5 former UFC champions who suffered embarrassing losses after leaving the promotion
The UFC has been home to some great champions over the years, but naturally, even the best fighters get old and end up past their primes.
While some former UFC champions retire at the right time, others stick around for too long and end up suffering embarrassing losses, often outside of the UFC.
Usually, age, wear and tear and injuries are to blame for these losses. But given who they often come at the hands of, they’re still difficult for UFC fans to stomach. After all, nobody really wants to see one of their heroes fall to a much lesser talent, do they?
With that in mind, here are five former UFC champions who suffered embarrassing losses after leaving the promotion.
#5. Tito Ortiz – former UFC light heavyweight champion
Once considered the most feared MMA fighter on the planet, former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz fell on hard times once he lost his title back in 2003.
Despite claiming numerous big wins in the years that followed, Ortiz could never quite climb back to the top of the mountain. And by 2012, it was painfully clear that his best years were behind him. ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ found himself on a losing streak and simply couldn’t stay injury-free.
After one final loss to Forrest Griffin at UFC 148, Ortiz decided to hang up his gloves, supposedly for good. The UFC even entered him into their Hall of Fame. Surprisingly though, a little more than two years later, the former champion embarked on a comeback with Bellator MMA.
This comeback wasn’t bad by anyone’s standards as Ortiz went 3-1 in the promotion and picked up a couple of memorable wins. However, he departed Bellator in 2017. Outside of a couple of odd fights, he seemed to finally be embracing retirement.
That was until this past weekend, when ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ decided to return at the age of 46. He took on fellow former UFC champion Anderson Silva in a boxing match for Triller Fight Club.
The idea seemed bad from the off, particularly as Ortiz had never been renowned for his striking game even during his peak years as UFC champion.
And naturally, the whole thing went painfully and embarrassingly wrong. The slightly less shopworn Silva needed just over a minute to knock Ortiz completely unconscious with a quick combination.
Plenty of fans seemed to enjoy the knockout, but for those who once enjoyed watching ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’, this debacle was simply sad. Whether or not Ortiz now returns to retirement, however, is up in the air.