3 of The Biggest Upsets in MMA in the Last Decade
With the next big UFC event (UFC on FX 8) over a week away, we thought we would throw a fun MMA article in the mix. As bettors we can all appreciate when an underdog overcomes the favorite because the fight likely made us a lot of money or cost us a lot. Here is a look at some of the biggest upsets in MMA history.
Matt Serra vs. Georges St-Pierre @ UFC 69 (2007)
No one thought that Matt Serra had a chance at defeating Georges St-Pierre at UFC 69. St-Pierre was considered every bit as dominate as he is today back in 2007. GSP was the 10:1 favorite to win this fight and no one in their right minds was going to bet against him. Well a lot of people not in their right minds made a lot of money at UFC 69.
Serra had just won TUF 4: Combacks. It was considered a joke among MMA fans that the show featured a bunch of has-been and never-was fighters. So when Serra got a shot at GSP’s Welterweight title for winning the show, most looked at it as a throw away fight.
Serra, however, would go on to knock GSP out at around the halfway point of the first round. Serra wouldn’t hold on to the glory of defeating GSP or the Welterweight title for long as GSP would later dominate Serra to regain his title at UFC 83.
Seth Petruzelli vs. Kimbo Slice @ EliteXC: Heat (2008)
Kimbo Slice was the internet’s contribution to the MMA world. Slice became a YouTube sensation by knocking out guys on the street and it was just a matter of time before some promotion struggling to try and keep up with the rising juggernaut that was and still is the UFC, to sign him to a deal.
EliteXC picked up slice and penned him to fight a returning legend in Ken Shamrock. However, Shamrock had to back out of the fight at the last minuet due to a cut he sustained during his prefight warmups. EliteXC suddenly found themselves without a main event on a nationally televised event on CBS. That is when a relatively unknown light heavyweight named Seth Petruzelli stepped in to fight Slice in the main event.
Slice was already the favorite to defeat Shamrock, so when the schedule was revsied to pit a no-name fighter against the street fighter the odds really slid toward Slice’s favor. Petruzelli, however, would shock the world by knocking out Slice 14 seconds into the fight.
Fabricio Werdum vs. Fedor Emelianenko @ Strikeforce (2010)
Fedor Emelianenko is a legend in the MMA world. He is undoubtedly the best fighter to never step into a the UFC’s octagon. Going into his fight with one of the top heavyweights in the world, Fabricio Werdum, Fedor was on a 28 fight win streak and was the big time favorite.
It looked as though Fedor was going to dominate Werdum as he knocked him to the ground within the first round. However, this was a trap used to lure Fedor into his guard. Werdum slapped on an arm bar and forced the feared Russian to tap for the first time in his career.
