further ado, here are the 5 biggest mistakes made in UFC title fights...
#5 Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier 2
Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier's first encounter came at UFC 182, in a matchup that saw both fighters put forth brilliant technical performances over the course of the 5-round bout, with Jones eventually walking away the victor by way of Unanimous Decision. However, in their rematch which took place at UFC 214, Jones ended up annihilating Cormier in the 3rd round of their matchup.
Intriguingly, Jones often noted that Cormier has a bad habit of ducking sideways so as to avoid his opponents' strikes. Now, while the latter's bobbing-and-weaving striking defense may be useful to dodge punches, it does leave 'DC' more susceptible to kicks (especially roundhouse kicks!).
At UFC 214, after getting briefly out-boxed by Cormier in the first couple of rounds, Jones made sure that he kept landing roundhouse kicks on his foe's body nonetheless. In Round 3, Jones feigned a body kick and instead went for a roundhouse left head-kick -- with Cormier ducking right into the strike, thereby effectively doubling its impact.
Cormier was visibly stunned, as Jones went on to take him down, and rain down a few thunderous punches and elbows, before the fight was called off by the referee. Jones was declared the winner by way of KO, however, the fight's result was later overturned to a No-Contest after it was revealed that Jones had tested positive for banned PEDs in relation to the UFC 214 fight.
Nevertheless, the drama that ensued the fight didn't change the fact that the excessive sideways ducking, ultimately proved to be the biggest mistake Cormier made in his fight with Jones.