Whether or not it was due to their expertise, intimidation or the worry they put into the competitors, there have been UFC fighters that made even the very best need to duck them earlier than they met within the cage in any respect prices.
Whereas these potential opponents would by no means outright say they have been afraid of throwing down with their opposition, subsequent bout rejections or accepting fights in opposition to different people left followers and pundits scratching their heads in confusion. Even at present, a number of the high athletes within the group have been accused of steering away from stern or rightful challengers, with a few of these duckers residing within the higher most echelon of the game.
These are the highest 4 greatest duckers in UFC historical past
High 4 Duckers: No. 4. Tito Ortiz
Beginning off the highest 4 duckers countdown at No. 4, within the early days of the promotion, Tito Ortiz was seen by many because the UFC’s greatest star. Becoming a member of the now international chief in blended martial arts in 1997, “The Huntington Seaside Dangerous Boy” swiftly rose to prominence because the face of the corporate. He additionally grew right into a supremely formidable identify within the gentle heavyweight division, capturing the championship and defending it 5 occasions earlier than changing into one of the crucial notable duckers within the promotion.
It was additionally throughout this era in historical past when one other phenom started to carve out his personal place within the sport, a person who would go on to grow to be one of many biggest fighters of all time: Chuck Liddell. Making his manner into the UFC across the similar time as Ortiz, “The Iceman” turned an enormous fan-favorite for his litany of stupendous stoppages, together with knockout wins over Kevin Randleman, Man Mezger and Alistair Overeem.
Ortiz Earns Place Amongst Duckers by Avoiding Chuck Liddell
For a time, the 2 205-lb titans dominated the load class collectively, with a contest between seemingly out of the query, as each males have been initially mates that skilled collectively. Nonetheless, the extra Ortiz retained his belt and Liddell stored driving by means of the competitors, a crash course between them appeared inevitable. Although the then incumbent appeared very reluctant to face Liddell, with him citing that they weren’t actually getting paid nicely sufficient to battle each other and that they made a pact to by no means battle one another, a pact that Liddell was fast to shoot down.
Finally, Ortiz would lose his strap to Randy Couture, setting the stage for a climatic showdown between the previous coaching companions at UFC 47. Returning to the group after a quick Dana White-sponsored run in Pleasure FC, Liddell was desirous to resume his warpath towards gold and had no qualms with bopping his well beyond his fellow California native. Decimating the previous titleholder in simply over two rounds, “The Iceman” flattened Ortiz with a sensational knockout.
Chuck Liddell Overcomes Duckers’ Standing with Successful Streak
Dropping out on contending for his former throne reverse a person he appeared to duck, Ortiz went on to amass a five-fight successful streak to rid himself of the duckers label, propelling him right into a rematch with Liddell, who now held his championship, at UFC 66. Lasting yet one more spherical than their first tilt, “The Huntington Seaside Dangerous Boy” was as soon as once more starched by the heavy-handed champion, with the end changing into arguably probably the most iconic of Liddell’s profession.
High 4 Duckers: No. 3. Michael Bisping
Though he’s recognized at present as a beloved colour commentator for the UFC, the No. 3 entrant in our high 4 duckers countdown, Michael Bisping was at one level one of many pound-for-pound greatest fighters on the planet Stepping in on 17 days discover to battle then middleweight apex Luke Rockhold at UFC 199, the venerable European entered the PPV fundamental occasion as a large underdog, with some sports activities books holding Rockhold as a -600 favourite. Taking advantage of his first title shot, Bisping shocked the world by knocking out the AKA standout within the first three minutes of the battle to grow to be the primary English UFC champion.
“The Depend” Joins the Duckers by Preventing Dan Henderson in Title Protection
Now the newly-minted king of the 185-lb division, “The Depend” had no scarcity of fantastic contenders to lock horns with in his first title protection. At the moment, Yoel Romero was tearing up the load class with improbable end after improbable end. Additionally, a younger Robert Whittaker was making a reputation for himself by taking out stellar names in Brad Tavares and Uriah Corridor, which is why it got here as an absolute mind scrambler when it was introduced that Bisping can be placing his strap up for grabs reverse quantity 13-ranked Dan Henderson at UFC 204.
For a majority of the fanbase, this appeared like a extremely missed alternative for the precise high opponents within the weight class, however trying on the pairing from a enterprise angle, it did make some modicum of sense. Greater than seven years prior, Henderson had stopped Bisping in presumably probably the most grotesque knockout of the 2000s, placing the Cyprus native’s lights out with an enormous proper hand earlier than delivering a thunderous with a second strike that severed Bisping’s consciousness fully.
Bisping Retains Duckers Popularity Even With Victory Over Henderson
Whereas the champion would defend his title with a hard-fought unanimous resolution, Bisping nonetheless confronted some extreme backlash over allegations of ducking the clear threats to his reign to as a substitute face a 46-year outdated Henderson.
The allegations intensified even additional when the aforementioned Whittaker secured the interim championship, just for the Englishman to tackle a returning Georges St-Pierre at UFC 217. Bisping would lose his place on the head of the pack by third-round submission, retiring a mere three weeks later following a short-notice defeat to Kelvin Gastelum at UFC Battle Night time 122.
High 4 Duckers: No. 2. Germaine de Randamie
After a 46-fight stint in kickboxing, Germaine de Randamie took her skills into the realm of blended martial arts, gaining entrance into the UFC after a splendid run in Strikeforce, which noticed her declare victories over Stephanie Webbe and Hiroko Yamanaka. Whereas a setback to Amanda Nunes stifled her momentum within the group for a bit, “The Iron Woman” then strung collectively two wins back-to-back, which included one in opposition to future PFL queen Larissa Pacheco. This put the Dutchwoman on a collision course with the equally credentialed Holly Holm at UFC 208 for the inaugural girls’s featherweight belt.
Though she did handle to barely eke out a unanimous resolution over “The Preacher’s Daughter,” the bout attracted a big diploma of controversy after de Randamie struck Holm twice after the round-ending horn was blown, with the European being deducted zero factors.
de Randamie Joins Duckers, Bypasses Cyborg
However, the kickboxing steamroller had realized the grandest prize in all of fight sports activities and already had her first challenger all lined up for her in feminine blended martial arts legend Cris Cyborg. Garnering a status as debatably the scariest lady on the earth, the Brazilian knockout artist had put collectively a mind-boggling 18-bout successful streak, laying waste to notable combatants like Shayna Baszler, Gina Carano and Lina Länsberg, netting an ideal 2-0 document within the UFC by the point de Randamie received the belt.
At that cut-off date, Cyborg was the apparent subsequent contender to vie for the featherweight championship, however the brand new queen of the division didn’t appear on board with the thought of preventing the South American, resulting in hypothesis that she was ducking her.
de Randamie Cool With Dropping Belt, Regardless of Duckers’ Standing
Talking with MMAJunkie again in 2017, de Randamie’s supervisor, Brian Butler, revealed that the Dutchwoman would not be taking up the touted finisher due to the Brazilian’s previous points with performance-enhancing medication. Even though she had her place among the many duckers confirmed, it was additionally acknowledged that de Randamie was okay with the promotion stripping her of her championship as a result of she wouldn’t defend her throne in opposition to Cyborg.
This finally proved to be the case, because the European was relinquished of her belt a mere 4 months after claiming it. In flip, the now vacant gold was then put up for grabs at UFC 214, with Cyborg recording a third-round stoppage over late substitute Tonya Evinger.
Whereas de Randamie continued to be a outstanding determine within the firm till her latest retirement a few years in the past, the truth that she didn’t give Cyborg the prospect to contend for the championship in opposition to her put a damning blemish on her picture within the sport. Even to today, followers will typically cite her ducking of the Brazilian as probably the most defining second in her profession, and never the truth that she was as soon as the very best of the very best on the earth at 145-lb.
High 4 Duckers: No. 1. Jon Jones
Extensively recognized at present because the consensus biggest fighter of all time, Jon Jones has amassed innumerable accolades throughout his journey as an iconic UFC champion. Incomes the sunshine heavyweight strap two occasions, the New York native would accrue 11 complete title defenses earlier than transferring as much as heavyweight to take that division’s belt. Logging yet one more protection over revered 265-lb phenom Stipe Miocic, Jones would retire from blended martial arts earlier this summer time.
In the case of document and accomplishments, “Bones” is clearly in a category all his personal, however this hasn’t prevented the Jackson Wink product from encountering his personal diploma of scrutiny within the later portion of his UFC stint. Over the previous 5 years, the earlier kingpin of the 205-lb class had been criticized for apparently changing into one of many duckers when it relates to a couple notable challengers, the first being the presumably hardest check of his complete journey as a blended martial artist, Dominick Reyes, whom Jones barely defeated at UFC 247 by unanimous resolution.
Jon Jones Solidifies Standing as One of many Duckers Twice Over
Nearly instantly, given the character of the competition, “The Devastator” started calling for a runback, with even the group allegedly being on board for a second battle later that yr. As a substitute, although, Jones selected to vacate his throne for a chronic transfer as much as heavyweight, a transfer that will take as much as three years to finish. This didn’t cease the fanbase and different fighters from calling him out for seemingly operating from the person who bested him in many individuals’s eyes.
One other contender that Jones was believed to have ducked was Polish sensation Jan Blachowicz. After dusting Corey Anderson at UFC Battle Night time 167, the KSW standout was swift to name out the American for a future championship bout, one which Jones seemed to be thinking about.
The scrap wouldn’t occur, although, as Jones relinquished his strap to take his skills as much as 265-lb, main Blachowicz to conclude that the previous gentle heavyweight ruler ran from him. The Pole would go on to attain the vacant championship with a shocking second-round knockout over Reyes at UFC 253.
The ducking allegations appeared to have traveled with Jones into his tour as much as heavyweight, as his unwillingness to face Tom Aspinall drew widespread perception that “Bones” was terrified to unify the belts in opposition to the Englishman.
Jones Retires as One of many Duckers in June of 2025
This perception that Jones was actively avoiding Aspinall grew with much more fervor after Jones all of the sudden retired from preventing, permitting Aspinall to grow to be the undisputed king of the division. Followers will even recall how the 38-year outdated determined to defend his championship reverse Miocic in a compulsory “legacy battle” as a substitute of taking up Aspinall first, regardless that the Brit had already claimed interim gold and was the clear subsequent man in line.
