5 greatest underdog championship wins in UFC history

#4. Rose Namajunas vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk - UFC 217

Considering how highly rated Rose Namajunas is now, it seems bizarre that she was once considered a huge underdog in her UFC title fight against Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

Before UFC 217, Jedrzejczyk had an undefeated record of 14-0. She already held wins over top opposition such as Jessica Andrade, Carla Esparza and Claudia Gadelha. Namajunas, meanwhile, was 6-3 and had struggled somewhat with consistency.

When the two fighters faced off, Jedrzejczyk was very much the aggressor, getting in Namajunas' face and repeatedly belittling her. Namajunas' only response was to repeat the Lord's prayer to herself.

This very much gave the impression that Jedrzejczyk was the more dominant of the two and she went into the fight as a heavy favorite. However, Namajunas would almost instantly silence any doubters as she knocked her opponent out in the first round. She also later defeated Jedrzejczyk again in their subsequent rematch.

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#3. Michael Bisping vs. Luke Rockhold 2 - UFC 199

There has already been a film made detailing the career of Michael Bisping and his title-winning fight against Luke Rockhold is exactly what films are made of. In 2014, Michael Bisping was thoroughly defeated by Luke Rockhold, with many believing that the Englishman's title chances were dead and buried.

UFC Fight Night: Rockhold v Bisping Press Event

However, in 2016, Bisping took a short notice fight that changed everything for him. Luke Rockhold was the middleweight champion and the UFC were hoping to book him in a rematch against Chris Weidman.

Weidman dropped out of the fight after sustaining a neck injury, leaving the UFC with only one half of the main event for UFC 199. They initially attempted to have Jacare Souza step in, but the Brazilian cited the short notice nature of the fight as his reason for turning it down.

Instead, they turned to Michael Bisping, who had been busy branching out into a career in film. Bisping accepted the fight against his old foe on barely two weeks notice, unsurprisingly coming in as a huge betting underdog.

But when the fight came about, Bisping landed that now fabled left hook that sent Rockhold falling to the ground. A second left hook quickly finished the fight and the UK had its first ever UFC champion.