5 UFC fighters who've had a forgettable 2019

When it comes to the UFC, it's a case of survival of the fittest. Not everyone can thrive inside the octagon. Similarly, even the best of the lot can have a downturn in fortunes where things just don't go their way. Some years are worse than others. And 2019 has proved to be a not so good year for several fighters in the UFC.

While things can certainly improve for these stars, their underwhelming showings this year simply don't paint a positive picture for the near future. Whenever they enter the Octagon, there is no telling whether they will be able to redeem themselves.

There's still hope for one or two fighters, but some of the names on this list were hurt so badly, it is possible that when they return to the Octagon, things will never be the same for them again.

On that note, here are 5 UFC fighters who've had a forgettable 2019:

#5 Cain Velasquez

Cain Velasquez's return to the Octagon in February was a much-hyped affair. After all, it was the great Cain Velasquez who was making his return to the Octagon after such a long time away from any sort of UFC action.

On top of that, he was facing Francis Ngannou – a fighter who has proved again and again that if he can graze his opponent's chin, that's often more than enough to knock him down. However, given that Cain Velasquez has had many fights under his belt, this was supposed to be just another fight that he would win, using his experience to overcome the Heavyweight.

However, that's not what happened at all.

Instead, Cain Velasquez crumbled, with his knee giving out just seconds into the fight. It took Francis Ngannou all of 26 seconds to pick up the win. Given that he has four fights left in his new contract, he will be hoping for better results in his next fight.

#4 Daniel Cormier

In 2018, Daniel Cormier had one of the best years of his professional career. Not only did he begin the year by successfully defending the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship against top prospect Volkan Oezdemir, he then went on to fight and defeat Stipe Miocic to become the Heavyweight Champion as well.

As if that was not enough, he next faced Derrick Lewis and managed to defeat the 'Black Beast' and pull off another successful title defense. He won an ESPY – the prestigious ESPN award – and was recognized as one of the best fighters in the world.

2019 brought all of that to a standstill in one fight. He was supposed to have faced Brock Lesnar so that he could retire before his birthday in March. However, Lesnar went back on his word and that fight never materialized. Cormier had hoped to face Lesnar and leave the UFC with his head held high.

Instead, he was left without an opponent and faced Stipe Miocic in a rematch. The fight was a heavily anticipated one and Cormier was the favorite going into it.

That sentiment did not last long, with Miocic knocking out Cormier in the 4th round of their fight at UFC 241 and winning by TKO. Now, without a single championship to his name, Cormier has to wait and see what he can do next and decide whether or not it is time for him to finally retire.

#3 Darren Till

Darren Till is one of the top fighters in the UFC. A year ago, he was seen to be one of the best fighters with amazing potential, so much so, that he was scheduled to fight against Tyron Woodley. However, that fight might have come too soon and he lost. Since then, he has been on a downward spiral.

In his next fight in 2019, he faced none other than Jorge Masvidal. Unfortunately for him, he was knocked out in the second round. He then went on vacation to the Canary Islands, where, he had not only trashed a hotel but also stolen a cab that was going to take him to the next location. He was fined £10,000 for that incident.

#2 Ben Askren

Another fighter who did not have a good 2019 was Ben Askren. The then-undefeated fighter made his UFC debut in 2019 when he faced Robbie Lawler. Although he was able to win the fight, it was under controversial circumstances, with Lawler saying that the referee had ended the fight too early, and others agreeing with him.

He then faced Jorge Masvidal at UFC 239, a fight he will forever live to regret. He was not only unable to win, but he also lost the fight in a matter of 5 seconds, with Masvidal hitting him with a flying knee that knocked him out on the spot and handed him the first loss of his professional MMA career.

#1 TJ Dillashaw

While the rest of the fighters on this list have had bad 2019s, none of them have had as horrible a year as TJ Dillashaw.

He started the year as the UFC Bantamweight Champion. He was facing UFC Flyweight Champion Henry Cejudo in a fight that had much more than a title on the line. Dillashaw had revealed that UFC had paid him more so that he would go to Flyweight Division and take on Cejudo to win the title.

He lost weight and looked extremely thin going into the fight. After so much effort and having talked so much trash about ending the Flyweight Division, he faced Cejudo at UFC Fight Night 143 and lasted only 32 seconds. The referee stopped the fight after he went down multiple times. He appealed the decision but it was done. All his effort had been for nothing.

While this is bad enough by itself, there was something even worse waiting for him.

On the 20th of March, he announced that he was relinquishing the Bantamweight Title after USADA and NYSAC found that he had tested positive for EPO use. He later acknowledged the fact that he had made mistakes and that he was sorry for the issues he had created.

Dillashaw is currently serving a two-year suspension. Given that he began the year with hopes of becoming a double champion, this might be the worst possible year of Dillashaw's career.

Follow Sportskeeda Wrestling and Sportskeeda MMA on Twitter for all the latest news. Do not miss out!

Edited by Raunak J