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The UFC has seen plenty of dramatic comebacks over the years, with fighters coming back from the brink of defeat to pull off miraculous wins.
Be it rising from a brutal knockdown, escaping a close submission attempt or fighting back in the later rounds, many UFC fighters have snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.
Whenever that happens, it’s always pretty crazy to see, and almost always makes for a truly memorable moment inside the octagon. On that note, here are five times UFC fighters snatched victory from the jaws of defeat:
#5. Scott Smith vs. Pete Sell – UFC Ultimate Fighter IV Finale
Modern-day UFC fans may have probably long forgotten his name. However, back in 2006, middleweight Scott Smith rocketed to fame when he snatched a victory from the jaws of defeat with a single power punch.
Against his fellow TUF 4 castmate Pete Sell in the season finale, ‘Hands of Steel’ was forced to put his friendship with ‘Drago’ aside as the two men brawled wildly from the outset.
Fans in attendance at Las Vegas’ Hard Rock Hotel and Casino immediately got into the fight as the two middleweights threw haymakers at one another. It seemed like only a matter of time before one of them would end up unconscious.
Smith just about edged the first round, but midway through the second stanza, it looked like he was on his way to defeat. Sell began to land the heavier punches, and when he nailed ‘Hands of Steel’ with a left hook to the body, Smith couldn’t mask the pain. He staggered backward, reeling from the blow, and sensing victory, ‘Drago’ charged in to finish him off.
Incredibly, though, Smith had one more punch left in his arsenal. When Sell closed in recklessly, ‘Hands of Steel’ threw it, landing the shot perfectly on Draho’s jaw.
‘Drago’ went crashing to the ground, instantly knocked unconscious. After the referee stepped in to stop proceedings, Smith collapsed to the ground, still feeling the effects from the body punch.
Had Smith missed his haymaker, he would have likely lost this fight, making this the perfect instance of a fighter somehow turning defeat into a victory.
#4. Carlos Condit vs. Rory MacDonald – UFC 115
Carlos Condit’s fight with Rory MacDonald at UFC 115 didn’t feature a sudden comeback. However, it definitely stands as an example of a fighter snatching a victory from the jaws of defeat. The welterweight bout also remains memorable for featuring one of the best coaching pep talks in UFC history too, making it a worthy entry on this list.
Despite having far less experience than Condit, MacDonald, who was just 20 at the time, took down ‘The Natural Born Killer’ consistently, neutralizing his opponent’s offense.
He did eat some hard shots. However, he appeared to be on his way to victory when the second round ended with MacDonald knocking Condit down with a front kick to the body.
Nevertheless, between rounds, Condit’s chief cornerman Greg Jackson decided to attempt to fire his charge up. He screamed into Condit’s face that the next round was ‘five minutes of war’, and to win, he needed to ‘punish the kid’.
Incredibly, Jackson’s words clearly had an effect on ‘The Natural Born Killer’. After blocking a takedown, he managed to get on top of MacDonald, beginning to unleash hell in the form of a steady diet of nasty elbows to the face.
Moments later, it became clear that MacDonald was beginning to wilt. Despite clearly becoming tired, with just seconds remaining on the clock, Condit was able to increase the punishment until referee Kevin Dornan stepped in.
This was undoubtedly one of the UFC’s greatest-ever comebacks. That idea was only hammered home when it was revealed later that Condit was literally seven seconds away from a loss. That’s because he was firmly down on the scorecards before pulling off the finish.
#3. Cheick Kongo vs. Pat Barry – UFC on Versus 4
In terms of a one-round comeback, you won’t find a UFC fight crazier than the heavyweight clash between Cheick Kongo and Pat Barry in the summer of 2011. This was a fight that featured such a wild ending, it was difficult to even imagine how Kongo managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
The fight was billed as a battle of two expert strikers, and in the early going, it looked like Barry would come out on top. After a brief feeling-out period, ‘HD’ landed a huge overhand right that dropped the French fighter, sending him crashing to the ground. Although he got back to his feet quickly, a second right dropped Kongo again and appeared to knock him senseless.
Barry closed in for the finish, but somehow, Kongo rolled and made his way back to his feet, looking horribly wobbly in the process. Smelling blood, ‘HD’ charged forward, only to walk into a sharp right hand that froze him in time.
An uppercut followed, and incredibly, Barry fell to the ground, knocked completely unconscious, as a still-wobbly Kongo collapsed down on top of him.
Fans in attendance were blown away by the finish, as Kongo somehow stole a win in a fight he appeared destined to lose. A decade later. this remains one of the UFC’s greatest-ever comebacks.
#2. Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen – UFC 117
Cheick Kongo’s incredible showing against Pat Barry is the gold standard for a one-round comeback in the UFC. However, the longer fight that comes to mind about a fighter snatching victory from the jaws of defeat is Anderson Silva against Chael Sonnen at UFC 117.
Coming into the event, Silva looked unstoppable. He’d held the UFC middleweight title for the best part of four years, defending it successfully on six occasions. He even made forays into the light heavyweight division, knocking out a former UFC champion, Forrest Griffin.
However, top contender Sonnen had talked an unheard-of amount of trash coming into the bout. He promised to take the fight to ‘The Spider’ like nobody had done before.
Incredibly, ‘The American Gangster’ backed up every word he uttered. He hurt Silva standing, took him down continually, and then battered him from the top with ground-and-pound for four straight rounds. Coming into the fifth round, it looked like Silva’s title reign was all but over, especially when Sonnen secured another takedown in the early going.
Incredibly though, despite absorbing a horrendous beating, with just under two minutes remaining, Silva pulled out a Hail Mary in the form of a triangle choke. The hold took Sonnen completely by surprise. By the time he realized what was happening, it was too late. ‘The Spider’ tightened the submission up, and ‘The American Gangster’ was forced to submit.
Many fans would probably claim that Sonnen snatched a defeat from the jaws of victory here more than anything. However, the truth is that lesser fighters would never have attempted the triangle choke in the first place. That makes this comeback win arguably Silva’s greatest-ever victory in the UFC.
#1. Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler – UFC 262
The most recent entry on this list saw Charles Oliveira claim UFC gold for the first time by snatching a victory from the jaws of defeat. In the process, he showed off the kind of toughness and durability his doubters said he lacked.
Against former Bellator kingpin Michael Chandler in a battle for the vacant UFC lightweight title, early on it looked like ‘Do Bronx’ was painfully out of his depth. After a feeling-out period, Chandler dropped the Brazilian with a left hand. After failing to secure a guillotine choke, ‘Iron Mike’ forced the fight back up to the feet, and knocked Oliveira down for a second time.
This time the knockdown was a devastating one. When Chandler followed that up with some hellacious ground-and-pound, the fight appeared to be all but over.
Somehow, though, Oliveira managed to gut out the remainder of the round. Although he ate enough punishment to send his opponent wobbling to his corner, theoretically, at least, he was still in the fight.
Incredibly, the second round saw ‘Do Bronx’ turn the theoretical into reality. Clearly knowing he needed to pull something special out, he came charging forward to open the second round, decking Chandler with a vicious left hand.
‘Iron Mike’ got to his feet, but was unable to survive the flurry that followed. Seconds later, Oliveira knocked him down, and this time, for good.
Quite how a fighter who was once considered a glass cannon produced a comeback like this was anyone’s guess. However, in doing so, Oliveira entered UFC folklore. This fight still stands as the quintessential definition of a fighter snatching victory from the jaws of defeat in the UFC.
