Jaw-Dropping Losses: 5 UFC Fighters Who Couldn’t Take A Punch

From Brendan Schaub to Cody Garbrandt, these UFC fighters’ careers were defined by their inability to resist punches. Dive into the reasons behind their chin issues and the impact it had on their fighting styles.

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Even though there has been no UFC event this weekend, Saturday did see former unified heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua in motion. Sadly, his chin betrayed him and he was knocked out badly in the 5th spherical of his combat with Daniel Dubois.

UFC history is likewise plagued by the names of warring parties who, like Anthony Joshua, noticed their chins let them down on large events.

Some of those fighters saw their sturdiness degenerate over the years, while others regrettably constantly appeared to suffer from a glass jaw.

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Right here are 5 UFC fighters whose chins regularly betrayed them.

Brendan Schaub, former UFC heavyweight contender

Brendan Schaub - It's Time | UFC
Jaw-Dropping Losses: 5 UFC Fighters Who Couldn’t Take A Punch

In the aftermath of his loss to Daniel Dubois, it has been cautioned that Anthony Joshua’s chin is not up to taking pictures from the huge, hard-hitting heavyweights he has been facing.

Whether that is the case is up for debate, but he wouldn’t be the primary fighter to conflict with that trouble if it’s miles.

It turned into genuinely the huge element preserving Brendan Schaub from ever ascending into heavyweight identity rivalry during his UFC career, which ran from 2009 until 2014.

A herbal athlete who had come close to gambling inside the NFL, Schaub rose to reputation with the aid of smashing his way to the finals of TUF 10, completing three combatants in the process.

Also, in a precursor of things to come, he bumped into Roy Nelson inside the finals and became knocked out violently. Still, ‘massive ‘United States’ had severe strength in his palms, and Schaub wasn’t too put out with the aid of the loss.

He gained his subsequent 4 fights to climb into the top ten and turned into at the cusp of identifying competition when he met Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in the summer of 2011. the matter being extensively preferred to overcome the ageing ‘Minotauro’, Schaub’s chin betrayed him totally. After being caught with a combination, he could not get better and was subsequently knocked out within the first spherical, arms flailing over his head in a comical scene.

While an attempt at bouncing back ended identically on the fingers of Ben Rothwell—this time in a viral finish—it changed into clean that Schaub’s chin wasn’t cut out to take the massive pictures.

He did win another two bouts within the octagon, but his career ended after one more violent knockout loss, this time at the hands of Travis Browne.

It was the right time for him to dangle up his gloves, and he is seeing that long gone on to a successful profession as a podcast host.

Kendall Grove, TUF 3 middleweight champion

KSW 78 – Fighters Only
Jaw-Dropping Losses: 5 UFC Fighters Who Couldn’t Take A Punch

When Kendall Grove overcame the odds to conquer Ed Herman and win the middleweight bracket on TUF 3, it felt like a capacity superstar had been born.

‘Da Spyder’ seemed to have the whole thing to emerge as a contender at 185 pounds. Status at 6ft 6in, he loved a big attain benefit over most of his foes and knew how to make the most of his long fingers, both with chokes and moves.

Unfortunately, Grove had a first-rate chink in his armour inside the shape of a totally questionable chin.

The Hawaiian had already suffered two horrific knockout losses all through his career on the local circuit, and it was a weakness that could catch up with him inside the UFC, too.

A 2007 bout with Patrick Cote noticed him doing well till the Canadian caught him with a thumping right hand to the temple, and moments later, the fight changed into over.

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The equal state of affairs then repeated itself in his next fight with Jorge Rivera, who genuinely went to paintings with short punches from inside the clinch until Grove’s jaw became all over again.

‘Da Spyder’ then managed to keep away from being knocked out in his subsequent 4 fights; however, in a bout with Mark Munoz that could’ve propelled him lower back into competition, his chin betrayed him once more.

This time, he scored a big knockdown inside the establishing sphere and seemed to be on his way to a win, only for Munoz to live on the stanza. In the 2D, ‘The Filipino Wrecking Gadget’ grew to become the tide and caught Grove with some big shots, and that was basically that.

Essentially, had Grove been longer-lasting, he should’ve easily contended for the middleweight identify all through a lean duration in the division. Because it turned into, his questionable jaw prevented him from making that next step.

Alistair Overeem, former UFC heavyweight contender

Alistair Overeem on fighting during a pandemic | Asian MMA
Jaw-Dropping Losses: 5 UFC Fighters Who Couldn’t Take A Punch

While Alistair Overeem became a thin 205-pounder competing in satisfaction, the area he struggled most with changed into usually his durability. He suffered a handful of nasty KO losses and seemed to get hurt in nearly all of his fights.

However, by the point he moved as much as heavyweight in 2008—and packed enough muscle onto his frame to earn the nickname ‘Ubereem’—his c chin troubles were regarded as being behind him.

When he arrived in the UFC in late 2011, the Dutchman became extensively taken into consideration as the world’s most feared heavyweight. It turned into a reputation he most effectively furthered whilst he destroyed Brock Lesnar in his octagon debut, retiring him in the system.

However, a failed drug test noticed Overeem omitted a year’s action, and whilst he returned, not most effective turned into barely leaner than before, but his durability problems seemed to have resurfaced.

He misplaced 3 of his next four bouts, suffering knockout losses to Antonio Silva, Travis Browne, and Ben Rothwell, and looked like a shell of his former self.

A transfer up in fashion, even though he focused more on in-and-out movement and technical putting than absolutely bullying his foes, noticed a resurgence in his career.

Overeem won 4 fights in a row to assert a heavyweight title shot, but regardless of losing champion Stipe Miocic, his chin once again betrayed him and he changed into being knocked out later in the spherical.

From there, ‘The Demolition Guy’ remained a normal headliner for the UFC; however for every large combat he could win, he regarded to suffer a knockout in some other, whether it be to Francis Ngannou or Jairzinho Rozenstruik.

Put actually, Overeem’s chin never pretty matched his offensive output, preventing him from ever achieving the pinnacle of the UFC. If anything, he is probably MMA’s closest parallel to Anthony Joshua.

Chuck Liddell, former UFC light-heavyweight champion

Chuck Liddell: Top 5 MMA Finishes - Kung-fu Kingdom
Jaw-Dropping Losses: 5 UFC Fighters Who Couldn’t Take A Punch

While the previous opponents on this listing all suffered from sturdiness problems at some point in their careers, UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell became a bit extraordinary.

In his top, ‘The Iceman’ absolutely had a granite chin that would regularly help him out of sticky conditions inside the octagon. Liddell would regularly soak up a huge punch from his opponent with apparently no problem and then cause them to pay with a violent counterpunch that could regularly give up their night.

Claiming large knockouts over the likes of Renato Sobral, Kevin Randleman, and Tito Ortiz, Liddell finally parlayed his fashion right into a UFC mild-heavyweight name win. In 2005, he climbed to the top of the mountain by knocking out the legendary Randy Couture.

However, ‘The Iceman’ eventually saw his high-effect style trap up with him.

In 2007, he suffered an awful knockout at the arms of ‘Rampage’ Jackson, losing his title in that manner.; his durability seemed shot, and a chin that, after being regarded to be impregnable, became all at once made of glass.

Liddell changed into dropped in a choice loss to Keith Jardine, after which he suffered a significantly brutal knockout at the fingers of Rashad Evans.

Regardless of taking a while away to get better, he never regained his durability and ended his career with two greater knockout losses, this time to Shogun Rua and wealthy Franklin.

In this instance, ‘The Iceman’ stands as a fighter who took too many large hits for his very own exact, and his tale ought to likely be a cautionary one for younger fighters who trust their chin to be invincible.

Cody Garbrandt, former UFC bantamweight champion

UFC 292: Former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt pulls out after latest  injury setback - Eurosport
Jaw-Dropping Losses: 5 UFC Fighters Who Couldn’t Take A Punch

When Cody Garbrandt outstruck Dominick Cruz—taken into consideration perhaps the most technical fighter in MMA—in December 2016 to win the bantamweight title, it felt like the UFC had unearthed a new celebrity.

‘No Love’ changed into unbeaten at the time and was regarded to have all the gear to head on a dominant run as champion.

He turned into a smooth enough boxer to drop Cruz on several activities, even taunting ‘The Dominator’ as he changed into Muhammad Ali; he became a sturdy wrestler and carried knockout power, too.

However, Garbrandt’s early fights inside the UFC disguised a prime weak point, namely the lack of a sturdy chin. It was a weakness that was quickly uncovered.

Garbrandt’s first title defence noticed him confronted with a bitter rival in former teammate TJ Dillashaw, and in a wild fight, he got too competitive and walked right into a massive right hand. His chin was unable to take the shot, and moments later, the fight became over.

Remarkably, the book on the way to beat ‘No Love’ all of a sudden seemed to have been written. The blueprint turned into an easy one—draw Garbrandt right into a firefight, look ahead to his chin to be open, and take gain.

Now not handiest did Dillashaw repeat the trick of their rematch, but Pedro Munhoz and Kai Kara-France each used the approach to leave Garbrandt unconscious, too.

After taking the satisfactory part of two years off, Garbrandt has now long gone 3 fights without being knocked out, but the probabilities of his sturdiness being stepped forward appear narrow.

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