10 Biggest MMA Upsets Of All-Time – Best Fights Where The Underdog Won

Mixed martial arts is one of the most exhilarating sports out there, and the reason why is that it is quite unpredictable. When fighters enter the cage or the octagon, anything is possible. Over the years, numerous MMA fighters considered underdogs have emerged victorious against a heavily favored fighter. 

In this article, I’ve picked the top 10 biggest MMA upsets in history. Stay tuned and discover this sport’s biggest and most shocking upsets!

#10 – BJ Penn vs. Frankie Edgar I

The first fight between BJ Penn and Frankie Edgar was the first upset on this list of the top 10 underdog wins in MMA. This lightweight title fight happened in 2010 at the UFC 112 event, and the favorite to win was BJ Penn, who was in his prime at that moment. He was undefeated for eight years and beat fighters like Diego Sanchez, Renzo Gracie, and Matt Hughes. 

On the other hand, Edgar won 6 out of his 7 fights before this title shot, but he was a much less accomplished fighter than “The Prodigy,” and nobody expected him to become the next lightweight UFC champion. 

Surprisingly, Frankie Edgar won after a five-round fight. Even though he won, many fans thought Penn was robbed of the win. 

#9 – Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Rose Namajunas

The next upset was when the reigning UFC strawweight champion, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, faced the underdog Rose Namajunas at UFC 217 in 2017. Before this bout, Joanna defended her title 5 times and beat the likes of notable names in the women’s MMA world, such as Jessica Andrade, Claudia Gadelha, and Karolina Kowalkiewicz. Meanwhile, Rose was the young challenger, and not many people gave her much of a chance to win the belt. 

However, Rose pulled a sensational upset when she TKO’d Joanna with a flurry of punches, winning the UFC strawweight title. A year later, “Thug” Rose beat Jedrzejczyk once again, this time via unanimous decision, proving that the first win wasn’t a fluke.  

#8 – Rameau Thierry Soukodjou vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

One of the biggest MMA upsets ever happened when Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Rameau Thierry Soukodjou collided at PRIDE 33 in 2007. Out of these two 205lbers, Nogueira was the favorite who beat famous fighters such as Alistair Overeem and Dan Henderson as well. Soukodjou was the underdog with only three pro fights, and this was his first PRIDE event. 

When the fight started, nobody expected Soukodjou to knock out the legendary Nogueira with a clean left hook only 23 seconds into the fight. Everyone in the arena was stunned. It’s safe to say that Soukodjou pulled off one of the most incredible upsets in MMA history. 

#7 – Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz

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This upset was one of the most memorable in the history of the UFC. It was the first matchup between the reigning featherweight champion Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz. The fight was a part of the UFC 196 event, and it happened in March 2016. 

Before this fight, McGregor knocked out Jose Aldo in 13 seconds and stripped him of his belt. Meanwhile, Nate Diaz was brought in as a last-minute replacement since Rafael dos Anjos pulled out of that scheduled bout.  

The fight began, and Diaz endured all of Conor’s strikes in the first round. Then, in the second round, Diaz rocked McGregor and pulled off a rear-naked choke submission on the Irishman, securing one of the greatest underdog wins ever. 

#6 –  Fabricio Werdum vs. Fedor Emelianenko

Fabricio Werdum and Fedor Emelianenko collided in the 2010 Strikeforce fight promotion, and nobody knew that this fight would be one of the biggest MMA upsets of all time. 

On one side, there was Fedor, who was on a phenomenal 27-fight winning streak at the time, beating combat sports legends such as Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, Mark Hunt, Mark Coleman, Kevin Randleman, and so on. On the other side, Werdum was a superb heavyweight fighter, but he wasn’t on Fedor’s level. 

However, Werdum rose to the occasion and beat Fedor in spectacular fashion. The Russian sent Werdum to the floor with strikes, but Fedor made a huge mistake and entered the Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist’s guard. Werdum got a triangle choke on Fedor and submitted him, thus ending his 9-year winning streak. 

#5 – Luke Rockhold vs. Michael Bisping II

The first matchup between Rockhold and Bisping was in 2014, and it was a pretty highly anticipated fight between these two middleweights. The winner was Rockhold, who first head-kicked Bisping, sending him to the floor and ending the bout with a guillotine choke. 

Almost two years later, Rockhold and Bisping collided at UFC 199, and the fans didn’t give the Englishman much of a chance since he took the fight on short notice and was on a movie set at the time of accepting the bout. 

Nevertheless, Bisping proved everyone wrong. He knocked out the reigning middleweight champion with left and right hooks and won the belt. It’s safe to say that Bisping winning the middleweight title against the seemingly invincible Rockhold was one of the most shocking moments in MMA history. 

#4 – Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman

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The main event of UFC 162 in 2013 was the middleweight title bout between Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman. Even though Weidman had a 9-0 record prior to this fight, he was the underdog. Regarded as one of the best MMA fighters ever, Silva was the favorite of this title bout since he was on a 17-fight winning streak, beating MMA legends like Vitor Belfort, Demian Maia, Dan Henderson, Forrest Griffin, etc.  

The initial round of this fight went into Weidman’s favor since he kept Silva on the ground for a couple of minutes. Then, heading into the second round, Silva proved once again that he had an incredible stand-up game, and it looked like he was taking over that fight. 

However, “The Spider” began to showboat and was quite disrespectful to Weidman. Then, Chris did the unexpected. He knocked out Silva with a nice combination and won the UFC middleweight championship title, putting an end to Silva’s sensational winning streak. 

#3 – Julianna Pena vs. Amanda Nunes

The No. 3 on the list of the top 10 biggest MMA upsets in history goes to the matchup between Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena at UFC 269 in 2021. At that time, Amanda “Lioness” Nunes was the bantamweight and featherweight UFC champion on a 12-fight winning streak, beating the likes of Ronda Rousey, Holly Holm, Valentina Shevchenko, Miesha Tate, etc. 

Pena only won three of her last five fights, and not many fans believed she could win the women’s bantamweight title. However, Pena believed she could. 

Pena started applying pressure on Nunes from the beginning of the fight, eventually wearing her down and pulling off one of the most shocking wins ever via rear naked choke submission. 

#2 – Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm

Ronda Rousey was the most recognizable name in women’s MMA when she collided with Holly Holm at UFC 193 back in 2015. Rousey had a 12-0 record at the time, and she has beaten numerous superb fighters such as Cat Zingano, Bethe Correia, and Miesha Tate. 

Holly Holm was also undefeated with a 10-0 record, and since she was a kickboxer, stylistically, she was a bad matchup for Rousey, who was primarily a grappler. Nevertheless,  everyone expected that Rousey would win the fight due to her incredible dominance in the previous 12 fights. 

Holm was incredible throughout the fight, stuffing Ronda’s takedown attempts and keeping the fight on the feet. Then, in the 2nd round, Holm threw a head kick at Ronda and knocked her out, winning the bantamweight title in one of the biggest MMA upsets ever. Still, despite this defeat, Rousey remains one of the best female MMA fighters of all time.

#1 – Matt Serra vs. Georges St-Pierre I

Without a doubt, the greatest upset in the history of MMA happened at UFC 69 in 2007, when St-Pierre and Serra collided. It’s interesting that Matt Serra didn’t earn the title shot in a conventional way, meaning that he beat all the top contenders in the division. Instead, he earned a shot at the title by being the winner of the welterweight division at “The Ultimate Fighter” season 4 TV show. 

Meanwhile, St-Pierre was the reigning champ who was incredibly dominant at the time, winning fights against notable names in the MMA world like BJ Penn, Matt Hughes, and Sean Sherk. Georges was already touted as a potential GOAT, and not many fans gave Serra much of a chance. 

However, already in the first round, Serra defied the odds and TKO’d St Pierre, winning the UFC welterweight championship title. Thanks to this one iconic win, Serra became a UFC Hall of Famer back in 2018, despite the fact he ended his career with 11-7 record. 

Featured image taken from YouTube.