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Firstly, we'd like to clarify that by no means do we intend to disregard the time, efforts and passion that the myriad of Mixed Martial Arts combatants put into their MMA contests. The same goes for the fighters who perform at the lowest levels of the sport, as it does for those competing at the highest levels of the sport.
However, at times, when a pair of fighters happen to be matched up with each other, their respective styles in addition with the phase of their career truly add up to produce a fight which makes for a horrendous viewing experience!
Today, we take a special look at a few such fights, where the fans were the real losers. Bear in mind though, most of these fighters are excellent performers, but just on a select few occasions happened to be involved in an absolutely terrible fight...for whatsoever reason that may be.
Here are the 5 worst fights in MMA history...
#5 Gabi Garcia vs. Yumiko Hotta
Gabi Garcia is a well-known multiple-time BJJ world champion, however when it comes to the sport of Mixed Martial Arts, her credentials aren't as strong...and that's putting it mildly! The 6'2", 230-plus pound Brazilian grappling expert reportedly got her weight down to 209 pounds in order to fight professional wrestler and occasional MMA fighter Yumiko Hotta.
Garcia vs. Hotta transpired at Rizin 4 on December 31st, 2016, and the fight started off with the 170 pound Hotta running the ropes like they do in professional wrestling. That's right, this isn't a typo!
Hotta legitimately pulled off her pro-wrestling moves, where she bounced off the ropes, and continued doing so on multiple sides of the square-shaped Rizin ring, until Garcia caught her with something that vaguely resembled a left hook.
Garcia then literally grabbed Hotta as though she were a rag-doll, and proceeded to throw lumbering punches and elbows at her older opponent (Hotta was just a few days shy of her 50th birthday at the time of the fight).
Garcia eventually knocked down Hotta, and then followed up with horrific ground-and-pound strikes, which were undoubtedly much more dangerous than the Brazilian giant's terrible stand-up striking skills.
Thankfully, the referee called off the fight at the 0:41 mark of the very first round, and Garcia was declared the winner of this terrible 'fight' via TKO...
#4 Mickey Gall vs. CM Punk
Mickey Gall is a talented young man, who eventually proved that he does belong in the UFC. However, back when he fought retired professional wrestler and former WWE Champion CM Punk, Gall just had a couple of pro-MMA fights under his belt.
Well, that didn't stop him from putting a terrifying beat-down on Phil "CM Punk" Brooks though, as Gall secured a takedown right away, and began raining down thunderous ground strikes on the former WWE Superstar. It wasn't long before Gall advanced position, and secured the submission by way of a Rear-Naked Choke in the very first round of their fight.
The aforementioned terrible mismatch took place on the PPV portion of the UFC 203 fight card, and needless to say, the fans weren't pleased at all! Punk subsequently did fight in the UFC one more time, losing a one-sided Unanimous Decision to Mike Jackson (who'd also been beaten by Gall previously).
Nevertheless, getting back to the Gall vs. Punk fight, the entire ordeal was so very strange, that most pro-wrestling fans were left in utter disbelief that their idol didn't have any answer whatsoever to Gall's grappling or striking. A terrible fight all in all...
#3 Kimbo Slice vs. Dada 5000
Alright, first of all, the powers-that-be in Houston, Texas, did a downright terrible job here. Although there was talk of Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson and Dhafir Harris aka Dada 5000 fighting in an open-weight bout at Bellator 149, the authorities in Texas decided that both fighters should have to cut down to the MMA Heavyweight limit of 265 pounds.
Well, needless to say, this fight was doomed right from the beginning. Slice and Dada 5000 both weighed well over 265 pounds, and had to take drastic steps in order to get their weight down to meet the Heavyweight limit. It's intriguing to note here that after the fight, it was revealed that Dada 5000 apparently suffered 2 heart attacks, severe dehydration and renal failure.
While the fight took place in February of 2016, Kimbo Slice unfortunately passed away due to heart failure in June of the same year. A truly sad situation all around.
Furthermore, the fight, in and of itself, was terrible. Both combatants were gassed in the opening minutes of the fight, and spent the majority of the 3 rounds throwing strikes and grappling in what appeared to be a slow-motion simulation of a fight.
In Round 3, Dada 5000 fell to the mat out of sheer exhaustion, and Slice was declared the winner by way of TKO. Nevertheless, that win was eventually overturned to a No-Contest, since Slice failed a drug test in relation to the Bellator 149 fight -- testing positive for banned PEDs...
#2 Justin Willis vs. Mark Hunt
To be honest, I may be influenced by recency bias here, but bear with me. The Heavyweight fight between Justin Willis and Mark Hunt -- the last fight on Hunt's UFC contract, as he has now completed his run with the company -- was truly terrible.
The fight took place in Adelaide, Australia, this past December 2nd, and the biggest problem turned out to be both fighters' refusal to engage in...well, the fight! Willis seemed absolutely terrified of striking with Hunt, owing to which he'd simply touch the latter and then get back on his bicycle -- backpedaling as though his life depended on it.
On the other hand, Hunt just seemed disinterested in the fight, and as several fans and experts later suggested, the Super Samoan was simply there to ride out his contract and bid adieu to the UFC. It wasn't all that surprising though, considering the legal battle he'd been involved in against the UFC and Brock Lesnar in relation to Lesnar's drug test failure at UFC 200 back in 2016.
Regardless, coming back to Willis vs. Hunt, not much took place in the fight, and Willis ended up winning a Unanimous Decision after 3 horrible rounds of fighting...
#1 Derrick Lewis vs. Francis Ngannou
Derrick Lewis vs. Francis Ngannou was one of the most highly-anticipated fights of the 2018 calendar year. Lewis was on a huge win-streak, whereas Ngannou fresh off a one-sided decision loss in his UFC Heavyweight Championship match against Stipe Miocic.
UFC 226 hosted this matchup, as both Lewis and Ngannou went all the way to hype their fight, including engaging in an altercation at the weigh-ins. Well, once that Octagon door slammed shut, both fighters seemed extremely timid to enter boxing range and exchange punches with each other.
Lewis does deserve some credit though, especially because he was the one who threw more strikes than his foe in the fight. Needless to say, the crowd rained down thunderous boos on both combatants, as the buzzer sounded, signaling the end of the 3-round fight...Lewis was declared the winner by way of Unanimous Decision.
Nothing really significant happened in the fight, and in the ensuing days, Lewis blamed his bad performance on his back injury issues, whereas Ngannou asserted that the loss to Miocic had adversely affected his confidence due to which he couldn't perform at an optimal level against Lewis.
Which fights do you think are the worst in MMA history? Sound off in the comments!
