5 UFC fighters who perform at their best under the spotlight (and 5 who have struggled under pressure)
The UFC is a uniquely high-pressured environment, with fighters not only competing to prove that they’re the best in the world, but also to retain their spot on the promotion’s roster.
Naturally, the pressure on the UFC’s fighters increases as they climb the ladder – and this means that while some thrive under the spotlight, others have appeared to struggle.
Stating that some fighters have struggled under pressure isn’t a slight on them, of course – these fighters have often won huge bouts only to appear to crack on other occasions.
With that in mind, here are five UFC fighters who perform at their best under the spotlight – and five who have struggled in high-pressure moments.
#5. Jon Jones – former UFC light heavyweight champion
Although he hasn’t fought in a long time now, having been on the shelf since his February 2020 win over Dominick Reyes, it’s impossible to claim that former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones doesn’t thrive under the spotlight.
Remarkably, ‘Bones’, who debuted in the octagon in 2008, has only fought in five non-headline bouts during his tenure with the promotion. In fact, every fight he’s been in since his 2011 light heavyweight title victory over Shogun Rua has had a title on the line.
Despite this immense amount of pressure on his shoulders, Jones has literally never failed to deliver. Outside of a disqualification in his 2009 clash with Matt Hamill – a result that most observers believed to be bogus – he’s never lost a single fight in the octagon.
More to the point, when he’s appeared to struggle in some of his bouts – his 2013 classic against Alexander Gustafsson, for instance – he’s always been able to dig deep and find the little extra needed to pull through.
Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson pushed each other to the brink eight years ago today at UFC 165.
In two days, their instant classic bout will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. https://t.co/OAcauyxine
Whether Jones ever returns to the octagon in the future remains up in the air, but either way, he’s a prime example of a fighter who absolutely performs at his best under the big lights.
#4. Kamaru Usman – current UFC welterweight champion
Given that he’s currently ranked as the UFC’s top pound-for-pound fighter in the world, it should come as no surprise that reigning welterweight champion Kamaru Usman is a fighter who performs at his best under pressure.
Most fighters, as would be expected, find things harder as they face more difficult opponents during their climb up the ladder. ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’, though, is very different in that sense.
Many of Usman’s early wins, like his victories over Emil Meek and Sean Strickland, saw him criticized for an apparent safety-first approach. However, as he’s reached the top of the mountain, his performance levels have only increased.
Usman has pulled off three wins via KO or TKO since claiming the welterweight title in 2019, which more than he was able to produce in his first nine visits to the octagon. When you consider the quality of his opposition – Gilbert Burns, Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington – his ability to up his performances is remarkable.
WHAT A KO 🤯
@USMAN84kg left Jorge Masvidal out on the mat and ran over to Dana White. https://t.co/Xp2kLNAesj
Overall, it’s clear that Usman not only welcomes the spotlight, but he also thrives on it, performing better under extreme pressure than he once did when there was far less attention on him.
#3. Khamzat Chimaev – UFC welterweight contender
When you consider the speed of his rise to the top of the UFC’s welterweight division – he debuted in the octagon just two years ago and has only fought for the promotion on five occasions – it’s clear that Khamzat Chimaev is a fighter who thrives under the spotlight.
The fact that ‘Borz’ was a special talent was undeniable from the word go, as he picked up his first two wins in the octagon in the space of just 10 days. Sure, opponents John Phillips and Rhys McKee were unheralded, but then Chimaev himself was an unknown at the time.
Since then, the pressure has been on the Chechen-born Swede to live up to those early expectations, and he’s stepped up to the plate every single time.
His lone bout at middleweight – supposedly a big test for him – saw him knock Gerald Meerschaert out in just 17 seconds. When he stepped up in competition against Li Jingliang, his first ranked opponent, he throttled him in the first round.
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Most recently, ‘Borz’ went toe-to-toe with Gilbert Burns, a former title challenger with far more experience. and once again showed no effects of buckling under pressure, eventually outpointing the Brazilian in a close fight.
Essentially, Chimaev has thus far shown the rare ability to step up to each new level with no issues whatsoever, pointing to a definite ability to handle pressure better than most of his peers.
#2. Israel Adesanya – current UFC middleweight champion
Given that he’s only lost once in a total of13 trips to the octagon, and that defeat came in a bout that saw him step up in weight for the first time to take on light heavyweight champ Jan Blachowicz, it’s fair to say that current UFC middleweight kingpin Israel Adesanya can handle pressure well.
Of course, the same could be said for any of the promotion’s champions for the most part, but ‘The Last Stylebender’ also has a few extra attributes that make him stand out in this area.
Firstly, particularly during his rise to the top, Adesanya was willing to fight in an unorthodox manner that many fans probably viewed as risky. He’d dance around at times, throw low-percentage strikes, and appear to be giving his opponents openings – usually right before he knocked them out.
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Israel Adesanya ends the rivalry with Paulo Costa inside two rounds with a dominant display!
It was THAT easy 😳 #UFC253 https://t.co/jxdchos1zf
Right now, though, things are a little different for the Nigerian-New Zealander. Adesanya has come under fire for a supposed safety-first approach, particularly in his recent wins over Jared Cannonier and Marvin Vettori.
However, the fact that he’s willing to fight in this manner actually shows that he’s well-adjusted to handling pressure. If he were about to crumble under the expectations of the fans, he’d probably fight in a more risky manner, and would potentially run into trouble.
Essentially, it feels like Adesanya doesn’t care what anyone thinks, he’s willing to walk to the beat of his own drum in order to succeed. That makes him uniquely capable of handling big pressure.
#1. Alexander Volkanovski – current UFC featherweight champion
Given that he’s never lost in the UFC since arriving there in 2016, has picked up a total of 12 victories in the octagon, and holds wins over basically every other top featherweight in the world, it’s safe to say that 145lb champ Alexander Volkanovski can handle pressure.
Not only has ‘Alexander the Great’ improved his performances over time as he’s climbed up the ladder, something that few fighters are able to do, but many of his fights, even during his title reign, have seen him come in as an underdog.
Most recently, many fans favored former champion Max Holloway to regain his title when he faced Volkanovski for the third time, particularly as many thought ‘Blessed’ deserved the nod in their second bout in 2020.
However, ‘Alexander the Great’ once again stepped up massively and adjusted his game to thoroughly outclass the Hawaiian en route to a five-round decision victory.
Alexander Volkanovski defeats Max Holloway by unanimous decision to maintain the featherweight title belt 🏆
What. A. Fight. https://t.co/cRnNJU8EUA
Essentially, the Australian is a fighter who seems to be able to perform at his best regardless of the situation he’s in, and that shows that he’s phenomenal at handling immense pressure.
The following five fighters, on the other hand, have performed excellently at times – but they’ve also appeared to crack under pressure at points, too.
#5. Dustin Poirier – UFC lightweight contender
On the one hand, it seems insane to suggest that former interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier is a fighter who cracks under pressure. After all, he holds two wins over the UFC’s biggest star, Conor McGregor, and pulled those victories off under the glare of a massive spotlight.
However, while ‘The Diamond’ has only lost twice since 2016 despite entering the octagon on 11 occasions during that time, the nature of his losses suggests that he might struggle under the bright glare of a title bout.
Both of his defeats came in fights for the undisputed lightweight title. While there’s definitely no shame in losing to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Charles Oliveira, it’s probably fair to argue that Poirier didn’t perform close to his best in either fight.
The Oliveira fight, most notably, saw him seemingly have the Brazilian on the ropes on more than one occasion with his strikes, only to somehow fail to capitalize on this, eventually being taken down and submitted in the third round.
#UFC269
Oliveira submits Poirier in the third round to remain the lightweight champion 💪 #UFC269 https://t.co/0Dx3u93A6V
Based on this, it’s probably fair to argue that unlike the substance that gives him his nickname, ‘The Diamond’ has cracked under the spotlight at times.
#4. Vicente Luque – UFC welterweight contender
Current top 10-ranked welterweight contender Vicente Luque is almost certainly one of the most dangerous finishers in the UFC, and he’s also one of the promotion’s most exciting fighters to watch, too.
However, at this point, it might also be fair to argue that ‘The Silent Assassin’ does better when he’s flying under the radar, as this year has seen him suffer the first back-to-back losses of his octagon career, and both fights saw him firmly in the spotlight.
April saw him outpointed by Belal Muhammad in his first ever headline bout, while this past weekend saw him stopped in violent fashion by Geoff Neal in a co-headline bout that was getting plenty of attention coming into the event.
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When you add in the fact that, stylistically, the Brazilian was favored to win both bouts, there’s definitely a possibility that he simply struggles to perform at his best when he’s under immense pressure.
#3. Dominick Reyes – UFC light heavyweight contender
When he first emerged into the UFC back in 2017, it not only looked like Dominick Reyes could perform well under the spotlight, but there were some signs that he’d be able to thrive under it.
‘The Devastator’ destroyed the majority of his early opponents, extending his overall record to 12-0 with a total of six wins in the octagon. More to the point, the further he climbed the ladder, the better he appeared to look, most notably in his first headline bout with former middleweight champ Chris Weidman.
However, despite many fans believing he deserved the nod from the judges in his close loss to Jon Jones in their 2020 light heavyweight title bout, what we’ve seen from him since has suggested that he struggles with pressure somewhat.
After Jones gave up his title, a fight between Reyes and Jan Blachowicz was put together for the vacant gold. Naturally, ‘The Devastator’ was a huge favorite going in. However, he failed to produce his best, and fell to a surprising second round TKO.
OH MY GOODNESS 🇵🇱
@JanBlachowicz is your LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION.
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When he returned to action in 2021, meanwhile, he again didn’t look like the same fighter he’d been before the Jones bout, and succumbed to a brutal knockout at the hands of Jiri Prochazka.
Whether Reyes really does struggle under pressure or whether he was simply broken somewhat by his loss to Jones is still debatable, but the evidence we’ve seen thus far does seem to support the former theory, particularly as he wasn’t stopped in his loss to ‘Bones’.
#2. Alexander Volkov – UFC heavyweight contender
There have been plenty of great fighters who have never received a shot at a UFC title competing in the octagon over the years. When all is said and done, it’s arguable that Alexander Volkov might be amongst them.
‘Drago’ has been with the promotion since 2016 and despite ascending close to the top of the mountain in the heavyweight division, he’s never fought for gold. However, it’s arguable that this is because the Russian has always fallen at the final hurdle, suggesting he might struggle under the spotlight.
Sure, Volkov has won headline bouts against big names during his time in the UFC, most notably defeating Fabricio Werdum in 2018 and Alistair Overeem in 2021.
However, when a title shot was on the line, ‘Drago’ fell to Derrick Lewis in 2018 in one of the wildest comebacks in the promotion’s history. He also lost in similar situations in headliners against Curtis Blaydes and Ciryl Gane.
Derrick Lewis was in serious trouble against Alexander Volkov at UFC 229.
And then he unleashed the Black Beast! 😈
https://t.co/1vaYwzpLNM
A win over any of those three fighters would likely have netted Volkov a title shot – but in all three bouts, he failed to perform at his best.
Sure, it could be argued that Volkov simply wasn’t as good as the three fighters who beat him, but the version of ‘Drago’ who beat Overeem was very different to the one who fell to Gane, even taking into account a trickier opponent – suggesting that he’s better when he isn’t under such a hot spotlight.
#1. Uriah Hall – UFC middleweight contender
When Uriah Hall burst onto the UFC scene back in 2013 via the 17th season of The Ultimate Fighter, he was christened as the “new Anderson Silva” by Dana White. This might’ve seemed premature, but based on his lethal showings on the reality show, it was hard not to be excited by the Jamaican.
However, despite producing some excellent performances in the years that have followed, most notably knocking out the likes of Gegard Mousasi, Chris Leben and Silva himself, he’s also fallen at hurdles that would likely have moved him into title contention.
More to the point, the majority of the losses he’s suffered at these hurdles – such as his defeat to Sean Strickland in 2021, and even his loss to Kelvin Gastelum at the TUF 17 Finale – didn’t see him outclassed as much as they saw him simply fail to fight to the best of his ability.
:No @UFC middleweight has ever landed more significant strikes in a fight than Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) did tonight against Uriah Hall.
See all #UFCVegas33 results and highlights ⤵️:
The idea that ‘Prime Time’ is a fighter who struggles under the spotlight isn’t a new one. Despite helping to create his early hype, White outright stated that Hall might not have the mentality to compete in the UFC following his 2013 loss to John Howard.
While that hasn’t proven to be the case – Hall can hold his own with most of the middleweights on the planet – it’s probably fair to say that for some reason, he simply struggles to produce his best showings when he’s under the most pressure.