Johny Hendricks and 4 other UFC fighters who were used as sacrificial lambs

Sometimes, UFC fighters are booked to face overmatched opponents. These are foes who, for all intents and purposes, are meant to lose, such that it would be an improbable shock if they didn't. In some cases, this line of matchmaking can backfire on the promotion.

Perhaps the most well-known case is Ronda Rousey's historic defeat to Holly Holm back at UFC 193. 'Rowdy' was supposed to win and further her superstar status into a global channel for the UFC to continue dominating the MMA market. Instead, she lost, but this is hardly common.

More often than not, an overmatched opponent is little more than a sacrificial lamb prepared for slaughter. They're older, smaller, weaker, less skilled, on losing streaks or any combination of the former than their opponent, and this list goes over five occasions when such a matchup took place.

#5 Patrick Cummins vs. Daniel Cormier, UFC 170

Back in 2014, Daniel Cormier was scheduled to make his light heavyweight debut in preparation for an eventual clash with Jon Jones. At the time, 'DC' was an undefeated heavyweight and was scheduled for his first test at 205 pounds, which was originally against Rashad Evans.

Unfortunately, an injury forced Evans to withdraw from the bout. To replace him, the UFC signed Patrick Cummins, an inexperienced fighter with a 4-0 record, who worked at a coffee shop. There was supposed history between him and Cormier, as he was said to have made 'DC' cry during wrestling practice.

Feb22.2014

After years of competing at Heavyweight,

Daniel Cormier makes his Light Heavyweight debut & finishes Patrick Cummins pic.twitter.com/6QoDRgplLC

But there was no fooling anyone. Daniel Cormier was a far more experienced fighter, having been a Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix champion who had defeated former UFC heavyweight champions like Frank Mir and Josh Barnett. Patrick Cummins was only brought in because he was guaranteed to lose.

And he did lose. Within a minute of their fight, he was TKO'd by Cormier. Years later, Cummins retired in 2019 with an abysmal 10-7 record.

#4 Johny Hendricks vs. Paulo Costa, UFC 217

Joe Rogan said it best when he described Johny Hendricks' performance against Paulo Costa as having no indication that 'Big Rig' was once a world champion in the promotion. At the time, 'Borrachinha' was an unbeaten phenom storming through the middleweight division on his way to Israel Adesanya.

Paulo Costa vs Johny Hendricks pic.twitter.com/cpRT6W1QaS

Meanwhile, his chosen opponent, Johny Hendricks, was a former welterweight who was forced to move up to middleweight after twice failing to make 170 pounds back-to-back. Furthermore, he was 3-6 in his last 9 fights, with his last win streak at the time being four years prior.

Costa was bigger, younger and more athletic. Meanwhile, Hendricks had declined significantly. He suffered a lopsided beatdown across two rounds before melting against the fence as Costa unloaded a barrage of punches for the TKO win.

#3 Gerald Meerschaert vs. Khamzat Chimaev, UFC Fight Night 178

Gerald Meerschaert is a tenured name on the UFC roster. He has been fighting in the promotion since 2016, but has never been considered an elite fighter, nor a strong contender in the middleweight division. In fact, he is currently unranked in the weight class.

Khamzat Chimaev (-500 ML) with the insane one punch KO (round 1 KO +400) over Gerald Meerschaert #UFCVegas11 pic.twitter.com/sC0eOh2s3B

So when the promotion paired him up with Khamzat Chimaev in 2020, what was being done was clear for all who could see. 'Borz' was undefeated, with a 100% finishing rate. Additionally, 'GM3' was 2-4 in his last five fights. He was not only meant to lose, he was meant to be a showcase for Chimaev.

And come fight night, he was a showcase. He was flattened in 17 seconds to award Khamzat Chimaev the most impressive knockout of his career. A loss was expected, and the most probable outcome took place as no one, neither analysts nor matchmakers, gave Meerschaert much of a chance.

#2 Val Woodburn vs. Bo Nickal, UFC 290

Ahead of his UFC 290 bout, Bo Nickal was a historic betting favorite against his short-notice opponent Val Woodburn. But why is that when the All-American was 4-0 prior to the fight, and his opponent 7-0? First, it was Woodburn's promotional debut, he had previously fought in much smaller promotions.

🚨 BO NICKAL HAS FINISHED VAL WOODBURN WITH A TKO IN ONLY 38 SECONDS!
pic.twitter.com/cBXo39DQgT

The strength of his competition was dubious at best. Worse still, he fought Nickal on five days notice. This gave him zero time to prepare for his foe's high-level wrestling. Bo Nickal is a three-time NCAA Division I wrestling champion. It is arguable that no one at middleweight can contend with his wrestling.

No one gave Woodburn a chance, because besides scoring a flash knockout, he had no chance. To add insult to injury, the promotional newcomer was himself knocked out in 38 seconds of the first round come fight night.

#1 Dennis Siver vs. Conor McGregor, UFC Fight Night 59

Title shots are earned with hard work from defeating tough compeition as a fighter works their way up the division. In 2015, the featherweight division was bereft of compelling title challengers for the divisional throne occupied by MMA legend José Aldo.

By then, Conor McGregor had declared war on all featherweights, and was well into his rampage as he sprinted towards the title. To finalize his title fight, he had to defeat Dennis Siver, of all people. Not Chad Mendes, who the Irishman later fought, not Frankie Edgar, but Dennis Siver.

6 years ago today Conor McGregor fought Dennis Siver pic.twitter.com/EsMakJ7dqZ" target="_blank" title="tweet-url" rel="noopener noreferrer">pic.twitter.com/EsMakJ7dqZ

Siver was old, small and ranked 10th in the division, with one win, one loss and one no-contest in his last three bouts at the time. He posed no grappling threat whatsoever, which was what fans were eager to see McGregor tested against. So, when the two fought, no one was shocked by the result.

'The Notorious' won via second-round TKO and earned his title shot against the most beatable opponent he could have asked for.