Not all UFC downfalls look the same. Some fighters lose at the top and leave before the damage piles up. Others hang on too long, watching their legacy slowly rot away. And then there are the truly tragic cases—where the losses don’t stop, the body breaks down, and the mind starts to go with it.

This is a seven-level breakdown of UFC downfall, ranked from the least damaging to the most devastating. As we climb each level, the falls get steeper, darker, and harder to watch.

Level One: Lost Big, Left Early

This level is reserved for fighters who fell from greatness but got out fast. They lost in dramatic fashion, but they didn’t spiral. They walked away with their health, their money, and their sense of self intact.

Ronda Rousey is the perfect example.

Rousey became the UFC’s first women’s bantamweight champion in 2013 and immediately turned into a phenomenon. She won her first 12 fights, most of them in under a minute, ripping arms apart with her now-legendary armbar. She wasn’t just winning—she was embarrassing elite fighters.

Her fame exploded beyond MMA. She appeared in Furious 7 and The Expendables 3, landed magazine covers everywhere, and became the face of the UFC. Dana White famously went from saying women would never fight in the UFC to building the entire division around her.

Then came UFC 193.

In front of a massive crowd in Australia, Holly Holm shocked the world with a perfectly timed head kick that knocked Rousey out cold. After 13 months away—during which Rousey later admitted she struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts—she returned to face Amanda Nunes. That fight lasted just 48 seconds.

Two losses. That was it.

Rousey retired from MMA for good. She moved to WWE, won championships, and was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2018. Yes, her fall from “invincible” was dramatic—but she left on her own terms, before the damage became permanent.

That’s why this is the least bad downfall on the list.

Level Two: From Champion to Cut

This level is for fighters who didn’t just lose—they collapsed so badly that the UFC no longer wanted them. They went from elite to expendable.

Renan Barão embodies this perfectly.

Before everything fell apart, Barão was terrifying. He went on a 34-fight unbeaten streak and became UFC bantamweight champion. Many fans and analysts, including Dana White and Joe Rogan, called him the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world. He defended his title against top contenders like Urijah Faber, Michael McDonald, and Eddie Wineland and looked unstoppable.

Then came UFC 173 in May 2014.

TJ Dillashaw, a massive underdog, dominated Barão from start to finish and stopped him in the fifth round. It was one of the biggest upsets in UFC history. Before their rematch, Barão collapsed during a brutal weight cut and was hospitalized after hitting his head in an Epsom salt bath. The weight cutting was described as torture—his body simply couldn’t handle it anymore.

When they finally rematched, Dillashaw beat him again.

Barão moved up to featherweight hoping to reset his career, but the losses kept coming. Jeremy Stephens. Aljamain Sterling. Brian Kelleher. Five straight losses. In December 2019, the UFC released him.

He went from unbeatable champion to “unpromotable” in just a few years. Today, he fights on small overseas shows. The fall was steep—but at least he walked away with his health and mind intact.

That will not be the case for the fighters above him.

Level Three: Stayed Too Long

This level belongs to legends who didn’t know when to quit. Their greatness was unquestionable, but they stayed long enough to tarnish it.

Anderson Silva is the most painful example.

Silva’s run is almost mythical. He held the middleweight title for 2,457 days—the longest reign in UFC history. He won 16 straight UFC fights and defended his belt 10 times. He knocked out Vitor Belfort with a front kick that became one of the most iconic moments in MMA. His style felt supernatural—dodging punches like they were moving in slow motion.

Then came UFC 162 in 2013.

Silva taunted Chris Weidman like he had taunted everyone else. Hands down. Chin out. Confidence overflowing. But Weidman didn’t play along. A left hook ended Silva’s reign in round two.

The rematch at UFC 168 was worse. Silva threw a leg kick. Weidman checked it. Silva’s tibia and fibula snapped in half, one of the most horrific injuries ever seen in MMA.

Silva came back—but he was never the same. Steroid suspensions damaged his reputation. His record from 2013 to 2020 was 1–7 with one no contest. He lost to Michael Bisping, Daniel Cormier, Israel Adesanya, and Jared Cannonier. At 45, he was knocked out by Uriah Hall in a fight Dana White later admitted should never have happened.

Silva eventually found peace and was inducted into the Hall of Fame twice—but he stayed long enough to stain a once-perfect legacy.

Level Four: Bodies That Broke

This level is about physical destruction. Fighters whose bodies simply couldn’t take the punishment anymore.

Chris Weidman fits here almost tragically.

Weidman went 13–0 to start his career. He knocked out Anderson Silva twice, defended his title against Lyoto Machida, and finished Vitor Belfort. He was the man who dethroned the king.

Then everything collapsed.

Luke Rockhold finished him at UFC 194. Yoel Romero knocked him out with a flying knee. Gegard Mousasi stopped him controversially. Jacare Souza knocked him out. Dominick Reyes knocked him out. His chin was deteriorating in real time.

Then came UFC 261.

Weidman threw a leg kick against Uriah Hall—and his leg snapped exactly the way Silva’s had years earlier. Tibia. Fibula. Broken 17 seconds into the fight. The footage made fans physically sick.

Weidman has reportedly undergone more than 30 surgeries. He finished his UFC run 8–8 in his last 16 fights, with seven losses by knockout or TKO. When he retired in 2025, his body was held together by metal and scar tissue.

Thankfully, his mind appears intact. That’s why he’s not higher.

Level Five: Brain Damage Becomes Visible

This is where things get scary.

Chuck Liddell helped build the UFC into a mainstream sport. The Iceman knocked people out with his hands low and chin high. He was fearless—and unstoppable for a time.

But that style came at a cost.

After turning 37, the knockouts started coming fast. Rampage Jackson. Rashad Evans. Shogun Rua. Rich Franklin. Dana White forced him to retire due to concerning brain scans.

But Liddell came back in 2018 at age 48 and was knocked out by Tito Ortiz. It was heartbreaking.

Since then, things have gotten worse. Arrests. Alcohol incidents. Public videos showing slurred speech and confusion. His ex-wife has alleged memory loss, paranoia, and violent behavior. Liddell himself has admitted he struggles to remember things.

The man who helped save the UFC is now one of its clearest CTE cautionary tales.

Level Six: Losing Reality

This level isn’t just about damage—it’s about mental collapse.

BJ Penn was once called “The Prodigy” for good reason. He was a two-division UFC champion and one of the most gifted fighters ever.

Then the losses piled up. Retirement announcements came and went. A seven-fight losing streak followed. The UFC released him in 2019.

But that was just the beginning.

Since then, Penn has been arrested multiple times, including DUI and domestic abuse allegations. His own mother filed a restraining order against him, citing psychological abuse. On social media, Penn has claimed family members were murdered and replaced by imposters—a classic sign of severe mental illness.

Fans and experts fear advanced CTE. His situation is one of the darkest in MMA history.

Level Seven: Rock Bottom

There is no level eight.

Tony Ferguson is the bottom.

At his peak, El Cucuy was unstoppable. A 12-fight win streak. Interim lightweight champion. A style so violent and unpredictable it terrified an entire division. The cursed Khabib fight loomed over everything.

Then an ACL tear. Then Justin Gaethje. Then everything fell apart.

Eight straight losses. Brutal knockouts. Submissions. A front-kick KO by Michael Chandler that left him unconscious and motionless on the canvas. It was haunting.

Outside the cage, things were just as bad. Ferguson suffered a psychotic episode in 2019. Paranoia. Delusions. Restraining orders. Alcohol abuse. Coaches ignored. Warnings dismissed.

He absorbed over four strikes per minute across his career. That damage added up.

Released in 2025, Ferguson went from boogeyman to cautionary tale. From terrorizing champions to showing the sport’s ugliest truth.