1. Jessica Andrade defeats Claudia Gadelha
Claudia Gadelha is one of the top woman straw-
weight fighters in the world. She is known for her rivalry with former champion Joanna
Jedrzejczyk and during this time she proved everyone what a fierce competitor she is. Jessica
Andrade is a former bantamweight fighter moved down in weightclass and faced Gadelha.
Gadelha was able to defeat all her opponents in non-title fights, but this time to everyone’s
surprise, Andrade was able to impose her dominance over her opponent and take home a
unanimous decision victory.
2. Volkan Oezdemir defeats Jimi Manuwa
The Swiss Fighting Machine is on a quest for the title
but little did we know that he would secure a title shot with only three wins inside the Octagon.
But prior to that he faced one of the top contenders in the light-heavyweight division, Jimi
Manuwa who was considered by many next in line for a title shot. But Oezdemir knocked him
out 42 seconds of the very first round. This sent him shooting up in the ranking and now will
face Cormier at UFC 220.
3. Darren Till Defeats Donald Cerrone
Donald Cerrone is one of the most experienced MMA
fighters in the UFC and Darren Till on the other hand was a fighter who wasn’t popular at all.
The English fighter made the best of the opportunity presented to him and sent a message to
the entire UFC Roster when he finished ‘Cowboy’ in the first round. Cerrone had mentioned that
he had no idea who Till was until he was told to fight him, but post-fight he said ‘now he knows’
who Till is.
4. Colby Covington defeats Demian Maia
Demian Maia is a world class ju-jitsu specialist who is
dangerous on the ground. Covington on the other hand is a rising star of the welterweight
division who was on a four fight win streak before the match. Maia was a favorite to win and he
needed a desperate win as he was coming off a loss to Tyron Woodley in a title match. But
unfortunately for Maia, Convington was able to get the better of the Brazilian and took home a
unanimous decision victory.
5. Stipe Miocic defeats Junior dos Santos
JDS is one of the hardest hitting heavyweights in the
UFC history and one of the only two people to defeat Miocic in the past. The Brazilian has wins
over Fabricio Werdum, Cain Velasquez, Roy Nelson and many other tough heavyweights and by
many was considered to beat the champion for the second time. But Miocic proved everyone
why he is the champ by finishing dos Santos with a series of strikes within three minutes of the
first round.
6. Kelvin Gastelum defeats Michael Bisping
Before Bisping’s loss to Georges St Pierre, he was onan impressive winning streak that included dominance over fighters like Luke Rockhold,Anderson Silva and Dan Henderson. But an unwise decision to fight only 21 days after his beingput to sleep by the Canadian superstar, he decided to fight Kelvin Gastelum. Gastelum neededthis win badly since he needed to bounce from his previous loss to Chris Weidman. The ‘Count’fell victim to the American’s combination of strikes that led Bisping’s head to bounce on the canvas earning Gastelum a KO victory in 2 minutes and 30 seconds of the very first round.
7. Germaine de Randamie defeats Holly Holm
Many thought de Randamie was only put into the Octagon to make Holly Holm the inaugural UFC Women’s Featherweight Champion but the Dutch spoiled the plans as she dismantled Holm with her superior striking skills. Despite being an inactive fighter, de Randamie was able to get better of their exchanges and tackled Holm’s offenses. Despite committing fouls during the fight, de Randamie was awarded the unanimous
decision victory.
8. TJ Dillashaw defeats Cody Garbrandt
9. Max Holloway defeats Jose Aldo
Max Holloway was an upcoming star who was on a ten fight
winning streak. He defeated Anthony Pettis to win the Interim UFC Featherweight
Championship. He faced Aldo on two occasions and on both the fights and he finished the
Brazilian on the very last minute of the third round. Holloway becomes the second Hawaiian
besides BJ Penn to win a UFC title, and moreover becomes the only person to defeat Aldo twice.
10. Rose Namjunas defeats Joanna Jedrzejczyk: Rose Namajunas had an average fight record of six
wins and three losses. Joanna on the other hand was undefeated and was on unstoppable quest
to break Ronda Rousey’s record for highest title defenses by woman (six). But the dream was
short lived when Namajunas dropped the Polish champion and finished her with series of
punches in the very last minute of the first round. When the footage was rolled back, it was
shown that Joanna actually had tapped to the strikes but was awarded a TKO victory. This is by
far one of the biggest upsets in 2017.