Rafael dos Anjos and 4 other UFC fighters whose records don’t paint a full picture of how good they are
More often than not, a UFC record is a good indicator of how good a fighter is. The logic behind it is simple. If a fighter has more wins than losses, then they are at least passable as a mixed martial artist. If they have more losses than wins, then they are almost certainly a sub-par fighter.
On a similar note, if a fighter has racked up a large number of wins while sustaining a few losses, it is a strong indicator that they are likely better than the average mixed martial artist. However, a record often lacks the context needed for a full understanding of how good a fighter is.
Sometimes, highly skilled fighters who are competitive in their division have more losses than they'd like. But the losses aren't owed to things like aging or injury issues. Some UFC fighters are still good, maybe not great, although some are, despite their records. That is the case for the five fighters covered by this list.
#5. Kai Kara-France, UFC flyweight
One glance at Kai Kara-France's record seems to point to a fighter with nearly half as many losses as he wins. He is currently 24-11 (1), which is a less-than-stellar record, to say the least. It is a record not expected of a man who hovers near the top of his weight class, but that is the case with Kara-France.
He has amassed seven wins and four losses. But upon closer inspection, it is not as bad as it seems. First, Kai Kara-France's most recent loss was a split decision against the streaking Amir Albazi in a fight that many were convinced the New Zealander had won, with the bout being labeled a robbery.
Before that, he lost to Brandon Moreno via third-round liver shot in an extremely competitive fight that he was ahead of on the scorecards before his foe's body kick. He was not being dominated. Prior to that, he was on a three-fight win streak that saw him defeat notable fighters.
Those include Cody Garbrandt, a former bantamweight champion, and Askar Askarov, who was the unbeaten former ABC flyweight champion. Furthermore, Kai Kara-France is a different fighter now than he was years ago, having undergone massive improvements.
Finally, his other two losses in the UFC were a Fight of the Night winner against Brandon Royval where they both scored knockdowns, and a decision loss to Moreno, a two-time flyweight champion.
#4. Rose Namajunas, UFC women's flyweight/strawweight
Like Kai Kara-France, Rose Namajunas has nearly half as many losses as she does wins. But 'Thug Rose's' losses deserve closer inspection as her 11-5 record doesn't tell the full story. She recently lost to Carla Esparza in a lackluster fight where both women didn't do much of anything.
Her performance was certainly poor, but she wasn't beaten by the superior fighter. She simply didn't do enough to win, and frankly, neither did Esparza, as the fight was incredibly difficult to score. Prior to that bout, she was on a three-fight win streak, consisting of two wins over Zhang Weili and one win over Jéssica Andrade.
Both latter women are strawweight champions, one being the reigning titleholder, while Andrade is the former champion. Before that, she lost to Andrade in their initial bout, but again, she was not dominated. Instead, she was in control of the bout before a once-in-a-lifetime slam saw her land on her head due to her kimura.
She was knocked out, but it was not a result that Andrade could reproduce. Before that bout, she had twice beaten the previously undefeated strawweight queen Joanna Jędrzejczyk to become the UFC strawweight champion and score her first defense.
Prior to that, she had lost to Karolina Kowalkiewicz, then an undefeated and former KSW women's flyweight champion. But the loss was not a wash, it was a split decision that earned Fight of the Night honors.
#3. Stephen Thompson, UFC welterweight
Despite being in his 40s, Stephen Thompson remains one of the best strikers in MMA. Even Kevin Holland, one of the fastest strikers at welterweight, was astonished by 'Wonderboy's' speed. While he was never a champion, Thompson is a two-time welterweight title challenger, and his 17-6 record needs examining.
Prior to his win over 'Trailblazer,' Stephen Thompson had lost to Belal Muhammad, who is on a 10-fight unbeaten streak, and Gilbert Burns, a former title challenger who had six wins in his last seven fights when they fought. Furthermore, both men were grapplers by trade and won only by grinding Thompson out.
Prior to those losses, 'Wonderboy' had beaten Geoff Neal and Vicente Luque, perennial top 10 fighters with dangerous knockout power. His loss to Anthony Pettis, while regrettable, was a fight he was thoroughly dominating, having bloodied 'Showtime' up before his foe scored a flash knockout.
His only poor loss was against Darren Till, who was not as elite as he seemed and benefitted massively from being a middleweight at welterweight. Even then, the loss wasn't a wash. Neither man did much, as it was a clash of a counterpuncher against a low-volume pressure striker.
Before his fight with the Englishman, 'Wonderboy' had outclassed Jorge Masvidal, making him look a fool. His two other losses prior to that masterclass were from his two wars with Tyron Woodley, the then UFC welterweight champion.
#2. Jan Błachowicz, UFC light heavyweight
It's important to note how old Jan Błachowicz is. He is currently 40 years old, and even when he became the UFC light heavyweight champion, he was already among the promotion's oldest-ever titleholders. A look at his record reveals a fighter with 29 wins and 10 losses, but there's more to him than that.
The Polish power-puncher was certainly a worse fighter back in early 2017, but upon improving his defensive wrestling, he became a force to be reckoned with. He helmed a four-fight win streak that was only stopped by Thiago Santos, who was a nuclear knockout artist at the time.
He quickly rebounded from the loss by amassing another win streak, this one consisting of five consecutive victories, consisting of wins over former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold, former Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo Souza, Corey Anderson on a four-fight win streak, and more.
He defeated previously undefeated title challenger Dominick Reyes to become the light heavyweight champion, knocking him out, before handing the then-undefeated Israel Adesanya his first-ever MMA loss. While his defeat at Glover Teixeira's hands was quite poor, he triumphed over the then 14-2 Aleksandar Rakić.
He later drew against Magomed Ankalaev, who was 18-1, and lost to former middleweight kingpin and former two-division Glory kickboxing champion Alex Pereira via a split decision.
#1. Rafael dos Anjos, UFC lightweight
Is there anyone who has had the strength of schedule that Rafael dos Anjos has? While he has 15 losses compared to his 32 wins, the former UFC lightweight champion is far better than he's given credit for. He is an exceptional pressure fighter with a generalist's skill set.
His Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills are elite, his striking is fine-tuned to deprive his opponent of any space, and his physicality is underrated. He wasn't dominated in most of his losses, and there is no shame in losing to the names that he has faced. For the most part, 'RDA' has only lost to the very elite.
While losing to Michael Chiesa certainly isn't flattering, is there any shame in losing to Vicente Luque, Rafael Fiziev, welterweight champion Leon Edwards, former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, former welterweight interim titleholder Colby Covington, and former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson?
What of his losses to former undisputed champions Eddie Alvarez and Khabib Nurmagomedov? It is nearly impossible to face such elite competition for as long as he has without recording a few losses, especially as he is now 38.