5 UFC fighters who suffered horrific runs in 2021

A year can make a huge difference in a fighter’s career, especially in the UFC. The level of competition in the world’s premier MMA organization is extremely high. If a fighter chooses to rest on his/her laurels, bad things tend to happen.

UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping enjoyed the best year of his career in 2016. The Brit defeated Anderson Silva in London in February, won the undisputed middleweight title in June with a win over bitter rival Luke Rockhold and defended his title against Dan Henderson in his hometown of Manchester in October.

2017, however, turned out to be the last year of the Englishman’s MMA career. He lost his title to Georges St-Pierre at UFC 217 and took on Kelvin Gastelum just three weeks later. He got knocked out and finally called it quits.

Losses aren’t quite as big a deal in MMA as they are in boxing. However, a string of disappointing performances might see a fighter drop out of title contention, the rankings, or even the promotion altogether.

That said, we thought we’d look at 5 UFC fighters who suffered horrific runs in 2021.

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#5. Stephen Thompson (0-2 in the UFC in 2021, drifting further away from title contention)

Stephen Thompson endured a disappointing run of results in 2021. The former two-time title challenger has been among the top 5 fighters in the UFC welterweight division for over half a decade. It now appears as though his relatively advanced age is finally catching up to him.

Thompson was campaigning for a title shot following his dominant victory over Geoff Neal in December 2020. He was subsequently booked to take on Gilbert Burns at UFC 264 back in July. Unfortunately for ‘Wonderboy’, he was on the receiving end of a wrestling clinic by Burns, who cruised to a comfortable unanimous decision victory.

Thompson attempted to bounce back and return to winning ways against Belal Muhammad at UFC Vegas 45. Muhammad came out on top, using more-or-less the exact same gameplan that Gilbert Burns used five months prior. He took Thompson down repeatedly in all three rounds to come away with a unanimous decision victory.

He took to social media to share his disappointment at his own performances soon after the loss to Muhammad.

‘Wonderboy’ had displayed impeccable takedown defense on numerous occasions before his fights with Burns and Muhammad. At 38, he appears to have lost a step and his opponents are figuring out how to deal with his elusive style. Going into 2022, Thompson is the furthest he’s been from a title shot since 2014.

#4. Conor McGregor (0-2 in the UFC in 2021, lost a trilogy to a bitter rival)

In January 2020, Conor McGregor took on Donald Cerrone at UFC 246. He secured a sensational TKO victory just 40 seconds into the bout. Before and after the fight with ‘Cowboy’, McGregor discussed how he was looking forward to staying active and enjoying a 'season' of regular fights. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent global lockdowns halted his plans.

McGregor finally returned to action in January 2021 when he took on Dustin Poirier at UFC 257. Interestingly, ‘The Notorious’ had a ton of options in regards to who he would fight next. He seemingly singled out Poirier, perhaps because he has a win over ‘The Diamond’.

McGregor was the favorite going into the bout, with many believing that Poirier would struggle with the power and accuracy of 'The Notorious'. Poirier repeatedly attacked McGregor's calf with powerful kicks, rendering the Irishman almost immobile in the second round.

Poirier capitalized on his success with leg kicks and cornered McGregor into the fence with lethal hooks, one of which caught the latter flush on the chin. 'The Diamond' secured a TKO victory to level the series between the duo at 1-1.

A trilogy bout was booked for UFC 264 in July. Unfortunately, McGregor suffered a gruesome leg injury in the dying seconds of the first round. The doctor called off the remainder of the fight and Poirier was awarded a TKO victory.

Clearly, Conor McGregor’s year has been a far cry from what he was expecting. The Irishman’s year could have gone a lot differently if he’d perhaps opted to fight someone other than Poirier. Nevertheless, he has vowed to come back stronger than ever.

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#3. Zhang Weili (0-2 in the UFC in 2021, outclassed by the champion twice)

Following her sensational fight with Joanna Jędrzejczyk in 2020, many believed that Zhang Weili would be a long-reigning champion in the UFC strawweight division. The Chinese fighter possessed an unnatural amount of power in her punches and was perceived to be extremely durable.

At UFC 261, Weili looked to defend her belt against Rose Namajunas. Namajunas, despite being a former champion, was a significant underdog going into the bout. However, what transpired left the MMA community and those in attendance in a state of shock.

Namajunas connected with a perfect head-kick in the very first round, sending her Chinese counterpart crashing to the canvas. ‘Thug Rose’ was crowned the new strawweight champion while Weili was noticeably distraught with the result.

The duo were booked to lock horns in a rematch at UFC 268 in Madison Square Garden, New York. Weili made a variety of changes to her fight camp and opted to train with former UFC double-champion Henry Cejudo in preparation for the bout. Nevertheless, Namajunas outclassed Weili over five rounds and came away with a split-decision victory.

With back-to-back losses to the reigning champion, Weili finds herself in a precarious position in the division. She could look to defeat a few contenders before campaigning for a trilogy bout with Namajunas. Alternatively, she could move up to the flyweight division to take on arguably the greatest female fighter in the world, Valentina Shevchenko.

#2. Cody Garbrandt (0-2 in the UFC in 2021, lost in two different divisions)

Cody Garbrandt was an undefeated UFC champion and one of the hottest prospects in the sport in 2016. ‘No Love’ thoroughly dominated the consensus greatest bantamweight of all time, Dominick Cruz, in a scintillating bout at UFC 207 to win the belt. He seemingly had the entire fanbase eating out of the palm of his hand going into 2017.

Oh, how times have changed.

Garbrandt has endured an astonishing fall from grace since 2017. He lost his title to bitter rival and former teammate T.J. Dillashaw and went on to lose the rematch as well. He attempted to bounce back when he took on Pedro Munhoz, but came out on the losing side on that occasion as well. All three losses came by way of knockout.

There is a clear running theme that is present in all of Cody Garbrandt’s losses. Simply put, his approach to fighting doesn’t suit his fragile chin. ‘No Love’ tends to get emotional in his fights and often goes after a KO finish with reckless abandon. This trait has cost him dearly on numerous occasions.

2021 has seemingly hammered the final nail into the coffin that houses Garbrandt’s aspirations of being a UFC champion. He took on Rob Font in May and was thoroughly outclassed on the night. Clearly nowhere close to a title shot at 135 lbs, Garbrandt opted to drop down to 125 lbs to revive his career.

Garbrandt took on Kai Kara-France in his flyweight debut at UFC 269 and was the betting favorite going into the bout. Many expected him to come out on top and fight for the title next. However, what transpired left fans with a feeling of déjà vu. He got knocked out in the very first round.

Cody Garbrandt is now an unranked fighter in the UFC. At just 30 years of age, his route back to a title shot will be challenging to say the least. It will be interesting to see how the remainder of his career plays out.

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#1. Tyron Woodley (0-1 in the UFC, 0-2 against Jake Paul in 2021)

Tyron Woodley came into 2021 as the No.7-ranked welterweight in the UFC. The former champion had ambitions of re-entering the title picture earlier this year following disappointing losses to Gilbert Burns and Colby Covington in 2020.

He looked to return to winning ways when he took on Vicente Luque in the co-main event of UFC 260. Unfortunately for ‘The Chosen One’, he was submitted by Luque in the very first round.

A few weeks after the bout, news broke that Tyron Woodley had been released from his contract with the UFC. His release came as a huge shock to fans considering Woodley’s accomplishments in the octagon and his legacy as one of the longest reigning champions in the history of the welterweight division.

As a free agent, he ventured into the world of professional boxing and signed on to fight YouTube star Jake Paul under the Showtime banner.

The duo squared off at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Arena in Cleveland, Ohio and duked it out for eight full rounds before Paul was awarded a split-decision victory. The bout was an underwhelming affair, largely because of Woodley’s lack of output. He landed 7 punches on average per round and notably failed to pull the trigger against ‘The Problem Child’ after wobbling him in the second round.

They locked horns in a rematch at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, where Woodley was well aware that his legacy was on the line. He couldn’t afford to be gun-shy this time around. The fight was evenly contested for the first five rounds, with neither fighter landing any significant blows.

However, in the sixth round, Jake Paul knocked Woodley out in devastating fashion.

This begs the question: What will Tyron Woodley be remembered for?

Will he be remembered for being a dominant champion in the world's premier MMA organization? Or will the image of the former UFC champion falling face first, stiff as a board, onto the canvas be etched in the minds of combat sports fans for the foreseeable future? Time will tell.