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The UFC has been home to the best fighters in the world for decades. Some of their champions have fought at such a high level that it’s sometimes easy to see them as superhuman. Of course, that isn’t always the case.
On occasion, even the UFC’s most legendary champions have been made to look extremely human, often by opponents who were given little to no chance of doing so against them.
Sometimes in these kinds of fights, a major upset has occurred with the legendary fighter falling to defeat. But on other occasions, we’ve seen the legend rally to somehow edge out a win.
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Regardless of the result, though, it’s always highly memorable and wild to look back on. That's especially true when a truly great fighter finds themselves somewhat humbled.
With that in mind, here are five times that a legendary UFC champion was made to look extremely human.
#5. Georges St-Pierre vs. Johny Hendricks – UFC 167
Former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre is arguably the greatest fighter in MMA history. The Canadian won his title for the second time in 2008. He went on to have one of the most dominant title runs in UFC history, turning back all comers and often making them look completely inept in comparison to him.
GSP did lose two fights during his UFC tenure, to Matt Hughes and Matt Serra. But he avenged those defeats in brutal fashion and left no doubt as to who the better man was. Realistically then, only one opponent truly made him look human.
That opponent was Johny Hendricks, who faced off against St-Pierre in November 2013 at UFC 167. Despite a world-class wrestling game and incredibly heavy hands, few were giving ‘Bigg Rigg’ a chance at dethroning the champion. However, midway through the fight, it looked like Hendricks would prove them wrong.
The first two rounds saw ‘Bigg Rigg’ hurt GSP with his heavy strikes, busting his face up pretty badly in the process. And while St-Pierre came back to win the third round, Hendricks then dominated the fourth, holding the Canadian down and battering him like nobody had done in years.
Surprisingly, the challenger then appeared to coast the fifth round, evidently figuring he had the title won. It turned out to be a huge error. GSP was able to win the stanza and was then given a stunning decision victory by the judges.
The UFC fanbase was largely shocked by the decision, with most feeling that Hendricks had done enough to earn the nod. But while St-Pierre came away with his hand raised, there was no doubt that ‘Bigg Rigg’ had made him look very human.
#4. Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson – UFC 165
Jon Jones is one of the most dominant UFC champions of all time. Prior to 2013, the former UFC light heavyweight kingpin had rarely been tested inside the octagon, let alone made to look human.
‘Bones’ had claimed his UFC title two years prior and had turned back the challenges of some truly great opponents, including Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida and Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson. Realistically, none of them looked like they belonged in the same octagon as him.
However, that all changed at UFC 165 when Jones fought Alexander Gustafsson. Heading into the fight, it seemed like few people were giving ‘The Mauler’ a chance. After all, Gustafsson hadn’t fought in nearly a year and his only elite-level win had come over the aging Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua.
Even the UFC’s own promos for the event seemed more focused on the fact that the Swede had a lengthy reach, albeit still 5” shorter than Jones’, than anything else.
But when it came to fight time, Gustafsson pushed Jones like nobody had ever done before. He continually landed hard, accurate punches on Jones, cutting him open around the eyes and forcing him to retreat for large portions of the fight. He even took him down at one point.
As the fourth round ticked away, it looked like Jones was on the verge of losing his title.
Somehow, 'Bones' rallied. In the dying seconds of the fourth round, Jones landed a spinning elbow that stunned Gustafsson and nearly knocked him out. It was enough for Jones to wrestle control of the fight away from the Swede. He was awarded a tight decision victory.
However, nobody had ever come quite so close to dethroning Jones and nobody had ever hurt him quite as much in a fight. To this day, it remains the closest any fighter has come in the UFC to defeating this legend, although Dominick Reyes also gave it a pretty good try.
#3. Demetrious Johnson vs. Ian McCall – UFC on FX 2
The record for the most consecutive UFC title defenses still belongs to former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson, who turned back the challenge of eleven successive opponents. ‘Mighty Mouse’ was such a virtuoso fighter that he was rarely challenged in the octagon, no matter the opponent.
Even the fight that saw him lose the UFC flyweight title to Henry Cejudo didn’t exactly see Johnson look human. In the opinion of most fans, the judges made a bad call and ‘Mighty Mouse’ should’ve retained.
However, one fight in the UFC saw Johnson look very human. In fact, he could easily have lost in devastating fashion on another day. And if that were the case, UFC history would’ve looked very different indeed.
At the UFC’s second event on FX in 2012, Johnson was faced with newcomer Ian McCall. The fight was a semi-final in a tournament to decide the promotion’s inaugural flyweight champion.
The fight was close to call across the first two rounds. But in the third, ‘Mighty Mouse’ found himself running out of steam. And in the later stages of the frame, ‘Uncle Creepy’ took Johnson down, found himself in full mount and proceeded to put a beating on ‘Mighty Mouse’. He came just seconds away from stopping him in the process.
It looked for all intents and purposes like McCall would be awarded a decision. But instead, the fight was declared a majority draw.
The UFC naturally booked an immediate rematch. Despite making Johnson look completely human the first time around, McCall had nothing for him in their second meeting. ‘Mighty Mouse’ duly won a decision, went onto defeat Joseph Benavidez for the title and the rest is history.
Had McCall stopped him, though, who knows what might’ve happened in the UFC’s flyweight division? It remains one of the UFC’s ultimate “what if?” moments and stands as the only time Johnson truly looked human inside the octagon.
#2. Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen – UFC 117
Anderson Silva, the longest-reigning champion in UFC history, held the UFC middleweight title from October 2006 until July 2013. He largely embarrassed every opponent put in front of him during that period.
And while he was eventually dethroned by Chris Weidman, who made him look human by knocking him out, it’s arguable that ‘The Spider’ had passed his peak at that stage.
In terms of opponents who made him look human at the height of his title reign, though, only one fighter comes close and that's Chael Sonnen.
‘The American Gangster’ was handed a shot at Silva’s title at UFC 117 after winning three fights in a row against high-level contenders. Despite his form, few fans gave him a real shot at dethroning the champ, no matter how much trash he talked.
But when it came time to fight, Sonnen backed up every word he’d said. He somehow outstruck Silva on the feet. He then took him down and simply beat the hell out of him over and over again.
Silva seemed to have no answer for Sonnen’s takedowns and top control, and with every minute that ticked away, it felt like his title reign was coming to a shocking end.
However, with just moments remaining in the final round, ‘The Spider’ threw up a Hail Mary in the form of a last-ditch triangle choke. Incredibly, he was able to lock it on, forcing ‘The American Gangster’ to tap out, essentially snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
But there was absolutely no disputing that Sonnen had done what no fighter in the UFC had previously done before. In beating Silva down, he’d made the legendary Brazilian champion look very human indeed.
#1. Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov – UFC 229
Some UFC fans might see Conor McGregor as past his prime at this stage. Many fans may also believe that he was never that great to begin with.
Frankly, that idea is wholly wrong. The 'Notorious’ megastar might’ve talked more trash than probably any other fighter in UFC history during his climb to the top. However, he was also a genuinely fantastic talent who backed up every word he said in the octagon.
McGregor’s wins over Dustin Poirier, Chad Mendes and Jose Aldo still mean he should be viewed as one of the greatest featherweights in UFC history. And even when he lost to Nate Diaz, the loss came with some caveats. It was a late-notice fight in a heavier weight class and he avenged it just months later anyway.
The truth is that the first man to really make McGregor look completely human inside the UFC was Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Prior to that fight, plenty of fans felt that the Irishman was kryptonite for a shorter wrestling boxer like ‘The Eagle’. At UFC 229, though, the Dagestani blew that idea out of the water by utterly destroying McGregor over four rounds.
Not only did he take him down at will and punish him on the ground, but he even knocked him down standing. In the end, he finished him off with a brutal neck crank.
It was a humiliating loss for the Irishman, who was thoroughly humbled by Nurmagomedov, even if he largely refused to show it afterwards. After being made to look completely human, the former two-division UFC champion has never quite been the same again.
