{"id":231664,"date":"2025-10-22T10:41:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T10:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/231664\/"},"modified":"2025-10-22T10:41:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T10:41:11","slug":"ten-most-shocking-moments-in-mma-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/231664\/","title":{"rendered":"Ten Most Shocking Moments in MMA History"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ngscsports.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/booster-extension\/\/assets\/icon\/thumbs-up.svg\"\/>\t\t        <\/p>\n<p>\t\t            0\t\t        <\/p>\n<p>\t\t            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ngscsports.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/booster-extension\/\/assets\/icon\/thumbs-down.svg\"\/>\t\t            <\/p>\n<p>\t\t            0\t\t        <\/p>\n<p>\n                \t Read Time:8 Minute, 24 Second                <\/p>\n<p>Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is a very unpredictable sport. Due to the variety of ways one can achieve victory and the various matchups of styles, it\u2019s often difficult to predict which opponent will come out on top.\u00a0 Still, there are favorites and underdogs for a reason, and more often than not, the odds favorite wins the fight.\u00a0 You can also look at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fightmatrix.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">MMA rankings<\/a> to try to predict fights.\u00a0 Whatever your methodology, you will sometimes be surprised, or even shocked, by the outcome. I\u2019ve compiled a list of ten MMA moments that made me jump out of my seat; most, though not all of these, were betting upsets.<\/p>\n<p> Randy Couture def Tim Sylvia \u2013 UFC 68<\/p>\n<p>After Randy Couture lost his trilogy bout with Chuck Liddell, with tears in his eyes, he announced his retirement from the sport. This retirement didn\u2019t last long, as only a year later, Couture made his return to the UFC\u2019s heavyweight division, where he was immediately awarded a title shot against then-champion Tim Sylvia. The younger, and much bigger, Sylvia was a moderate (-235) favorite in the bout.<\/p>\n<p>When Couture knocked Sylvia down with the very first punch thrown, the crowd went wild.\u00a0 Couture pitched a shutout, scoring 50-45 on all three judges\u2019 scorecards. This is the only fight on the list that didn\u2019t end in a thundering finish \u2013 instead, it ended with the crowd counting down the final seconds of the battle as Randy controlled Sylvia on the ground.\u00a0 Couture had gotten his hand raised and at 43 years old became the oldest champion in UFC history, a record that has not been surpassed to this day.<\/p>\n<p> Cheick Kongo def Pat Barry \u2013 UFC Live 4<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/UFC_Live:_Kongo_vs._Barry\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">UFC Live: Kongo vs Barry<\/a> (also knowns as UFC on Versus 4) was a Fight known as a battle of kickboxers: Cheick Kongo vs Pat Barry.\u00a0 It promised to be an electric striking bout, and it did not fail to deliver.\u00a0 After Barry knocked down Kongo in the middle of the first round and was battering him on the ground, many thought the fight should have been stopped.\u00a0 However, the referee, Dan Miragliotta, allowed the bout to continue.\u00a0 Miraculously, Cheick Kongo made his weight back to his feet and landed a knockdown blow of his own, which turned out to turn Barry\u2019s lights out.\u00a0 Crazy fight to say the least; you can watch it for yourself here:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u0427\u0435\u0439\u043a \u041a\u043e\u043d\u0433\u043e vs \u041f\u044d\u0442 \u0411\u044d\u0440\u0440\u0438 | \u041f\u043e\u043b\u043d\u044b\u0439 \u0431\u043e\u0439\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/O51K0mlKk1o?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p> BJ Penn def Matt Hughes (1) \u2013 UFC 46<\/p>\n<p>When 25-year-old BJ Penn (6-1-1 at the time) returned to the UFC after a triumphant win over Pride\u2019s Takanori Gomi in \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fightmatrix.com\/past-events-search\/?org=Rumble+on+the+Rock\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Rumble on the Rock<\/a>\u2018, the former two time lightweight contender found his two-time position dissolved by the organization. For moving up in weight, he was rewarded with an instant title shot over the dominant defending champion at the time, Matt Hughes.\u00a0 Hughes was on a 13-win streak, which included such standouts as Sean Sherk, Hayato \u2018Mach\u2019 Sakurai, Carlos Newton, and Frank Trigg.<\/p>\n<p>Due to the large gap in experience and the fact that Penn was moving up in weight, Matt Hughes went into the fight as the moderate (-240) favorite.\u00a0 However, Penn was able to out-strike Hughes as well as control him on the ground, eventually locking in a rear-naked choke and securing a submission in the very first round.\u00a0 Though Penn walked away with the welterweight title, he relinquished it after the fight and walked away from the UFC, eventually to return more than two years later, losing to Georges St. Pierre in his comeback bout.<\/p>\n<p> Kevin Randleman def Mirko Cro-Cop \u2013 Pride FC Total Elimination 2004<\/p>\n<p>Former UFC heavyweight champion, the late Kevin Randleman, was an amazing athlete. At the time of Pride\u2019s 2004 Heavyweight Grand Prix, Randleman was bouncing between Pride\u2019s Middleweight (99kg) and Heavyweight divisions. In the opening round of theGrandn Prix, Kevin drew Mirko \u2018Cro-Cop\u2019 Filipovic as his opponent.<\/p>\n<p>Though Randleman was the more experienced fighter, Cro-Cop was considered a significant favorite (odds not available) headed into this fight. The feared kickboxer and ex-Croatian soldier has made a transition from the K-1 ring to MMA, where he only lost to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at the time of the fight. In a typical wrestler-vs-striker matchup, everyone expected Randleman to attempt a ground-and-pound heavy strategy. However, after Mirko defended the initial takedown attempt, Randleman floored him with a left hook, scoring a big upset and advancing on to the next round of the Gran Prix.<\/p>\n<p> Fedor Emelianenko def Kevin Randleman \u2013 Pride FC Critical Countdown 2004<\/p>\n<p>After defeating Cro-Cop, Kevin Randleman went on to face the Pride heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko in the Gran Prix semi-finals. Once again, Randleman was a slight underdog (+180) to the champ. This time, Kevin didn\u2019t manage to pull off an upset; what he did manage to do was launch Fedor through the air with an amazing suplex. Emelianenko seemingly landed directly on his head and neck, leaving the spectators wondering how he wasn\u2019t paralyzed. Only seconds later, the Russian fighter managed to reverse position and make Randleman tap out with a kimura.\u00a0 Talk about shocking!<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"PRIDE FC -Fedor Emelianenko vs. Kevin Randleman 1080p HD\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/SUR4cr5M_gc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p> Holly Holm def Ronda Rousey \u2013 UFC 193<\/p>\n<p>This fight was one of the biggest odds-upset upsets on this list, and one of the biggest in the history of the sport.\u00a0 Coming into the fight, Holly Holm closed out as a (+900) underdog. In a striker-vs-grappler matchup, with the grappler coming in undefeated and having never gone the distance. Whereas Holm did not particularly impress in her first two UFC outings before getting a title shot, hence, not many gave her a chance.\u00a0 The former boxing champion Holm shocked the world and made history when she put Rousey to sleep with a head kick in Round 2. Rousey has only fought once more after this loss, while Holm went on to lose her Featherweight title to Meisha Tate in her very next fight.<\/p>\n<p> Gabriel Gonzaga def Mirko Cro-Cop (1) \u2013 UFC 70<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRight leg hospital, left leg cemetery.\u201d \u2013 This was the saying commonly used to describe Mirko Filipovic\u2019s devastating kicking power. When UFC purchased Pride FC in 2007, Cro-Cop, along with most of Pride\u2019s biggest stars, made their way to the Octagon. Mirko didn\u2019t look great in his first UFC fight against Eddie Sanchez; his performance was criticized despite scoring a first-round knockout. This was attributed to Cro-Cop not being used to fighting in the cage; the infamous \u2018Octagon jitters\u2019, etc.<\/p>\n<p>In his second UFC fight, Filipovic took on then virtually unknown Gabriel Gonzaga.\u00a0 A hulking BJJ specialist, Gonzaga was equally apt to finish his opponents with strikes as well as submission holds. Gabriel was a heavy underdog (+500) heading into the fight. Perhaps we should have learned something about Cro-Cop and heavy-hitting grapplers from the Randleman fight.\u00a0 After taking Mirko down and attacking him with elbows, Gonzaga threw a head kick out of nowhere when the fight got back to the feet, knocking Cro-Cop out cold and leaving him in a twisted heap of limbs. No one expected the master of the head kick to be felled by his own most dangerous weapon.\u00a0 Cro-Cop extracted his revenge on Gonzaga in a rematch many years later.<\/p>\n<p> Leon Edwards def Kamaru Usman (2) \u2013 UFC 278<\/p>\n<p>Kamaru Usman was one of the UFC\u2019s most dominant champions and a heavy favorite (-380) headed into his title defense against Leon Edwards.\u00a0 The pair met back in 2015, early in their UFC careers, with Usman securing an uneventful decision. This time around, he was on a streak of 15 UFC victories, and looking to tie Anderson Silva\u2019s record of 16. Alas, this wasn\u2019t meant to be. The first surprise of the fight took place in the very first round, when Edwards took Usman down and controlled him for most of the round.<\/p>\n<p>Usman managed to turn the tables in the latter rounds and was well on his way to winning a comfortable decision. Then, as the fight was drawing to an end, \u201cheadshot, dead!\u201d \u2013 as Edwards separated Kamaru from consciousness with a lightning-quick high kick. Though Edwards didn\u2019t manage to hold on to the title for long, he did beat Usman by a decision in the trilogy.<\/p>\n<p> Conor McGregor def Jose Aldo \u2013 UFC 194<\/p>\n<p>Back in the days of WEC, Jose Aldo ruled the featherweight division with an iron fist.\u00a0 When Conor McGregor came along and received a title shot (which many fans felt was undeserved), Aldo was riding a streak of 18 consecutive victories, seven of them in the UFC, and all of those seven were successful title defenses. Despite the gap in top-level experience, the odds for this fight were actually very close, with Aldo only a slight favorite.\u00a0 Perhaps bookies and bettors saw something we did not, as Conor McGregor knocked out Aldo with a punch only 13 seconds into the very first round. McGregor failed to ever defend the title, moving up to capture the gold at lightweight, then pursuing a boxing bout with Floyd Mayweather.\u00a0 Meanwhile, Aldo has never returned to championship form, going 7-8 in the remainder of his UFC career before retiring.<\/p>\n<p> Matt Serra def Georges St. Pierre (1) \u2013 UFC 69<\/p>\n<p>An even bigger upset than Rousey vs Holm.\u00a0 This fight saw the old school legend Matt Serra earn a title shot by winning <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Ultimate_Fighter_4\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The Ultimate Fighter 4<\/a> tournament. Serra was a massive (+850) dog and accomplished the unimaginable when he caught GSP with a hook and followed up with ground-and-pound, causing St. Pierre to tap to strikes.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Matt Serra truly captured lightning in a bottle. He couldn\u2019t repeat the feat, losing the welterweight title back to GSP in a rematch. Serra only fought another three times after, notably losing a controversial decision to Matt Hughes in his very next fight.\u00a0 St. Pierre, in the meantime, went on to defend the welterweight title nine times, a record not yet surpassed.<\/p>\n<p>                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/cropped-cropped-cropped-New-NGSC-Sports-Logo-1.jpg\" width=\"224\" height=\"224\"  alt=\"Staff Writer\" class=\"avatar avatar-400 wp-user-avatar wp-user-avatar-400 alignnone photo avatar-img\"\/>                                <\/p>\n<p>                    <a react-data=\"be-react-1\" post-id=\"68785\" class=\"be-face-icons un-reacted\" href=\"https:\/\/ngscsports.com\/2025\/10\/22\/ten-most-shocking-moments-in-mma-history\/javascript:void(0)\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" 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Due to&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":231665,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[444],"tags":[49,48,641,638,82,96045,865,640],"class_list":{"0":"post-231664","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mma","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-fighting","11":"tag-mma","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-sports-blog","14":"tag-sports-news","15":"tag-ufc"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=231664"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231664\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/231665"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=231664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=231664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=231664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}