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2021 was a phenomenal year for a number of UFC fighters. But for a few others, the year proved to be far more challenging than they might’ve expected.
While several UFC stars lost in big fights during 2021, a handful came out even worse, failing to pick up a single victory despite fighting in the octagon more than once.
Whether these fighters can recover from such a bad year or see a permanent slide in their fortunes, is a question that will only be answered in 2022. But right now it is safe to say that they'd want to forget last year quickly.
On that note, here is a look at five big UFC stars who failed to win a single fight in 2021.
#5 Kevin Holland – UFC middleweight
While he didn’t win a UFC title, middleweight contender Kevin Holland had a more successful 2020 than most other fighters.
‘The Trailblazer’ fought in the octagon on a remarkable five occasions and picked up five straight wins. He capped his year off with the biggest win of his UFC career, a brutal knockout of the highly-regarded Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza.
It looked like Holland was all set to move into title contention in 2021, particularly with UFC middleweight kingpin Israel Adesanya running through prospective challengers quickly. But ‘Trailblazer’ fell to defeat in his first fight of 2021, dropping a clear-cut decision to Derek Brunson.
Most worryingly, the fight appeared to expose a fatal flaw in Holland’s skill-set. He was completely unable to stop Brunson’s takedowns, and didn’t have a lot to offer from his back.
Following the loss, the best idea for Holland probably would’ve been to take some time off to work on that weakness. But in what proved to be an ill-advised move, he returned to the octagon less than a month later to face off against Marvin Vettori.
Holland was defeated again, in similar fashion, giving him the first back-to-back losses of his UFC career. More painfully for ‘Trailblazer’, Vettori went on to fight for the UFC middleweight title in his next bout.
Holland ended his 2021 with a fight against Kyle Daukaus. Although that didn’t end in defeat, it didn’t go well either. An errant clash of heads knocked him unconscious, leaving his record for the year at 0-2-1.
Holland is expected to return to action in 2022, potentially as a welterweight. He’ll be hoping for an upturn in form then.
#4 Edmen Shahbazyan – UFC middleweight
Back in 2019, there were few hotter prospects in the UFC than Edmen Shahbazyan. After appearing on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2018, the Armenian-American reeled off four wins in a row in the octagon, including a head-kick knockout of veteran Brad Tavares.
Just 22 at the start of 2020, it felt like only a matter of time before ‘The Golden Boy’ moved into UFC middleweight title contention. However, he was stopped by Derek Brunson in his only appearance of 2020.
The defeat was the first of his career, and most fans expected him to bounce back in style in 2021. But the opposite ended up happening, putting Shahbazyan on the cusp of departing the UFC in 2022.
The 24-year-old took nine months off following his defeat to Brunson. When he returned he looked somewhat gunshy in his clash with Jack Hermansson, and ended up dropping a unanimous decision to the Swedish fighter.
Worse was still to come, though. Matched with Nassourdine Imavov at UFC 268, in a fight he was expected to win, Shahbazyan quickly found himself outgunned. He ended up stuck in a mounted crucifix in the second round, from where it didn’t take Imavov long to stop him with a series of brutal elbows.
‘The Golden Boy’ still has time on his side and he’s still an exceptional athlete, but it’s hard to say how much those two TKO losses have taken out of him. If he can’t win his first fight of 2022, he could find himself on the UFC’s chopping block.
#3 Frankie Edgar – UFC bantamweight
While he turned 39 years old in October 2020, Frankie Edgar came into 2021 on something of a high. The former UFC lightweight champion moved to 135 pounds for the first time in August 2020 and looked excellent in his win over Pedro Munhoz, giving him a new lease of life in the octagon.
However, things couldn’t have gone much worse for him in 2021. So much so that many UFC fans expect the now-40 year old veteran to hang up his gloves in 2022.
Pitted against Cory Sandhagen in February, there was a very real chance that ‘The Answer’ could’ve found himself in contention for a shot at the UFC bantamweight title. However, it took Sandhagen just 28 seconds to put an end to those ideas.
‘The Sandman’ hit Edgar with a brutal flying knee, separating him from his consciousness immediately in one of 2021’s scariest knockouts.
The loss immediately brought Edgar’s future into question. The two main strengths he’d possessed at 155 pounds - speed and durability - looked to be negated at bantamweight.
‘The Answer’ returned at UFC 268 against Marlon Vera. Despite performing well in the opening round, it was his waning durability that again let him down. ‘Chito’ began to hurt him with strikes in the second round, and finished him off with a violent front kick in the final stanza.
Whether Edgar makes another return to the octagon is up in the air following that loss. While he's a surefire bet to be named as a UFC Hall of Famer in the future, it’s safe to say his 2021 was pretty awful.
#2 Stephen Thompson – UFC welterweight
Very few fighters saw their stock fall in 2021 quite as badly as former UFC welterweight title challenger Stephen Thompson.
‘Wonderboy’ ended 2020 in tremendous fashion. He picked apart dangerous striker Geoff Neal in one of the best performances of his UFC career.
With Thompson's pinpoint striking style being largely unique in the welterweight division, many fans saw him as perhaps the most intriguing potential opponent for UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. But UFC 264 saw him drop a decision to former title challenger Gilbert Burns, in the first real sign of ‘Wonderboy’ showing his age in the octagon.
Now 38 years old, Thompson seemed a step slower than he once was. He was unable to keep Burns off him in the clinch.
That loss put an end to any title hopes ‘Wonderboy’ might’ve held, but worse was yet to come. At UFC Vegas 45, he was faced with up-and-comer Belal Muhammad. Despite being favored to win by many fans, he suffered another loss - and in the same fashion as his defeat to Burns.
More to the point, that left ‘Wonderboy’ with only the second back-to-back defeats of his near-decade long UFC career.
Whether Thompson can rebound from these losses in 2022 or they’re a sign of a general downturn for him, is a big question right now. With Wonderboy turning 39 in February, most would agree that time is no longer on his side.
#1 Conor McGregor – UFC lightweight
The biggest UFC star to fail to pick up a single victory in 2021 was undoubtedly Conor McGregor.
‘The Notorious’ would’ve been hoping to get back into UFC lightweight title contention last year, if not claim the gold outright. Instead, his relevance as a contender was left hanging by a thread.
Faced with bitter rival Dustin Poirier in the main event of 2021’s first pay-per-view event (UFC 257), McGregor was looking to repeat the knockout he delivered against ‘The Diamond’ in 2014. However, the Irishman looked painfully outgunned by Poirier.
The Louisianan used leg kicks to break him down, before unleashing his heavy hands in the second round. Poirier eventually finished McGregor off, becoming the first man in the UFC to knock the Irishman out.
It was a truly devastating loss, by any standard. But when the UFC decided to run the fight back just six months later at UFC 264, McGregor was given a shot at redemption.
While he looked slightly better in this fight than he had at UFC 257, The Notorious was still comfortably outfought by Poirier. ‘The Diamond’ abused McGregor on the ground, before a serious leg injury to the Irishman (following an attempted low kick) ended the fight.
McGregor has not fought in the octagon since, instead being forced to rehab his injury. Whether or not he can ever regain the prominence he once had is now up in the air.
It’d be fair to argue that following his two losses to Poirier, McGregor now feels like yesterday’s man in the UFC.
