UFC 139 Results: Shogun Rua and 5 Most Inconsistent Fighters of All Time

UFC 139 proved that at 41 years old, Dan Henderson still has “it.” Unfortunately, in the same night, from round to round, we got an example of why Mauricio “Shogun” Rua might be the most inconsistent fighter of all time.

Shogun seemed to bounce back and forth from nearly being knocked out during his UFC 139 main-event fight on Saturday night to nearly knocking out an opponent who has never been knocked out.

Dan Henderson is one of the best of all time, so it’s not as if a loss to him would be hugely detrimental to his legacy, but it’s the up-and-down nature of his career that has people saying that he is among the most inconsistent fighters in MMA history.

So where does he rank among the most inconsistent mixed martial artists of all time? 

5. Forrest Griffin

HIGH MOMENT - Defeating Rampage Jackson to become UFC light heavyweight champion at UFC 86

LOW MOMENT - Loss to Anderson Silva at UFC 101

The original Ultimate Fighter, Forrest Griffin quickly became one of the most popular fighters on the planet. His fight in the finals against Stephan Bonnar is one of the most infamous battles of all time.

He went on to become the UFC light heavyweight champion by defeating Quinton “Rampage” Jackson but would lose the title in his first defense against Rashad Evans. He then got humiliated by Anderson Silva in his next fight and has never been the same again. 

4. Frank Mir

HIGH MOMENT - Defeating Tim Sylvia for the UFC heavyweight title at UFC 48

LOW MOMENT - Loss to Marcio Cruz at UFC 57

If ever there has been an inconsistent fighter in the heavyweight division, it has been Frank Mir.

Mir won the UFC heavyweight title by defeating Tim Sylvia in just his ninth professional fight. Unfortunately, he was in a terrible motorcycle accident shortly thereafter and spent nearly two years recovering. When he came back, he just was not the same guy.

His return fight against Marcio Cruz was unquestionably the worst performance of his career, as he was knocked out in humiliating fashion.

Mir went back up again later with a victory over the debuting Brock Lesnar...then he dropped again with a brutal loss to Lesnar just over a year later. Up again with great win over Cheick Kongo...and down again with awful performances against both Shane Carwin and Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic.

Though he had an “up” performance against Roy Nelson, history would tell us that he may be in for a “down” performance at UFC 140 when he has a rematch against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. 

3. BJ Penn

HIGH MOMENT - Defeating Matt Hughes at UFC 46 to become the UFC welterweight champion

LOW MOMENT - Loss to Nick Diaz at UFC 137

Judging by the way that his career began, BJ Penn truly earned the nickname “The Prodigy.” At 25 years old, Penn had already competed in a UFC lightweight title fight and then went on to become the UFC welterweight champion by defeating the perceived-to-be unbeatable Matt Hughes in one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport.

Over the years, Penn has established himself as one of the greatest pound-for-pound mixed martial artists of all time. Unfortunately, in recent years, even though he is still widely considered a top fighter in both the lightweight and welterweight divisions, he has not been anywhere near as consistent as he was in his younger years.

The 32-year-old is just 1-3-1 in his five most recent fights, with the one draw coming in a fight that many believe he should have lost against Jon Fitch.

Penn is an amazing fighter, there is no doubt. But he just seems to go back and forth between having that “killer instinct” and, well...not.

If his most recent fight against Nick Diaz was the final fight of his career, it has been an epic career, but an unquestionably inconsistent one. 

2. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua

HIGH MOMENT - Winning the Pride Middleweight Grand Prix in 2005

LOW MOMENT - Loss to Forrest Griffin at UFC 76

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua officially took his former Chute Boxe teammate Wanderlei Silva’s spot as the top 205-pound fighter in the world in August 2005 when he won the Pride Middleweight Grand Prix tournament.

Rua came over to the UFC in 2007 still widely considered No. 1 in the world. His first test was against former The Ultimate Fighter winner Forrest Griffin. Griffin was a solid fighter, but he was a significant underdog against Rua at UFC 76.

The odds-makers were wrong, though, as Griffin not only held his own, but he eventually submitted Shogun with a rear-naked choke late in the third round.

Rua looked terrible again in his next fight, barely defeating Mark Coleman. Since then, he has gone 3-3, alternating wins and losses, including his loss to Henderson at UFC 139.

He did win the UFC light heavyweight title, but Shogun’s inconsistency has been proven both in his record as well as in his performances, particularly in the Octagon. People will make the excuse that he has not recovered from his injury, and that certainly could play a part in things, but he just doesn’t seem to have the same intensity that he did in Pride. 

1. Rich Franklin

HIGH MOMENT - Defeating Evan Tanner at UFC 53 to become the UFC middleweight champion

LOW MOMENT - Loss to Anderson Silva at UFC 77

Rich Franklin was 21-1 in his career when he first got his shot at the UFC middleweight championship against then-champion Evan Tanner.

However, the 185-pound division in Pride was generally considered to be better than what the UFC was putting out at the time, and many believed that Franklin might just have been a big fish in a small pond. This was essentially proven in Franklin’s third defense of the title against Anderson Silva, when Silva completely destroyed his face with a horrific number of knees, taking away “Ace’s” title in the process.

Franklin battled back and earned another shot at the title, but the second fight against Silva might have been even worse and very likely marked the low point in his career, as he took yet another violent beating.

He has since moved up to the light heavyweight division on a permanent basis, but the inconsistency he has shown there has been much worse than what he showed in the middleweight division. His record since moving back to 205 is just 3-3 and although he has looked good in victories over the likes of Wanderlei Silva and Chuck Liddell, he has also been completely smashed in knockout loss to Vitor Belfort and outclassed against Forrest Griffin.

Franklin is still a quality fighter, but it’s extremely hard to predict which fighter will show up nowadays and since moving to 205, he has to be considered the most inconsistent fighter in MMA.