The 25 Biggest Upsets in MMA History

As great as it is to watch the best athletes perfect their craft in dominant performances, few would disagree that the one thing that might be more entertaining is a big upset from an underdog.

Other sports have a longstanding history of epic upsets. Hockey has the "Miracle on Ice," the NFL has the Giants surprising the previously undefeated Patriots in the Super Bowl a few years go, college football saw Appalachian State defeat Michigan, boxing's Buster Douglas shocked Mike Tyson and so on.

Many of these moments have gone down not only as great upsets, but also as some of the best moments in the given sport’s history.

Mixed martial arts may not have an upset of those levels yet, but given the unpredictability of the sport, it has certainly had its fair share of shocking moments.

In this list of the top 25 biggest upsets in MMA history, I’ll be examining some of the most important and most unexpected underdog victories the sport of mixed martial arts has ever seen.

25. Frankie Edgar vs. BJ Penn, UFC 112

Known by most as being the greatest lightweight in the history of the UFC and perhaps in all of MMA history, it seemed almost a foregone conclusion that BJ Penn would run through a guy who had previously been rejected for a spot on The Ultimate Fighter.

Many believed it was Gray Maynard, who owned a victory over Edgar, that deserved the title shot. But his recent fights were not impressive enough, and he was passed up by Edgar.

Edgar stepped into the fight and surprised everyone by seemingly outworking Penn on his way to a unanimous judges’ decision despite the fact that Penn out-struck Edgar in three of the five rounds, according to FightMetric.

Of course, the decision to give the fight and subsequently the championship to Edgar was met with much controversy, which led to an immediate rematch. As we all now know, Edgar dominated the rematch, proving that the first fight was not a fluke and he was indeed the real deal.

24.Brett Rogers vs. Andrei Arlovski, Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields

Andrei Arlovski was coming off a five-fight win streak that was only ended by the top heavyweight fighter in the world. Not only that, but he actually looked good in the fight against Fedor Emelianenko before he got knocked out.

So when he stepped in the cage in his next fight against an opponent who had never defeated anyone who particularly stood out, he was expected to bounce back with a dominant performance.

That didn’t happen.

Arlovski was knocked out in just 22 seconds by Brett Rogers, who had only recently become a full-time fighter. The fight shot Rogers up the rankings, and many look at this as the moment that truly changed Arlovski’s career for the worst.

23.Randy Couture vs. Chuck Liddell, UFC 43

Chuck Liddell made his MMA debut in 1998 when he defeated Noe Hernandez. He had run up his official record to 12-1 less than four years later when he stepped into the cage at UFC 43 against Randy Couture, earning numerous knockouts along the way.

There were rumors that then-champion Tito Ortiz was actually ducking Liddell, so when Liddell had a chance to earn himself an essentially automatic shot at Ortiz, many expected him to run through anyone in his way.

Randy Couture was certainly no joke, but he had suffered back-to-back losses, and some were questioning if he still had “it.”

Couture shocked everyone, though, when he knocked out Liddell in the third round of their fight, earning himself a shot at Ortiz. He would go on to defeat Ortiz to become the first fighter to hold a UFC title in more than one weight class.

Liddell eventually got his revenge, though, when he knocked out Couture both at UFC 52 and 57.

22.Tito Ortiz vs. Ryan Bader, UFC 132

A former UFC light heavyweight champion, Tito Ortiz was still considered one of the better 205-pounders on the planet when he stepped into the cage at UFC 132. Unfortunately, he was still a major underdog in a contest against one of the best up-and-comers in the sport, Ryan Bader.

Bader had recently lost in a fight against Jon Jones but was expected to mow through Ortiz, who hadn’t won a fight in nearly five years.

The veteran surprised just about everyone, though, when he not only defeated Bader but actually clipped him and then submitted him with a guillotine choke in under two minutes.

21.Houston Alexander vs. Keith Jardine

Coming off back-to-back knockout victories over Wilson Gouveia and Forrest Griffin, UFC veteran Keith Jardine was a big favorite in a contest against the debuting Houston Alexander.

Alexander was on a nice winning streak but wasn’t even a full-time fighter at the time, so most expected him to stand absolutely no chance against a guy who was perhaps a fight or two away from fighting for the UFC title.

That all went out the door, though, when Alexander completely destroyed Jardine with punches less than a minute into their fight. He only went 2-4 in his UFC career, but Alexander's victory over Jardine will likely go down as the biggest moment of his life as a fighter.

20.Andrei Arlovski vs. Tim Sylvia, UFC 51

Tim Sylvia lost his UFC heavyweight championship—and his undefeated MMA record—at UFC 48 when he had his forearm broken by Frank Mir. The injury was apparent in the replay, but Sylvia’s lack of care about it was astonishing and just furthered the belief that he was an unstoppable ogre.

Sylvia was the favorite when he stepped in to fight Andrei Arlovski at UFC 51, even though Arlovski was on an impressive streak of his own and had put out some great fighters with knockout punches.

But Arlovski did what he needed to do and landed a big punch on Sylvia before putting him in an Achilles lock, forcing the “Maine-iac” to tap out.

We would eventually see Sylvia get the best of Arlovski in the next two fights these two had, but Arlovski was the man on this night.

19.Randy Couture vs. Tim Sylvia, UFC 68

After winning his championship back from Andrei Arlovski at UFC 59, Tim Sylvia was back on his way to being an unbeatable champion.

He had all but cleared the cabinets of relevant challengers, so the UFC did something that just about no one expected when it lured Randy Couture out of retirement with a chance to, once again, become the UFC heavyweight champion.

A small heavyweight by any measure, Couture came in as an underdog against one of the largest heavyweights in the sport, but “Captain America” didn’t let that stop him from crushing the 6’8” monster in one of the most memorable displays of heart that has ever been seen in the Octagon.

18.Marcus Aurelio vs. Takanori Gomi, Pride Bushido 10

Takanori Gomi won the Pride Lightweight Grand Prix in 2005 and had run up an unbelievable 10-0 record in Pride when he was set to fight Marcus Aurelio at Pride Bushido 10.

Though Aurelio was a talented fighter, Gomi was expected to walk through him easily on his way to continuing the perception that he was the best 155-pounder in the world at the time. But things didn’t turn out that way at all.

Aurelio put Gomi on his back and slapped on an arm-triangle in the first round. Although he refused to tap out, Gomi lost the fight when he was choked unconscious.

Gomi went on to win a split decision against Aurelio later in the same year, but the damage to his mystique had been done.

17.Scott Smith vs. Cung Le, Strikeforce: Evolution

Undefeated former kickboxer Cung Le had spent 16 months out of the cage due to focusing on his budding acting career when he got in the cage with Scott Smith at Strikeforce: Evolution.

Even with the layoff, though, just about everyone expected that Le’s natural talent would be enough to take care of the solid but unspectacular Scott Smith.

After lighting Smith up for the first two rounds of the contest, Le looked to be on his way to another victory. However, it only took one punch from Smith, who landed a hook to the chin of the Strikeforce middleweight champion, wobbling him late in the third round. A few punches later and Smith’s hand was raised as the victor.

Like so many other of these, Le eventually won a rematch between these two, but Smith’s victory over Le was the first and only time that we have ever seen the actor/kickboxer/mixed martial artist truly look vulnerable.

16.Kevin Randleman vs. Mirko Cro Cop, Pride Total Elimination 2004

After running up an impressive 9-1-2 record, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic was almost unanimously considered a top-five heavyweight in the world. Some even thought he was as high as No. 2. As such, he was expected to be one of the finalists in the Pride Heavyweight Grand Prix in 2004.

His first-round opponent, Kevin Randleman, was coming off back-to-back losses and was making his return to the heavyweight division, so Cro Cop was expected to completely destroy him, especially in the standup game.

However, Randleman surprised everyone, maybe even himself, when he caught Filipovic with a huge punch in the first round and knocked the Croatian out just 1:57 into the contest.

15.Keith Jardine vs. Chuck Liddell, UFC 76

Coming off a huge upset loss of his own, it was Keith Jardine’s turn to make history at UFC 76 when he fought former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell in the main event.

Though he didn’t do it in particularly spectacular fashion, Jardine ended up edging “The Iceman” by split decision, earning himself the biggest victory of his professional career.

What’s even more memorable about this event might be the pay figures for the fighters, though. While Liddell reportedly earned an incredible $500,000 paycheck in the loss, Jardine checked in at just $14,000.

Of course, we now know that fighters get more than the numbers that are reported, especially when you consider sponsors, but this number was particularly crazy and illustrated just how much of an underdog Keith Jardine really was.

14.Mike Brown vs. Urijah Faber, WEC 36

For months, it seemed as if WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber was taking on a new challengers just for the fun of it, completely dominating them and solidifying the belief that he was one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

Though he had defeated Jeff Curran in his previous fight, Mike Brown was expected to be no different.

A confident Faber danced around the cage, throwing his usual set of crazy strikes, but unlike so many other challengers who had come before him, Mike Brown saw one of them coming.

Brown countered with one big punch that put Faber on his back, where Brown finished the fight to become the new WEC featherweight champion.

13.Dan Henderson vs. Wanderlei Silva, Pride 33

It might not sound like an upset now when we look back on it, but the MMA world looked on in unified shock when Dan Henderson knocked out Wanderlei Silva at Pride 33 to become the Pride middleweight champion.

As the Pride welterweight champion at the time, Henderson was considered by many to be a big underdog in a larger weight class against perhaps the most terrifying fighter on the planet at the time. Coming into that contest, Silva had lost just one fight in the previous seven years at 205 pounds.

Henderson showed off an iron chin in the contest and unleashed a hellacious “H-bomb” that caught Silva and ended the fight by knockout in the third round.

12.Brian Bowles vs. Miguel Torres, WEC 42

Like Urijah Faber before him, WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres had established himself as the best there was in the world at 135 pounds. His entertaining fighting style was trumped only by his complete dominance in the division, but things changed at WEC 42 when he battled Brian Bowles.

Bowles was a big underdog against the consensus top-10 pound-for-pound champion, and things looked to be going according to plan early with Torres out-striking him.

However, Bowles caught Torres with one big punch and quickly finished him with some more punches on the ground, ending Torres’ 17-fight win streak and becoming the WEC bantamweight champion in the process.

11.Anderson Silva vs. Hayato Sakurai, Shooto: To the Top 7

This one is almost laughable now, as we now know Anderson Silva to be arguably the greatest mixed martial arts fighter of all time, but the odds were against him when he fought Hayato Sakurai in 2001.

Sakurai had put together an impressive 18-0-2 record, and the Shooto middleweight champion was making his eighth championship defense in this contest.

Meanwhile, his opponent, Silva, was competing in just his eighth professional fight. Needless to say, the odds were against The Spider.

Silva out-struck Sakurai for three rounds on his way to a unanimous decision victory and became the new Shooto middleweight champion.

10.Joe Lauzon vs. Jens Pulver, UFC 63

Pulver, the legendary former UFC lightweight champion, was making his return to the UFC after more than four years out of the promotion and was expected to have a nice return against a UFC newcomer when he fought Joe Lauzon at UFC.

Pulver is well known for being one of the most powerful punchers at 155 pounds, but things didn’t go as planned for “Little Evil” that night, as he got caught with a punch from Lauzon that ended the fight just 47 seconds in.

Many believe this was the moment that Jens Pulver’s career really fell off, as he has gone just 4-8 since his loss to Lauzon.

9. BJ Penn vs. Matt Hughes, UFC 46

When the UFC disbanded the lightweight division in 2003, it left some uncomfortable situations for certain fighters who were believed by many to be too small to compete at 170 pounds. BJ Penn was one of those fighters.

With Hughes having completely cleared out the division, the UFC gave Penn a shot at the title in just his first fight in the division. Naturally, it was believed that Hughes would use his size and wrestling to control and punish Penn, and he was considered a big favorite going into the fight.

But this was the night that BJ Penn’s legacy in the UFC really began.

Penn caught Hughes with a punch late in the first round, stumbling the champion and sending him to the mat.

Unlike many other fighters who would have opted to try to finish the fight with strikes, Penn went to his bread and butter by taking Hughes’ back and using his tremendous jiu-jitsu to submit the champion with a rear-naked choke.

8. Seth Petruzelli vs. Kimbo Slice, EliteXC: Heat

It seems odd, but Kimbo Slice was a favorite in just his third professional fight when he was set to fight MMA legend Ken Shamrock at EliteXC: Heat in October 2008.

Not only that, but things were even more lopsided when Shamrock had to drop out of the fight when he sustained a cut in pre-fight warm-ups, leaving EliteXC in a tough spot as it desperately looked to find a replacement on short notice.

In stepped Seth Petruzelli, a natural light heavyweight, who moved up in weight classes to fight the former street brawler on just a few hours’ notice.

Controversy arose when we eventually found out that Petruzelli was essentially told he would be given more money if he stood and exchanged punches with Kimbo, but that plan backfired on whoever set it up, as Petruzelli shocked the world by knocking Slice out in just 14 seconds.

Seth Petruzelli became UFC president Dana White’s favorite fighter (at least for one night) on that night.

7. Junior dos Santos vs. Fabricio Werdum, UFC 90

With a record of 6-1 and making his UFC debut, Junior dos Santos was believed to be an appetizer for top contender Fabricio Werdum on his path to a shot at the UFC heavyweight championship. He was just 24 years old at the time and had not ever fought anyone of note, but dos Santos proved that sometimes that can be a good thing.

Werdum likely did not have nearly as much film on dos Santos as dos Santos did on Werdum, and it showed, as Werdum opted to try to stand with the young boxer. He paid the price, as dos Santos caught him with a gigantic uppercut to the jaw that put an end to the fight just 1:21 into the first round.

6.Forrest Griffin vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, UFC 76

Though he was one of the most popular fighters in the world, former The Ultimate Fighter winner Forrest Griffin was considered a huge underdog when he fought the debuting Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 76.

Griffin was solid, but many believed that not only was Shogun good, he might have been the best light heavyweight on the planet at the time.

The Brazilian was coming off a ridiculous run in Pride that included victories over Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Ricardo Arona, Alistair Overeem, Kevin Randleman and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, among others. But he was simply not at his best at UFC 76.

Shogun looked lethargic, as he was out-struck and eventually submitted by Griffin in the third round, completing one of the most unlikely upsets in UFC history.

5. Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Mirko Cro Cop, UFC 70

Considered by many to be the No. 2 heavyweight in the world, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic was coming off a crushing victory over Eddie Sanchez in his UFC debut just two months prior and was expected to destroy Gabriel Gonzaga in similar fashion.

We anticipated seeing Mirko Cro Cop’s patented high kick at some point throughout the fight, but no one could have seen it coming in the opposite direction, as Gonzaga nearly knocked the Croatian’s head off with a head kick of his own.

Many will remember this fight as one of the most violent knockouts in UFC history, but its place on this list is unquestioned as well.

Gonzaga would go on to earn himself a UFC heavyweight title shot, but his career quickly faded away after he was dominated by champion Randy Couture.

4.Daiju Takase vs. Anderson Silva, Pride 26

Anderson Silva left for Pride shortly after winning the Shooto middleweight championship in August 2001, leaving behind his championship in an effort to compete against better talent in what was then arguably the biggest MMA promotion in the world.

Silva dominated his first three fights in the Pride ring and looked to be well on his way to becoming one of the top fighters in the organization when he battled Daiju Takase, a journeyman fighter from Japan, at Pride 26.

Takase’s pro record stood at just 4-7-1 when he was matched up with Silva in what was expected to be a squash match, but he pulled off one of the biggest upsets in MMA history when he locked The Spider in a triangle choke late in the first round. Silva was forced to tap out.

The victory was surprising back then, and it’s even more surprising now that we have seen what Silva has become in comparison to what Takase has become.

Takase’s MMA record is now an unimpressive 9-13-2, while Anderson Silva has run off what might be the greatest winning streak in the history of the sport, bringing his official record to 31-4.

3. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Pride 33

Though he was considered the lesser-skilled of the twin brothers, Antonio “Little Nog” Rogerio Nogueira was still widely believed to be one of the top fighters in the world when he fought Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou at Pride 33.

Nogueira had earned victories over MMA legends such as Kazushi Sakuraba, Alistair Overeem (twice) and Dan Henderson, so some were confused as to why he was given a fight against Sokoudjou, who was making his Pride debut with just a 2-1 pro record that included a knockout loss in his previous fight.

Sokoudjou was a massive underdog at 16:1 but caught Nogueira with a knockout punch just 23 seconds into the fight, completing what was likely the biggest upset in MMA history at the time.

2. Fabricio Werdum vs. Fedor Emelianenko, Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum

Call him Fedor, call him Emelianenko, call him “The Last Emperor,” call him what you will—for the better part of a decade, the Russian heavyweight was widely believed to be the greatest fighter on the planet and likely in the history of the sport.

Fedor was as dominant of a champion as we have ever seen, defeating the likes of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mirko Cro Cop, Mark Coleman and countless others before Pride closed its doors with him still listed as the undefeated champion.

Despite being one of the top 10 heavyweights in the world at the time, Fabricio Werdum came into his fight against Emelianenko as a large underdog. He would leave with his name being forever placed in the record books as the man who ended the legendary 28-fight winning streak of Fedor Emelianenko.

After being knocked down early in the bout, Werdum lured Emelianenko into his guard, where he slipped on a triangle/armbar combination that resulted in Fedor submitting for the first time in his career.

The win shot Werdum all the way up into the top three on just about every major MMA rankings list and made him one of the favorites to win the eventual Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament.

1. Matt Serra vs. Georges St-Pierre, UFC 69

When Matt Serra won The Ultimate Fighter 4: The Comeback, it came with a few prizes. Not only did his name go down in the record books as a winner of the highly regarded show, but he also earned himself a $100,000 UFC contract and a $100,000 sponsorship from Xyience.

However, the biggest prize was not in the money, nor was it in the title of being a TUF champion. Rather, being that year’s TUF champion came with a prize that many fans believed to be a complete joke, as the winner received an automatic shot at the UFC welterweight championship held by Georges St-Pierre.

St-Pierre was expected to completely destroy Serra, who was a good fighter by most standards, but was just not considered anywhere near the level of GSP. The two would do battle at UFC 69 in an event that some believed to be unworthy of a pay-per-view purchase, given St-Pierre’s status as a 10:1 favorite in the fight.

As we always say, though, there is always a “puncher’s chance” in any fight, and Matt Serra proved it at UFC 69 when he shocked the world—and himself—by catching St-Pierre with a punch midway through the first round.

It looked as if GSP might be able to recover, but Serra tagged him again and again before the referee finally called a stop to the bout, declaring Matt Serra the new UFC welterweight champion.

Though St-Pierre would eventually win his title back from Serra in a dominant performance, the knockout loss is one that has always left questions in experts’ minds about whether he will win a given fight. We know he’s a better athlete, a better wrestler and will have a better game plan than just about anyone he fights, but the question will always remain—what if he gets hit?

He’ll have perhaps the biggest test of that question at UFC 137 later this month when he fights Carlos Condit. Condit may have not been the UFC’s first choice as a challenger, but like Serra before him, he possesses the knockout power to put anyone in the welterweight division down with just one punch.