5 unluckiest UFC fighters in history

#2. Marcus Brimage

Hardly anyone but hardcore MMA fans remember who Marcus Brimage was. A 7-8 fighter, Brimage stood 5 feet 4 inches in height. Despite possessing a frame better suited for the flyweight division, Brimage spent most of his career fighting at featherweight. It was during an era when featherweights were growing progressively larger.

The UFC seemed to take note of 'The Bama Beast's limited skill-set, forcing him to welcome the likes of Conor McGregor, Cody Garbrandt, and Jimmie Rivera to the UFC. Brimage was knocked out by all three men.

Against McGregor, Brimage faced a foe who stood five inches taller and had fought as heavy as 170lbs, while also capturing championship gold in two separate weight classes.

After dropping to the bantamweight division, Brimage later met Cody Garbrandt, suffering a brutal knockout loss to the then undefeated future UFC bantamweight champion. In his final bout with the promotion, Brimage, who was 7-4 at the time, locked horns with Jimmie Rivera. At the time, Rivera was 16-1 and riding a 15-fight win streak.

However, in 16 wins, Rivera only had three knockouts on his resume. Thus, Brimage had no reason to fear a finishing blow. Unfortunately, 'The Bama Beast' would be the fourth knockout win on Rivera's record, ending his UFC run as one of the fighters unlucky enough to welcome so many killers into the promotion.

---

#1. Jake O'Brien

Jake O'Brien was not a horrible fighter. In fact, three fights into his UFC career, he was a 10-0 mixed martial artist with a win over former PRIDE title challenger Heath Herring. Unfortunately, in his fourth UFC bout, O'Brien was matched up against former heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski.

It was a fight that clearly showcased how much the UFC had overestimated him and the strength of his undefeated record.

Arlovski defeated him decisively, TKO'ing him in the second round. Perhaps realizing their mistake, the UFC opted to book O'Brien against a promotional newcomer who was set to compete in only his second bout.

Alas, the promotional newcomer in question was named Cain Velasquez, the future UFC heavyweight champion and one of the greatest heavyweights in MMA history.

There was no way the UFC could have known what kind of monster they'd forced O'Brien to face, so when he was TKO'd within two minutes of the first round, jaws dropped. In the first skid of his career, O'Brien dropped to the light heavyweight division, securing a split-decision win over Christian Wellisch. Back in the win column, O'Brien hoped to embark on another win streak in his new division.

So at UFC 100, the UFC scheduled him to compete against a different promotional newcomer in the said fighter's third bout under the UFC banner. To O'Brien's misfortune, that newcomer was a fighter that many regard as the greatest mixed martial artist of all time: Jon Jones.

Over the course of two rounds, Jones dominated him before submitting him with a guillotine choke. Eventually, O'Brian was released by the promotion.