5 UFC champions who lost in their first octagon appearance

#2. Max Holloway – former UFC featherweight champion

Max Holloway suffered a terrible defeat to Dustin Poirier in his octagon debut

Few fighters took as lengthy a road to the top as former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway. Not only did ‘Blessed’ have to win an insane number of fights in a row to claim his shot at the title, but he also recovered from a one-sided loss in his octagon debut to do so.

To be fair to Holloway, he was always likely to come up short on his first visit to the big show. Not only did the Hawaiian have just four professional fights to his name when he was signed by the promotion, but he also took his fight with rising star Dustin Poirier on just a month’s notice.

Sure enough, it took Poirier very little time to dispatch Holloway. He took him down and submitted him with a mounted triangle choke/armbar combination in the opening round.

Still, at the age of just 20, it was clear that ‘Blessed’ had potential. The UFC kept him around and quickly witnessed how good he could be when he reeled off three wins in a row.

Back-to-back defeats at the hands of Dennis Bermudez and Conor McGregor in 2013 then derailed him temporarily, but ‘Blessed’ recovered by winning an incredible 10 fights in a row. The final win saw him defeat Anthony Pettis for the interim featherweight title.

From there, Holloway proved to be the best 145lber on the planet by unseating champion Jose Aldo. He went onto hold the title for nearly three years, defending it successfully on three occasions.

While the Hawaiian failed in an attempt to claim gold at 155 pounds too, coincidentally, falling to defeat at the hands of Poirier again, it’s safe to say that the loss in his octagon debut didn’t even hint at the greatness he’d eventually achieve.

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#1. Brock Lesnar – former UFC heavyweight champion

Brock Lesnar might've lost his octagon debut, but it didn't take him long to claim UFC gold

There have been a number of UFC champions who fell to defeat in their first octagon appearance. As with the fighters named previously on this list, most of them then had to take the long route to the top.

The one exception to that rule? Former UFC heavyweight champion and current WWE superstar Brock Lesnar, who arrived in the octagon with a bang in early 2008.

Lesnar experienced a rapid rise to fame in the world of pro-wrestling in the early 2000’s. Feeling jaded with the pseudo-sport, he chose to walk away and found himself in the world of MMA soon after.

After winning one fight in Japan’s K-1 promotion, ‘The Beast Incarnate’ was signed by the UFC, with most fans feeling he’d be a sideshow attraction despite his stellar background as an NCAA Division 1 wrestling champion in his youth.

However, those thoughts changed when Lesnar was matched with former UFC heavyweight champ Frank Mir in his octagon debut. Despite taking the fight to the submission expert, he fell prey to a kneebar after coming close to winning the bout via TKO.

It was immediately clear that Lesnar, who was treated as a huge star from the off, would be put on a quick route to the top. Sure enough, after an impressive win over veteran Heath Herring, the UFC awarded him a shot at longtime heavyweight champ Randy Couture.

Despite many fans feeling the title shot was too much, too soon for Lesnar, ‘The Beast Incarnate’ shocked the world by knocking out ‘The Natural’ in the second round, becoming the new heavyweight champ in the process.

The win immediately turned Lesnar into the biggest star in the sport. While his career only lasted another three years, the impact he had in the octagon was seismic and his total of two successful heavyweight title defenses has only been topped once in the years that have followed.