Most Notable One Hit Wonders In MMA
October 19, 2020
By Ryan Porzl
The term "One Hit Wonder" is a phrase perhaps mostly associated in the music world as it describes singers or bands with one hit single or album but were never able to recapture that success and eventually fell into obscurity. The phrase can also be used for Mixed Martial Arts. In the world of MMA, there are a variety of MMA champions. Some have won many titles and tournaments be it in one promotion or multiple promotions like Randy Couture, Dan Henderson, Fedor Emelianenko, Gegard Mousasi, Cris Cyborg, Anderson Silva, Ronda Rousey, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Some are strictly multiple time tournament winners like Royce Gracie, Don Frye, and Mirko Cro Cop. Finally, some have won just one major belt but either won it multiple times or successfully defended it many times like Jon Jones, Tito Ortiz, and Chuck Liddell. Then, there are the one hit wonders, fighters who won one tournament in a major organization and never won another again or won a major championship from a major organization but lost it in their first defense and never won another again. In this article, we'll take a look at some of the notable fighters who won a major tournament or title but were never able to hold onto a title for long or recapture that success despite in some cases getting multiple opportunities. Before we start, I should point out I will only include fighters who won major honors so independent promotions don't count as a fighter could've had multiple honors in a smaller promotion. As far as champions go, the fighters on this list are those who only won one title and failed to successfully defend it. However, if they won a tournament before or after, they won't be on the list. For example, Kevin Randleman only won one UFC Heavyweight Championship but he successfully defended it so he won't be on the list. Guys like Forrest Griffin and Matt Serra won titles and never successfully defended them but they won The Ultimate Fighter so they won't be on the list.
