5 big UFC stars who failed to win a single fight in 2021

#2 Stephen Thompson – UFC welterweight

Stephen Thompson suffered back-to-back losses in 2021, knocking him out of UFC title contention

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.

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#1 Conor McGregor – UFC lightweight

Conor McGregor's relevance as a UFC title contender is hanging by a thread after his losses in 2021

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.