Everyone loves an undefeated record. To be considered the greatest you must have a great win to loss ratio. But when the fight is over and you aren’t the one getting your hand raised, it’s not always such a big problem. After Dan Ige infamously stepped in to fight Diego Lopes, his stock amongst fans and the UFC company drastically rose, despite him taking the loss. This gave me the idea to take a dive into UFC losses to determine the fighters whose profile was significantly raised despite taking a loss.
Billy Ray Goff vs Trey Waters – A recent fight to start the list, this fight on the Lewis Vs Nascimento Fight Night is one that I cannot recommend enough to viewers new and old. This fight deservedly received the fight of the night bonus and its not hard to see why. 8-1 Trey Waters fought 9-2 Billy Ray Goff in an intense 15 minutes of fighting. Waters lanky frame and reach is going to trouble most Welterweights but Billy Ray Goff powered through to close the distance and deal his share of damage. Despite losing via decision, Billy Ray Goff showed the world that his ability to entertain and his ability to push opponents to the limit go hand-in-hand. The loss only takes him to 9-3 and at 26 years of age, Goff is already at the grandest stage of MMA. This defeat has had little to no impact on Goffs momentum and after this performance, the UFC can be assured he is never a fighter to shy away from a tough fight.
Arnold Allen vs Max Holloway and Movsar Evloev – Arnold Allen makes this list for 2 consecutive fights. After beating Dan Hooker and Calvin Kattar, Arnold took the biggest step in his career to face Max Holloway. Taking Holloway, one of the greatest to ever step in the octagon to a decision and winning at least one round in the process is no easy task. This fight proved that Arnold can hang with the best and secondly, that Max is on a whole different plateau to the majority of UFC fighters. Short of a win, this was the best outcome for Allen, the fight was great, high octane throughout and no one can question his resilience or fighting capability.
It was for this reason that Arnold was matched to undefeated 17-0 Movsar Evloev immediately after. Again, a hard fought fight that Allen lost by decision but in the process proving that he is meant to be among the rankings. The UFCs faith in him was not diminished in the slightest as he was scheduled to fight Giga Chikadze who has lost once in his last 11 fights and that was due to an incredibly impressive Calvin Katter. The UFCs decision to keep Arnolds opponents amongst the best in the division was rewarded with a great win from the Ipswich born Featherweight. 2 losses and the only change in Allen is the number next to his name. The fans love him and the UFC know that he is a stalwart in the company.
Michael Venom Page Vs Ian Garry – It is often discussed how the best of one promotion would fair amongst the best of another. How would Bellator fighters do in UFC for instance. MVP arrived in the UFC and we would finally get our answer. After a great display against a game Kevin Holland, Page was put against undefeated Ian Garry. I have previously said that Garry and his team have a great talent where they create fight plans that negate their opponents greatest weapon. Although it wasn’t a great fight, Garry handled Geoff Neals immense power and he managed to negate the awkward style and long limbs of MVP in much the same way. Despite this, MVP has shown that he can hold his own amongst some of the best in the welterweight division. Given that Garry is at most, one fight away from a title shot, he was taken to a decision and Michaels stock has only risen because of this. With a rumoured fight against Stephen Thompson being arranged, it appears that MVPs title chances are slim, but the UFC aim to capitalise on his drawing prowess and fighting abilities to have high octane entertaining fights for the fans.
Sean Brady vs Belal Muhammad – I wanted to end this list with a possible controversial entry. At the time of the fight, Sean Brady was still undefeated and people were debating just how high he could climb in the UFC. Getting TKO’d by a fighter with only 4 other knockouts out of his 24 wins hardly seems like the best way to improve your reputation, however, Sean Brady himself states that this loss was the best thing to ever happen to him as a fighter. He believed that the pressure coming into the matchup was too great and mentally this was the reason he felt he lost. Taking his first loss has removed this weight off his shoulders and I believe it has revitalised Sean as a serious title contender. After this loss, Sean displayed a technical masterclass against Kelvin Gastellum and it appears, his words post-loss may be true. He truly believes that great things can come out of a loss and I’m inclined to believe this.
In conclusion, I believe a loss doesn’t have to be such a bad thing for an array of reasons. Everyone would love to declare themselves undefeated, unmatched and never outclassed. But these fighters are in the smallest percent of people to ever step in the octagon and everyone else will eventually take a loss. These fighters show that even in defeat, great things can happen and in certain circumstances, a loss is necessary for some fighters to unlock their true potential.
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