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#4. Nate Marquardt (vs. Yushin Okami at UFC 122)
While he ended up fighting in the UFC for a little too long – suffering a series of bad losses after his prime had passed – it’s hard to deny that a decade or so ago, Nate Marquardt was one of the best middleweights on the planet.
However, ‘Nate the Great’ was never able to capture the UFC middleweight title, and in fact, only fought for it once after coming up short in more than one title eliminator over the years.
One such bout came in the main event of UFC 122 against Yushin Okami. And when Marquardt came out on the wrong end of a decision after fighting passively, UFC President Dana White was quick to suggest he’d lost his nerve.
Despite the fact that Marquardt had defeated top-level fighters such as Demian Maia, Martin Kampmann and Rousimar Palhares, White was quick to label him a “choker” in an interview following UFC 122.
The UFC President did call ‘Nate the Great’ a talented fighter but suggested that he’d lost his head in another big fight – and then took the opportunity to hit out at one of his favorite targets, coach Greg Jackson.
White’s suggestion was that Jackson telling Marquardt that he was winning the fight with Okami – when in reality, he was being “outstruck by a wrestler” – led directly to ‘Nate the Great’ losing his nerve and choking.
Did White have a point? It’s debatable, but following the loss, Marquardt never fought as high on a UFC card again despite appearing in the octagon on a further 12 occasions.
#3. Uriah Hall (vs. John Howard at UFC Fight Night 26)
Despite being a perennial top ten contender in the UFC middleweight division and holding big wins over fighters such as Anderson Silva and Gegard Mousasi, Uriah Hall has never quite shaken off the reputation of a fighter who tends to lose his nerve on the big occasion.
Whether or not ‘Prime Time’ has earned this reputation is up for debate, but it’s safe to say that the accusations probably began when he first arrived in the UFC in 2013.
Hall came into the octagon with a ton of fanfare following three violent finishes during the 17th season of The Ultimate Fighter but didn’t reach the same heights in his UFC debut against Kelvin Gastelum.
And when he dully lost his second UFC bout to journeyman John Howard, UFC President Dana White was quick to suggest that he’d lost his nerve.
In fact, White went even further – stating outright that Hall didn’t have what it took to make it in the UFC and suggesting that it had to do with his mentality. In White’s words, Hall was simply “not a fighter.”
And while ‘Prime Time’ did recover from the loss to Howard and has since put together a pretty respectable UFC record, he’s never quite shaken off the idea that he’s simply too much of a nice guy to reach the top - and often gets accused of losing his nerve in big fights to this day, such as his recent defeat at the hands of Sean Strickland.
