5 insane "come back from the dead" victories in UFC history

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is a momentum based sporting contest. Unlike your run-of-the-mill action movies, recovering from a one-sided beatdown in an MMA fight and staging a heroic comeback is a near-impossible feat to accomplish.

That said, a rare group of elite fighters have managed to pull off improbable come-from-behind feats, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) being the world’s premier MMA organisation boasts an elite line-up of such ‘comeback kings’ on its roster.

A few such notable iron-willed fighters and their jaw-dropping performances have been listed below-

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#5 Michael Bisping survives the ‘H-bomb’

Michael ‘The Count’ Bisping (30-7) is the current UFC Middleweight champion with an MMA base of kickboxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) and karate. One of the most well-rounded MMA fighters, Bisping is the UFC’s first British world champion.

Dan ‘Hendo’ Henderson (32-15) is a former Pride FC Welterweight and Middleweight champion, UFC 17 Middleweight tournament winner and a former Olympic wrestler. Hendo has an MMA base of wrestling and possesses lethal one-punch KO power.

Bisping and Henderson first fought at UFC 100 in 2009, with Hendo scoring a highlight-reel KO over Bisping. Their paths crossed again after Bisping took the UFC Middleweight title off Luke Rockhold at UFC 199.

Hendo got a shot at Bisping’s strap at UFC 204 and the two career-long rivals delivered an instant classic. Hendo caught Bisping with the same overhand right that he had knocked him out with in their first fight. Hendo knocked Bisping down and proceeded to swarm him with ground-and-pound.

Bisping survived and toward the end of the end 2nd round, got knocked down yet again by the ‘H-bomb’. Bisping was almost finished twice within the span of 10 minutes.

Edged on by his hometown crowd in Manchester, England, Bisping rallied and outpointed Hendo for the better part of the final 3 rounds of this insane slobber knocker.

In the end, the judges awarded Bisping a unanimous decision, and the bloody and battered champion defended his strap for the first time whilst simultaneously overcoming the haunting memories of his UFC 100 KO at the hands of Henderson.

An innings well-played by the British legend.

#4 Frankie Edgar sets a UFC record

Edgar slams Maynard

Frankie ‘The Answer’ Edgar (21-5-1) is a former UFC Lightweight champion with an MMA base of wrestling, boxing and BJJ. Gray ‘The Bully’ Maynard (12-6-1-1) is an NCAA-Div 1 All-American with an MMA base of wrestling, BJJ and boxing. Maynard is best known for his trilogy of fights against Edgar.

Edgar lost a decision to Maynard in April of 2008, fought him to a draw in January of 2011 (UFC 125) and knocked Maynard out in October of the same year (UFC 136). The most memorable of these fights is without a doubt Edgar’s UFC 125 split-draw against Maynard.

Edgar was repeatedly dropped by Maynard’s right-hand over the course of the opening round of their UFC 125 thriller. Miraculously, Edgar survived and came back to outwork Maynard with better footwork and a chain-takedown strategy.

Although the judges scored the bout a draw, Edgar emerged out of UFC 125 as a winner in the eyes of the MMA community.

To this date, Frankie Edgar is the only fighter to survive 3 knockdowns and rally to a draw inside the Octagon.

#3 Hendo KOs Shogun off the break

Henderson came back in this fight

Dan ‘Hendo’ Henderson (32-15) is an MMA legend with a penchant of being in thriller-after-thriller throughout his long and storied MMA career.

Hendo’s MMA base is wrestling whilst also being widely respected for his insane KO power. Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua (24-10) is a former Pride Middleweight Grand Prix champion and former UFC Light-heavyweight champion, with an MMA base of Muay Thai and BJJ.

Hendo beat Shogun by unanimous decision in a 5-round classic at UFC 139 in 2011. They met yet again in March of 2014, once again delivering a back-and-forth slugfest. Both fighters came out tentative in the rematch, with Shogun utilising excellent low kicks and leg kicks to keep Hendo at bay.

The cagey affair turned into full-blown chaos when Shogun dinged Hendo with a huge right hand, dropping him and swarming him with ground-and-pound. Hendo survived the first round but got tagged by a slick uppercut in round 2.

Hendo survived the ensuing assault making it to the 3rd round. The fighters entered the clinch, and on the separation, Hendo ripped a venomous right hook to his opponent’s nose. After a few unnecessary follow-up shots, Shogun was asleep and Hendo had silenced the Brazilian crowd in Natal, Brazil.

Hendo was badly rocked multiple times throughout the fight but still managed to find a home for his ‘H-bomb’.

#2 Kongo sleeps Barry instinctively

Kongo gets knocked down twice by Barry

Cheick Kongo (25-10-2) is a French kickboxer and MMA fighter, with multiple world titles in the sport of kickboxing. Kongo is also the Bellator season 9 Heavyweight tournament winner, with an MMA base of kick-boxing, wrestling and savate.

Pat ‘HD’ Barry (8-7) is an American kickboxer and former Wushu world champion. Barry’s MMA base is wushu, sanshou and kick-boxing.

Kongo faced Barry in June of 2011. They started off by trading leg kicks after which Barry caught Kongo with a huge right hook to the dome, knocking the Frenchman down. Barry swarmed Kongo with a seemingly endless volley of strikes.

Kongo got up only to be knocked down again, after which he held on to Barry for dear life. Then inexplicably, Kongo managed one last swing at glory, tagging his opponent with a huge right uppercut. He followed that up with another right, and the fight was over in an instant.

To this date, Kongo’s dazed exchange with ‘HD’ is considered to be one of the wildest sequences in MMA history.

#1 Fifth-Round Lawler turns Rory Macdonald into Lord Voldemort

Lawler-Macdonald’s iconic post-4th round staredown

‘Ruthless’ Robbie Lawler (27-11-1) is a former UFC Welterweight champion with an MMA base of boxing and wrestling. Rory ‘Red King’ Macdonald (18-4) is a former UFC and current Bellator star, with an MMA base of kickboxing, wrestling and BJJ.

Lawler beat Macdonald by split-decision at UFC 167 in 2013. The rematch that took place a couple of years later at UFC 189 in a 5-round war that is considered by many as the greatest MMA fight of all time.

Lawler outboxed Macdonald much like their first fight, for the better part of the 15 minutes. In the 3rd round, Macdonald caught his southpaw opponent with a right head kick, putting him on jelly legs. Lawler endured an insane amount of damage for the remainder of the round, wobbling back to his corner.

Lawler ate a few more head kicks in the next round and got thoroughly outworked by his opponent. The 5th round started and Macdonald seemed to be on his way to victory on the judges’ scorecards when Lawler came out like a madman throwing bombs.

‘Ruthless’ kept ripping hooks into his Canadian foe’s damaged nose, and 1 minute into the final frame, Macdonald collapsed from the excruciating pain of his broken nose combined with Lawler’s final straight left.

Robert Glenn Lawler’s 5th round TKO of Rory Macdonald will always be remembered as one of the greatest comebacks in MMA history.

From Bisping’s hometown victory to Edgar’s fight back against ‘The Bully’; Hendo’s insane chin, to Kongo knocking out Barry on pure instinct. Only Mr Robert can top such a ‘Ruthless’ list. As always, don’t forget our combat tradition. Chime in with your own favourite UFC comebacks, in the comments.

Keep training and never count out your opponent!

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