5 UFC fighters who'd have lost a decision if they hadn't finished their opponent at the last moment
In the world of the UFC, a fight is never over – unless it’s finished by knockout or submission – until the final buzzer. That means that even fighters way ahead on the scorecards can’t get too complacent.
Over the years we’ve seen plenty of examples of UFC fighters who would’ve lost a decision had their fight gone the distance, but managed to avoid this by finishing their opponent at the last possible minute.
Naturally, these kinds of fights garner huge reactions from the fans, as they’re amongst the most dramatic kind of bouts that the promotion can produce.
With that in mind, here are five UFC fighters who’d have lost via decision if they hadn’t finished their opponent at the last moment.
#5. Leon Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman – UFC 278
The most recent example of a UFC fighter who was clearly on his way to losing a decision before he pulled off the biggest finish of his career was Leon Edwards.
‘Rocky’ produced one of the UFC’s all-time great upsets this past weekend to dethrone pound-for-pound great Kamaru Usman, winning the welterweight title in the process.
Coming into the bout, which was a rematch of a fight in 2015 that Usman won via decision, nobody was really giving Edwards a chance. Even after the British fighter won the first round, becoming the first man to take Usman down in the process, it never really felt like he’d pull it off.
Sure enough, the subsequent rounds saw ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ establish some dominance, taking Edwards down when he chose to and also landing the heavier shots on the feet.
It looked for all intents and purposes like Usman was cruising to another win, particularly when, as the fifth round began to wind down, Edwards didn’t really seem willing to press the action. Even the commentators suggested that ‘Rocky’ was settling for a decision loss.
Incredibly, though, with less than a minute to go, Edwards still had an ace up his sleeve in the form of a perfectly-timed head kick. After baiting Usman with a faked left hand, ‘Rocky’ fired the kick, landing directly to the side of the champion’s head, knocking him unconscious instantly.
#UFC278EDWARDS KNOCKED OUT USMAN 😱 #UFC278 https://t.co/RWYU2n3lap
Not only was the result one of the biggest upsets in UFC history, it was also one of the most dramatic finishes, too, as had Usman held on for just 56 seconds longer, he’d have retained his title. It’s hardly a surprise, then, that Joe Rogan has already christened the shot the greatest head kick in MMA history.
#4. Yair Rodriguez vs. Chan Sung Jung – UFC Fight Night 139
Fireworks were always likely to ensue in the headline bout of UFC Fight Night 139 – the promotion’s 25-year anniversary show – when featherweights Chan Sung Jung and Yair Rodriguez squared off, but few could’ve predicted how dramatic things would turn out.
The bout lived up to all of the hype, with both fighters exchanging strikes from the off, exactly as things had been advertised. However, as the fight went on, it looked like Jung was probably on his way to a decision victory, albeit perhaps via a split call from the judges.
‘The Korean Zombie’ was eating plenty of shots from Rodriguez, but for the most part, he was also keeping the Mexican at bay, hammering him with a ramrod jab that ensured ‘El Pantera’ was never able to really hurt his opponent with a big shot.
By the fifth round, Rodriguez was getting desperate, even trying a standing hammer fist at one point. But as the clock ticked down, it felt like he was on his way to a defeat.
However, when Jung decided to come forward wildly in the dying seconds of the fight, he made the fatal error of leaving his chin slightly open. Remarkably, Rodriguez capitalized, ducking down before throwing an upwards back elbow that connected cleanly.
1 second left...Yair Rodriguez KO's Chan Sung Jung out of nowhere.
No better way to go out on the 25th Anniversary! https://t.co/1C2C6ev62c
Jung slumped to the ground unconscious – literally as the final buzzer sounded – and referee Kevin MacDonald called the fight off in favor of Rodriguez. The elbow gave the Mexican not only the latest finish in UFC history, but one of the most dramatic, too, as he’d literally snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.
#3. Derrick Lewis vs. Alexander Volkov – UFC 229
When Derrick Lewis faced Alexander Volkov at UFC 229 in a bout that felt like a de facto No.1 contender’s match with a UFC heavyweight title shot on the line, the hard-hitting big man clearly had a big knockout in mind.
Unfortunately for ‘The Black Beast’, for the majority of the fight, it felt like the knockout would never happen. Put simply, Lewis appeared to be firmly outclassed by his Russian foe, and appeared to have no answers for Volkov’s game.
The taller ‘Drago’ kept Lewis at bay with his strikes from the opening seconds. He seemed content to cruise his way to victory by simply jabbing and body punching while avoiding any haymakers which came in return.
When Volkov landed a combination that had Lewis doubling over in the third round, it seemed like it was only a matter of time before he finished him off. Instead, he chose to stick to his gameplan, jabbing at his foe and keeping him at distance.
It proved to be a major mistake. With less than a minute remaining, ‘The Black Beast’ finally began to attack, and with nothing left to lose, he threw a huge right haymaker that came over the top of a Volkov low kick and landed to his jaw.
Derrick Lewis was in serious trouble against Alexander Volkov at UFC 229.
And then he unleashed the Black Beast! 😈
https://t.co/1vaYwzpLNM
The Russian was badly stunned, and when he fell to the ground, Lewis wasted no time in pouncing and landing a series of follow-up shots to seal the deal.
The finish stunned the crowd and essentially made a star of Lewis, who was indeed rewarded with a UFC title shot just four weeks later. With just 11 seconds left on the clock when he pulled out the knockout, this remains a classic example of a fighter who managed to finish his opponent before losing a clear decision.
#2. Carlos Condit vs. Rory MacDonald – UFC 115
Future UFC welterweight title challenger Rory MacDonald was just 20 years old when he was faced with former WEC champion Carlos Condit in the summer of 2010. Coming into the bout, many observers felt like the bout was a step too far for the Canadian.
However, MacDonald clearly didn’t feel like he was out of his depth, and immediately began to take the fight to ‘The Natural Born Killer’, taking him down and working his top game brilliantly.
Sure, Condit was able to hurt him a couple of times on the feet with his strikes, but for the most part, he was on the defensive. When the second round ended with MacDonald dropping him with a front kick to the chest, it seemed like ‘The Red King’ was on his way to a huge win.
However, MacDonald and his team clearly reckoned without Condit’s fighting spirit – and the crazy motivational tactics of his cornerman Greg Jackson. Prior to the third round, Jackson ranted at Condit, convincing him that he was in a war and that he literally needed to punish MacDonald in order to win.
Sure enough, a fired-up ‘Natural Born Killer’ came storming out into the third round, hurt ‘The Red King’ with a right hand, and then secured a takedown of his own. From there, he opened MacDonald up with a series of elbows, leaving him bloodied almost immediately.
However, as the round went on, despite doing plenty of damage, it didn’t seem like Condit would be able to finish things off. But heeding Jackson’s advice, ‘The Natural Born Killer’ was relentless.
When a right hand from the top clearly hurt MacDonald, Condit kept pouring it on with elbows and, finally, referee Kevin Dornan stepped in with just 10 seconds to go.
VIDEO: Carlos Condit vs. Rory MacDonald full fight video mmafighting.com/2016/8/23/1259… https://t.co/8wSCBJAlZo
The crowd, who were pro-MacDonald from the start, booed the finish, but realistically, it was justified, and ‘The Red King’ himself confirmed that in his post-fight interview.
When the scorecards were later revealed, it was determined that Condit would indeed have lost a decision had the bout gone the distance, meaning that he’d essentially stolen a win at the last possible moment.
#1. Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen – UFC 117
Prior to Leon Edwards’ dramatic win over Kamaru Usman, the greatest example of a UFC fighter who was on their way to a decision loss before pulling off an unbelievable finish was Anderson Silva.
The legendary UFC middleweight champion’s win over Chael Sonnen in the summer of 2010 remains one of the most dramatic title fights of all time, even 12 years on.
The clash had been set up not only because of Sonnen’s fighting abilities – he’d put together a run of three straight wins in the UFC – but also because of his willingness to talk insane trash on the microphone.
Incredibly, though, when it came to fight time, ‘The American Gangster’ backed up every word. He took Silva down from the off, beat him up on the ground, and even hurt him with his combinations on the feet.
Given that Silva had never suffered a defeat in the octagon at that point, it was unbelievable to see him being dominated by Sonnen. The most striking thing, though, was that ‘The American Gangster’ didn’t seem to be slowing down as the fight went on.
When he took Silva down again in the fifth round, it seemed locked in that a new champion was about to be crowned. But with just under two minutes to go in the fight, ‘The Spider’ pulled off a miracle.
On this date in 2010, Anderson Silva pulled off one of MMA's greatest comebacks by submitting Chael Sonnen in the fifth round at UFC 117. https://t.co/NX1SmfZQD6
He caught Sonnen in a tight triangle choke, and after a brief struggle, the challenger was forced to weakly tap out, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in the process.
Considering how far ahead ‘The American Gangster’ was on the scorecards, there was no doubt that Silva would’ve lost a decision had the fight gone the distance, making this win easily the most stirring of his storied career.