5 times when UFC fighters proved their doubters wrong in the octagon

While the UFC is undoubtedly home to the greatest fighters on the planet, it’s probably fair to say that even the best of them get doubted by the fans for various reasons during their careers.

The top fighters in the UFC have unsurprisingly made a habit of proving their doubters wrong, whether that’s through beating seemingly unstoppable opponents or showing skills nobody thought they had.

Over the years, we’ve seen some great examples inside the octagon of a UFC star essentially forcing their doubters to eat a slice of humble pie. For hardcore fans of those fighters, it’s tough to beat when it happens.

With that considered, here are five times when UFC fighters proved their doubters wrong.

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#5. Conor McGregor vs. Chad Mendes – UFC 189

Conor McGregor proved that he could handle a top wrestler when he beat Chad Mendes at UFC 189

Former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor was always going to attract plenty of doubters during his fighting career, purely because of his ultra-confident nature.

‘The Notorious’ entered the UFC for the first time in 2013. After his debut knockout win over Marcus Brimage, he immediately began to talk an insane amount of trash, basically claiming he’d become the greatest fighter in the UFC in no time. Incredibly, the Irishman largely backed up his words and wasted no time in running through opponents such as Diego Brandao, Dustin Poirier and Dennis Siver in his early days with the promotion.

After dealing with striker after striker with his heavy hands and incredible timing, it was clear that McGregor was excellent on the feet. Unsurprisingly though, some fans still had plenty of doubts about him. They claimed that the UFC were protecting him from facing a high-level grappler and were only willing to match the Dublin native with strikers in order to ensure he’d get to a title fight with champion Jose Aldo unscathed.

However, that changed at UFC 189. McGregor was initially set to face the Brazilian there, but when Aldo injured a rib, the UFC instead pitted ‘The Notorious’ against Chad Mendes, probably the best wrestler in the featherweight division. Naturally, his doubters simply didn’t believe the Irishman could cope with Mendes’ takedowns, but that wasn’t the case at all.

Sure, ‘Money’ took McGregor down and cut him open with some elbows, but for the most part, ‘The Notorious’ was in control of the fight from the off. He hurt Mendes with a series of punches and kicks to the body. As Mendes began to tire in the second round, McGregor took his chance and knocked ‘Money’ out violently with a coffin nail left hand.

While McGregor would later struggle to deal with a top wrestler, Khabib Nurmagomedov, the fact that he was able to take Mendes out in such fashion meant that he’d proven those who figured he’d fall at the first takedown very wrong.

#4. Tito Ortiz vs. Ryan Bader – UFC 132

Tito Ortiz showed his doubters he had some gas left in the tank when he beat Ryan Bader

In his heyday, Tito Ortiz was not only the UFC’s biggest poster-boy, but he was also the most feared light heavyweight fighter on the planet, too.

‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ held the UFC light heavyweight title from 2000 through to 2003 and defeated opponents such as Vladimir Matyushenko, Evan Tanner and Ken Shamrock during his reign. He even had a victory over PRIDE champion Wanderlei Silva under his belt.

However, after losing his title to Randy Couture, a combination of injuries, age and a somewhat antiquated fighting style meant that Ortiz quickly tumbled down the rankings. By mid-2011, it looked very much like ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ was on his way out of the UFC. He hadn’t won a fight in nearly five years, and was on a three-fight losing streak.

When the UFC matched him with hot prospect Ryan Bader at UFC 132, then, it felt like a given that ‘Darth’ would wipe the floor with his older foe. Essentially, everyone was doubting Ortiz coming into this fight.

Incredibly, though, Ortiz still had his old self-confidence and he came into the fight with a gameplan. Bader, a high-level amateur wrestler, clearly figured Ortiz was going to attempt to take him down and looked surprised when the former champion decided to box with him.

So when Ortiz appeared to go for his first takedown, Bader dropped his hands to block it and ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ instead hit him with a short right hook, dropping him hard. Moments later, Ortiz snatched up a guillotine choke, forcing ‘Darth’ to tap out.

Ortiz would not go on to win another fight in his UFC career, losing his next three bouts before leaving the promotion. But at UFC 132, he undoubtedly proved his doubters wrong and showed he had a little more left in the tank than they expected.

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#3. Cain Velasquez vs. Brock Lesnar – UFC 121

Cain Velasquez proved that size didn't matter when he battered Brock Lesnar at UFC 121

From the moment he entered the UFC in 2008, Cain Velasquez seemed marked for greatness. A decorated NCAA Division I All-American wrestler from Arizona State, Velasquez joined the famed American Kickboxing Academy when his MMA career began.

Despite only holding two wins over journeymen prior to being signed by the UFC, his teammates immediately began to talk him up as a future UFC champion. However, there appeared to be one problem with the idea of Velasquez holding the UFC heavyweight title. Sure, he was able to destroy opponents like Cheick Kongo and Ben Rothwell, but at the top of the division stood a certain Brock Lesnar.

‘The Beast Incarnate’ lacked MMA experience, but made up for it in sheer size and raw power. Not only was Lesnar an even more decorated wrestler than Velasquez, having won the NCAA Division I championship, but he also outweighed him by more than 20 pounds.

So when the two men were matched together at UFC 121, it was easy for fans to doubt Velasquez, writing off his chances of beating Lesnar entirely due to the size advantage of the champion.

However, when the fight actually happened, those doubters were proven painfully wrong. Not only did Velasquez easily escape Lesnar’s single takedown, but he took ‘The Beast Incarnate’ down with no issues and began to hammer him with strikes in the process.

It quickly became clear that Lesnar had no answer to Velasquez’s hard-hitting style and in one of the most stunning finishes in UFC history, the hulking champion was stopped in violent fashion late in the first round.

Never again would UFC fans doubt Velasquez just because he was a smaller fighter and the idea that the UFC’s heavyweight champion needed to be a giant has been dead in the water ever since.

#2. Frankie Edgar vs. Sean Sherk – UFC 98

Frankie Edgar silenced his critics when he defeated Sean Sherk at UFC 98

Frankie Edgar is undoubtedly one of the best UFC fighters of his generation. A former UFC lightweight champion who also found success at featherweight and bantamweight, ‘The Answer’ has victories over the likes of B.J. Penn, Chad Mendes and Urijah Faber on his ledger.

However, in his earlier days with the UFC, Edgar was regularly doubted by the fans, despite putting on some tremendous performances, simply because he was a smaller fighter at 155 pounds. Back then, prior to 2011, the UFC didn’t promote the featherweight and lightweight weight classes. Although it was clear Edgar could’ve made either weight, he was practically forced to face off with larger fighters at 155 pounds.

One such fighter was Sean Sherk. A former UFC lightweight champion in his own right, Sherk ended up losing his title after testing positive for banned substances, but by 2009, looked to be on his way to securing another title shot. ‘The Muscle Shark’ was matched with Edgar at UFC 98 and most fans believed that he’d run right through ‘The Answer’, who seemed to be at best a smaller version of Sherk himself.

When it came time to fight, though, Edgar shut all of those doubters up immediately. He might’ve been smaller than Sherk, but he was substantially faster and used that speed to not only outstrike ‘The Muscle Shark’, but to outwrestle him too.

‘The Answer’ ended up stunning everyone by pulling off a unanimous decision triumph. Just two fights later, he’d prove his doubters wrong again by edging out B.J. Penn to claim UFC gold.

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#1. Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler – UFC 262

Charles Oliveira proved he was no glass cannon with his win over Michael Chandler

By 2021, while it was clear that Charles Oliveira was one of the most talented lightweights on the planet, ‘Do Bronx’ still had plenty of doubters. The Brazilian had put together a lengthy eight-fight winning streak in the UFC, but despite looking fantastic in those bouts, it was worth noting that none of them had managed to hurt him before being finished.

That meant that due to his earlier fights with the UFC, in which he suffered eight defeats, seven of which came via knockout or submission, Oliveira still carried a reputation for fragility with him. To many fans, he was the very definition of a glass cannon.

When the UFC matched him against Michael Chandler for the vacant UFC lightweight title, then, many fans were favoring the former Bellator MMA champion to claim gold in his new promotion, doubting Oliveira’s ability to absorb the punishment that ‘Iron' could dish out.

Early on, it looked like the Brazilian’s doubters would be proven right. Chandler crushed Oliveira with a series of huge punches early on. He then began to smash him with punches and elbows on the ground, too.

It looked like ‘Do Bronx’ would be put away as he’d been in his previous UFC defeats. Instead, he was somehow able to gut it out, showing the kind of toughness he’d always seemed to lack before.

When the fight moved into the second round, ‘Do Bronx’ stunned Chandler by leveling him with a left hook of his own. He swiftly followed up to put ‘Iron’ away. The turnaround was phenomenal and Oliveira had shut his doubters up entirely, proving once and for all that his glass cannon reputation was a false one.