MMA History: 10 Greatest In-Fight Comebacks of All-Time

 Nothing can endear a fighter more to their fans than overcoming adversity. Sure we all enjoy seeing dominance, but there is just something magical about seeing your idol vulnerable and human one minute and victorious the next. The raw emotion of a in-fight comeback can not be replicated by Hollywood no matter how hard they try.

The following fights were selected based on relevance, renown and just a plain wow factor. So without further ado, I give you: 10 Greatest In-Fight Comebacks in MMA History.   

10. Roger Huerta vs Clay Guida (The Ultimate Fighter 6 Finale)

 Sports Illustrated cover boy Roger Huerta squared off against fan favorite Clay Guida in the main event of The Ultimate Fighter season 6 Finale.

Guida used his wrestling to control the first round and stunned Huerta with a right hand in the second. Huerta knowing he was down two rounds, came out like a man possessed in the third, throwing a barrage of strikes. Overwhelmed, Guida shot in to a head kick and was floored. Smelling blood El Matador jumped on the dazed Guida and finished him with a rear-naked-choke in just 31 seconds of the third round.  

9. Cung Le vs Scott Smith (Strikeforce Evolution)

 How could a comeback list be complete without MMA's comeback kid, Scott Smith. And comeback he did against former Strikeforce middleweight champion, actor and part time fighter Cung Le.

Le the charismatic San Shou stylist would dominate the first round, knocking Smith down twice with head kicks and nearly stopping him. The onslaught would continue in the second frame with Le landing kicks at will. But in round three Smith's hands of steel would strike. Smith landed a left hook that dropped the fatigued Le and swarmed San Jose's favorite son for the victory. This amazingly marked the third come from behind victory of Scott Smith's career.

8. Andrei Arlovski vs Tim Sylvia II (UFC 59)

 In 2005 Andrei Arlovski and Tim Sylvia were two big fish standing in the very shallow pond that was the UFC heavyweight division. Arlovski was the reigning UFC heavyweight champion (the "interim" moniker recently being removed), running through overmatched opponents like a freight train. The only logical fight at the time was a rematch with former champion, Tim Sylvia. 

In what looked like a replay of their first fight, Arlovski dropped Sylvia early in round one with a hard right hand. But the outcome would be different this day, as Big Tim was able to recover and land a short upper cut on the fragile chin of the champ, knocking him flat on his face. Sylvia finished off Arlovski with punches on the ground to regain the UFC heavyweight title.

It's only fitting that these two share a spot on my list as they have shared a lot throughout their careers. Both former UFC heavyweight champions, both former UFC interim heavyweight champions and both co-headlined Affliction PPVs only to be clobbered by Fedor. I smell a segue.

7. Fedor Emelianenko vs Kazuyuki Fujita (Pride 26)

Fedor Emelianenko is no stranger to overcoming adversity. At Pride 26, unranked heavyweight Kazuyuki Fujita almost shocked the MMA world when he landed a wild right hook early in the first round.

The punch hit Emelianenko on the temple, hurting and wobbling the Russian champion. Fedor was able to hold on as Fujita foolishly took the fight to the ground giving Emelianenko time to recover. Once back on his feet, a still visibly hurt Emelianenko knocked Fujita down and finished him with a vicious rear-naked-choke. 

Winning the Pride heavyweight title from Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira put Fedor on the map, but this was the fight that won over the Japanese fans.

6. Tim Sylvia vs Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira UFC (81)

With heavyweight champion Randy Couture locked in a legal battle with the UFC, former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia squared off against former Pride heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira for yet another UFC interim heavyweight title.

The towering Sylvia was able to keep the fight standing and punished Nogueira on the feet. Nogueira was dropped in the first round and continued to be beaten to the punch in the second. 

At the start of third round it looked like Big Tim would continue to take apart the Brazilian, but the submission dynamo had other plans. After eating yet another right hand Nogueira manage to pull half guard and swept his larger opponent. When Sylvia attempted to get to his feet Minotauro sank in a deep guillotine choke amd forced the tap at 1:28 of the third round.   

5. Shonie Carter vs Matt Serra (UFC 31)

 Before he would go on to shock Georges St-Pierre and win the welterweight crown, Matt "The Terror" Serra was an up and coming lightweight. Armed with a Renzo Gracie black belt, Serra was undefeated, submitting all four of his opponents. 

Serra made his UFC debut against the crafty and flamboyant Shonie Carter at UFC 31. It seemed Serra was heading to a very workman like decision when with ten seconds left Mr. International missed a lazy high kick and came back around with a spinning back fist. The blow knocked Serra out and gave Carter the 19th win of his veteran career. 

This would have been the most famous highlight starring Shonnie Carter if it hadn't been for the "Double-Knock Out". But that's a tale for another day.

4. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs Cro Cop (Pride Final Conflict 2003)

 With heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko out with an injury, Pride decided to crown an interim champion (you may see a pattern forming at this point). So a match between former champ, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and former K-1 standout, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic was signed. 

Cro Cop was undefeated in his MMA career, leaving broken bones and unconscious bodies in his wake. He was a certified boogie man and looked the part in the first ten minutea of the Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira fight. Nogueira's ground game was nullified as Crop Cop was able to assault Minotauro's body with kicks and bloody his face with punches. At the closing seconds of the first round, Cro Cop sent his foe to the canvas with a trademark left high kick. But the durable Brazilian would survive.

A refreshed Nogueira came out in the second and scored a takedown. When Mirko tried to buck Nogueira off, the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt quickly snatched an arm and secured another come from behind submission victory.  

3. Brock Lesnar vs Shane Carwin (UFC 116)

 In the biggest MMA event of 2010, UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar faced off against the equally mammoth Shane Carwin. With the fall of Fedor just a week prior, the sports number one heavyweight ranking was on the line.

Unable to secure a takedown in the first, Brock was assaulted on the feet by the heavy handed challenger. With the champion retreating against the fence, Carwin knocked Lesnar down and battered him with punches and elbows on the ground. The fight was close to being stopped, but a vulnerable and bloodied Lesnar was able to weather the storm. Brock managed to stand up and push Carwin against the fence for the remainder of the round. At the start of the second, Lesnar finally scored a takedown on the exhausted Carwin. From their the former WWE superstar was able to secure an arm triangle choke for the tap at 2:19 of the second round.

Lesnar came out of this match "a humble champion" who finally showed is metal in the MMA arena. Where Brock's career will go from here is anyone's guess, but his come from behind victory as earned him a spot next to some MMA heavyweight royalty.   

2. Scott Smith vs Pete Sell (The Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale)

No comeback list could ever be complete without Scott Smith vs Pete Sell. The ending of this fight could have very easily been in a Rocky movie (well not Rocky V cause that was terrible).

In what was a fun back and forth affair, Scott Smith and Pete Sell slugged it out for a round and half. With over three minutes gone by in the third round, Sell lands a vicious left hook to the body that sends Smith reeling back twords the cage, holding his ribs. With his oppoent seriously hurt and seemingly defensless, Sell charged in for the finish only to be met by the right hand of Smith. Sell was knocked silly and the fight was stopped. After the stoppage Smith dropped to floor.

It was quite the sight, as both victor and loser lie in the octagon. Scott Smith would go on to notch two more come from behind knockouts (as noted earlier), but non more dramtatic than this.

Honorable Mentions

Before I reveal the number one in-fight comeback, let me share some honorable mentions.   

• Chris Leben's knock out of Terry Martin at UFC Fight Night 11

• Marcus Davis survives a head kick from Paul Taylor to secure an arm bar victory at UFC 75

• Kazushi Sakuraba withstands yet another beating to arm bar Kestutis Smirnovas at Hero's 6

1. Matt Hughes vs Frank Trigg II (UFC 52)

There are so many reasons why I picked this fight as my number one. This was the UFC's first PPV following season one of the Ultimate Fighter. Tension's were high between Matt Hughes and Frank Trigg leading up to the rematch for UFC welterweight championship (this was mostly due to the large amount of trash talk by Frank Trigg).

Early in round one Trigg hit Hughes below the belt, visibly hurting the champion. Unnoticed by the referee, Trigg jumped in and knocked Hughes down. Trigg continued to pound Hughes from the mount and eventually took his back. Once there Trigg threatened with a rear-naked-choke. How poetic would it be for Frank Trigg to finish his nemesis in the very same way he lost in the first encounter, but it was not meant to be.

Hughes was able to fend off the submission attempt and some how get to his feat. Once there Hughes picked up the would be challenger and literally ran him across the ring for a slam. Once on the ground, Hughes dished out some ground-and-pond before securing his foe in another rear-naked-choke. Trigg tapped, thus concluding the greatest comeback in MMA history.