The Ultimate Fighting Championship has delivered its fair share of wars full of exciting and fast-paced action, but there have also been some absolute snoozer of fights that left fans listless and yawning. Some important fights could’ve been more exciting if the fighters had fought better. Fans were disappointed and wanted to see more thrilling action.
Let’s discuss the 5 Worst Fights In UFC History.
Anderson Silva vs Demian Maia
Year: 2010
UFC 112
Anderson Silva, the middleweight champion, was too much for the challenger, Demian Maia, throughout the fight. Silva giggled through the fight showed no interest in finishing it, and hardly put effort into it.
Maia, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and proven grappler, was completely shut down from bringing the fight to the ground and was outstruck by the quick-footed champion.
Some of the spinning back first kick from Silva and the movements that he made, and his relaxed attitude and general unwillingness to rush when the clock was ticking down. He could have at least attempted to finish the fight with some energy.
Anderson Silva vs Thales Leites
Year: 2009
UFC 97
This event was even worse than a fight between Silva & Maia in the middleweight division. Silva dominated Leites on the submission grappling aspect of the fight, but Leites mostly predicted this and spent much of the battle tripping to the ground and attempting to bait Silva into his guard.
This fight saw Silva partially showcasing his striking prowess by connecting with some impressive punches, kicks, and knees without doing anything to attempt to finish the fight seriously.
The people watched the dull and uneventful fight with no interest, during the entire 25-minute duration of the battle. It was one of those rare title bouts that can evoke boredom instead of cheers from the audience.
Tito Ortiz vs Ken Shamrock 3
This fight was conducted in 2006. It was inapposite at best, for it was a rubber match between two legends of the light heavyweight division. Although Ortiz was initiated into the art of mixed martial arts, he was also a veteran of PRIDE fighting championships, with several wins over Shamrock in the previous bouts controlled by rules.
The third fight was not entertaining due to the disparity in the skill set exhibited by both fighters. Ortiz dominated Shamrock on the ground to earn a unanimous decision. The audience found no positive development in the fight.
Heath Herring vs Jake O’Brien
In this 2006 output and conclusion of the heavyweight fight, O’Brien dominated Herring on every battle stage, including floor work, by repeatedly taking down and choking him. Nevertheless, O’Brien was not very active scoring for much damage, and was satisfied with just holding the top position.
The takedown defense was extremely poor, and Herring soon discovered he could not return. The fight involved a lot of clinching and positioning and was not so entertaining that the spectators could not get any thrills.
Chris Leben vs Michael Bisping
This one was an easy victory at a middleweight match-up held in the year 2008. Bisping outworked Leben for the initial three stages of the fight as he kept constant pressure with quick combinations of jabs and kicks to the legs, moving away from any swinging strikes from Leben.
Leben could not throw anything measuredly, and half the fight found him pursuing Bisping around the cage. I think Bisping did everything right in the fight, but that doesn’t mean his performance was good, especially in the viewers’ sense; the match was rather dull.
Conclusion
To summarize, these are the 5 worst fights in UFC history. All these fights displayed technical prowess but did not provide the type of energizing fight expected when a UFC event moves to the main event. The most entertaining bouts are those where both the fighters are ready to do some classic boxing, which means toe-to-toe matches and entertain the audience. Now this is the rare case of worst fights in UFC, Check out the 5 best UFC fights of 2023.
