5 champion kickboxers who suffered devastating defeats in the UFC: is Alex Pereira next?

With less than two weeks to go before UFC 281, there is now plenty of focus on the long-awaited middleweight title clash between champion Israel Adesanya and challenger Alex Pereira.

If Alex Pereira can defeat Israel Adesanya, he’ll become the UFC middleweight champion. If he loses, he won’t be the first kickboxing champion to suffer a devastating loss in the octagon.

Over the years, a number of famed kickboxing champions have fought in the octagon. While some of them, including Adesanya, have pulled off major wins, some were also beaten badly, often by knockout.

With that considered, here are five kickboxing champions who suffered devastating losses in the UFC.

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#5. Mark Hunt vs. Junior dos Santos – UFC 160

Junior Dos Santos used a spectacular wheel kick to take out former K-1 champion Mark Hunt

One of the most renowned heavyweight kickboxers to ever enter the octagon was definitely Mark Hunt. ‘The Super Samoan’, who was famed for his iron chin and his one-punch knockout power, won gold in famed kickboxing promotion K-1 by capturing the World Grand Prix title in 2001. He moved into MMA in 2004 with a kickboxing record of 30-12.

After competing in Japanese promotions PRIDE and DREAM, Hunt made his way to the UFC in 2010, where it didn’t take him long to make a mark. However, while he picked up big wins over the likes of Cheick Kongo, Roy Nelson and Frank Mir during his time with the promotion, he also suffered some bad losses.

Perhaps his most devastating defeat came at the hands of former UFC heavyweight kingpin Junior dos Santos in 2013. At the time, ‘JDS’ was smarting from his title defeat to Cain Velasquez and so he came into his clash with ‘The Super Samoan’ with a serious point to prove.

While Hunt’s striking credentials far outstripped those of the Brazilian, when the two men faced off, the native of New Zealand was badly outgunned. After being hurt by dos Santos on numerous occasions, the former champion eventually finished him off in the third round with a stunning wheel kick to the head.

It was the first time that MMA fans stateside had seen the iron-chinned Hunt knocked unconscious, and understandably, everyone was stunned to see it.

Hunt would go onto suffer a further three TKO losses during his octagon career, but this was definitely the most vicious.

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#4. Gokhan Saki vs. Khalil Rountree Jr – UFC 226

Khalil Rountree Jr ended the UFC career of famed kickboxer Gokhan Saki

Like a number of the top kickboxers to cross over into the octagon, Turkey’s Gokhan Saki made his name in Japan’s K-1 promotion, but he actually won gold in the Glory promotion, claiming their inaugural light heavyweight title in 2014.

In 2017, though, ‘The Rebel’ decided to make the switch to MMA. He signed with the UFC on a multi-fight deal before debuting in the octagon with an impressive knockout of Henrique da Silva.

It looked like the light heavyweight division had a new contender, as Saki clearly possessed one of the best striking games at 205lbs and looked like a threat to anyone if he could keep a fight standing.

However, in his next fight against Khalil Rountree Jr – an opponent who, on paper at least, was a far lesser credentialed striker – ‘The Rebel’ came out on the wrong end of a major upset when he suffered a first-round knockout after eating a brutal left hand.

What went wrong for the Turkish kickboxer? Essentially, it looked like he’d not only underestimated Rountree’s striking skill, but he’d wildly underestimated his power, too. He paid the ultimate price for it.

Saki never fought in the octagon again and departed the promotion in 2021 after requesting his release. He has since returned to the kickboxing ring, although he hasn’t fought in over a year.

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#3. Semmy Schilt vs. Josh Barnett – UFC 32

Legendary kickboxing champion Semmy Schilt was not as successful in his brief run in the octagon

Dutch giant Semmy Schilt, who stands at nearly 7’ tall, is undoubtedly one of the most accomplished heavyweight kickboxers of all time. ‘Hightower’ not only won four K-1 World Grand Prix titles during his career in the ring, but he also claimed the Glory Heavyweight Grand Slam title in 2012, too.

However, many fans probably don’t realize that Schilt actually started his fighting career in the world of MMA, beginning with an extensive run in Japan’s Pancrase promotion.

More to the point, before he departed back to Japan in late 2001, he actually had a short career with the UFC – but to say that it didn’t go very well for him would probably be an understatement.

Schilt debuted in the octagon in early 2001 – coincidentally, on the first event promoted by the Fertitta brothers and Dana White. He impressed by knocking out Pete Williams. However, his second outing did not end as well.

Faced with future heavyweight champion Josh Barnett, Schilt’s limitations on the ground were cruelly exposed. ‘The War Master’ took him down and basically dominated him, opening some nasty cuts on his head with his elbows before finishing him with an armbar late in the first round.

The fact that ‘Hightower’ continued to struggle in MMA before heading to the world of kickboxing, where he dominated, remains a stark example of how different the two sports are – and this was definitely a devastating loss for the Dutchman.

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#2. Mirko Cro Cop vs. Gabriel Gonzaga – UFC 70

K-1 legend Mirko Cro Cop was famously given a taste of his own medicine by Gabriel Gonzaga

While he actually won gold in the kickboxing ring after his biggest successes in MMA – claiming the K-1 World Grand Prix title in 2012 – there’s no disputing that Mirko Cro Cop made his name as a world-class striker before he ever entered the PRIDE ring, let alone the octagon.

Cro Cop became a legend in K-1 in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, defeating the likes of Jerome Le Banner, Peter Aerts and Mark Hunt in the ring, usually by landing his dreaded left kick to the head or body.

It was a pattern that followed him in his career with PRIDE. He took out the likes of Wanderlei Silva, Mark Coleman and Josh Barnett and eventually claimed the 2006 Openweight Grand Prix title before moving to the UFC in 2007.

As one of the world’s most feared heavyweights, many fans felt like it was only a matter of time before he claimed gold in the octagon, too. However, after a debut win over Eddie Sanchez, those ideas were quickly ended by Gabriel Gonzaga in what was Cro Cop’s first headline bout.

Most observers expected Cro Cop to run right through the Brazilian. Instead, after taking him down and softening him up with elbows, ‘Napao’ was the one who landed a deadly head kick, knocking the future K-1 champion senseless and leaving him in an awkward heap.

While Cro Cop did continue to fight for the UFC across two stints, it could be argued that – in MMA at least – he was never the same fighter after his devastating loss to Gonzaga, something that was made possible simply because of his lack of experience in fighting in a cage.

In that sense, Alex Pereira should probably take note of this one prior to his big fight with Israel Adesanya.

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#1. Alistair Overeem vs. Francis Ngannou – UFC 218

All of Alistair Overeem's striking credentials couldn't help him defeat Francis Ngannou in 2017

Alistair Overeem is one of the few fighters to claim gold in both MMA and kickboxing. He won titles in both DREAM and Strikeforce in the former sport before claiming the 2010 K-1 Grand Prix title, making him one of the most decorated strikers of all time.

In that sense, it’s arguable that Alex Pereira will be looking to emulate the Dutchman more than any other crossover fighter when he takes on Israel Adesanya this month.

Unfortunately for ‘The Reem’, the one major title that eluded him throughout his career was the UFC heavyweight title.

He came close to claiming it on a couple of occasions, falling at the final hurdle in a 2016 title shot at champion Stipe Miocic. But largely, a number of devastating losses kept him away from reaching his goal.

Undoubtedly, the worst of these losses came at the hands of future heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in late 2017. Had Overeem won the bout, he’d probably have been granted a rematch with Miocic, as he was coming off a pair of big wins over Mark Hunt and Fabricio Werdum.

However, all of the striking experience he’d gained over his career couldn’t prepare him for the crazy power of Ngannou. When ‘The Predator’ connected on an uppercut in the first round, ‘The Reem’ was knocked absolutely silly.

In one of the scariest scenes in UFC history, Overeem was left twitching on the ground for a while after the fight had been waved off. Although he came around shortly after, the bout basically signalled an end to his career as a true title threat.

It remains probably the most devastating loss ever suffered by a champion kickboxer in the octagon.