5 UFC fighters whose chins regularly betrayed them
While there was no UFC event this weekend, Saturday did see former unified heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua in action. Unfortunately, his chin betrayed him and he was knocked out badly in the 5th round of his fight with Daniel Dubois.
UFC history is also littered with the names of fighters who, like Anthony Joshua, saw their chins simply let them down on big occasions.
Some of these fighters saw their durability degenerate over time, while others unfortunately always seemed to suffer from a glass jaw.
Here are five UFC fighters whose chins regularly betrayed them.
5 UFC fighters whose chins regularly betrayed them
#5. Brendan Schaub - former UFC heavyweight contender
In the aftermath of his loss to Daniel Dubois, it has been suggested that Anthony Joshua's chin simply isn't up to taking shots from the huge, hard-hitting heavyweights he has been facing.
Whether that is the case is up for debate, but if it is, he wouldn't be the first fighter to struggle with that issue.
It was certainly the big thing keeping Brendan Schaub from ever ascending into heavyweight title contention during his UFC career, which ran from 2009 until 2014.
A natural athlete who had come close to playing in the NFL, Schaub rose to fame by smashing his way to the finals of TUF 10, finishing three opponents in the process.
Unfortunately - in a precursor of things to come - he ran into Roy Nelson in the finals and was knocked out violently. Still, 'Big Country' had serious power in his hands, and Schaub wasn't too put out by the loss.
He won his next four fights to climb into the top ten, and was on the cusp of title contention when he met Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in the summer of 2011.
Despite being widely favored to beat the aging 'Minotauro', Schaub's chin betrayed him entirely. After being caught with a combination, he couldn't recover, and was eventually knocked out in the first round, arms flailing over his head in a comical scene.
When an attempt at bouncing back ended in the same fashion at the hands of Ben Rothwell - this time in a viral finish - it was clear that Schaub's chin wasn't cut out to take the big shots.
He did win another two bouts in the octagon, but his career ended after one more violent knockout loss, this time at the hands of Travis Browne.
It was the right time for him to hang up his gloves, and he's since gone on to a successful career as a podcast host.
#4. Kendall Grove - TUF 3 middleweight champion
When Kendall Grove overcame the odds to beat Ed Herman and win the middleweight bracket on TUF 3, it felt like a potential star was born.
'Da Spyder' appeared to have everything needed to become a contender at 185 pounds. Standing at 6ft 6in, he enjoyed a huge reach advantage over most of his foes, and knew how to make the most of his long arms, both with chokes and strikes.
Unfortunately, Grove had a major chink in his armor in the form of a very questionable chin.
The Hawaiian had already suffered two bad knockout losses during his career on the regional circuit, and it was a weakness that would catch up with him in the UFC, too.
A 2007 bout with Patrick Cote saw him doing well until the Canadian caught him with a thumping right hand to the temple, and moments later, the fight was over.
The same situation then repeated itself in his next fight with Jorge Rivera, who simply went to work with short punches from inside the clinch until Grove's jaw was once again cracked.
'Da Spyder' then managed to avoid being knocked out in his next four fights, but in a bout with Mark Munoz that could've propelled him back into contention, his chin betrayed him again.
This time, he scored a big knockdown in the opening round and appeared to be on his way to a win, only for Munoz to survive the stanza. In the second, 'The Filipino Wrecking Machine' turned the tide, caught Grove with some big shots, and that was basically that.
Essentially, had Grove been more durable, he could've easily contended for the middleweight title during a lean period in the division. As it was, his questionable jaw prevented him from making that next step.
#3. Alistair Overeem - former UFC heavyweight contender
When Alistair Overeem was a skinny 205-pounder competing in PRIDE, the area he struggled most with was always his durability. He suffered a handful of nasty KO losses, and seemed to get hurt in almost all of his fights.
However, by the time he moved up to heavyweight in 2008 - and packed enough muscle onto his frame to earn the nickname 'Ubereem' - his chin issues seemed to be behind him.
When he arrived in the UFC in late 2011, the Dutchman was widely considered the world's most feared heavyweight. It was a reputation he only furthered when he destroyed Brock Lesnar in his octagon debut, retiring him in the process.
However, a failed drug test saw Overeem miss a year's action, and when he returned, not only was he slightly leaner than before, but his durability issues appeared to have resurfaced.
He lost three of his next four bouts, suffering knockout losses to Antonio Silva, Travis Browne and Ben Rothwell, and looked like a shell of his former self.
A switch up in style, though, focusing more on in-and-out movement and technical striking than simply bullying his foes, saw a resurgence in his career.
Overeem won four fights in a row to claim a heavyweight title shot, but despite dropping champion Stipe Miocic, his chin once again betrayed him and he was knocked out later in the round.
From there, 'The Demolition Man' remained a regular headliner for the UFC but for every big fight he would win, he seemed to suffer a knockout in another, whether it was to Francis Ngannou or Jairzinho Rozenstruik.
Put simply, Overeem's chin never quite matched his offensive output, keeping him from ever reaching the top of the UFC. If anything, he might be MMA's closest parallel to Anthony Joshua.
#2. Chuck Liddell - former UFC light-heavyweight champion
While the previous fighters on this list all suffered from durability issues throughout their careers, UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell was a little different.
In his prime, 'The Iceman' actually had a granite chin that would often help him out of sticky situations inside the octagon. Liddell would regularly absorb a huge punch from his opponent with apparently no issue, and then make them pay with a violent counterpunch that would often end their night.
Claiming big knockouts over the likes of Renato Sobral, Kevin Randleman and Tito Ortiz, Liddell eventually parlayed his style into a UFC light-heavyweight title win. In 2005, he climbed to the top of the mountain by knocking out the legendary Randy Couture.
However, 'The Iceman' eventually saw his high-impact style catch up with him.
In 2007, he suffered a bad knockout at the hands of 'Rampage' Jackson, losing his title in the process. Suddenly, his durability looked shot, and a chin that once appeared to be impregnable was suddenly made of glass.
Liddell was dropped in a decision loss to Keith Jardine and then suffered a seriously brutal knockout at the hands of Rashad Evans.
Despite taking some time away to recover, he never regained his durability and ended his career with two more knockout losses, this time to Shogun Rua and Rich Franklin.
In this instance, 'The Iceman' stands as a fighter who simply took too many big hits for his own good, and his tale should probably be a cautionary one for young fighters who believe their chin to be invincible.
#1. Cody Garbrandt - former UFC bantamweight champion
When Cody Garbrandt outstruck Dominick Cruz - considered perhaps the most technical fighter in MMA - in December 2016 to win the bantamweight title, it felt like the UFC had unearthed a new megastar.
'No Love' was unbeaten at the time and appeared to have all the tools to go on a dominant run as champion.
He was a clean enough boxer to drop Cruz on numerous occasions, even taunting 'The Dominator' like he was Muhammad Ali, he was a strong wrestler, and carried knockout power, too.
However, Garbrandt's early fights in the UFC disguised a major weakness - namely the lack of a strong chin. It was a weakness that was quickly exposed.
Garbrandt's first title defense saw him faced with a bitter rival in former teammate TJ Dillashaw, and in a wild fight, he simply got too aggressive and walked into a big right hand. His chin was unable to take the shot, and moments later, the fight was over.
Remarkably, the book on how to beat 'No Love' suddenly appeared to have been written. The blueprint was a simple one - draw Garbrandt into a firefight, wait for his chin to be open, and take advantage.
Not only did Dillashaw repeat the trick in their rematch, but Pedro Munhoz and Kai Kara-France both used the approach to leave Garbrandt unconscious, too.
After taking the best part of two years off, Garbrandt has now gone three fights without being knocked out, but the chances of his durability being improved seem slim.
Instead, it's more likely that he's learned to protect his chin a little better - something that would definitely be advisable for him.