3 UFC champions who stayed dominant by evolving and 2 who were found out
To win UFC gold, a fighter must be ready for change. MMA is one of the most dangerous and unpredictable sports in the world today. Fighters come from all manner of combative circles to ply their craft in the pursuit of fame and fortune. While some come in as masters of one particular area of fighting, others attempt to be jacks of all trades.
Results will vary from athlete to athlete in the blink of an eye. For some, surprise losses can rock their ego in a way that's hard to come back from. For others, it's the eye-opening experience they need to re-tool their style and reach their full potential. With so many martial arts to pick from, there could be any number of reasons why a fighter decides to change things up in the octagon.
Here are three UFC champions who dominated with style changes and two who were left badly exposed:
Dominant: Former interim UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje
In August 2011, a young NCAA Division I All-American by the name of Justin Gaethje made his professional MMA debut. A seasoned wrestler from the University of Northern Colorado, most expected Gaethje to apply his grappling skills to the octagon.
In his earlier fights, Gaethje used an array of explosive takedowns to ground and pound his opponents into defeat. That all changed when he began training under Trevor Wittman, the boxing and MMA coach behind the infamous Grudge Training Center in Colorado. Under Wittman, Gaethje evolved as a striker and began to move away from his wrestling background.
During his time in the UFC, Gaethje has become notorious for the ferocity of his leg kicks. His heavy emphasis on pressure fighting and knockout punches has rendered his style unrecognizable compared to earlier bouts.
Following back-to-back losses against Eddie Alvarez and Dustin Poirier, Gaethje changed up his style once again. Still a striker, Gaethje has exercised considerably more caution in the octagon when it comes to trading shots. This more sensible approach to in-fighting led Gaethje to interim UFC lightweight championship gold at UFC 249.
Exposed: Former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor
Prior to his infamous, mega-money boxing bout with Floyd Mayweather, Conor McGregor was renowned for his precision and fluidity in the octagon. Initially coming from a boxing and kickboxing background, McGregor enlisted the tutelage of movement maestro Ido Portal to revolutionize his style.
The results spoke for themselves as McGregor cut through the UFC featherweight division like a knife through butter.
Adopting a karate-based stance, the southpaw fighter would hop gracefully into battle in a semi-squat position. Jumping back and forth with his lead hand extended, McGregor effectively had all defensive bases covered. Thanks to his lowered, side-on footing, it was hard to effectively shoot for takedowns on the Irishman. Taking advantage of his exceedingly long arms, McGregor’s outstretched hand made it an uphill battle to get anywhere near his chin.
While certain chinks in his armor were exposed during this period (namely his cardio when faced with an endurance machine like Nate Diaz), McGregor remained a force to be reckoned with in the 145 and 155-pound divisions.
Following the Mayweather fight, it was clear McGregor’s focus was now primarily on pugilism. Adopting a more conservative, narrow boxer’s stance for his fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 257, McGregor was eviscerated by a man he’d once handily beaten. Taking advantage of the Irishman’s poor choice of footing, Poirier took him down with leg kicks before taking him out completely for the TKO win.
If McGregor wants to win the rubber match, he needs to go back to what brought him to the dance and let go of his boxing fixation.
Dominant: Former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo
When he first arrived in MMA, Olympic gold medallist Henry Cejudo relied heavily on his prodigious freestyle wrestling abilities. Cejudo was 10-0 heading into his UFC 197 flyweight championship bout with champ Demetrious Johnson. Unfortunately for Cejudo, ‘Mighty Mouse’ managed to survive his explosive wrestling. Johnson then took the challenger out with a series of ferocious shots less than three minutes into the first round.
At 10-1, Cejudo suffered another setback when Joseph Benavidez picked up a split decision win against him later that year.
With his confidence badly rocked, Cejudo committed to changing his game. Through the study and mastery of Shotokan Karate, Cejudo was able to rewire his stance, footwork and defense. In the process, he became a considerably better-rounded fighter. By the time he got his title rematch with Johnson, the now 12-2 Cejudo was unstoppable. His change in style allowed him to win both the UFC flyweight and bantamweight titles before bowing out of the fight game in last May.
Exposed: Former UFC women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey
The armbar queen was a menace throughout her time in Strikeforce and the UFC. Taking full advantage of her top-tier skills in judo, Rousey would overpower and out-grapple her opponents before wrenching their arms from their shoulders for the submission win.
Nicknamed ‘The Baddest Woman on the Planet’, the sky appeared to be the limit for Rousey until she faced Holly Holm at UFC 193. Having conquered the world of MMA, the Olympic bronze-medalist expressed some interest in one day jumping ship to boxing. With little to no real experience in throwing fists compared to her opponent (Holm was 33-2-3 in boxing heading into the fight), Rousey’s subpar striking prowess was horribly exposed.
Stubbornly resisting the use of what had worked in the past, Rousey tried trading shots with Holm throughout the fight with increasingly dire results. Under the training of the controversial Edmond Tarverdyan, Rousey collapsed under the pressure of fighting a style she was not naturally gifted in. Stiff and awkward in her punching movements, Rousey suffered an abrupt and miserable end to her MMA career against another superior striker, Amanda Nunes, at UFC 207.
Dominant: Current UFC women's bantamweight and featherweight Champion Amanda Nunes
Widely regarded as the greatest female MMA fighter of all time, current champ-champ Amanda Nunes breathed new life into her career via boxing. Growing up, she practiced capoeira and karate before moving into Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as a teenager.
Explosive and reckless in the ring, Nunes’ strikes exhibited power but left a lot to be desired in regards to technique. Relying heavily on her mastery of counter-wrestling, Nunes was considered a very good but not quite great fighter. After a vicious TKO loss to Cat Zingano at UFC 178, Nunes decided it was time for a change.
Exercising patience, sharper defense and a heavier emphasis on technical striking, Nunes’ change of pace was a game changer. Having defeated everyone in her path across two divisions in the years since, Nunes is showing no signs of fatigue.
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