5 UFC fighters who went on to become champions after humiliating losses
Every UFC fighter who sheds their blood, sweat, and tears for the promotion dreams of one day wearing championship gold under the bright lights of the octagon. Unfortunately, not every mixed martial artist has the fortune of embarking on a spotless run to the title.
Some fighters encounter bumps along the way. These manifest in the form of humbling losses, instilling valuable lessons that will serve the loser well in the future. Though in some cases, those losses are more than just humbling, they're downright humiliating.
Fortunately, those who belong to a rare breed of fighter are able to bounce back with a vengeance by stringing together an undeniable win streak before finally fulfilling their destiny as a UFC champion.
#5. T.J. Dillashaw, future UFC bantamweight champion
T.J. Dillashaw has a complex legacy, with some regarding him as one of the greatest bantamweights of all time, and others lambasting him as a drug cheat. Nevertheless, he went on to capture the UFC bantamweight title in spectacular fashion by completely dominating Renan Barão.
However, before the metamorphosis that turned him into the Dillashaw with which the MMA world is familiar, he was a fighter who lurked under the radar. In fact, on his promotional debut, he was handed an embarrassing defeat when he was knocked out by John Dodson in less than two minutes of round one.
Check out T.J. Dillashaw's loss to John Dodson:
To be stopped so quickly in one's debut is bad enough. However, what was worse was the fact that Dillashaw was TKO'd by a former flyweight who was seriously undersized by comparison. Fortunately, it was not a defining moment in his career, as he subsequently improved before ultimately capturing divisional gold.
#4. Sean Strickland, future UFC middleweight champion
For most of his career, Sean Strickland has been disregarded. While that tune has since changed, he was never expected to become a world champion. This rhetoric was intensified after UFC 276, when he faced a then green Alex Pereira. The bout lasted less than three minutes.
Strickland, a far more experienced MMA fighter, was made to look clueless as Pereira stabbed his midsection with body jabs, drawing his opponent's hands low. However, the next time Strickland tried to parry the body jab, Pereira uncorked a thunderous left hook over-the-top, knocking him down.
Check out Sean Strickland's loss to Alex Pereira:
Seconds later, Pereira TKO'd him. It was a lopsided loss, and in the eyes of many at the time, a layup for 'Poatan.' This, though, made Strickland's future upset win over Israel Adesaya to become the UFC middleweight champion all the more jaw-dropping.
#3. Belal Muhammad, future UFC welterweight champion
Long before Belal Muhammad was ever in the UFC welterweight title picture, he took on one of the 170-pound division's resident power-punchers, Vicente Luque.
It was 'Remember the Name's' third fight in the promotion, and it is his worst-ever loss, as he found himself on the receiving end of an early knockout.
Check out Belal Muhammad's loss to Vicente Luque:
Not only was Muhammad knocked out early, but he was also knocked out within a minute and failed to give even a decent account of himself in the bout. Thereafter, he embarked on a four-fight win streak before another loss to Geoff Neal derailed his momentum. However, from then onward, he would not lose again.
Muhammad went unbeaten in his next 11 fights, culminating in a title-winning triumph over divisional rival Leon Edwards in one of his finest-ever performances, and in enemy territory, no less.
#2. Francis Ngannou, future UFC heavyweight champion
It is safe to say that the UFC heavyweight division has not had a phenomenon quite like Francis Ngannou, whose punching power continues to be unrivaled despite his departure from the promotion. And it is the nuclear power in his hands that led him to his first crack at the divisional throne.
Unfortunately, 'The Predator' was overconfident and completely out of his depth. He was thoroughly outboxed and outwrestled by the then defending champion Stipe Miocic, who made the Cameroonian star look clueless.
It was a horrifying performance from Ngannou and his next fight was somehow worse. He lost to Derrick Lewis in an extremely low-volume fight, and it was the wake up call he needed.
Check out Francis Ngannou's loss to Stipe Miocic:
Ngannou subsequently went on a tear and avenged his loss to Miocic by dropping and even outwrestling him before knocking him out in brutal fashion to finally claim the heavyweight title.
#1. Islam Makhachev, future UFC lightweight champion
The comparisons between Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov have been part of UFC lightweight lore for years now. Part of it is because Makhachev was, initially at least, undefeated. Unfortunately, that distinction was lost in disastrous fashion in only his sophomore promotional bout.
In less than two minutes, an uncharacteristically aggressive Makhachev was floored by a counter-right hand from a relatively unknown fighter in Adriano Martins, who has even been confused for Alexandre Pantoja by Brendan Schaub. A follow-up hammer-fist later, and the referee waved the fight off.
Check out Islam Makhachev's loss to Adriano Martins:
It is Makhachev's only loss, and it's an embarrassing one, especially given that Martins went on a six-fight winless streak immediately afterward. Makhachev, meanwhile, redeemed himself by authoring a 14-fight win streak, during which he captured the lightweight title.