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The UFC’s fighters are some of the toughest athletes in the world. It should come as no surprise that it often takes an incredible amount of punishment to keep them down.
Over the years, we’ve seen a number of UFC fighters who have been able to seemingly rise from the dead – like WWE legend The Undertaker – to somehow win their fights.
Often, these fighters gained massive popularity for their comeback victories, and many of the fights quickly became considered legendary.
With that in mind, here are five UFC fighters who rose from the dead to win bouts inside the octagon.
#5. Ciryl Gane vs. Tai Tuivasa – UFC Fight Night 209
The most recent example of a fighter rising from the dead to win in the octagon came this past weekend. Ciryl Gane somehow survived a horrendous knockdown to defeat Tai Tuivasa in the headliner of the promotion’s first visit to Paris.
Prior to the bout, ‘Bon Gamin’ had only lost once in the UFC, falling to Francis Ngannou in an unsuccessful title challenge. However, even in that fight, he’d never been truly hurt.
Against heavy strikers such as Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Alexander Volkov and Derrick Lewis, Gane barely came away with a scratch, keeping his foes at a distance to outstrike them with wonderful technical precision.
However, his attempts to do the same against ‘Bam Bam’ didn’t quite work. In the second round, the Aussie landed a monstrous right hand that dropped Gane like a ton of bricks.
The Frenchman looked out cold as he hit the ground. Somehow, despite Tuivasa’s best efforts, he rose to his feet and managed to hurt the Aussie with a series of shots to the body, sending the crowd into a frenzy.
Remarkably, the fight went into the third round before Gane finally landed the killer blow – catching Tuivasa with a crushing combination that put him down for good.
The fight was one of the most exciting in the octagon in a long time, and the sight of Gane rising from the dead to secure a victory will probably never be forgotten.
#4. Tim Sylvia vs. Andrei Arlovski – UFC 59
When Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski faced off for the interim UFC heavyweight title in early 2005, it didn’t take Arlovski long to find a path to victory.
He decked ‘The Maine-Iac’ with practically his first punch of the fight, and with Sylvia stunned, quickly pounced and finished him off with an Achilles lock.
Following the loss, Sylvia was able to work his way back into contention. Just over a year later, he was handed a rematch with ‘The Pitbull’ with revenge on his mind.
Given how easily Arlovski had dispatched him the first time around, nobody was really giving Sylvia a chance of winning. When the Belarusian fighter decked him with another crushing right hand in the opening round, it looked like the outcome would be the same as in their first fight.
This time, though, ‘The Maine-Iac’ showed incredible toughness, and somehow pulled himself up from the ground, despite being on the verge of unconsciousness.
Arlovski sensed his chance to finish his rival and waded forward. Incredibly, Sylvia had enough about him to throw a short uppercut that landed flush to the jaw of ‘The Pitbull’. Arlovski went down face-first, and seconds later, Sylvia finished him off to claim the title.
‘The Maine-Iac’ went on to have a largely maligned reign as champion, but the nature of his victory over Arlovski – channelling The Undertaker – remains hugely memorable over a decade on.
#3. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Tim Sylvia – UFC 81
It’s arguable that the MMA fighter best known for making remarkable comebacks from the brink of defeat is former UFC and PRIDE heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
‘Minotauro’ was able to fight back from horrific beatings to defeat the likes of Bob Sapp and Mirko Cro Cop in Japan. He saved one of his greatest comebacks for the octagon, when he came back from the dead to defeat Tim Sylvia for the interim heavyweight title.
At the time, Sylvia had come under fire for a supposed safety-first approach, but that wasn’t the case in his bout with Nogueira. Looking laser-focused, he hammered ‘Minotauro’ with heavy jabs and punches from the off. Midway through the first round, he dropped him hard with a right hand.
Nogueira hit the mat badly and looked like he was out cold, bleeding from his left eye. Somehow, the Brazilian was able to tie Sylvia up when he attempted to finish him off.
‘Minotauro’ took more punishment in the second round, but at that point, it felt like Sylvia had missed his chance to put him away. Sure enough, the third round saw Nogueira manage to catch ‘The Maine-Iac’ in a guillotine choke to force a submission.
The win was definitely one of the best comebacks in UFC history. Even if it was just one of many for Nogueira, who went onto be inducted into the promotion’s Hall of Fame.
#2. Cheick Kongo vs. Pat Barry – UFC on Versus 4
When the heavyweight clash between Cheick Kongo and Pat Barry was unexpectedly moved into the headline slot of the UFC’s fourth show on the Versus network in 2011, very few fans expected a classic.
However, they were treated to not only one of the wildest heavyweight bouts of all time, but one of the greatest comebacks too. Kongo came back from the dead in a way that would’ve made The Undertaker himself proud.
The Frenchman was never really renowned for having an iron chin. When Barry clipped him with an overhand right in the first round, he was sent crashing to the ground.
‘HD’ quickly closed in for the kill. While Kongo got to his feet, his legs looked gone, and it only took one more shot from Barry to send him down again.
This time the fight looked over. Once again, the Frenchman somehow willed his way up, and despite sliding around like a drunkard on ice, he managed to catch Barry coming in with a short uppercut that landed cleanly.
Barry’s lights were switched off immediately. Kongo had pulled off perhaps the most inexplicable win in UFC history, stunning fans across the world in the process.
#1. Tony Ferguson vs. Lando Vannata – UFC Fight Night 91
Like Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Tony Ferguson made his career off the back of some truly insane comebacks, often rising from the dead just like The Undertaker would do in his heyday.
The former interim UFC lightweight champion pulled off stirring comebacks against the likes of Edson Barboza, Kevin Lee and Anthony Pettis during his lengthy winning streak – which lasted for seven years and 12 fights. Perhaps the most stunning came in his clash with Lando Vannata.
Vannata was a late replacement for Michael Chiesa, and given he was making his octagon debut, nobody was giving him a chance of upsetting ‘El Cucuy’.
However, towards the end of a back-and-forth opening round, ‘Groovy’ stunned everyone by landing a head kick that sent Ferguson crashing to the ground.
‘El Cucuy’ looked practically out, but managed to get to his feet. Even then, though, his legs appeared to be entirely gone. Vannata sent him down another two times before somehow pulling the debutant into his guard to survive the round.
Quite how Ferguson hadn’t been knocked out was anyone’s guess. Even more remarkably, he came out in the second round looking fresh, hurt Vannata with some strikes of his own, and then pulled him down into a D’Arce choke to force the tapout.
The comeback bordered on ridiculous, given the punishment ‘El Cucuy’ had taken. It remains one of the most insane examples of a fighter rising from the dead to win in the octagon.
