In the eyes of many, the tipping point in a fighter’s career comes when he racks up three straight losses. If one takes a glance at recent record books, they will find that more than a handful of fighters have been released from the promotion they fight for after three straight losses, the most recent being Fedor Emelianenko from Strikeforce.
While the spectre of three straight losses may be daunting, it is by no means a career death sentence, something that has been proven by the following fighters.
Tito Ortiz
Before defeating Ryan Bader at UFC 132, Ortiz, the former UFC champion, had gone 0-4-1 in his five previous bouts. It is true, as Ortiz was quick to point out, that none of those losses were blowouts, but a loss is a loss and when he stepped into the Octagon against Bader his UFC career was on the line. Ortiz delivered a strong performance, capturing “Submission of the Night” honors and earning the praise of UFC president Dana White. That victory provided him the opportunity to face top ranked Rashad Evans at UFC 133. While Ortiz lost that bout, there was not talk following that loss that Ortiz was done with the UFC.
Nick Diaz
Diaz was 4-1 in the UFC when he dropped three in a row to Diego Sanchez, Joe Riggs and Sean Sherk. Since those three losses Diaz has put together a record of 14-1-0-1, including a 10-fight winning streak. During the course of that winning streak he avenged his only loss in that 16 fight run and captured the Strikeforce welterweight title. Recently he relinquished that title in order to sign to fight current UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre at UFC 137.
Vitor Belfort
Belfort was 12-3 when he went on a three-fight losing streak, falling to Tito Ortiz, Randy Couture and Alistair Overeem. Since that time Belfort has gone 8-3 with only one of those eight fights going the distance, the other seven ending via KO or TKO, including his win at UFC 133 against Yoshihiro Akiyama, a win that showed that although he may be 34 years old, he still has speed and power in his hands.
Alistair Overeem
‘The Reem’ was 24-7 in his MMA career when he dropped three in a row to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Ricardo Aroma and Mauricio Rua in 2006-07. Since then he has put together a record of 11-1-0-1. His recent win over Fabricio Werdum was his seventh straight victory. During his recent run, Overeem also captured the Strikeforce Heavyweight title along with the DREAM interim Heavyweight title to go along with his K-1 Heavyweight Grand Prix title.
The above fighters prove that three consecutive losses do not spell the end of a career. On Sunday night at UFC Live on Versus 5, Dan Hardy, who has dropped three in a row, will face Chris Lytle and look to add his name to this list.
