UFC 152: Vitor Belfort and the 10 Biggest Underdogs in UFC History

It's no secret that Americans and sports fans in general love an underdog. There's just something attractive to fans about rooting for the team or person that's supposed to lose. If you want to understand the psyche about rooting for underdogs ask a Chicago Cub.

The fighters on this list share a lot in common with one another. For one, as the title suggests, they were considered huge underdogs coming into their fights. Whether they won or loss made little difference in the weeks leading up to the bout, as every fan had already penciled in a mark in the loss column for these men.

A current fighter in the process of entering a fight that he's supposed to lose is Vitor Belfort. The Brazilian is set to face Jon Jones at UFC 152 and is widely considered to be just another victim for the champion, just like these fighters were.

I didn't pick these fights based on betting lines but rather the idea of the fighter having no chance coming into the contest. Certainly this list is not meant to be an end-all type of list, as fans' ideas about underdogs are extremely subjective.

With that disclaimer said, sit back and enjoy a trip down memory lane in hopes of witnessing another underdog story unfold at UFC 152.

Vitor Belfort: UFC 152

Vitor Belfort's last win at light heavyweight occurred all the way back in 2007. If that isn't reason enough for Belfort to be a huge underdog how about we consider the fact that the Brazilian is coming off of wins against a guy who isn't in the UFC anymore (Anthony Johnson) and a guy who is at 170 pounds (Yoshihiro Akiyama).

Belfort is the type of guy who always has a puncher's chance in any fight, due to his lightning quick hand speed and power, but that's about all he will have in his fight against Jon Jones. The champion is a better wrestler, which will likely negate Belfort's BJJ black belt.

The matchup is the UFC's attempt to make the best of a messy situation, but Belfort does have the power to make fans tune in, if for nothing less than to see if he can land his patented punches on Jones' chin.

B.J. Penn: UFC 46

B.J. Penn was already a successful fighter coming into UFC 46 but that conversation stopped as soon as the Hawaiian decided to move up a weight class. Not only was Penn moving up a weight class but he was also facing off against Matt Hughes, the reigning king at welterweight.

To give you an idea of just how far apart these men were in their careers, Penn's MMA record stood at just 6-1-1 compared to Hughes' record of 35-3.

Most expected Penn to be dominated by the much bigger and stronger Hughes, but that didn't seem to phase Penn. He was able to secure Hughes' back and secured a rear-naked choke in just over four minutes into the first round.

Penn proved once again that size means little in the face of a determined challenger and helped show that BJJ was still a dominant tool for fighters to possess.

Joe Lauzon: UFC 63

Joe Lauzon looks every bit the part of an underdog in MMA. He looks nothing like what most people imagine when they think of fighter, but make no mistake about it, the guy brings it every time in the Octagon.

Fans were ready to witness the resurrection of Jens Pulver's career at UFC 63. Pulver was a former world champion and was making his return to the Octagon after competing overseas. Pulver had the bigger name coming into the fight, but afterwards every MMA fan knew Lauzon's name.

In a moment of irony, Lauzon dropped Pulver with his own signature punch and earned his place on any MMA fan's "biggest upset list" for all time.

Forrest Griffin: UFC 76

When the UFC purchased PRIDE, fans were eagerly anticipating some dream matches to finally happen as the rosters merged. Among the top talent coming from overseas was Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. The Brazilian Muay Thai specialist was one of the best strikers in the sport and looked to become a dominant force in the UFC.

Forrest Griffin represented everything that the UFC needed in order to make Rua a household name in the UFC. Griffin was a popular name with fans and was a meager 2-2 in his last four fights. He was the quintessential sacrificial lamb for Rua's arrival to the Octagon.

Of course, Griffin cared little of all the talk about Rua and shocked the world by dominating the PRIDE superstar. The win effectively rocketed Griffin from average fighter to top level talent.

Randy Couture: UFC 68 and UFC 43

Randy Couture was considered an underdog numerous times throughout his career. Couture entered as perhaps the biggest underdog during his career when he faced Tim Sylvia at UFC 68 and Chuck Liddell at UFC 43.

Sylvia was the defending heavyweight champion and had virtually every advantage on paper. But as analysts love to point out, contests aren't fought on paper. Couture negated the size advantages of Sylvia by dropping the champion with his first punch and continued to dominate for the remainder of the fight.

Coming into UFC 43 Liddell sported only a single loss on his record and looked to be unbeatable at 205 pounds. He had a strong wrestling background that made grapplers trade strikes with "The Iceman" and the earth-shattering power in his hands.

Couture shattered the myth of invincibility surrounding Liddell, as he was not only able to take "The Iceman" down but also got the better of the striking exchanges in their contest.

Rashad Evans: UFC 88

The phrase "to be a legend you must beat a legend" was never more true than when Rashad Evans faced Chuck Liddell at UFC 88.

Evans had yet to lose but after a draw with Tito Ortiz and a split decision against Michael Bisping, he was anything but a top contender. Meanwhile Liddell had the name, history and skills to beat a one-dimensional wrestler like Evans.

Add to that the fact that Liddell appeared to be well on his way to the top after an absolute war with Wanderlei Silva. Very few fans were expecting Evans to have his hand raised at the end of their contest.

One thunderous right overhand later and Evans had dropped the underdog look and became a force in the light heavyweight division.

Dan Hardy: UFC 111

You have to give it to Dan Hardy, the man could sell you on a fight. Hardy put his salesman skills on full display in the lead-up to his clash with Georges St-Pierre at UFC 111.

Hardy had won seven fights in a row yet was anything but a credible challenger to St-Pierre. Hardy told fans for weeks that he was going to lay leather to GSP's face, but that thought never came to fruition.

The Englishman was thoroughly dominated for five rounds and even came close to being tapped out by some tight submission attempts from the champion. I'm not even sure if Hardy landed one solid punch the entire fight, yet he gained even more fans than before for showing tremendous heart through the contest.

It's hard to believe that any other fighter who was an underdog has been able to make fans believe more than Hardy did at UFC 111.

Matt Serra: UFC 69

Matt Serra won his title shot against Georges St-Pierre after defeating Chris Lytle on The Ultimate Fighter Finale. It was a split decision victory at that and Serra's first at welterweight in five years.

The matchup between Serra and Georges St-Pierre had all of the makings of a massacre. GSP was believed to be unbeatable and was well on his way to becoming the future at 170 pounds. The only problem was that Serra refused to bother himself with what fans thought about his chances at UFC 69.

Serra used his "puncher's chance" to rock GSP with a thunderous punch and followed it up with a series of strikes that sent the champion spiraling into defeat. It was perhaps the MMA's biggest upset in the history of the sport and certainly the biggest upset in UFC history.

Royce Gracie: UFC 1

Before Royce Gracie shocked he world with his use of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, many fans tuning in were expecting to see some flashy kicks and punches. Oh how disappointed they would be.

Instead of seeing karate masters displaying their "death punch" on individuals, fans witnessed a small Brazilian taking out guys who looked like they came straight out of a comic book.

Perhaps the best example of Gracie overcoming the odds at UFC 1 was when he faced off against Ken Shamrock. Shamrock was chiseled and had the physique of a body builder with actual MMA skills, yet even he fell before the Brazilian in a matter of moments.

Gracie's submission skills sparked a revolution in the world of MMA as everybody even remotely interested in fighting wanted to know what Brazilian jiu-jitsu was.

Tito Ortiz: Post-Ken Shamrock

Has there been a guy who's been counted out so many times in the past few years more than Tito Ortiz? The former UFC Light Heavyweight champion entered virtually all of his contests after his rivalry with Ken Shamrock as the underdog.

The underdog role seemed to be the only thing fueling Ortiz, as he entered the twilight years of his career. Despite an obvious decline in skills and bodily health, Ortiz continued to fight on.

His career picked up steam after his contest with Ryan Bader at UFC 132, as "The People's Champ" defeated the young prospect in the first round. It would be Ortiz's first victory since 2006 but did little to raise the hope of UFC fans.

Ortiz put up a valiant effort during his latter years, but his role as the underdog became more and more cemented with each defeat through the years.