5 times a UFC fighter was visibly intimidated by their opponent

The UFC is full of the toughest fighters on the planet. Only a fool would question their heart, desire and commitment to reach the top of the mountain. However, the UFC’s top stars are only human. Just like anyone else, they can be intimidated.

Over the years, we’ve seen numerous examples of UFC fighters who were tough as nails, but were still visibly intimidated before facing an opponent.

Sometimes this is due to that fighter getting into their opponent's head. Other times it’s been simply because the UFC set up a fight that in all honesty, probably shouldn’t have happened.

But whenever it is noticeable, it’s both shocking and fascinating to see.

Here are five times that a UFC fighter was visibly intimidated by their opponent.

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#5. Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor – UFC 194

Jose Aldo appeared to have allowed Conor McGregor to get into his head prior to their clash at UFC 194

Heading into UFC 194, Jose Aldo probably should’ve been full of confidence. Not only was the Brazilian considered to be by far the greatest featherweight in MMA history at that stage, but he’d also won 18 fights in a row. Seven of those victories came in the UFC.

But he was faced with the trash-talking, ultra-confident Conor McGregor, who had reeled off six straight wins of his own. In the main event of one of the biggest UFC shows of all time, Aldo appeared to simply wilt.

It was immediately visible that the featherweight kingpin looked intimidated. He seemed less animated during his walk to the octagon. And while he’d never met the eyes of an opponent in a staredown, against McGregor, he looked more nervous than ever before.

This was even noticed by UFC announcer Joe Rogan. Off air, he remarked to a producer that not only did the Brazilian look “soft” and "deflated," but that he also looked "nervous as f*ck."

Whether the magnitude of the situation had gotten to him, or whether McGregor’s verbal barbs and dangerous reputation had planted a seed of doubt in his head, remains a mystery.

But when it came to fight time, Aldo didn’t look right at all. He walked right into a brutal left hand counter from the 'Notorious’ megastar that knocked him senseless in just 13 seconds.

Just like that, Aldo’s UFC featherweight title reign was over. It appeared to have ended at the hands of the one opponent who was able to intimidate him.

#4. Dmitry Smoliakov vs. Greg Hardy – UFC Fight Night: Jacare vs. Hermansson

Dmitry Smoliakov looked terrified of Greg Hardy prior to their clash in 2019

When the UFC inked former NFL star Greg Hardy to a deal in the summer of 2018, despite his sketchy past, it was clear that they were going to give him a big promotional push.

‘The Prince of War’ made his UFC debut in January 2019. But he was disqualified in his fight with Allen Crowder after throwing an illegal knee to the head.

It was clear that the promotion wanted him to bounce back quickly. With that in mind, they booked him in his second fight just three months later. His opponent was Dmitry Smoliakov, a Russian heavyweight who’d lost both of his prior UFC bouts. However, he did have a lot more experience than Hardy.

But when it came to the fight, it was immediately clear who had the psychological advantage. Despite standing at 6’2” and weighing nearly 260 pounds, Smoliakov looked literally terrified of the former NFL star. It felt obvious what was about to happen next.

Sure enough, ‘The Lifeguard’ nervously avoided Hardy’s early strikes and then shot for a desperate takedown. And when ‘The Prince of War’ stuffed it and landed a straight right, the Russian was sent crashing to the ground.

A handful of punches on the mat followed, and with Smoliakov making no attempt to defend himself, the fight was stopped after just over two minutes.

In the years that have followed, Hardy has proven to be highly beatable. But it was clear in this instance that ‘The Prince of War’ was simply too intimidating for his opponent to handle.

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#3. Rich Franklin vs. Anderson Silva – UFC 64

Rich Franklin appeared to be nervous and edgy prior to his fight with Anderson Silva at UFC 64

Back in the days when each UFC event was given a catchy subtitle, UFC 64 was labelled ‘Unstoppable’. This tagline wasn’t unintentional, either. It was clearly a reference to reigning UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin.

‘Ace’ had won the UFC middleweight title from Evan Tanner at UFC 53. He had put together two impressive title defenses in the months that followed, thrashing Nate Quarry and David Loiseau. Indeed, with no clear weaknesses to his game, it looked like Franklin could hold the title for as long as he wanted.

However, UFC 64 saw him matched with Anderson Silva, who’d debuted in the UFC just months beforehand with a win over Chris Leben.

And despite only having one fight inside the octagon, ‘The Spider’ did have a formidable reputation. He’d destroyed highly regarded fighters such as Lee Murray, Jeremy Horn and Jorge Rivera prior to arriving in the UFC and gave off an air of absolute confidence.

The same air of confidence usually hung over Franklin. However, it was clear during his walk-out at UFC 64 that he wasn’t quite as amped up as he’d been for his previous title defenses.

Sporting a black eye, he looked nervous and edgy. That was particularly visible during the pre-fight staredown and even more so when he spotted Silva make the sign of the cross. Franklin responded by clasping his hands in prayer, but the gesture looked forced and only hinted further at his jangling nerves.

Sure enough, when the fight began, ‘Ace’ simply didn’t get out of first gear. An attempt at clinching with Silva went horribly wrong and ‘The Spider’ abused him with knees from the Thai clinch, finishing him off inside the first round.

In all honesty, as we found out at UFC 77 in their rematch, Silva was always a bad match for Franklin. But had ‘Ace’ come into this one less intimidated, he may well have put up a far better fight than he was able to.

#2. Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem – UFC 141

Despite his own intimidating presence, Brock Lesnar seemed to wilt when he faced Alistair Overeem

Given his size and aura, it’s hardly a surprise that former UFC heavyweight champion and current WWE superstar Brock Lesnar usually appears on lists of the most intimidating UFC fighters of all time.

However, despite winning the UFC heavyweight title in just his third fight with the promotion and fourth fight overall, Lesnar never quite got to grips with taking a hard shot from an opponent. And at UFC 141, he found himself faced with someone more than capable of dishing out hard shots.

Alistair Overeem was the UFC’s biggest acquisition in some time. He was the reigning Strikeforce heavyweight champion. 'The Reem’ had also won K-1’s esteemed Grand Prix in 2010. He was widely recognized as the most dangerous striker in the division at the time.

The UFC set up a fight between him and Lesnar with the idea being that it would pit two of the promotion’s most intimidating fighters against one another. But it quickly became clear that ‘The Beast Incarnate’ found Overeem just as intimidating as the fans did.

Despite attempting to pump himself up for the fight by screaming and flexing during the weigh-ins, Lesnar looked horribly nervous, particularly during his walk-out. If anything, it looked like he was trying to convince himself that he could beat Overeem.

Sure enough, despite Lesnar throwing some strikes from distance, it only looked like a matter of time until Overeem landed. And when he did with knees to the body and finally a nasty kick, the former champion simply folded.

There was no question that Overeem’s strikes were enough to finish any man. But equally, it definitely looked like Lesnar had trepidation going into the fight and didn’t really want to be there.

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#1. Georges St-Pierre vs. Matt Hughes – UFC 50

Georges St-Pierre knocked out Matt Hughes in their second meeting, but admitted he was scared in their first clash at UFC 50

Arguably the greatest MMA fighter of all time, former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre beat a seemingly endless list of top-ranked fighters in his time with the promotion. Often, the Canadian would make it look frighteningly easy, too.

But even GSP was human and in his early years with the UFC, he suffered a loss to the legendary Matt Hughes in a fight for the then-vacant welterweight title.

And fascinatingly, in the years that have followed, St-Pierre has detailed the anxieties that surrounded him during the fight. He even outright admitted he was hugely intimidated by Hughes.

According to GSP, he didn’t even believe Dana White when he was offered the fight with the legendary former champion for the vacant belt. That's hardly surprising when you consider he’d only had two fights with the UFC beforehand.

He actually fought well until he was caught with an armbar with just one second remaining in the first round. But St-Pierre has since admitted that he was “scared to death” of Hughes because he knew he wasn’t ready to fight him at that point.

Of course, GSP used the experience to his advantage. He would eventually cut a swath through the division until his second title fight with Hughes, which he won via head kick in the second round.

While he achieved unthinkable levels of success with the UFC, St-Pierre has never been afraid to admit to his fears and anxieties both inside and outside of the octagon. To see him admit that he was intimidated by Hughes was hardly out of character.