The Biggest MMA Losers from the Month of January

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Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

January was a somewhat busy month in the world of MMA. From the cage to the newsroom, from Octagon side to the courtroom—everywhere fans seemed to turn was full of surprises.

Some of the month's biggest winners include Demetrious Johnson, who retained his UFC flyweight championship; Vitor Belfort, who scored a highlight-reel knockout win in his home country; and Glover Teixeira, who notched the biggest win of his career in Chicago.

With that, here are the biggest losers of the month of January.

Michael Bisping

Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

Michael Bisping was finally going to get his chance to fight for UFC gold against unbeaten UFC champ Anderson Silva. All he had to do was get by Vitor Belfort first.

Easier said than done, obviously.

Bisping fought hard on Belfort's soil, but walked out of the cage on the receiving end of one of the nastiest knockouts of the year so far.

Belfort threw a head kick that would paralyze a dinosaur. His shin dug into Bisping's chin, effectively ending the Brit's night and bid for the title.

Bisping must now put in double the effort he did before to get back to that spot.

Eddie Alvarez/Bellator/Fans

MMAweekly.com

Eddie Alvarez's bid to move from Bellator to the UFC is on hold for now, as a court has denied his injunction.

This is a huge blow for the former Bellator champion, who was hoping to make a jump to the big leagues. For now, his career is in limbo, as Bellator continues to pursue his re-signing.

Out of this mess, there is more than just one loser.

As well as Alvarez, the fans are losing out. The 29-year-old is immensely popular and many were anticipating his arrival in the UFC.

What's more, the fans are now becoming frustrated and angry with Bellator, who should simply allow Alvarez to walk. It's understandable that they want to keep an attraction like The Silent Assassin, but it's bad publicity for the company to be suing talent and barring them from competing.

Thiago Tavares

ufc.com

There were many already pointing at Vitor Belfort as the man who failed a drug test in Brazil, but he came away unscathed in that regard.

Unfortunately for Thiago Tavares, he did not see the same fate.

As well as getting absolutely smashed by Khabib Nurmagomedov, Tavares tested positive for steroids in a post-fight drug test. Such a dirty deed has earned him a suspension from competition and a suspicious eye from fans everywhere.