5 UFC fighters who lost their edge after a loss

#4. Tony Ferguson

UFC 249 Ferguson v Gaethje

Tony Ferguson made his UFC debut in 2011 riding on a 10-2 MMA record. He became a superhit sensation after winning the TUF finale against Ramsey Nijem. He faced a hiccup when he suffered his third MMA loss (first in the UFC) against Michael Johnson in 2012. But 'El Cucuy' came into his own and put-up a legendary 12-fight winning streak that stretched over a period of seven years soon after.

Ferguson was set to face Khabib Nurmagomedov, who was replaced by Justin Gaethje at the last moment at UFC 249. Training for one fighter and entering the octagon against another cost Ferguson dearly. He suffered one of the most overpowering losses of his career.

His first knockout loss, which came against Gaethje, caused Ferguson to lose his edge. The former UFC interim champion hasn't looked like himself in the octagon since.

Tony Ferguson faced Charles Oliveira seven months later and was toyed with for three rounds. While Oliveira received praise for his dominant performance at UFC 256, fight fans were surprised by how diminished 'El Cucuy' looked during the fight. Six months on, Ferguson suffered his third consecutive loss, this time to Beneil Dariush, taking his total losses to six.

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#3. Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva

UFC Fight Night: Hall v Silva

Anderson 'The Spider' Silva is widely considered to be the greatest fighters of all time. The elusive striker held the UFC welterweight title for over seven years. Over the course of his reign, the Brazilian racked up victories over stars like Dan Henderson and Chael Sonnen.

His legendary title run came to an end at UFC 162 when Chris Weidman knocked out 'The Spider' in the second round. To make matters worse, Anderson Silva suffered a gruesome leg injury when he met Weidman five months later at UFC 168.

Given the severity of the injury and the fact that Silva was 38 when he first faced Chris Weidman, it's unsurprising that the legend's skills seemingly diminished. While Anderson Silva still looked competitive in the following bouts, the former champion put up an unfortunate 1-5-1 record following his losses against Weidman.

After suffering three back-to-back losses, Silva left MMA for good in 2020.