The 411 MMA Top 5 07.15.10: Week 49 – Biggest MMA Upsets

Posted by Larry Csonka on 07.15.2010

From Fabricio Werdum submitting Fedor Emelianenko and Matt Serra dropping Georges St. Pierre to Gabriel Gonzaga knocking Mirko Cro Cop’s head off and even Forrest Griffin submitting Shogun, the 411 MMA writers look at the biggest upsets in MMA history! Check out the full article for all the details!



Welcome:
Welcome back to the MMA Top 5! What we are going to is take a topic each week and all the writers here on 411 MMA will have the ability to give us their Top 5 on said topic, plus up to three honorable mentions. It's highly non-official and final, like WAMMA.


And now…



OUR BIGGEST MMA UPSETS!


Jeffrey Harris

HM: Sokoudjou vs. Nogueira - I put this more in the honorable mention area because this was a huge and surprising upset, but it does not carry much significance these days.

HM: Jake Shields vs. Dan Henderson - No one not even Strikeforce bet on Shields actually defeating one of the most decorated MMA fighters of all time in Dan Henderson. Despite a tough first round, Shields survived and put on the performance of a lifetime and bested Henderson, remaining the Strikeforce Middleweight Champion.

HM: Miguel Torres vs. Brian Bowles - I really liked both guys going into this fight. Torres had a lot of hype and had some really great fights as WEC Bantamweight Champion. Bowles was a hungry and undefeated contender but still the plucky underdog. Bowles didn't let the hype get to his head and got the TKO over Torres for the amazing upset win, ending another impressive WEC title run.


5. Georges St. Pierre vs. Matt Serra - It was hard for anyone to consider Matt Serra to win this fight back in 2007. But Matt Serra did indeed shock the world and defeat the young and previously dominant UFC Welterweight Champion handing St. Pierre only his second career defeat (the other coming at the hands of Matt Hughes). Few if any saw that coming besides maybe Matt Serra and his camp.

4. Urijah Faber vs. Mike Brown I - Faber had become a superstar and was riding a huge wave of popularity following his MOTYC with Jens Pulver. Mike Brown had quietly built up an impressive winning streak as a featherweight and one missed elbow and a punch later and we had a new featherweight champion. I'm ranking this fight because it's upsets like this that define my MMA fandom when you can see crazy upsets like this actually happen and they seem to happen more often in the WEC.

3. Matt Hughes vs. BJ Penn I - Matt Hughes was the most dominant champion in MMA and probably one of if not the best fighters in the world up to this point. BJ Penn had previously competed at welterweight but moved up to challenge Hughes. Before the end of the first round, BJ Penn sunk in a RNC and ended the dynasty of Matt Hughes' welterweight title run. Penn would continue to etch his name in the history books as a UFC and MMA legend.

2. Tim Sylvia vs. Randy Couture - Couture came out of retirement and moved up to heavyweight to prove a point, feeling the UFC heavyweight division had become weak. Well into his 40's, people feared for Couture's livelihood in going against a giant like Sylvia. After 5 rounds and the performance of a lifetime, Couture yet again proved all his doubters wrong and once again became the UFC heavyweight champion.

1. Fabricio Werdum vs. Fedor Emelianenko - I may not be the biggest fan of Fedor, but even I can recognize the significance. Despite the lone mark on his 32-1 record, Fedor had never legitimately lost a fight. He had never been submitted or knocked out. There were times he's been in trouble or gotten rocked, but no one has ever been able to stop, finish, or decisively grind Fedor to a loss. Werdum did that and the MMA world will never be the same again.

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Scott Kuczkowski

HM: Mark Coleman vs. Nobuhiko Takada - Worked MMA bout won by Takada was quite a shock to those who knew Coleman's credentials.


5. Marco Ruas vs. Alexander Otsuka - I was excited to see that Ruas was going to fight on the card for Pride 4. Unfortunately, he seemed to gas out in the first round and then lost be decision to Otsuka, who retired in 2006 with an unimpressive 5-13 record. This loss was an upset at the time, as Ruas had won UFC 7 two and a half years earlier and was generally considered one of the better fighters on the early MMA scene.

4. Mirko Cro Cop vs. Kevin Randleman - This bout at Pride Total Elimination 2004 was a shocker to me because I never gave Randleman a chance. Randleman landed a lucky punch that stunned Cro Cop and he was able to finish him with some ground and pound. Even more shocking was the fact that Randleman actually showed the will and ability to finish a fight, which is something that has been completely absent from every other bout he's been in.

3. Anderson Silva vs. Ryo Chonan - Chonan wasn't doing anything in this bout to win when he attempted a flying scissor heel hook. The move is typically something only seen in gyms and isn't expected to work in the ring/cage when fighters are sweaty. Chonan was able to secure the submission and force Silva to tap to the stunned amazement of the entire crowd. The flashiness of the move coupled with the come-from-behind nature of the victory combines to make this an upset.

2. Fedor Emelianenko vs. Fabricio Werdum - This bout and #1 are interchangeable in my opinion due to the surprising nature of the wins, but considering Werdum was more of a contender than Serra, I've put this at #2. No one gave Werdum much of a chance in this bout, and the first 30 seconds pretty much went according to everyone's expectations. With Fedor in his guard, Werdum was able to secure a triangle choke/armbar combination and force Fedor to tap. This marked the first time Fedor had been decisively defeated in 35 MMA bouts. Regardless of whether or not he ever wins the Strikeforce or UFC Heavyweight title, this will be Werdum's biggest win of his career.

1. Matt Serra vs. Georges St. Pierre - Serra didn't even really belong in this fight since he didn't have to beat a single top contender to get the title match. Serra rocked GSP with a lucky shot and quickly capitalized to win the TKO victory and the Welterweight Title. Given the fact Serra wasn't even ranked in the Welterweight Top 10 prior to this fight and that not winning Season 4 of The Ultimate Fighter would have meant his release from the UFC, this win was very surprising. Add into the situation that Serra hasn't defeated anyone other than Frank Trigg since this bout, and this was by far the biggest upset in MMA history.

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Jonathan Solomon

HM: Migel Torres vs. Joseph Benavidez - Who in their right mind though Torres could lose two in a row?

HM: Dan Henderson vs. Jake Shields - Shields proved he is without a doubt, one of the best in the world with his dominant performance against Hendo.

HM: Kid Yamamoto vs. Joe Warren - I am still amazed that Joe Warren was able to win a decision from Kid...IN JAPAN!


5. Jens Pulver vs. Joe Lauzon - A new kid to the block entered the UFC to take on a former champion. Lauzon ended up making a big splash by knocking out Pulver in just 48-seconds. After this fight, Pulver went on to go 1-6 in the UFC and WEC before being cut. Lauzon is still a name in the UFC's lightweight division in part because of his stint on TUF5.

4. Cro Cop vs. Gabriel Gonzaga - This fight was suppose to be a "tune-up" for Cro Cop before he challenged Randy Couture for the championship on PPV. Instead, Gabriel Gonzaga made his presence felt by knocking out the Croatian. Better yet, he did so in a manner that Cro Cop made famous for years in Japan. Gonzaga landed a picture perfect head kick that knocked Cro Cop out on impact. The sight of Mirko falling as if he was dropped out of a plane is still one of the more memorable images in MMA history.

3. Fedor vs. Fabricio Werdum - Ironically, this fight went down exactly how you would expect if you thought Werdum could win. Unfortunately for Fedor, he was fighting a very serious ground threat. Werdum is the best grappler in the heavyweight division and he showed why. Fedor could have ended the fight had he landed one of the big shots he swung. He did not and ended up having to tap out. This was Fedor's first legitimate and decisive career loss after a legendary streak of wins.

2. Miguel Torres vs. Brian Bowles - Seriously, did anyone expect Bowles to be the man to knock Torres off his pedestal? I did not. Bowles may not be a big man, but his hands have so much power in them, it's nuts. He rocked Torres early and finished him off on the ground to be the first man in over six years to beat the Chicago native.



1. GSP vs. Matt Serra - The Italian from Long Island shocked the world by knocking St. Pierre out cold. Nobody figured Serra would be able to take the fight to the champion and beat him unless he caught him in a submission hold. For whatever reason, GSP was not aggressive and once he was knocked around, all but gave up. On the bright side, the loss made GSP bust his ass even more and he is now arguably the best in the world.

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Andrew Gladstone

HM: Jason Maxwell vs. Jens Pulver - This is one of the rarely talked about huge upsets in MMA. Jens Pulver in 2003, despite coming off a knock out loss to Duane Ludwig was still a top 5-10 ranked fighter at the time. Jason Maxwell, who is a virtually unknown fighter with a subpar record of 6-4 at the time managed to catch Pulver with a vicious left hook followed by a knee to the body and a few strikes to win via TKO in the first round.

HM: David Baron vs. Hayato Sakurai - Just two years ago in the Shooto promotion David Baron (who was coming off a loss to Takanori Gomi) managed to pull off a huge upset over the Japanese legend Hayato "Mach" Sakurai by outgrappling him and getting a rear naked choke victory.

HM: Sokoudjou vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira - The judoka Sokoudjou was not given a chance against Nogueira in this fight at all. Many at the time thought Nogueira should've been in Dan Henderson's place that night to take on Wanderlei Silva for the belt. However, Sokoudjou managed to knock out Nogueira in the opening stages of the first round.


5. Georges St. Pierre vs. Matt Serra - Regarded as some as the biggest MMA upset of all time, it's hard not to have Serra vs. GSP 1 as the biggest upset in the top 5. No one gave Matt Serra a chance in this fight and thought GSP would steamroll right through him.

4. Cro Cop vs. Gabriel Gonzaga - Coming off winning the Pride Openweight Grandprix in 2006, defeating the likes of Josh Barnett and Wanderlei Silva, it was the general consensus amongst fans of the sport that Cro Cop would fight for the UFC heavyweight title. However, Gabriel Gonzaga had other plans and knocked out Cro Cop with Cro Cop's on patented head kick and shocked the entire MMA community.

3. Guy Mezger vs. Akira Shoji - At the time this had to be one of the biggest upsets in the world of MMA. Mezger was ranked in the top 10 at the time if not top 5 and Shoji was 3-2-4 and coming off a loss to Igor Vovchanchyn. Shoji managed to be the aggressor Mezger down in the fight and took a split decision.

2. Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira - After coming off a career threatening accident, Mir had gone 3-2 in the octagon and other than Brock Lesnar which was a come from behind win, Mir had not looked that great. It was December of 2008 where the MMA world saw a huge upset when Frank Mir showed drastically improved stand up and was the first man to ever stop the legend Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

1. Forrest Griffin vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua - Nobody gave Forrest Griffin a chance in this fight other than maybe his teammates. Most people believed that since Liddell lost to Quinton "Rampage" Jackson that "Shogun" had to be the #1 light heavyweight in the world. It was on this night that Griffin proved the doubters wrong and more than held his own by submitting Rua with only seconds left in the third round.

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Jeremy Lambert

5. Gabriel Gonzaga Head Kicks Mirko "Cro Cop" - When I look at upsets, I like to not only look at the "who" but the "how." So the when Gabriel Gonzaga head kicked Mirko "Cro Cop", it was a pretty big upset. Gonzaga was relatively unknown and thought to be more of a jiu-jitsu guy while Mirko was on a five fight win streak, coming off winning the PRIDE Absolute GP, and being groomed as the first contender for Randy Couture's title. Plus Mirko is known for his devastating head kicks so when the tables were turned, in the words of Joe Rogan, "WHO SAW THAT COMING?!?!"

4. Forrest Griffin Submits "Shogun" Rua - "Shogun" Rua was brought into the UFC to immediately challenge for the Light Heavyweight title. He had won the PRIDE 2005 GP, he had victories over the likes of Alistair Overeem, Ricardo Arona, Rogerio Nogueira, and he destroyed then UFC LHW Champion Quinton Jackson. Forrest Griffin, 2-2 in his last 4 fights, was thought to be a tune up fight for Rua. Instead Griffin took the fight to Rua and was arguably winning a decision before deciding that the judges weren't needed as he submitted Rua with just seconds left in the fight.

3. Fabricio Werdum Submits Fedor - Fedor was considered unbeatable. Werdum, while a top Heavyweight, was never given a real chance. After all, Werdum got knocked out of the UFC by Junior dos Santos (an unjust release), was dropped by Mike Kyle before submitting the mid-level natural Light Heavyweight, and narrowly defeated Antonio Silva. Plus Fedor had spent an hour and a half in the guard of Rodrigo Nogueira, thought to be one of the best guards in MMA history. So when Werdum submitted Fedor, yeah, it was pretty shocking.

2. Matt Serra Makes GSP Quit - Matt Serra was a mid-level fighter who got a title shot with an unimpressive victory over Chris Lytle. GSP just dominated the greatest Welterweight of all time with crisp striking. So when Serra clipped GSP, beat him down on the ground, and forced GSP to tap out the MMA world was shocked. He beat GSP on the feet and he broke his will by making him tap out. And you can question GSP's heart after the fact but this is the same man who got beat up by BJ Penn in the first round of their first fight only to come back and win a decision. So no one was questioning it coming into the fight.

1. Sokoudjou KO's Rogerio Nogueira - According to the odds, this is the biggest upset in MMA history. Lil Nog was a -2500 favorite to win so if you bet on Sokoudjou, you're probably reading this from a mansion. It wasn't only that Sokoujou beat Lil Nog, he KO'd him. It was the first time in MMA history that either Nogueira had been finished, which in itself is history.

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