5 UFC fighters who snatched victory from the jaws of defeat

#2. Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen – UFC 117

Anderson Silva produced a genuinely miraculous comeback to beat Chael Sonnen at UFC 117.

Cheick Kongo’s incredible showing against Pat Barry is the gold standard for a one-round comeback in the UFC. However, the longer fight that comes to mind about a fighter snatching victory from the jaws of defeat is Anderson Silva against Chael Sonnen at UFC 117.

Coming into the event, Silva looked unstoppable. He’d held the UFC middleweight title for the best part of four years, defending it successfully on six occasions. He even made forays into the light heavyweight division, knocking out a former UFC champion, Forrest Griffin.

However, top contender Sonnen had talked an unheard-of amount of trash coming into the bout. He promised to take the fight to ‘The Spider’ like nobody had done before.

Incredibly, ‘The American Gangster’ backed up every word he uttered. He hurt Silva standing, took him down continually, and then battered him from the top with ground-and-pound for four straight rounds. Coming into the fifth round, it looked like Silva’s title reign was all but over, especially when Sonnen secured another takedown in the early going.

Incredibly though, despite absorbing a horrendous beating, with just under two minutes remaining, Silva pulled out a Hail Mary in the form of a triangle choke. The hold took Sonnen completely by surprise. By the time he realized what was happening, it was too late. ‘The Spider’ tightened the submission up, and ‘The American Gangster’ was forced to submit.

Many fans would probably claim that Sonnen snatched a defeat from the jaws of victory here more than anything. However, the truth is that lesser fighters would never have attempted the triangle choke in the first place. That makes this comeback win arguably Silva’s greatest-ever victory in the UFC.

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#1. Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler – UFC 262

Charles Oliveira showed stunning toughness and durability to get past Michael Chandler and win UFC gold.

The most recent entry on this list saw Charles Oliveira claim UFC gold for the first time by snatching a victory from the jaws of defeat. In the process, he showed off the kind of toughness and durability his doubters said he lacked.

Against former Bellator kingpin Michael Chandler in a battle for the vacant UFC lightweight title, early on it looked like ‘Do Bronx’ was painfully out of his depth. After a feeling-out period, Chandler dropped the Brazilian with a left hand. After failing to secure a guillotine choke, ‘Iron Mike’ forced the fight back up to the feet, and knocked Oliveira down for a second time.

This time the knockdown was a devastating one. When Chandler followed that up with some hellacious ground-and-pound, the fight appeared to be all but over.

Somehow, though, Oliveira managed to gut out the remainder of the round. Although he ate enough punishment to send his opponent wobbling to his corner, theoretically, at least, he was still in the fight.

Incredibly, the second round saw ‘Do Bronx’ turn the theoretical into reality. Clearly knowing he needed to pull something special out, he came charging forward to open the second round, decking Chandler with a vicious left hand.

‘Iron Mike’ got to his feet, but was unable to survive the flurry that followed. Seconds later, Oliveira knocked him down, and this time, for good.

Quite how a fighter who was once considered a glass cannon produced a comeback like this was anyone’s guess. However, in doing so, Oliveira entered UFC folklore. This fight still stands as the quintessential definition of a fighter snatching victory from the jaws of defeat in the UFC.