5 times that overzealousness to finish a fight cost a UFC star dearly

#2. Alistair Overeem vs. Travis Browne – UFC Fight Night 26

Alistair Overeem's gas tank betrayed him after he got too wild in trying to finish Travis Browne

After his big return to the octagon went awry when he was knocked out by Antonio Silva at UFC 156, Alistair Overeem had a point to prove against Travis Browne at UFC Fight Night 26.

‘The Reem’ came into his second UFC fight since returning looking fired up. He wasted no time in opening up on ‘Hapa’ with his full arsenal. After failing on a guillotine choke, he landed a knee to the gut that doubled Browne over. From there, he looked to finish the fight.

Overeem smashed Browne into the fence and nailed him with a ridiculous amount of knees, as well as a hailstorm of punches. Despite the Hawaiian fighter barely even covering up, referee Mario Yamasaki decided to let the fight continue.

Eventually, Overeem slowed down, and Browne was able to get back to his feet and create some separation. Immediately, it was clear from the body language of ‘The Reem’ that he was tired, while Browne appeared to have recovered somehow.

Sure enough, just moments later, with ‘The Reem’ now plodding on flat feet, Browne was able to score with a heavy front kick to the jaw. The kick dropped the Dutchman – allowing Browne to dive on him with hammer fists to finish him off.

Like with Leonardo Santos, you could probably excuse Overeem’s wild attempts to finish this fight, as Yamasaki probably could’ve stepped in. However, had he been more patient with his strikes, he probably could’ve found the killer blow. As it was, his overzealousness ended up blowing his gas tank – leading directly to his KO loss.

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#1. Pete Sell vs. Scott Smith – UFC's The Ultimate Fighter IV Finale

Pete Sell dropped his hands a little too much to attempt to finish Scott Smith, and it cost him dearly

Perhaps the greatest example of a UFC fighter who got too overzealous in his attempts to finish a fight – leading directly to a loss – remains Pete ‘Drago’ Sell in his fight with Scott Smith in 2006.

The two men had struck up a close friendship during their time on the cast of the fourth season of UFC's The Ultimate Fighter series. Evidently, they decided to put all of that to the side for their clash on the finale event.

From the word go, the two UFC middleweights began to exchange wildly. The clash quickly developed into a crazy brawl, with both men landing some huge shots to back the other up.

Neither man really gained a real advantage in the first round. Despite looking more physically busted up, it looked like it would be Sell who would be on his way to victory when he stung Smith with a heavy body punch midway through the second round.

‘Hands of Steel’ outright yelled in pain and stumbled back, attempting to cover up. It looked like Sell simply needed to finish him off with a quick flurry – but as he came charging in for the kill, he dropped his hands entirely.

Sensing an opening, Smith threw everything he had left into a single right hand – and it connected cleanly with Sell’s jaw, instantly turning off his lights.

Smith was still so badly hurt by the earlier body shot that he collapsed to the ground himself – but he’d still won the fight, becoming part of UFC legend in the process. Sell, meanwhile, would rue his decision to charge in so recklessly. Had he not been so overzealous, there’s no doubt he’d have won the fight.