5 times that UFC knockout artists got a taste of their own medicine

#2. Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman – UFC 162

UFC fans were stunned when Chris Weidman gave Anderson Silva a taste of his own medicine at UFC 162

Arguably the greatest UFC fighter of all time, Anderson Silva ran roughshod over the middleweight division for the best part of a decade and established himself as a feared knockout artist during that period.

‘The Spider’ claimed the likes of Rich Franklin, Forrest Griffin, Vitor Belfort and Yushin Okami as his victims during that period, knocking all of them out with incredible skill.

More to the point, Silva’s striking was also highly unique, with the Brazilian often appearing to operate in an entirely different dimension to his opponents. This style garnered him comparisons to a character from the famed Matrix series of movies.

Despite not suffering a single knockout loss in the first 16 years of his MMA career, Silva was finally dealt a taste of his own medicine at UFC 162 in the summer of 2013. Faced with a stylistically tricky opponent in the form of Chris Weidman, ‘The Spider’ found himself behind on the scorecards after the opening round.

Recognizing that he needed to change things up, Silva attempted to draw Weidman in by taunting him, dancing around and dropping his hands.

It turned out to be a huge mistake. As Weidman threw a right hand, Silva leaned back out of the way but evidently misjudged how long his opponent’s reach was. ‘The All-American’ surprised him with a left hook, dropping him, and a series of follow-up punches left the Brazilian unconscious.

The entire UFC was stunned by the finish, as Silva had rarely been hurt by strikes previously, let alone knocked out. Although he would lose more fights by KO later in his career, this finish remains the best example of this knockout artist tasting his own medicine.

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#1. Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier – UFC 257

Dustin Poirier turned the tables on Conor McGregor with this violent KO at UFC 257

The biggest star in the history of the UFC, Conor McGregor rose to fame thanks to his well-deserved reputation as a devastating knockout artist.

‘The Notorious’ debuted in the UFC with a knockout of Marcus Brimage. He then went onto take out the likes of Dustin Poirier and Chad Mendes before becoming the first man to stop Jose Aldo, taking the UFC featherweight title in the process.

Later on, he cemented his status as one of the UFC’s premier knockout artists by dropping Eddie Alvarez multiple times en route to claiming the UFC lightweight title, too.

While McGregor eventually dropped both titles and was defeated by Khabib Nurmagomedov in one-sided fashion at UFC 229, by the start of 2021 ‘The Notorious’ had still never been stopped by strikes, essentially avoiding a taste of his own medicine.

That changed at UFC 257. Faced with a rematch against Poirier, who had improved dramatically since their first meeting in 2014, McGregor came in confidently, but appeared to be far too focused on boxing for his own good.

Poirier took some punches from McGregor, but returned fire on ‘The Notorious’ with some nasty leg kicks. Eventually, those kicks set up a series of brutal punches that dropped the Irishman midway through the second round and left him defenseless.

To see ‘The Notorious’ finally knocked out by an opponent in the octagon was a huge surprise. For some fans who’d grown tired of his antics, it was highly enjoyable too. This was a classic example of a knockout artist being given a hefty taste of his own medicine.