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The UFC is undoubtedly the world’s biggest MMA promotion, and so it shouldn’t be a surprise that almost every fight there is a tough one for the combatants involved. Sometimes, though, that isn’t the case.
Over the years we’ve seen a handful of UFC fighters who were able to score flawless victories over their opponents, leaving the octagon after completely dominating their foe while barely taking a strike.
Sure, it’s one thing to stop an opponent with a flash knockout, but it’s another thing entirely to dominate them and make them look completely unworthy.
Here are five UFC fighters who scored flawless victories inside the octagon.
#5. Khamzat Chimaev vs. Kevin Holland – UFC 279
The most recent example of a fighter who scored a flawless victory came this weekend at UFC 279, as super-prospect Khamzat Chimaev thoroughly whitewashed Kevin Holland en route to a first-round submission victory.
The win wasn’t Chimaev’s first flawless victory in the UFC, as he also scored wins over Li Jingliang, Gerald Meerschaert, Rhys McKee and John Phillips without absorbing a single strike. However, his win over Holland was on another level.
Not only had he been preparing for Nate Diaz – a very different opponent to ‘The Trailblazer’ – but he was also at a severe disadvantage in terms of height and reach, with Holland standing at 6’3” and boasting a 81” reach compared to Chimaev’s 75”.
Remarkably, though, ‘Borz’ didn’t even need to use his striking to win this one. He shot in for a takedown from the off and basically ragdolled Holland, making ‘The Trailblazer’ look feeble despite his strong attempts to prevent going to the ground.
Once the two fighters hit the mat, Chimaev was all over him, controlling him from the back and easily transitioning to different positions as Holland scrambled. When ‘The Trailblazer’ gave his neck, ‘Borz’ sunk in a D’Arce choke, and despite some highly technical attempts to escape, Holland was forced to submit.
In the end, the stats showed that just one strike, from Chimaev, landed throughout the bout, which lasted for just under two minutes. Essentially, this was about as flawless a victory as any fighter could pick up in the octagon.
#4. Georges St-Pierre vs. Frank Trigg – UFC 54
When up-and-comer Georges St-Pierre was matched with Frank Trigg in the summer of 2005, most fans expected the young Canadian to be tested like never before.
Sure, ‘GSP’ had whitewashed the likes of Mayhem Miller and Karo Parisyan, but Trigg was a former title contender who had almost defeated Matt Hughes in his last bout. More to the point, he was renowned as a powerful, hard-nosed wrestler who would, theoretically at least, be difficult to take down.
Unfortunately for ‘Twinkle Toes’, that wasn’t the case at all. After eating a couple of shots from the outside, Trigg shot in for a takedown – only for St-Pierre to block it and then thoroughly overpower him, forcing him to his back with little more than brute force.
To see Trigg essentially be treated like a child was absolutely shocking, and from there, ‘GSP’ was relentless. He easily sliced through Trigg’s guard, dominated him from the mount, and when he gave his back, controlled him masterfully before submitting him with a rear naked choke.
The performance was a huge eye-opener from St-Pierre, who proved beyond a doubt that he was the real deal. After the bout, microphones caught an astonished Trigg showing huge respect to his foe, telling him “you’re so good!”
Considering Trigg’s usual abrasive attitude and trash-talking persona, his reaction told the whole story of what was a remarkably flawless victory.
#3. Anderson Silva vs. Chris Leben – UFC Fight Night 5
It seems hard to believe now, but when Anderson Silva was signed by the UFC in 2006, nobody was sure what to expect. ‘The Spider’ had shown remarkable talent during his time with PRIDE and Cage Rage, but he’d also garnered a reputation for being a little flaky and inconsistent.
When he was matched with Chris Leben in his octagon debut, then, most fans thought he’d get a test like never before. ‘The Crippler’ was 5-0 in the promotion and was renowned for his utterly iron chin, often walking through strikes that would stop a regular fighter.
The only issue for Leben was that Silva turned out to be anything but a regular fighter – and it took him just 49 seconds to prove it.
This wasn’t a one-punch, flash knockout, either. Silva cut Leben apart on the feet with surgical precision, keeping him at distance with his early strikes before hurting him with a head kick.
From there, ‘The Spider’ levelled him with a combination, and when he got up, landed a couple more strikes before putting him down for good with a knee.
The bout was the first time that Leben had ever been stopped in his MMA career, and to say UFC fans were stunned would be an understatement. Overall, Silva landed 17 of the 20 strikes he threw in this clash cleanly – hurting Leben with seemingly every one – while only absorbing one in return, making it a truly flawless victory.
#2. Cain Velasquez vs. Travis Browne – UFC 200
When former UFC heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez returned from over a year on the shelf to face high-level contender Travis Browne in the summer of 2016, many people questioned exactly what he had left to offer.
At his peak, Velasquez had looked like the greatest heavyweight to ever grace the octagon, but a myriad of injuries seemed to have ruined him, and the last time he’d been seen in action, he’d lost his title to Fabricio Werdum in a hugely disappointing showing.
However, against ‘Hapa’, Velasquez rolled back the years and produced a genuinely flawless performance that made people believe he could probably regain his crown.
It didn’t take long for the former champ to land, hurting the Hawaiian with a left hand early on. Velasquez continued to land, backing Browne up by faking takedowns to land his big strikes, and midway through the round, a right hand sent ‘Hapa’ crashing to the ground.
Browne did manage to get up, but Velasquez continued to pour it on, landing brutal combinations over and over until the Hawaiian finally wilted, allowing the former champion to pound him with right hands for the stoppage.
The win was Velasquez’s first since October 2013, and despite the fight only lasting just under five minutes, he managed to land a total of 90 strikes – absorbing just six in the process. The win turned out to be Velasquez’s final one in the octagon – but it was a hell of a way to sign off.
#1. Lyoto Machida vs. Rashad Evans – UFC 98
Any fight with a UFC title on the line is bound to be a high-level clash, meaning that, ignoring flash knockouts, flawless victories in them are usually hard to come by.
However, that didn’t stop Lyoto Machida from scoring one of the most impressive flawless victories in the promotion’s history when he stopped Rashad Evans to claim the UFC light-heavyweight title back in 2009.
At the time, ‘The Dragon’ was unbeaten with wins over the likes of Tito Ortiz and Thiago Silva, while Evans was on a real roll, having knocked out Chuck Liddell before unseating Forrest Griffin to claim the title. More to the point, ‘Suga’ was still unbeaten, too.
That made the contest almost impossible to call – but within moments of it beginning, it was clear that it was only heading one way.
Despite his own explosive speed and striking, Evans simply couldn’t get close enough to Machida to actually hit him, while ‘The Dragon’ danced around on the outside with his famed karate style, popping him with clean strikes from the off.
By the second round, it was clear that Evans was in trouble, and as he tried to push the action further, he ended up walking into a left hand that stunned him.
From there, ‘The Dragon’ swarmed him with punches, stunning him badly, and as Evans unsuccessfully looked to fire back, a left hand landed on the jaw that switched off his lights.
In hindsight, Joe Rogan was perhaps quick to proclaim that “the Machida era” had begun – he managed just one title defense before losing to Shogun Rua a year later – but this remains a massively impressive showing over a decade later, particularly as he landed 37 strikes to Evans’ five.
