Each fighter steps inside the octagon, believing that they’re the absolute best in the fight business. Many fighters also can’t help but engage in insults, underestimating and belittling their opponents before the bouts. But when over-confident fighters get bitten by karma inside the octagon, it’s the most fun thing to watch.
5 times arrogant UFC fighters were humbled by their opponents:
#5 - Israel Adesanya vs. Marvin Vettori 2 - UFC 263
Israel Adesanya and Marvin Vettori met for the first time inside the UFC octagon in 2018. It was Adesanya’s second fight with the organization, and he was yet to become the middleweight champion. He outclassed Vettori for three rounds with a higher striking volume and efficiency.
The future UFC champion won the fight via split decision, with one judge scoring in Marvin Vettori’s favor. It went on to become a cause for Vettori to boast that he had not lost the bout. ‘The Italian Dream’ held onto that belief for years until he faced Israel Adesanya again in 2021, at UFC 263.
When asked during an interview ahead of UFC 263 about his learnings from the loss against Israel Adesanya, Marvin Vettori said:
When the two fighters met at UFC 263, Israel Adesanya came out triumphant rather easily, landing a much higher number of strikes throughout the five rounds. ‘The Last Stylebender’ also defended 10 of Marvin Vettori’s takedowns, winning fair and square with the scorecard reading 50-45 in his favor. After the fight, Marvin Vettori said:
Also Read: “My girl” - Israel Adesanya trolls Marvin Vettori for being choked by him at UFC 263.
#4 - Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz 1 - UFC 196
Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz met at UFC 196 in 2016 after Rafael dos Anjos pulled out of his fight against McGregor due to an injury. Meeting at catchweight, for which Nate came in on short notice, both fighters made it clear that they absolutely hated each other.
Engaging in his usual “mental warfare,” Conor McGregor was pretty articulate about how he was the best in the fight business and how he was going to eat Nate Diaz alive inside the octagon. He belittled Nate at the UFC 196 press conference and said:
During the fight, Diaz was struck a few times, true to his usual self. However, in the second round, he began piecing McGregor up and had the Irishman wobbled on more than one occasion. Finally, when ‘Notorious’ couldn’t stand on his feet any longer, he shot for a takedown, which proved to be his undoing.
Nate Diaz took Conor McGregor’s back and submitted him via rear-naked choke, handing the Irishman his first defeat inside the UFC octagon. The loss brought a significant speed bump to McGregor’s unbridled success and, for the first time, made him seem human and very beatable.
#3 - Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm - UFC 193
Ronda Rousey became the UFC women’s bantamweight champion in 2012 and had an active reign in the division for more than three years. She was one of the pioneering women MMA fighters. She was humbled inside the octagon by Holly Holm at UFC 193, which also marked the downfall of her fighting career.
Ronda Rousey was considered one of the deadliest MMA fighters of her time, even considered unbeatable by some. Holly Holm, on the other hand, was a multi-time world champion in boxing and a formidable challenger for the UFC title.
Ahead of the fight, Ronda Rousey predicted that she would defeat Holly Holm. She said:
During the fight, Holly Holm dominated Ronda Rousey from the get-go and ended up KO’ing the champion after a head kick and a few punches in round two. Apart from being one of the biggest upsets, it was a big humbling experience for ‘Rowdy’ as she suffered the first loss of her MMA career. She fought for the last time a year later against Amanda Nunes and retired from the sport after losing via TKO inside 50 seconds of round one.
#2 - Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Rose Namanujas - UFC 217
Joanna Jedrzejczyk is a former UFC women’s strawweight champion who holds numerous awards in the MMA promotion. Apart from being the first Polish fighter to win UFC gold, Jedrzejczyk holds the record for most title fights in UFC’s women’s divisions (10) and most wins in the organization’s women’s strawweight division (10).
Joanna Jedrzejczyk won the UFC women’s strawweight championship in 2015 and defended it five times over a period of two years. At UFC 217, she faced Rose Namanujas for her sixth title defense. During the face-off ahead of the fight, Jedrzejczyk taunted Namanujas by putting her fist in the challenger’s face, who was keeping calm, “saying the lord’s prayer.”
Since that wasn’t enough for Joanna Jedrzejczyk, she further belittled Rose Namanujas, saying:
During their fight at UFC 217, ‘Thug’ Rose TKO’d Jedrzejczyk in the fourth minute of round one, causing a huge upset in MMA history. It also served as perhaps the most humbling experience for the former UFC champion, as it was the first loss of her MMA career. Joanna Jedrzejczyk couldn’t win her title back despite a rematch five months later.
Also Read: 3 things every Rose Namanujas fan needs to know.
#1 - Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov - UFC 229
Conor McGregor’s loss against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 is perhaps the best example of a UFC fighter getting humbled inside the octagon. This is especially true considering McGregor’s perennial arrogance was switched up a notch and the kind of beating he took from ‘The Eagle’ during the fight.
There are many instances of Conor McGregor insulting Khabib Nurmagomedov ahead of their bout, from offering him whiskey to calling fighters from Dagestan weak. ‘Notorious’ said at the UFC 229 pre-fight press conference:
When the fight took place on October 6 in 2018, Khabib dominated McGregor throughout the fight. While ‘The Eagle’ dominated the Irishman through his well-known grappling, he also outstruck him through to the fourth round. After converting his third takedown of the bout, Khabib Nurmagomedov submitted Conor McGregor via neck crank.
While getting pounded during the fight, Conor McGregor even tried to calm his rival down by reminding him, “it’s only business.”
Also Read: 5 things that ultimately led to the Conor McGregor - Khabib Nurmagomedov brawl after UFC 229
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