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The UFC world is unforgiving, with one brutal fight – particularly if it ends in a knockout – capable of changing a career in an instance.
We’ve seen on numerous occasions how the career trajectory of a UFC fighter can suddenly spiral downwards after a single fight.
And sometimes, a fighter can go from the top of the division directly to the bottom after a soul-stealing war.
With that in mind, here are five UFC fights that changed the career of a fighter.
#1 Robbie Lawler vs. Rory MacDonald – UFC 189
Last night's PFL show saw Rory MacDonald fall to a new low in his MMA career, as lightweight Gleison Tibau defeated him in a major upset.
With a record of 4-3-1 since leaving the UFC in 2016, it's hard to believe that the 'Red King' was once one of the world's most feared welterweights.
However, with wins over the likes of Tyron Woodley, BJ Penn and Nate Diaz, he almost certainly deserved that accolade in his prime. Essentially, things changed for MacDonald when he fought Robbie Lawler at UFC 189.
The two men had already fought once, with Lawler edging a tight split decision. At UFC 189, though, the duo did battle for Lawler's UFC welterweight title, and to say the fight was a war would be an understatement.
Both men threw all that they had at one another, but after five brutal rounds, it was MacDonald who broke – or at least, his nose did, en route to a TKO loss in the final round.
The Canadian took a year away from the UFC following the loss, but when he returned in 2016, he clearly wasn't the same fighter and washed out of the promotion following a loss to Stephen Thompson.
Since then, MacDonald has struggled through a run at Bellator and has never really recovered his mojo. Essentially, Lawler took his soul at UFC 189.
#2 Robbie Lawler vs. Carlos Condit – UFC 195
Robbie Lawler might’ve taken Rory MacDonald’s soul at UFC 189, but there’s an argument that both Lawler and his opponent Carlos Condit lost theirs in the same fight at UFC 195.
Lawler and Condit came into the fight off the back of red-hot streaks and a reputation for putting on some of the most exciting fights in UFC history.
Fans expected a barnburner and were treated to an instant classic, with both men coming close to finishes and leaving all they had in the octagon.
Lawler was declared the winner in a razor-close decision, but this was one of those fights where neither man looked like a loser.
Unfortunately, it soon became clear that the fight took so much out of both men that they’d never be the same again.
Lawler lost the UFC welterweight title to Tyron Woodley just months later, while Condit ended up temporarily retiring after a loss to Demian Maia.
Both men are still part of the UFC’s roster today, but their combined record tells the story. Before UFC 195, Lawler and Condit were 19-9; they’ve gone 3-9 since then.
#3 Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje – UFC 249
Prior to 2020, there was an argument that Tony Ferguson – and not Khabib Nurmagomedov – deserved the accolade of being the best lightweight in the UFC.
Sure, Khabib was unbeaten and had run through the likes of Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier. But Ferguson was on a ludicrous win streak – 12 fights – in the deepest division in the UFC. he had beaten fighters like Donald Cerrone, Anthony Pettis and Kevin Lee.
When the UFC's latest attempt to set up a fight between Ferguson and Khabib fell through in early 2020, it seemed likely that 'El Cucuy' would beat yet another opponent – Justin Gaethje – to set it up later in the year.
Unfortunately for Ferguson, he found himself badly outgunned by Gaethje. 'The Highlight' simply destroyed Ferguson with a series of incredibly brutal strikes, and if anything, 'El Cucuy' proved too tough for his own good by surviving until the final round.
Since then, Ferguson hasn't looked close to the kind of fighter capable of a 12-fight winning streak.
He suffered one-sided losses to both Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush. He no longer looks anything like the man who terrorized the division for years – suggesting Gaethje stole his soul at UFC 249.
#4 Cain Velasquez vs. Junior Dos Santos – UFC 166
By the time UFC 166 rolled around in October 2013, it was clear that Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos were the two greatest heavyweights in the UFC and in the world, too.
But which man was better? Dos Santos had won their first meeting, knocking Velasquez out in the first round. In contrast, the Mexican-American had returned the favor in their rematch by battering JDS en route to a unanimous decision.
UFC 166 saw both men come into the fight in the best shape of their careers. However, by the time the fight ended, it was clear that Velasquez was the better man.
He destroyed Dos Santos, beating him from pillar to post en route to a fifth-round TKO. And to say JDS was never the same again would be an understatement.
Prior to his clash with Velasquez at UFC 166, nobody else had beaten Dos Santos in the octagon.
Following that, though, Dos Santos lost six of his next eleven fights, with his victories hardly being the most convincing.
JDS was finally cut from the UFC at the end of 2020 following a four-fight losing streak – but you can literally track his downfall back to UFC 166.
#5 Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard – UFC 136
Coming into 2011, Gray Maynard was arguably the best lightweight in the UFC. He'd already beaten champ Frankie Edgar but had been overlooked for a title shot for reasons unknown.
2011, though, was the year that things were supposed to change. Maynard finally had his shot at Edgar, and despite the fight going to a draw, the 'Bully' had come closest to finding a finish.
The UFC booked an immediate rematch, and Maynard came in with plenty of confidence – even sprinting to the octagon in order to finish the job.
But despite knocking Edgar down early and badly hurting him again, he simply couldn't put the champion away.
And when Edgar landed cleanly on Maynard in the fourth round, he didn't let up – and became the first man to beat the 'Bully' in the UFC.
Maynard won his next fight, outpointing Clay Guida, but quickly went into a tailspin from there. He would lose six of his next eight fights and appeared to have fossilized overnight before parting ways with the UFC in 2018.
Essentially, Maynard never recovered from his first loss to Edgar – suggesting his soul left the octagon at UFC 136.
