5 times that overzealousness to finish a fight cost a UFC star dearly

#4. Leonardo Santos vs. Clay Guida – UFC on ESPN 31

Leonardo Santos thought he had Clay Guida finished - only to gas out and allow the veteran back into the fight

A recent example of a fighter’s overzealousness costing them dearly came earlier this month at UFC on ESPN 31.

The fight in question saw lightweight veterans Leonardo Santos and Clay Guida squaring off. Early on, it looked like Santos’ fight.

The Brazilian hurt Guida early on with a kick to the body, and then began to unload on him with strikes, repeatedly hurting his midsection. Eventually, ‘The Carpenter’ failed on a takedown attempt and it looked like Santos would be able to finish him with ground-and-pound.

Somehow though, Guida did just enough to survive – arguably thanks to some lenient officiating from Keith Peterson. Before the first round even ended, it was clear Santos was slowing down.

Guida ended the round with a takedown and some elbows of his own. In the second round, the exhausted Santos was a sitting duck. ‘The Carpenter’ took him down again. This time he was able to secure back control and apply a rear-naked choke to force the highly-decorated grappler to submit.

In this instance it’s almost hard to blame Santos for being so overzealous in his pursuit of a finish. Many referees would’ve called the fight off. Realistically, however, the Brazilian should still have ensured he had something left. He didn’t though and it cost him.

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#3. Greg Hardy vs. Tai Tuivasa – UFC 264

Greg Hardy ended up regretting his decision to charge in to attempt to finish Tai Tuivasa at UFC 264

When heavy hitters Greg Hardy and Tai Tuivasa faced off at UFC 264, it was always likely that one of them would end up being knocked out.

However, few fans expected what happened. In a truly wild fight, Tuivasa was almost put away himself before he turned the tables on ‘The Prince of War’ – all in just over a single minute.

The two big men exchanged strikes from the word go. After the first big trade-off, it looked like Hardy’s power was going to give him the advantage. He connected with a huge right hand to the temple, causing ‘Bam Bam’ to stumble backwards towards the fence.

The Aussie looked all but done. Hardy charged forward to finish him off but in the process, he forgot the golden rule of protecting yourself at all times inside the octagon.

The former NFL defensive end dropped his hands a little too much. Tuivasa – who had barely recovered – caught him coming in with a crushing right hand that separated him from his consciousness immediately. Hardy crumpled, and Tuivasa added a largely needless flurry to seal the deal.

Given his relative inexperience in MMA, it was perhaps understandable to see Hardy get too overzealous to finish this fight. However, he probably should’ve remembered that against a dangerous foe like Tuivasa, it would’ve been better to pick his shots and not charge in unprotected.