10 Most Surprising Performances in MMA History

Anything can happen in a fight, or so the hated cliche goes. 

However, there were some fights in the (short) history of MMA where fans didn't think anything could happen. The results of these fights were predetermined in people's minds before the bell rung.

But the people were wrong about these fights, these fights that surprised even the most grizzled MMA fan. 

Whether an underdog pulled out the victory or a superior fighter performed terribly, there have been performances in MMA that were truly surprising and that also showed the MMA world why we keep resorting to that same tired cliche stated above. 

Some of these performances are already well known (Georges St.Pierre vs. Matt Serra, Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, and Fedor Emelianenko vs. Fabricio Werdum) and won't be further beaten to death here. 

So what are the other surprising performances that aren't frequently referred to in such lists? Read and find out (but keep in mind it's difficult to quantify surprising, so the fights are listed in chronological order).

Royce Gracie Wins UFC 1

Event: UFC 1

Date: November 12th, 1993.

Why it was surprising: Who expected the skinny Brazilian guy in the "pajamas" to win the whole tournament?

Had most Americans ever heard of Royce Gracie, let alone an arm-bar or even Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?

As far as most American's were concerned, the "true" martial arts of the world were boxing and karate. Even those Americans in the know about the power of grappling would've denigrated BJJ at the expense of collegiate wrestling and Judo.

Gracie proved them all wrong and showed that BJJ was an incredible martial art to know; it was tantamount to bringing brass knuckles in the cage with you. 

Jason DeLucia vs. Masakatsu Funaki

Event: Pancrase: Road To The Championship 2

Date: July 6th, 1994

Why it was surprising: Jason DeLucia was an ex-Kung Fu guy who had picked up some grappling. By the time DeLucia met Japanese grappling legend Masakatsu Funaki at a Pancrase event, DeLucia was only famous for losing to Royce Gracie twice (once in the UFC, once in a gym fight).

Nevertheless, he managed to submit Funaki with a kneebar in barely over a minute. Some cynics might claim this was a fix to make DeLucia a more marketable star to a young organization, but let's just give the poor man some credit and say it was a great win for a fighter who has faded into obscurity.

Kimo Leopoldo vs. Royce Gracie

Event: UFC 3

Date: November 9th, 1994

Why it was suprising: This was the Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen of its day, if you think about it.

At UFC 1 and 2, Royce Gracie made all of his opponents look like fools. 

This trend would stop at UFC 3 when Gracie met a monster of a man by the name of Kimo Leopoldo (then called just "Kimo")

He was the first man in the UFC to truly beat Gracie up. The Brazilian was human. He still got the win, but it cost everything he had. He couldn't even continue the tournament.

Keith Hackney vs. Royce Gracie

Event: UFC 4

Date: December 16th, 1994

Why it was surprising: Not a single striker had stuffed Royce Gracie's takedowns in the UFC until Gracie got into the cage with Keith Hackney. 

The Kempo stylist would eventually get submitted, but he surprised the martial arts world by holding his own against Gracie longer than any striker had before him.

Dan Severn Almost Wins UFC 4

Event: UFC 4

Date: December 16th, 1994

Why it was surprising: Most Americans didn't count wrestling as an effective martial art. After Dan Severn's incredible fights at UFC 4 (including a fight where he threw a Muay Thai specialist around like a rag doll with a series of suplexes) that nearly won him the tournament, they didn't question wrestling anymore. 

The sport was proven as the be-all and end-all of combat sports; if you didn't have wrestling in your arsenal, you couldn't win.

Mark Coleman vs. Maurice Smith

Event: UFC 14

Date: July 27th, 1997

Why it was surprising: Grapplers—especially wrestlers—always beat strikers, or so conventional wisdom of the time dictated. 

So it's not surprising that people expected Mark Coleman, the recently anointed UFC heavyweight champion and highly credentialed wrestler, to smash the former kickboxer Maurice Smith.

Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Royce Gracie

Event:  Pride 2000 Grand Prix Finals

Date: May 1st, 2000

Why it was surprising: The Gracies used to be royalty in MMA. Their name carried tremendous weight and they were almost like a pantheon of martial arts gods.

Kazushi Sakuraba helped prove to the world that this was a myth. The Gracies weren't invincible and were just regular fighters like everyone else. 

Sakuraba defeated so many Gracies that he earned the nickname "The Gracie Hunter" but his legacy was cemented in his epic 90-minute duel against Royce Gracie in the 2000 Pride Grand Prix.

Kevin Randleman vs. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic

Event: Pride Total Elimination 2004

Date: April 25th, 2004

Why it was surprising: Kevin Randleman was a one-dimensional wrestler, seemingly a tailor made opponent for Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic who was a feared striker who could sprawl. The fight was sure to end in a knockout and it did...it was just the "wrong" guy who went unconscious.

Randleman knocked "Cro Cop" out in just under two minutes in what is still one of the most shocking results to date.

Tito Ortiz vs. Patrick Cote

Event: UFC 50

Date: October 22, 2004

Why it was surprising: Patrick Cote was a nobody who took a fight against the former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz and he only took the fight on four days notice.

Cote only had five fights at the time and Ortiz had nearly three times as many. Despite the vast difference in experience, Cote went the distance with Ortiz, a feat nobody thought Cote could manage.

Cote would end up washing out of the UFC, but this one performance against Ortiz should always be remembered as an example of a true Rocky-type story—an underdog just trying his best and managing to do something that shocked the world even though he didn't win.

Jake Shields vs. Dan Henderson

Event: Strikeforce: Nashville

Date: April 17th, 2010

Why it was surprising: Dan Henderson was the MMA legend and Jake Shields was the "B-League" fighter who had faced questionable competition. 

So much did Strikeforce expect Henderson to win that they barely promoted Shields heading into the fight. 

Unfortunately for them, Shields won in impressive fashion. After getting trounced in the first round, Shields rallied and dominated Henderson for the remaining 20 minutes of the fight, a difficult thing to do to a former Olympic wrestler.  

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