Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, Conor McGregor, Chael Sonnen – all of them had your attention before they threw the first punch. Why? Mic skills. You wanted to see if they could walk the walk after they talked the talk. But there’s been more than a few times when fighters could not cash the checks their mouths wrote. Worse yet, some of them took things too far and got humbled with the whole world watching.

In this article, let’s take a look at 5 such moments in the UFC, where fighters regretted their decision to talk trash about their opponents.

Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov

The rivalry between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov was famous for raising the hype around UFC. But it was the Irishman’s tendency to talk trash to his opponents that garnered the most attention. And of course, it was the one reason that urged ‘The Eagle’ to dominate their fight at UFC 229. Little did he know that it would be the Dagestani who’d have the final laugh. 

The referee in charge of the fight, Herb Dean, recalled, “He talks the whole time. Right from the beginning he is talking.” While Dean was talking about the on-court action, we had witnessed the talks ever since the fight was announced. Even Khabib Nurmagomedov, despite his often calm demeanor, was all in to engage in a battle of words and fists before they entered the Octagon. However, he chose to wait for the fight. 

Even when ‘The Eagle’ left him all bloodied by the end of the second round of their bout, Conor McGregor seemingly claimed that it was only ‘business.’ This further enraged the Dagestani and he went on to force ‘The Notorious’ to tap out with a neck crank in the 4th round. Furious about the trash talks, Nurmagomedov shouted, “Let’s talk now!” while raining down bombs. But McGregor was left in disappointment. 

But Nurmagomedov wasn’t satisfied. It was adrenaline that controlled him as he jumped out of the cage to attack Dillon Danis, who was apparently talking trash to the Dagestani. The post-fight brawl was quickly calmed, but the win cemented Nurmagomedov’s revenge. 

Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm

The tension between Ronda Rousey and Holly Holm was palpable as they got ready for UFC 193. But it was ‘Rowdy’s overconfidence that turned into her fatal flaw. She dismissed Holm as a one-trick boxer. When the duo faced off following the official weigh-ins, they almost engaged in a battle of fists. But Rousey dismissed it as a “fake, sweet act.” 

However, the war inside the Octagon told a different story. The bantamweight bout began with Rousey arrogantly refusing to touch gloves. The first round went on with Rousey trying to dominate the fight. But it was the second round when things shifted in favor of Holm. After sending Rousey off balance, ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ threw a high left kick that sent Rousey to the shadow realm. Needless to say, the outcome of the bout truly humbled ‘Rowdy’. 

Following the bout, the WWE and UFC Hall of Famer said, “She’s been really impressive with how she’s adapted to MMA from pure boxing to head-kick knockouts. I know she’s the type of fighter that I want to test myself against. I still have more to prove, and Holly is one more person that I’m going to prove myself against.”

Colby Covington vs. Leon Edwards

UFC 296 was yet another reminder for fighters to be humble. Colby Covington’s fate was sealed when he tried to provoke Leon Edwards before their fight. He said, “I’m bringing you to the seventh layer of hell [in Saturday’s fight]. We’ll say ‘what’s up’ to your dad when we’re there.” It was indeed the biggest mistake ‘Chaos’ could make.

‘Rocky’ had lost his father when he was just 13 years old. He was shot and k–led in a London-based nightclub. No doubt, it was one of the most sensitive topics to talk about for Edwards. He made sure that ‘Chaos’ looked slower and weaker in their fight. Even Covington’s grappling prowess couldn’t stop Edwards from claiming a victory via unanimous decision. Well, don’t you think it was bound to happen?

“This fight was very emotional for me. This guy used my dad’s death as entertainment, he used my dad’s murder as entertainment. It took a lot for me to calm down and stay focused,” Edwards said after exacting his revenge on Covington. On top of that, the bout seemingly crushed Covington’s dreams of wearing the championship belt. 

Michael Bisping vs. Vitor Belfort

The battle between Michael Bisping and Vitor Belfort was the one that taught Bisping that one must not talk badly about someone’s religion. During a recent appearance on JAXXON PODCAST, Birpsing revealed, “We were on the scale and I should’ve known looking back, you know, I mean, I don’t look like a bodybuilder. Vitor [Belfort] walks over looking like f—ing Mr. Universe. I just said, ‘Vitor, come here’. He says, ‘What?’ I said, ‘Jesus isn’t real’, you know, just to f— with him…That’s the perfect person to say it to.”

The fight at UFC on FX 7 witnessed a war between the light heavyweights. Both of the fighters were calculative in their strikes. But when the clock struck 1:27 in the second round, all eyes were on the Octagon as Belfort sent a kick to Bisping’s head that took him down. Right after that, he pounced on ‘The Count’ and sent a barrage of fists before the referee called the bout off. This wasn’t just a TKO loss for Bisping. The kick to the head had detached his right eye’s retina. And it lead to permanent blindness in that eye. 

Although the beef between Bisping and Belfort continued for quite some time, ‘The Count’ has now buried all hatchets. He confirmed, “I have no ill will towards Vitor [Belfort], I wish him all the best.”

Chael Sonnen vs. Anderson Silva

Anderson Silva humbled Chael Sonnen not once, but twice. Once at UFC 117, and then at UFC 148. Sonnen, infamous for his trash-talking skills, ranted about Silva quite a lot. He claimed that defeating Silva was the same as ordering Chinese food because he’d crave it again pretty soon. In another instance, he called ‘Spider’ the Loch Ness monster. Well, he claimed that both the monster and Silva as a good fighter were imaginary things. 

But Silva was quick to follow through and defeat Sonnen twice. At UFC 117, the Brazilian forced ‘The American Gangster’ to tap out with a triangle armbar in the final round. And at UFC 148, he demonstrated his knockout power by bringing ‘The Bad Guy’ down with a knee followed by punches in the second round. Sonnen was visibly humbled when Silva was announced the winner in both instances. 

Which of these were your favorite humbling moments? Do you think there’s another fight that needs to be on the list? Drop down to the comments section and let us know all about it.