2013 has come and gone and it’s now time to look back on what has happened this year in MMA. For the occasion, we are continuing the best of 2013 series the top 10 upsets. For this category we will be looking at fights where the favorite was decisively defeated by an underdog.
Please note that TUF exhibition matches are eligible for this category. Once again these matches were voted on by the writers here at MMA Freak and because of the varied opinions, there were several matches that were nominated but didn’t receive enough votes:
~ Honorable Mentions ~
Anthony Perosh knocking out Vinny Magalhaes at UFC 163 in fourteen seconds of round one on August 3rd in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Travis Browne taking out Josh Barnett with elbows to the side of the head at UFC 168 on December 28th in a stuffed take down.
Chris Weidman defeating Anderson Silva again when in a fight he was dominating he broke Silva’s leg with a checked kick at UFC 168.
Jessica Eye defeating Sarah Kaufman in her promotional debut at UFC 166 not only as an underdog but also moving up a weight class.
Robbie Lawler taking out Josh Koscheck with punches and knees marking a successful return to the UFC and the welterweight division.
Lauren Murphy injuring Miriam Nakamoto at Invicta FC 7, earning the Invicta FC Bantamweight Championship in the process.
Jessica Rakoczy slamming and finishing Roxanne Modafferi on TUF season 18, earning knockout of the season in the process.
Emanuel Newton knocking out Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal with a spinning back fist at Bellator 90 in the Season 8 LHW Semifinal.
Daniel Straus decisively dominating Pat Curran at Bellator 106 avenging a loss and earning the Bellator Featherweight Championship.
Now for the top 10 upsets of 2013. Please remember that these were based on the cumulative results of our writers votes:
~ 10 ~
Travis Browne’s defeat of Alistair Overeem
This was probably the first upset that viewers watched on Fox Sports 1 at UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Sonnen. Going into this fight Alistair Overeem had just lost to Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva in a title contention fight.
Travis Browne on the other hand had just rebounded from a loss against the aforementioned Silva by knocking out former heavyweight title contender Gabriel Gonzaga.
The fight started out with Overeem clipping and almost finishing Browne at one point, but Browne was able to recover and use his long legs and Overeem’s overconfidence to his advantage. At around four minutes into the round, Browne landed a front kick and went in for the finish.
~ 9 ~
Michael Johnson’s defeat of Joe Lauzon
Both fighters were coming off of losses going in to the inaugural Fox Sports 1 UFC Fight Night. However, Michael Johnson had more to lose going into this fight as he was on a two fight loosing streak.
A loss probably meant he was leaving the promotion. Johnson went into the fight against the grappling expert Joe Lauzon and was able to control the fight. It didn’t earn any bonuses but was still a great upset.
~ 8 ~
Anthony Pettis’ defeat of Benson Henderson
For both men this was a rematch long coming that both men desired. The two had faced off for the final WEC Lightweight Championship match and Anthony Pettis emerged victorious after five grueling rounds. Since then the two had different paths as Pettis lost to Clay Guida in his UFC debut while Benson Henderson won the UFC Lightweight Championship four fights after the loss with Pettis and went onto defend his title three times.
Everyone was expecting another long grueling fight but when it went to the ground the fight ended quickly as Pettis was able to role into an arm bar, forcing Henderson to submit at 4:31 in the first round. A rematch is not expected.
~ 7 ~
Robbie Lawler’s defeat of Rory MacDonald
UFC 167 was loaded with welterweight fights with the potential of the winners possibly fighting for the welterweight title. It was obvious that one win would probably earn Rory MacDonald if he were willing to fight teammate George St.-Pierre as he was on a five fight winning streak against the elite of the welterweight division.
Robbie Lawler on the other hand had moved down to welterweight after the closing of Strikeforce and fared well against the likes of Josh Koscheck and Bobby Voelker. What was not expected was the fact that Lawler actually controlled the fight better then MacDonald despite the fact that MacDonald obviously had the better overall fight game. The win gave Lawler a title shot against Johny Hendricks for the vacant welterweight title, giving him another chance to play spoiler in the UFC.
~ 6 ~
Julianna Pena’s defeat of Shayna Baszler
This fight helped spur the tension in TUF 18 when the first round picks faced each other. Leading up to TUF 18, longtime WMMA veteran Shayna Baszler hit a rough patch going only 1-2 in her previous three fights whereas up and comer Julianna Pena was on a two fight loosing streak in some rough matches.
Coach Ronda Rousey after making fighter picks decided to put veteran Baszler against Meisha Tate‘s first round pick to send a message. While Baszler did dominate in the first round, Pena was able to come back and sink in a choke to pull probably the biggest upset of the season. Pena would go onto win the season while Rousey took Baszler’s loss personally.
~ 5 ~
Kelvin Gastelum’s defeat of Uriah Hall
Without a doubt this could be considered one of the greatest TUF upsets. Going into the fight Uriah Hall had practically mauled all of his opponents in the TUF House. Underdog Kelvin Gastelum on the other hand had managed to pull upsets against all of his opponents straight into the finals with a good submission game.
Surprisingly however, when the two faced off in the TUF 17 Finale, Hall didn’t come out with the same killer instinct he had in the house. Gastelum on the other hand was able to use his wrestling to neutralize Hall’s striking and work his way into becoming the TUF 17 Winner and maintaining his undefeated record.
~ 4 ~
Stipe Miocic’s defeat of Roy Nelson
Roy Nelson was uniquely ranked as one of the top 10 fighters in the world at the time of his UFC 161 fight with Stipe Miocic, despite his rotund figure. Even though Nelson was on a three fight winning streak and Miocic had lost his previous fight against Stefan Struve, Nelson took the fight anyways to fulfill his contract before it expired.
However, Miocic was out to prove himself and wanted to do so against the veteran Nelson. The whole fight Miocic was able to use his length advantage in constantly out striking Nelson but not able to finish the ironed chin “Big Country.” The win actually earned Miocic a tenth place ranking in the UFC whereas Nelson is currently unranked.
~ 3 ~
Antonio Silva’s defeat of Alistair Overeem
Going into this fight Alistair Overeem had just spent a year under a suspension after he failed a drug test. Before that he’d been on a twelve fight winning streak that had spanned five years. Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva on the other hand had just rebounded from a loss against Cain Velasquez by defeating Travis Browne.
In their meeting at UFC 156 Overeem dominated the first two rounds. Going into the third round Overeem had shown some overconfidence but it cost him when Silva connected and earned him a rematch against Velasquez.
~ 2 ~
Josh Burkman’s defeat of Jon Fitch
This was Jon Fitch’s first fight outside of the UFC back when he was still considered among the elite welterweights. Josh Burkman had spent time on the regional circuit and had spent sometime fighting for World Series of Fighting in order to build up to this title shot match against Fitch.
What was surprising was how quickly Burkman was able to upset Fitch. It only took him 41 seconds to choke Fitch unconscious. The match once again brought into question Steve Mazzagatti‘s officiating ability.
~ 1 ~
Chris Weidman’s defeat of Anderson Silva 1
Without a doubt this could be considered one of the greatest upsets in the history of MMA. Going into this fight Anderson Silva had reigned as the best fighter for years and had reigned over the UFC middleweight division for six years. Despite this several experts were saying that if anyone stood a chance at dethroning Silva, it was challenger Chris Weidman.
Indeed Weidman dominated the fight during the first round even when Silva started showboating. Then in the second round Weidman found Silva’s chin and became champion.
The next installment of the Best of 2013 Series will continue next week as will the updated rankings. Stay tuned.