5 UFC fighters who faced backlash despite winning (and 5 who won the crowd over despite losing)
In the world of the UFC, wins and losses aren’t the only thing that matters – the manner of a fighter’s performance in the octagon can be crucial, too.
Over the years we’ve seen multiple fighters, including champions, who picked up big wins only to suffer criticism from both the UFC’s fans and its management.
On the flip side, there have also been a number of fighters who fell to defeat, but performed in such a manner that they were actually able to win over the crowd despite losing.
Here are five UFC fighters who faced a backlash despite winning (and five who won over fans despite losing).
#5. Georges St-Pierre vs. Dan Hardy – UFC 111
Georges St-Pierre’s UFC welterweight title reign was almost two years old when he faced off with Dan Hardy in March 2010. Despite his massive popularity, he had began to suffer some backlash from the fans when he failed to finish Jon Fitch and Thiago Alves despite dominating both men.
It was during his bout with Hardy that saw the backlash against ‘GSP’ build to a crescendo, though. ‘The Outlaw’ was considered a wildly overmatched opponent for the Canadian, and many fans expected him to be dispatched with ease.
However, despite St-Pierre coming remarkably close to finishing him with numerous submission attempts throughout the fight – seemingly looking to rip his arm from the socket at one point – Hardy gutted the fight out and lasted the distance.
Mar27.2010
Georges St-Pierre makes the 4th defense of his UFC Welterweight title,
when he def. Dan Hardy by unanimous decision https://t.co/5D1goS8wZ7
Unfortunately, the respect that Hardy should’ve received for surviving turned into nothing but criticism for St-Pierre, who was suddenly labeled a boring fighter and a lay-and-pray artist, even though this couldn’t have been further from the truth.
St-Pierre remained a hugely popular fighter, as well as a top pay-per-view draw for the remainder of his octagon career, but the tag of him being dull to watch ended up being one that stuck with him for a long time, too. It all started with this bout.
#4. Tyron Woodley vs. Demian Maia – UFC 214
Like his predecessor Georges St-Pierre, it took time for the backlash against UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley to grow, but after he defended his title against Demian Maia in the summer of 2017, it became impossible to ignore.
‘The Chosen One’ had already seen his reputation slip following a dull title defense against Stephen Thompson. However, he’d have been given a free pass for that had he been able to take out Maia as many fans figured he would.
Instead, though, despite badly hurting the Brazilian with some punches in the first round, Woodley seemed too concerned about the potential of being taken down to really open up with his offense.
The crowd quickly began to boo as the fight descended into a staring and feinting contest. While ‘The Chosen One’ landed enough shots to bust Maia up and clearly win the fight, it was painfully clear that it wasn’t going to help him shed the tag of being a dull fighter.
Wonderboy✅ Wonderboy
✅ Maia
Tyron Woodley successfully defended his welterweight belt at #UFC214...
#AndStill https://t.co/ljRTI7W2On
Indeed, not only did the fans never really get back on his side after this win, UFC president Dana White also decided to pull the plug on a potential fight between Woodley and the returning ‘GSP’ too, likely costing ‘The Chosen One’ a lot of money in the process.
#3. Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan – UFC 159
Most of the time, when a winning fighter faces criticism from UFC fans, it’s because they’ve put on a performance that could be considered dull. That wasn’t the case for Aljamain Sterling, who received a horrendous backlash for his win over Petr Yan despite doing little wrong.
The issue in this instance was that Sterling became the first fighter to win a UFC title via disqualification, as Yan used an illegal knee to the head to knock ‘Funkmaster’ out in the fourth round of their bantamweight title bout.
Because Sterling was behind on the scorecards prior to the incident, many fans and other fighters jumped to the conclusion that he’d milked the illegal shot in order to steal away the victory – and the title – in the easiest manner possible.
And the Oscar goes to @FakeMaster for Best Actor in a Title Fight and Petr Yan needs a crash course in the rules of the sport he was once champion in. Hey Petr now you’re a cheater too, bitch.
In reality, that wasn’t the case. Sterling was clearly affected by the blow and ‘No Mercy’ didn’t attempt to shy away from his mistake, taking full responsibility for his loss after the fight had ended.
Still, that didn’t stop Sterling from being treated as a villain of sorts in his eventual rematch with the Russian. Even though he was able to defeat Yan cleanly in that bout, edging him on the scorecards, it still feels like he hasn’t quite won the entire fanbase over yet.
#2. Curtis Blaydes vs. Alexander Volkov – UFC on ESPN 11
This weekend sees Curtis Blaydes head into hostile territory to take on surging heavyweight prospect Tom Aspinall. If he pulls off the win, it isn’t likely that he’ll be cheered much by Aspinall’s home fans in the UK.
However, even if he does beat the Mnchester native, it’s unlikely that he’ll receive as much backlash as he did after his 2020 win over Alexander Volkov.
Coming into the bout, which could’ve been considered a de facto top contender’s match, ‘Razor’ promised to destroy the Russian, proving his title credentials. However, while he clearly dominated the bout, it wasn’t all that entertaining, even though he did break the UFC’s record for the most takedowns in a heavyweight fight with 14.
The fans weren’t at all impressed by Blaydes, while Dana White was unequivocal in his criticism, stating that ‘Razor’ looked “stupid” for not delivering on his pre-fight talk, stating that “when you talk sh*t, you’ve got to back it up.”
Dana White on Blaydes: "I don't have anything against the kid, but when you talk shit like he talked this week, you'd better come in and whoop someone's ass."
While ‘Razor’ has continued to succeed in the octagon since, it’s probably fair to say that his reputation has never quite recovered.
#1. Israel Adesanya vs. Jared Cannonier – UFC 276
The latest big star in the UFC to receive criticism despite winning is current middleweight kingpin Israel Adesanya. ‘The Last Stylebender’ dominated Jared Cannonier in their title fight at UFC 276 earlier this month, but it wasn’t enough to win over some fans.
Instead, Adesanya’s approach was largely labeled dull, with boos raining down over the octagon as the fight moved into the later rounds.
Izzy wins fourth 10-9. Fans boo. Adesanya losing despite winning, though he'sa counter striker and Cannonier isn't throwing. 40-36 heading to the fifth. #UFC276
A number of observers were seemingly furious that he hadn’t finished ‘The Killa Gorilla’ off at some point across the five rounds, despite Cannonier never having suffered a stoppage defeat at 185 pounds.
The truth is probably that Adesanya simply set the bar too high for himself by taking out the likes of Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa with slick knockouts earlier in his tenure with the promotion. These days, of course, his opponents are far more careful, making it harder for ‘The Last Stylebender’ to take them out.
Whether this backlash affects Adesanya’s overall popularity with the fans going forward remains to be seen, but it’s safe to say that the criticism probably won’t be taken to heart, as he’s already claimed he didn’t coast in the bout.
On the flip side, there have been a number of UFC fighters over the years who won over the crowd despite suffering a loss, even when the defeat was a devastating one. Here are five of them:
#5. Rory MacDonald vs. Robbie Lawler – UFC 189
One fighter who definitely won over the crowd in a losing effort was former UFC welterweight title challenger Rory MacDonald. ‘The Red King’ was always somewhat popular, but it’s safe to say that he gained an incredible amount of respect following his war with Robbie Lawler in 2015.
The two men fought for Lawler’s welterweight title in the co-headliner of UFC 189, which was already being built as one of the biggest shows of all time thanks to the star power of Conor McGregor in the main event.
It was Lawler and MacDonald who really stole the show, though, going to war over five rounds with both men putting literally everything they had into the clash.
During the fourth round, it looked like MacDonald had the fight in the bag, as he stunned Lawler badly with a head kick that had the champion on the ropes. Somehow, though, ‘Ruthless’ was able to survive, and the stanza ended with a wild staredown between the two that whipped the crowd into a frenzy.
Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald's iconic mid-fight face off at #UFC189 😍
One of the greatest fights in UFC history will be shown on BT Sport 3 HD from 9pm tonight 🔥 https://t.co/PNaXtd8Wdt
Unfortunately for ‘The Red King’, the fifth round saw Lawler come roaring back. When he landed a nasty left hand to MacDonald’s already-smashed nose, he couldn’t take any more punishment and collapsed, ending the fight.
The Canadian’s performance, though, turned him into a far bigger star than before, as he’d totally won over the crowd despite his loss.
However, he was unable to capitalize on this new-found popularity, as the war took its toll and left ‘The Red King’ as a shadow of the fighter he once was. He left the UFC following one more loss and has only won five bouts in the years that have followed.
#4. Brian Ortega vs. Alexander Volkanovski – UFC 266
A recent example of a fighter who won over the crowd despite a defeat is Brian Ortega, who left everything he had in the octagon during his UFC featherweight title clash with Alexander Volkanovski in 2021.
The two fighters, who had built a rivalry during their coaching stint on the 29th season of The Ultimate Fighter, put on a truly epic war that saw ‘T-City’ come incredibly close to defeating the champion, only to come up slightly short.
A wild third round saw Ortega drop Volkanovski and then latch onto one of his trademark submissions – the mounted guillotine – only for ‘Alexander the Great’ to somehow gut it out and find a way to escape.
@ufc | #UFC266 ROUND 3 OF VOLKANOVSKI VS. ORTEGA 😱
WHAT. A. SHOW.
🎥 @ufc | #UFC266
https://t.co/kcTVQrcEIf
From there, he smashed Ortega with ground-and-pound and came close to putting him away, but ‘T-City’ survived. More to the point, despite being miles behind on the scorecard, Ortega then put on a gutsy fifth round showing that actually saw him outland the champ.
Despite eating a ludicrous amount of strikes – 214 in total – Ortega was not treated as a loser at all by the crowd. Instead, he earned more respect than he’d ever received from one of his victories, and his popularity has risen since.
#3. Shogun Rua vs. Lyoto Machida – UFC 104
One surefire way for a losing fighter to win over the crowd is by coming out on the wrong end of a contentious judging decision. That’s just what happened to light heavyweight legend Shogun Rua in 2009.
Oct24.2009
11 years ago today,
Lyoto Machida defeated Shogun Rua by a controversial unanimous decision victory. https://t.co/OzTqIB1GOZ
The former PRIDE champion faced off with reigning UFC light-heavyweight champ Lyoto Machida in a bout that nobody really gave him a chance of winning, considering that ‘The Dragon’ was unbeaten at 16-0 and possessed a style that nobody had been able to really figure out.
Shogun, though, used a different approach to any of Machida’s previous foes. Rather than headhunt, he looked to break the champion down with kicks to the legs and body, reducing his ability to dart in and out to land strikes.
It looked like he was about to claim a massive victory – and the crowd seemed to know it too, chanting his name as the bout went into the later rounds. Incredibly, though, the judges saw it the other way and awarded the victory to Machida.
Nobody bought the decision and it was clear that Shogun had completely won over not only the crowd, but the UFC’s brass, including Dana White. Seven months later, he was handed a rematch and knocked Machida out to claim the title.
#2. Nate Diaz vs. Leon Edwards – UFC 263
One of the UFC’s most popular fighters, Nate Diaz didn’t really need to win the crowd over during his fight with Leon Edwards in 2021. But given that he was coming off a near-two year absence and was faced with a top contender, it would’ve been easy for him to simply fall to defeat and fade away.
Instead, though, while the Stockton-based fighter did lose the first four rounds of the bout pretty handily, in the fifth round, he caught ‘Rocky’ with a one-two that put him on roller skates.
The crowd, who had been expecting Diaz to simply end up losing a decision, were stunned by what had happened, and couldn’t help but roar their approval as the Californian desperately unloaded on Edwards, who was clearly in survival mode.
Are you not entertained? 😤
What an INSANE finish to the Leon Edwards vs. Nate Diaz fight! 🤯
#UFC263
https://t.co/u1RDsyDjwi
Unfortunately for Diaz, he couldn’t do quite enough to put ‘Rocky’ away and ended up coming up short on the judges’ scorecards.
Despite this, there was no question as to who had taken a moral victory in the eyes of the fans – it was Diaz, who retained both his reputation and popularity, even if he couldn’t find a way to leave with his hand raised in victory.
#1. Diego Sanchez vs. Gilbert Melendez – UFC 166
Perhaps the greatest example of a UFC fighter winning the crowd over despite a defeat is former lightweight title challenger Diego Sanchez.
His performance in his 2013 bout with Gilbert Melendez was so crazy that, despite UFC 166 featuring some eye-opening bouts, ‘The Nightmare’ was the man who everyone was talking about when the night ended.
Sanchez was essentially outmatched by ‘El Nino’, who was younger, had taken far less damage over the years, and was a better boxer too. However, that didn’t stop ‘The Nightmare’ from marching forward constantly, throwing bombs at Melendez and snarling at him like a wild animal.
By the third round of the bout, while he was bloodied and well on his way to a defeat, Sanchez had completely won the crowd over – and they only got further behind him when he stunned everyone by dropping Melendez with an uppercut.
2013 round of the year: Melendez vs. Sanchez, round 3 @ UFC 166 #themmahourawards
‘El Nino’ did recover and was able to do enough to win the fight, but while he was later rewarded with a shot at the UFC lightweight title, it was Sanchez who came away with the love of the fans.
The defeat was even enough to relaunch his stalling career for a time, as he went onto two major bouts with Myles Jury and Ross Pearson in 2014, squeezing some more juice out of a run in the UFC that looked like it was about to come to an end.