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The UFC is a uniquely high-pressured place to compete when it comes to combat sports. Many fighters are only ever one loss away from losing their spot on the roster and even big stars are always on the edge of slipping down the rankings.
2021 has seen a number of fantastic performances from the UFC’s top stars. However, it’s also seen a number of excellent fighters struggle under the bright lights and seemingly crumble under the pressure.
Some of these fighters ended up simply failing to reach their highest standards inside the octagon, while others ended up losing to opponents they were heavily favored to defeat.
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Does this make them bad fighters? Absolutely not, as we’ve seen them perform under high pressure before, but evidently, 2021 wasn’t their year.
Here are five UFC fighters who cracked under pressure in 2021.
#5. Uriah Hall vs. Sean Strickland – UFC on ESPN 28
Current UFC middleweight contender Uriah Hall had been accused of cracking under pressure on a number of occasions before 2021.
A uniquely talented and explosive striker, many fans favored Hall to defeat opponents such as Kelvin Gastelum, John Howard and Derek Brunson, only for ‘Prime Time’ to simply not produce his best under the bright lights.
However, Hall appeared to have turned things around coming into this year. He hadn’t lost since his 2018 defeat at the hands of Paulo Costa. Hall had reeled off four UFC wins in a row, including victories over Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman.
When the UFC matched him with Sean Strickland in the headline bout of UFC on ESPN 28, then, it felt like the final obstacle for ‘Prime Time’. To many observers, a win would’ve put him in contention for the UFC middleweight title.
Unfortunately, it felt like Hall simply couldn’t quite get to grips with the opportunity he was being offered. He produced his worst performance in years under the bright lights.
The fight was arguably one of 2021’s worst headline bouts, as Strickland seemed largely content to simply pick at Hall with his jab, while ‘Prime Time’ offered very little in response. Usually a striker willing to throw low-percentage shots in desperate times, Hall simply seemed passive.
Whether the 37-year old can recover from such a disappointing defeat is very much a question mark going into 2022, but there’s no doubt he struggled under the pressure in 2021.
#4. Dustin Poirier vs. Charles Oliveira – UFC 269
UFC 269 promised to be one of the biggest events of 2021. Part of the hype around it came from the headline bout between UFC lightweight kingpin Charles Oliveira and top contender Dustin Poirier.
The fight was largely seen as a pick 'em. While Oliveira had been on a wonderful run of nine wins, capped off with his title victory over Michael Chandler, many fans rated Poirier as the world’s best 155lber thanks to his wins over opponents like Conor McGregor and Justin Gaethje.
Early on in the fight, it looked like it would be Poirier’s night. He was able to tag Oliveira with some brutal punches, seemingly hurting the Brazilian and putting him in real danger. However, ‘Do Bronx’ was able to survive the onslaught and when the fight moved into the second stanza, it looked like Poirier had simply blown his wad.
‘The Diamond’ found himself grounded for almost the entirety of the round and things didn’t change in the third. Oliveira quickly closed the distance again, barely allowing Poirier a chance to hit him, and dragged him to the ground before choking him out moments later.
Considering how good Poirier looked in the opening round of this fight, to see him give up the ghost in the way he did was jarring. The only explanation that really made sense was that when he couldn’t put ‘Do Bronx’ away early, he simply cracked under the pressure.
#3. Israel Adesanya vs. Jan Blachowicz – UFC 259
March saw UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya handed a unique opportunity to become only the fifth man to hold two UFC titles in different weight classes simultaneously. He stepped up to 205 pounds to take on reigning light heavyweight kingpin Jan Blachowicz.
On paper at least, this fight seemed tailor-made for ‘The Last Stylebender’. Sure, Blachowicz was renowned for his remarkably heavy hands, but Adesanya had faced knockout artists before and defeated them. More to the point, in comparison to fleet-footed middleweight strikers like Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa, both of whom were knocked out by Adesanya, Blachowicz seemed downright plodding.
Many fans expected a fight that would look like Anderson Silva’s legendary defeat of Forrest Griffin in 2009, but things couldn’t have panned out further from that if it were possible.
Adesanya took the early rounds of the fight, but it immediately became clear that he was struggling to get his usual pinpoint accuracy going. When Blachowicz began to land heavy shots of his own, the tide began to turn.
Eventually, the Polish fighter was able to ground Adesanya, something no other UFC fighter had done before, and managed to outwork him for a pretty clear-cut decision win.
Sure, this was an excellent performance from Blachowicz, but it was hard to shake the idea that he’d caught Adesanya on a real off-day by the high standards of ‘The Last Stylebender’. It suggested that for the first time, the New Zealand native had struggled under high pressure.
#2. Jan Blachowicz vs. Glover Teixeira – UFC 267
If Jan Blachowicz capitalized on Israel Adesanya struggling under the pressure to pick up the biggest win of his UFC career to date, then it could definitely be argued that the same high pressure got to him a little later in 2021.
Booked to defend his UFC light heavyweight title against aging veteran Glover Teixeira at UFC 267, most fans were favoring Blachowicz to come away triumphant again. The Polish fighter looked to be on the best form of his career, while Teixeira turned 42 years old just days before the fight.
However, when it came to fight time, it looked like Teixeira was a fresh-faced up-and-comer, while Blachowicz looked strangely stuck-in-the-mud.
The Polish fighter’s vaunted power punches were nowhere to be seen. He ended up giving up what were simple takedowns to his Brazilian foe, who capitalized in the second round by applying a rear-naked choke to force Blachowicz to submit.
The result felt like a real shocker, but despite Teixeira’s accomplishment, it was hard to shake off the idea that Blachowicz had choked under the pressure.
In fact, it was something that the former champion appeared to admit himself after the event, as he stated that he probably would’ve “lost to anyone that night” and blamed his mental state, rather than injuries, for the defeat.
#1. Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier – UFC 257
While their fight wasn’t for a UFC title, it’s arguable that the clash with the highest stakes in 2021 came in the headliner of the year’s first pay-per-view event. The event was, of course, UFC 257, and the fight in question was Conor McGregor’s rematch with Dustin Poirier.
Not only did this fight promise to be a huge seller on pay-per-view thanks to the star power of both men, but it was also the first UFC event since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to take place in front of a fully packed crowd. The promotion was able to fill Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Arena for the night.
With the winner seemingly likely to go onto fight for the UFC lightweight title, this was a uniquely high-pressure bout. While Poirier had faltered in similar circumstances before, McGregor had nearly always risen to the occasion. In fact, the Irishman’s two biggest career wins, over Jose Aldo and Eddie Alvarez, had come under probably the most pressure he’d ever faced.
At UFC 257, however, for the first time in his career, it felt like ‘The Notorious’ choked. He simply struggled for rhythm on the feet, focusing far too much on his boxing while forgoing a more rounded attack.
Poirier, in contrast, looked loose and confident. He was able to land a series of heavy low kicks to McGregor that softened the Irishman up. In the second round, he opened up with his hands and became the first fighter to knock McGregor out in the octagon.
While Poirier undoubtedly looked great in this fight and McGregor’s performance might’ve been explained somewhat by ring rust, it’s also fair to argue that for the first time in his UFC career, ‘The Notorious’ simply cracked under the pressure.
