Which UFC downfall was the worst?

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SmoothPies

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I'm talking about people who at one point were on top. Ranked #1 in the world and went downhill hard and fast.

Some notable candidates, although I may have missed some:

Weidman
-Loses title to Rockhold via TKO
-Loses next 4 of 5 fights, all by TKO/KO

Barao
-Loses title to Dillashaw via TKO
-Loses next 7 of 9 fights

Hendricks
-Loses title to Lawler
-Loses next 5 of 7 fights, 3 via TKO

BJ Penn
-Loses title to Edgar
-Loses next 8 of 10 fights

Anderson Silva
-Loses title to Weidman via KO
-Loses next 5 of 7 fights

Ronda Rousey
-Loses title to Holm via KO
-Loses next fight to Nunes via TKO and retires

Chuck Liddell
-Loses title via TKO to Rampage
-Loses next 5 of 6 fights (one recently to Tito :( )
 
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Chuck

A few years previously he'd of destroyed Franklin and Rashad.


IMO Shogun too!
 
Gotta be Barao. He was supposed to be the next Champ and had an incredible win streak going up until he ran into Dilly's fists. With Silva, he was getting older and it was only a matter of time.
 
Not UFC, but WEC was owned by Zuffa at the time and it happened around the merger. Jamie Varner went from WEC LW champion (with one of his successful defenses against Cerrone) to cut in less than a calendar year, where he went 0-3-1. He miraculously got signed to the UFC as a late notice replacement, gave Barboza his first defeat in a huge upset and then went 1-5 until he retired.

d3ac64fe4e365b9e72d7150ce4b66c5b.gif
 
Chuck and Anderson were in their late 30s when they hit the skids. That's expected.

To me, it's Weidman. He'd just beaten Anderson Silva twice and looked set to begin a dominant championship run. He was barely 30 years old when the wheels fell off. That's unexpected. Hendricks gets an honorable mention. His downfall was just as bad and he was in that same age range, but at least his losses weren't quite as devastating. Every time Weidman loses he takes a hellacious beating.
 
I mean it’s gotta be BJ penn right? There was a time where many fans thought he was the most talented guy to ever fight in the UFC. He was conor McGregor before conor McGregor. He moved up in weight to fight a goat candidate (GSP) and only lost by a split decision.

So he went from that to basically losing to guys who arguably shouldn’t even be on the ufc roster. Once he lost his title he was never the same fighter. And it was not just a “USADA” thing because he lost his title five years before usada was even introduced. And on top of that he has that viral clip of him getting knocked out by a drunk guy. Definitely take the cake for me.
 
linvillegorge said:
Chuck and Anderson were in their late 30s when they hit the skids. That's expected.

To me, it's Weidman. He'd just beaten Anderson Silva twice and looked set to begin a dominant championship run. He was barely 30 years old when the wheels fell off. That's unexpected. Hendricks gets an honorable mention. His downfall was just as bad and he was in that same age range, but at least his losses weren't quite as devastating. Every time Weidman loses he takes a hellacious beating.
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That's a good point, I felt weird putting Silva on there just because he had such an amazing run and was getting older. Was bound to happen eventually. And not for nothing - he hasn't really been obliterated or anything since losing the title.
 
linvillegorge said:
Chuck and Anderson were in their late 30s when they hit the skids. That's expected.

To me, it's Weidman. He'd just beaten Anderson Silva twice and looked set to begin a dominant championship run. He was barely 30 years old when the wheels fell off. That's unexpected. Hendricks gets an honorable mention. His downfall was just as bad and he was in that same age range, but at least his losses weren't quite as devastating. Every time Weidman loses he takes a hellacious beating.
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My thing with Weidman is I think the reason his fall felt so significant is because he beat Anderson. IMO it had more to do with who Anderson Silva was, and less to do with who Chris Weidman was. Yes, he did it in a fashion that truly shocked me. I never thought Silva would get caught flush like that. Not ever. And then he doubled up and won again. But Weidman to me is more of a Cain Velasquez type. Where I’ll always wonder what could have been, and what exactly went wrong. Because at one point it did feel like he was almost invincible, but never had the longevity to truly showcase his talents and ability to the extent that he may have been capable of.

Im not saying he’s not a talented fighter. But there’s a difference between the guy that beat Anderson, and the guy he’s been the rest of his career. And I wish we saw more of that guy that beat Anderson
 
Sigvard said:
I mean it’s gotta be BJ penn right? There was a time where many fans thought he was the most talented guy to ever fight in the UFC. He was conor McGregor before conor McGregor. He moved up in weight to fight a goat candidate (GSP) and only lost by a split decision.

So he went from that to basically losing to guys who arguably shouldn’t even be on the ufc roster. Once he lost his title he was never the same fighter. And it was not just a “USADA” thing because he lost his title five years before usada was even introduced. And on top of that he has that viral clip of him getting knocked out by a drunk guy. Definitely take the cake for me.
Click to expand...

The Siver and Guida losses as of late were dark...
 
Houston Alexander

That dude was for real, ya know. ;)
 
SmoothPies said:
The Siver and Guida losses as of late were dark...
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Yeah exactly man. Like not only was the fall from grace hard and fast, but he pushed it way longer than he should have. That being said, I’m 100% positive it was a financial thing, because back in the day he probably made peanuts, and as a “thank you” they probably cut him a 100-200k a fight check to show up against guys like guida and siver. But that doesn’t make it any easier to watch right?
 
Sigvard said:
Yeah exactly man. Like not only was the fall from grace hard and fast, but he pushed it way longer than he should have. That being said, I’m 100% positive it was a financial thing, because back in the day he probably made peanuts, and as a “thank you” they probably cut him a 100-200k a fight check to show up against guys like guida and siver. But that doesn’t make it any easier to watch right?
Click to expand...

He went from being the guy whom no one in the LW division could beat, to the guy who you can't think of anyone on the roster that he can beat. A lot of it's aging I think - BJ relied a lot on his speed and athleticism, and the game has evolved with better athletes since he was on top. Still one of the greats though
 
Got to be Barao. His last 4 loses were to unranked fighters. And he missed weight in 2 of them.
 
I want to add Cain Velasquez to that list, but when you just look at his record, it doesn't look that bad. But between losing to N'Gannou anticlimactically and constantly being injured, he doesn't have the clout he once did.
 
Sigvard said:
My thing with Weidman is I think the reason his fall felt so significant is because he beat Anderson. IMO it had more to do with who Anderson Silva was, and less to do with who Chris Weidman was. Yes, he did it in a fashion that truly shocked me. I never thought Silva would get caught flush like that. Not ever. And then he doubled up and won again. But Weidman to me is more of a Cain Velasquez type. Where I’ll always wonder what could have been, and what exactly went wrong. Because at one point it did feel like he was almost invincible, but never had the longevity to truly showcase his talents and ability to the extent that he may have been capable of.

Im not saying he’s not a talented fighter. But there’s a difference between the guy that beat Anderson, and the guy he’s been the rest of his career. And I wish we saw more of that guy that beat Anderson
Click to expand...

Yeah the Weidman downfall was crazy, especially after beating Anderson.

I've thought about it, and I think the reason was just purely due to him facing a murderers row of fighters. He fight prime Rockhold, Romero, and Mousasi in a row
 
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