5 UFC fighters who were able to end long losing streaks

#4. Dan Hardy vs. Duane Ludwig – UFC 146

Dan Hardy rescued his UFC career by knocking out Duane Ludwig to snap a four-fight losing streak

After reeling off four straight victories to begin his UFC career, ending with a shutout against the highly ranked Mike Swick, 2010 saw Dan Hardy become the first British fighter to ever fight for gold inside the octagon.

In the end, ‘The Outlaw’ was comfortably beaten by Georges St-Pierre in his title challenge, but most fans expected him to regroup quickly. Unfortunately for him, that wasn’t the case at all.

Hardy’s return bout in front of his countrymen in London was disastrous, as he suffered a bad knockout at the hands of Carlos Condit. When ‘The Outlaw’ then lost two more fights, suffering defeats at the hands of Anthony Johnson and Chris Lytle, many fans expected him to be cut from the UFC altogether.

Luckily for Hardy, the promotion decided to keep him on, and he repaid their faith handily. After taking a lengthy period of time away following his loss to Lytle, ‘The Outlaw’ returned in the summer of 2012 and knocked out Duane Ludwig with a left hook in what was his best showing in years.

Hardy followed that win with another victory over Amir Sadollah, distancing himself from his losing streak entirely. Sadly, ‘The Outlaw’ was then sidelined due to a heart condition and hasn’t returned to action since.

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#3. Michael Johnson vs. Alan Patrick – UFC Vegas 54

Michael Johnson's win over Alan Patrick snapped a lengthy losing streak

This past weekend saw the latest example of a UFC fighter finding a way to snap a lengthy losing streak, as Michael Johnson got back into the winner’s column for the first time in nearly four years by knocking out Alan Patrick.

The victory probably saved Johnson’s career with the promotion, as had ‘The Menace’ lost his fifth fight in a row, it’s highly likely that he would’ve been cut from his contract entirely.

Johnson’s fall down the rankings was a strange one, to say the least. Back in 2016, he looked like one of the hottest lightweight fighters on the roster when he knocked out Dustin Poirier. He followed that win with a loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov, but fought well in the bout and largely impressed viewers.

However, losses to Justin Gaethje and Andre Fili followed, and while ‘The Menace’ stopped that losing streak by winning his next two, subsequent defeats to Josh Emmett, Stevie Ray, Thiago Moises and Clay Guida seemed to suggest that he was finished.

His victory over Patrick appeared to suggest that he’s back to his best, though, and if he can continue to fight as well as he did this weekend, it’s unlikely he’ll face such a poor losing streak again.