5 fighters whose aura was shattered with one devastating loss in the UFC and beyond
This weekend sees social media superstar Jake Paul take on former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley in what is the biggest fight of his career thus far. Win, and the gravy train keeps on rolling; lose, and the aura that Paul has built up will be shattered.
Over the years weāve seen plenty of fighters in the UFC and elsewhere build an aura around them, only for it to be destroyed with a single loss. And often when this happens, itās impossible for a fighter like this to ever regain the momentum they had before such a devastating loss.
So with this in mind, here are five fighters who saw their aura shattered after a devastating loss.
#5. Brock Lesnar ā former UFC heavyweight champion
On the face of it, Brock Lesnar should never really have developed an aura of invincibility in the first place. The former WWE champion entered the UFC in 2008 and immediately began his career in the octagon with a loss when he was submitted by Frank Mir in the first round of their clash.
However, Lesnarās superstar status ensured that the UFC gave him a much stronger push to the top of the card than a fighter with a 1-1 record normally wouldāve been granted.
He defeated Heath Herring in his second UFC appearance, and was then shunted into a UFC heavyweight title fight with legendary champion Randy Couture ā and ended up winning via second round knockout.
A win over Mir in a rematch in his first title defense made Lesnar look absolutely unstoppable, and suddenly, the former pro-wrestler became known as the ābaddest man on the planetā. With his incredible amateur wrestling background, brute-force punching power, size and sheer athleticism, Lesnar looked unstoppable.
Even a bout of diverticulitis didnāt seem capable of slowing him down as he returned from a year on the shelf battling the disease to make a second title defense against Shane Carwin. However, the fight, which Lesnar won via submission after suffering a beating in the first round, hinted at a chink in the armor of āThe Beast Incarnateā.
Simply put, it appeared that Lesnar couldnāt take a punch all that well, something that was proven correct when he was shellacked by top contender Cain Velasquez in his third title defense.
After his loss to Velasquez, the terrifying reputation that Lesnar had built was essentially dead in the water. Another bout of diverticulitis kept him out for another year, and when he returned, he was quickly TKOād by Alistair Overeem before retiring from MMA.
A brief comeback in 2016 saw him defeat Mark Hunt, but Lesnar would never again build the same aura of invincibility that he once had.