5 UFC fighters who were never the same after an injury

Injuries are inevitable in the sport of MMA, especially in a promotion like the UFC that is home to the best fighters in the world.

Fighters like Jon Jones, Robbie Lawler and Tony Ferguson have built reputations for themselves as men who ensure their opponents are never the same again after fighting them. Unsurprisingly, some of these violent fighters feature on this list dominated by knee injuries, albeit in slightly unexpected ways.

Here are five UFC fighters who were never the same after suffering a serious injury. Note: This is not an exhaustive list.

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#5 Thiago Santos - suffered knee injuries at UFC 239

At UFC 239, after a four-fight win streak in the promotion, rising contender Thiago Santos challenged light heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones for the title.

In the dying seconds of the first round, Santos injured his knee while throwing a kick, worsening the injury with every involvement in the fight thereafter. He took 'Bones' the distance, ending up on the wrong side of a split decision win in a fight that many felt he won.

The end result for Santos was not only a loss but also tears in his ACL, MCL, PCL and meniscus. Since then, the Brazilian hasn't been the same fighter. He was taken down with ease and submitted by Glover Teixeira, before being outpointed by Aleksandar Rakic.

Although Santos hasn't appeared to be directly impacted by his injuries during his next two fights, the timing of it all is certainly questionable. Now on a three-fight losing streak in the UFC, 'Marreta' faces off against Johnny Walker in October in a desperate bid to revive his struggling career.

Santos could still make a comeback, but at 37 years old, it seems like his days of challenging for the light heavyweight title are past him.

#4 Tony Ferguson - suffered a knee injury ahead of UFC 223

At UFC 223, Tony Ferguson vs Khabib Nurmagomedov was booked for the fourth time. As fate would have it, 'El Cucuy' tripped over an electrical cord in the lead-up to the fight and was ruled out with a torn LCL.

Ferguson underwent an extensive recovery process and even reeled off two wins after coming back from the injury much earlier than the initial schedule suggested. But there's reason to believe that he hasn't been the same fighter since.

In his comeback fight against Anthony Pettis at UFC 229, Ferguson clearly wasn't moving very well. He was knocked down and nearly finished more than once, before a hand injury to 'Showtime' handed him a TKO victory.

Then, against Donald Cerrone, the 37-year-old claimed another TKO victory, this time because 'Cowboy' blew his damaged nose and caused his own eye to shut. There was also a controversial punch after the bell that stung Cerrone, but the referee ruled that the blow wasn't to his beaten-up eye.

Ferguson was on a 12-fight win streak after beating 'Cowboy', so it probably wasn't clear then that he wasn't entirely the same. But his following three defeats to Justin Gaethje, Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush exposed the holes in his game and clearly reduced explosiveness.

Coincidence or not, we've seen a different version of Tony Ferguson since his knee injury ahead of UFC 223.

#3 Rashad Evans - suffered a knee injury ahead of UFC 170

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans was scheduled to face Daniel Cormier at UFC 170. A historically injury-prone fighter, 'Suga' encountered a knee problem that was expected to keep him out of the bout and away from the octagon for only four weeks.

The injury proved to be hell for Evans, who underwent many procedures and recurring issues before finally making his return to the UFC in October 2015 - almost two years after his previous appearance. He had lost only three of his 18 UFC fights until then, but things went horribly wrong for the New York native.

Evans lost his comeback fight against Ryan Bader via unanimous decision, before falling to Glover Teixeira, Daniel Kelly, Sam Alvey and Anthony Smith. He then announced his retirement from MMA in June 2018, shortly after his loss to 'Lionheart'.

Losing all five of his fights after the knee injury, Evans was a shadow of his former self.

#2 Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson - believes Jon Jones permanently injured his knee at UFC 135

Another fighter who was never the same after fighting Jon Jones, Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson admitted that kicks to the knee from 'Bones' severely damaged his MMA hopes. He once said:

"Honestly I think that Jon Jones is bad for the sport, because when he fights people, he injures us. He kicked my knee backwards, my knee is never the same. He's done it to a couple other guys. I saw him rip one guy's shoulder out his socket. We just try to the same thing he's trying to do, earn a living and do the sport that we love. We don't go in there to try and injure people, even though I tried to fold an opponent in half, but he made me angry, it was something that he did to me, I had a history.... But this guy's doing it to every opponent. He's kicking their knees backwards and really trying to hurt people. So I think that's bad for the sport."

After being stopped for the first time in the UFC by Jones, 'Rampage' lost his next two fights against Ryan Bader and Glover Teixeira. He then moved to Bellator, where he won five fights on the trot against lesser opposition before losing three of his last four clashes in the promotion.

#1 Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua - underwent surgery for a knee injury shortly after his UFC debut

At the time of the UFC-PRIDE merger, Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua was one of the hottest prospects in MMA. Undoubtedly one of the best light heavyweights in the world at the time, the 2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix winner was expected to continue his success in the UFC.

While 'Shogun' clinched the UFC light heavyweight title in May 2010 with a knockout win over Lyoto Machida, he just wasn't the same fighter after suffering a series of knee injuries. Shortly after his UFC debut in 2007, he went under the knife for a pre-existing knee condition, before suffering another relapse soon after the surgery.

The Brazilian simply hasn't been able to live up to his billing in the UFC, although he won the 205-lbs title and has notable wins over Mark Coleman, Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Brandon Vera. With ten losses in the promotion, 'Shogun' has left fans wondering what could've been had he not undergone several knee reconstructions.

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Edited by Atharva Papnoi