MMA's Biggest Losers in the Month of November

November is in the rear-view mirror, and many females are thanking their lucky stars that many of the moustaches have gone with it. Props to those men who have the courage to make the lip fur permanent, but be warned, it could get you on a list similar to this in the future.

It was a fairly light month in the world of MMA, but there are still fighters out there who did not do themselves any favours in the last month.

For some, making this list was self-inflicted, while for others, it was simply bad luck and circumstance.

Here are the 10 biggest losers in the month of November.

10. Thiago Santos

Division: Heavyweight
Promotion: Bellator
Why: Lost via mystery punch to Richard Hale

Thiago Santos makes this list for the second month in a row, but this time, it is for an entirely different reason, as Santos blew a big opportunity to advance to the Bellator heavyweight final.

Santos had his smaller opponent, Richard Hale, rocked and reeling to start the bout, only to seemingly gas out and collapse meekly after Hale countered a brief flurry. Opportunity lost.

9. Strikeforce Fans

There are many in the MMA world who say it's about time and are happy about the demise of the Strikeforce brand, but there are many on the flip side as well. Fans of the brand will forever remember the fresh, early days of the promotion rather than the last months of cancelled shows and uncertainty.

In a world where more successful, smaller mixed martial arts shows are needed to grow the grassroots and develop new fighters, the end of Strikeforce is a loss for MMA fans.

8. Shane Carwin

Division: Heavyweight
Promotion: UFC 

Why: Had to withdraw from his next scheduled fight due to injury again

Have we seen the last of big man Shane Carwin in the UFC? It was announced in November that the heavyweight knockout king had to withdraw from another fight due to injury. Carwin has not fought in the Octagon since he was beaten badly by champion Junior dos Santos over a year and a half ago.

He was supposed to return in January of this year until back surgery postponed his return until mid-year. He then signed on as a coach for TUF 16 opposite Roy Nelson and was booked to face him on December 15th. A knee injury has forced him out again, and at 37 years old, time is running out.

7. Mike Richman

Division: Featherweight

Promotion: Bellator

Why: Lost in tournament semifinal and had his run derailed by Shahbulat Shamhalaev

Mike Richman was on an incredible run in 2012 that saw many picking him as the next challenger to the Bellator featherweight title. He ran into Shahbulat Shamhalaev in the semifinals on November 2 and was stopped dead in his tracks.

Shamhalaev knocked Richman out with a counter right hand and put an end to the rise of The Marine.

6. Forrest Petz

Division: Welterweight
Promotion: Score Fighting Series 

Why: Career revival stopped by quick KO loss to Jordan Mein

Former UFC veteran Forrest Petz was coming off an incredible performance that set him up for a fantastic resurgence in his career. A win over Jordan Mein on November 23 at SFS 7 would have put him in serious consideration for a return to the big show.

Instead, Petz was stopped quickly by a Mein barrage of elbows and knees, showing that he is not able to hang with the many young guns rising up to the UFC. It may have been his last opportunity to get back to the top.

5. Mark Hominick

Division: Featherweight

Promotion: UFC

Why: Lost his fourth fight in a row in brutal fashion

Despite the patience and loyalty being shown by Dana White, we may have seen the last of Mark Hominick in the UFC. His loss to Pablo Garza at UFC 154 was his fourth loss in a row and showed absolutely that The Machine's best days are behind him.

White has not pulled the trigger on releasing the popular Canadian, but it's hard to imagine what fights are left out there to motivate the former title contender.

4. Lorenz Larkin

Division: Middleweight

Promotion: Strikeforce / UFC

Why: Title fight with Luke Rockhold called off for the second time

Lorenz Larkin has lost another chance to take out Luke Rockhold and gain the Strikeforce middleweight title. The fight was originally scheduled for November 3, but a wrist injury to Rockhold postponed the fight until January.

That same injury has failed to heal completely yet, and now the January fight has been called off. Larkin has lost all patience and now feels that Rockhold is ducking him and wants to move on. Larkin lost his chance to enter the UFC as the Strikeforce middleweight champion.

3. Rich Clementi

Division: Lightweight

Promotion: Bellator

Why: Lost in Bellator lightweight tourney semifinal and retired from MMA

Rich Clementi has had a very successful career as a mixed martial arts fighter, and it came to a close in the month of November. Clementi lost to Marcin Held in the Bellator lightweight tournament semifinals and announced his retirement shortly after.

Clementi is a real winner with the longevity and diversity he has had in his career, but anytime a fighter loses and is forced to call it quits before accomplishing his final goal, disappointment prevails.

2. Martin Kampmann

Division: Welterweight

Promotion: UFC

Why: Loses welterweight title shot in the blink of an eye

Martin Kampmann spent years fighting, scratching and clawing to earn his spot at the doorstep of a UFC title shot. At UFC 154, Johny Hendricks took it away with one straight left to the button.

In a split second, Kampmann found himself laid out flat on his back looking up as his title shot danced away with the swirling stars around his head. Kampmann remains in the mix gong into 2013, but he will now have to win one or two tough fights to get his shot at UFC gold

1. Rich Franklin

Division: Middleweight

Promotion: UFC

Why: Violently knocked out by Cung Le in what could be his final UFC fight

Rich Franklin is one of the most decorated and popular UFC fighters of all-time, and his career may have ended in the month of November. He was knocked out violently by Cung Le at UFC on Fuel. Macau and is now left to ponder an end to his career.

Franklin was talking about one final run at middelweight before a devastating punch from Le left him unconscious and face down on the canvas in what could be a haunting last image of Ace in the cage.

Dwight Wakabayashi is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA and guest blogger for Sportsnet.ca UFC.

Catch him on Facebook and Twitter @wakafightermma.