5 current UFC superstars who have shocking losses on their record
In the world of the UFC, it’s nearly impossible for a fighter to remain undefeated. In the end, even the best fighters tend to suffer losses, particularly as they climb to the top.
Right now, a number of the UFC’s top superstars have losses on their records, but in some cases, these losses came to surprising opponents. If these fights were to be made again today, then it’d be hard to imagine the original winner coming out on top again.
However, it’s impossible to take that big name win away from them – however jarring it is to see it on the record of a big superstar.
With that in mind, here are five current UFC superstars who have shocking losses on their record.
#5. Merab Dvalishvili – UFC bantamweight contender – lost to Ricky Simon
Currently ranked at No.10 in the UFC’s bantamweight division, it’s arguable that Ricky Simon is one of the more underrated 135lbers in the promotion.
Simon is currently on a five-fight win streak dating back to 2020, and most recently dispatched the highly rated Jack Shore. A win over Song Yadong next month will probably move him into full title contention.
However, one fighter he definitely wouldn’t be favored to beat is Merab Dvalishvili.
Right now, ‘The Machine’ is widely considered one of the best bantamweights on the planet. He’s riding an insane nine-fight win streak, recently extended with a win over former champion Petr Yan.
Remarkably, though, Simon already holds a win over Dvalishvili, and he stands as the last man to defeat ‘The Machine’ in the octagon.
The two men fought in April 2018, almost five years ago. In a wild bout that was awarded the ‘Fight of the Night’ bonus, it looked like Dvalishvili was heading for a decision win.
However, with seconds to go in the third round, Simon clamped on a guillotine choke that looked tight. As the final buzzer sounded, though, it looked like ‘The Machine’ had survived.
No surrender 😳
Merab Dvalishvili refuses to tap to Ricky Simon in the closing stages of their fight.
Look at him kicking his legs to remain semi-conscious 😮 https://t.co/2uEcwYccuZ
Despite this, referee Liam Kerrigan decided that Dvalishvili had in fact gone unconscious – and awarded Simon a somewhat bizarre win.
Quite whether Dvalishvili considers this a proper defeat is a question mark, but it remains a jarring blot on his ledger, and one that remains shocking to look back on today.
#4. Colby Covington – UFC welterweight contender – lost to Warlley Alves
While his abrasive persona often fails to endear him to the fans, it’s undeniable that Colby Covington is one of the best welterweight fighters on the planet right now.
‘Chaos’ is expected to face Leon Edwards for the UFC welterweight title in the near future. He can boast one of the best records in the division, with wins over Jorge Masvidal, Robbie Lawler, Rafael Dos Anjos and Tyron Woodley.
Covington’s only recent losses came at the hands of former champion Kamaru Usman. Surprisingly, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ isn’t the only fighter to defeat ‘Chaos’ in the octagon.
The other fighter to defeat him, in a bout that seems to have been forgotten at this point, is TUF Brazil 3 winner Warlley Alves.
The two men faced off on the preliminary card of UFC 194 back in 2015. Remarkably, it didn’t take Alves long at all to take Covington out. The Brazilian countered a takedown attempt with a guillotine choke and forced ‘Chaos’ to tap out after just over a minute of the first round.
7 years ago today, Warlley Alves tapped Colby Covington https://t.co/eaO8QPo8rn
At that stage, the result wasn’t considered an upset, as Alves was actually seen as a brighter prospect than Covington, with the win taking his record to 10-0.
Of course, in the years that have followed, the Brazilian’s progress has stalled, while Covington has gone from strength to strength.
However, the fact that Alves never quite reached his potential but still stands as one of just two men to defeat ‘Chaos’ remains shocking to this day.
#3. Robert Whittaker – UFC middleweight contender – lost to Court McGee
Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker has been renowned as one of the best 185lbers in octagon history for some time now, dating back to his move to the division in 2014.
‘The Reaper’ holds victories over Yoel Romero, Jared Cannonier, Marvin Vettori, and plenty of other outstanding fighters. He’s also suffered defeats to just one man at 185 pounds – another former titleholder, Israel Adesanya.
However, many fans forget that before moving to middleweight, the Australian fought at 170 pounds. While he had some success there, he also suffered two losses in the octagon.
One of those losses came to Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson, who went onto fight for welterweight gold and remains one of the top 170lbers in the world. However, his first defeat in the UFC came at the hands of a far less heralded opponent – TUF 11 winner Court McGee.
At the time, ‘The Crusher’ had lost two of his last three bouts, and hardly seemed on his best form. Despite this, he was just about able to edge a very tight decision over Whittaker, despite many observers believing the result should’ve gone the other way.
28 August 2013
First UFC Loss against Court McGee via SD https://t.co/I4KlF9d4f2
The fact that ‘The Reaper’ seemed to lose steam late in the fight was a hint that he was cutting too much weight, and just over a year later, he moved to 185 pounds and found success.
It’s arguable, then, that this defeat was partly responsible for Whittaker’s later run as a champion – but it remains shocking to see it on his ledger.
#2. Leon Edwards – UFC welterweight champion – lost to Claudio Silva
When Leon Edwards defeated Kamaru Usman to claim the UFC welterweight title in September 2022, he not only produced an all-time classic upset, he also avenged his last defeat.
‘Rocky’ had fallen to ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ in December 2015, but despite what many fans seem to believe, it wasn’t his first defeat in the octagon.
Instead, the native of Birmingham, England, actually fell to defeat in his debut in the promotion a year prior, suffering a split decision loss to the largely unheralded Claudio Silva.
Despite taking place on the main card of a Fight Night event, the bout was a largely forgettable one that lacked action overall. Many fans, in fact, felt that ‘Rocky’ had done enough in the first two rounds to deserve the win, but a strong third round ended up swaying the judges in favor of Silva.
To say that nobody would’ve watched the fight and expected Edwards to go onto any kind of success in the octagon – let alone a dominant unbeaten run and a title reign – would be an understatement.
As for Silva, the UK-based Brazilian actually held an unbeaten octagon record of 5-0 at one point, but it took him five years to reach it, having taken four years off following his win over ‘Rocky’.
‘Hannibal’ has since lost his last three bouts and has retired from MMA, but at least he can say he holds a win over a UFC champion.
#1. Islam Makhachev – UFC lightweight champion – lost to Adriano Martins
The comparison between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev is, unsurprisingly, an easy one to make.
Both men hail from Dagestan, Russia, both men come from a grappling background based in sambo, and of course, they have trained together for many years.
More importantly, both men captured lightweight gold in the UFC, with Khabib holding the title from 2018 to 2020 and Makhachev standing as the current champion.
However, one thing that separates them is the fact that while Khabib retired in 2020 after putting together an undefeated record of 29-0, Makhachev does have a single defeat on his record.
Given that he’s taken on great fighters such as Charles Oliveira, Alexander Volkanovski, and Dan Hooker, it should come as a surprise to recall that the one man to defeat him was Adriano Martins.
The Brazilian debuted in the octagon in 2013, but despite holding an overall record of 27-7 when he faced Makhachev in 2015, few fans expected him to trouble the Dagestani. After all, Makhachev was already renowned as a blue-chip prospect even then.
Remarkably, though, the future champion simply came into the fight too aggressively and left himself open for a devastating counterpunch that knocked him out in just under two minutes.
7 years ago today, Adriano Martins knocked out Islam Makhachev
https://t.co/QFQiiknPO1
Makhachev took a year off to recover following the loss and hasn’t looked back since, reeling off 12 straight wins.
Martins, on the other hand, also took a year away – but lost his subsequent two fights in the octagon and found himself released from his contract. He has since fallen to defeat in a further three fights, and in fact, has not won since his knockout of Makhachev.
The fact that the current lightweight kingpin holds such a shocking loss on his record to such an unheralded foe remains surprising to this day.