Five Unknown Fighters Who Defeated MMA Legends

Athletistic/MMA. The greatest fighters are famous for a reason. They occupy a space that most MMA fighters cannot reach. But as difficult as it may seem, elite level mixed martial artists are not infallible. Not everyone went undefeated like Khabib Nurmagomedov. Some of them were even defeated by dark fighters at a fairly low level that most fans couldn’t remember.

#5 Jose Caceres, MMA welterweight

With a height of 188cm, José Cáceres is one of the biggest welterweights in the world. Unfortunately, he never managed to use his height to his advantage. His statistics are terrible – 15 wins and 12 losses.

He never made it to the UFC. But one of his 15 wins comes against one of the greatest fighters the promotion has ever seen. Prior to Leon Edwards’ pair of victories over former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, only one man was known to have beaten the Nigerian nightmare.

Ten years ago, Usman had his second MMA fight at CFA 11 against Caceres. Despite the withdrawal, the more experienced fighter Caceres was quick to remind Usman of the difference between wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and choked him from behind with a rear naked choke in the first round.

#4 Daiju Takase, Former PRIDE Middleweight/Welterweight Champion

Daiju Takase is better known for his participation in PRIDE than for his sporadic appearances in the UFC. It was during his PRIDE career that he scored two of the biggest wins of his career. In total, the former Japanese kickboxer has 12 wins and 15 losses.

Despite his extremely poor track record, he managed to defeat two UFC legends. At PRIDE 26, he faced future UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. He won in a stunning fight after trapping “The Spider” with a triangle in the first round and winning by submission.

A year later, he faced former UFC welterweight titleholder and Canadian MMA pioneer Carlos Newton. Daiju Takase won via split decision.

No. 3. Sarah D’Alelio, former Invicta Women’s Bantamweight Champion

It’s almost impossible to imagine that a fighter who lost to fighters like Julie Kedzie could somehow find a way to beat someone that great fighters like Ronda Rousey couldn’t beat. But it’s not a fantasy, because Sarah D’Alelio exists.

In 2013, she faced Amanda Nunes and earned a unanimous decision victory over the eventual UFC champion. It was bad luck, D’Alelio just won by defeating and dominating The Lioness in dominant fashion.

#2 Sam Alvey, Former MFC Middleweight/Light Heavyweight Champion

After an absurdly long wait, Sam Alvey has finally been kicked out of the UFC. He hasn’t been able to win a single fight in five years and currently has a 9 fight winless streak with eight losses and one draw. His overall stats are 33 wins, 18 losses, one draw.

His track record is beyond the envy of any fighter past or present, but Alvey managed to defeat former light heavyweight titleholder Rashad Evans. By this time, Evans was already well past his prime and periodically lost. In 2008, Evans was the undefeated champion, but nine years later lost to Alvey.

No. 1. Artemy Sitenkov, featherweight/bantamweight

At least some of the fighters Anderson Silva and Carlos Newton lost to were experienced enough to have success in top promotions like PRIDE. But that doesn’t apply to every low level fighter who beat a great fighter.

Artemy Sitenkov currently has 15 wins and 17 losses to his name. He never came close to the UFC and the most successful promotion he fought for was Cage Warriors. He’s lost 10 of his last 11 fights, but the Lithuanian has a notable win.

In 2008 he was a five win and four loss fighter, so he was exactly the kind of fighter Conor McGregor should have beaten in his third fight. Instead, the future two-time champion suffered a blistering defeat in just one minute of the opening round.