2009 was another breakthrough year for Mixed Martial Arts, and one of the aspects of the sport that continues to intrigue and draw in new fans is that any fighter has a chance to win on any given night, no matter how big a star or a favorite he or she is facing. Over the course of this past year there were a number of stunning upsets that re-shaped divisional standings, crowned new champions, and helped new stars emerge. Tapology has compiled a list of the biggest upsets of the year across all of the major MMA organizations including the UFC, WEC, Strikeforce, Sengoku, and Dream. The top 50 upsets, as defined by oddsmaker’s betting lines, are ranked below in the full entry.
The upsets are ranked according to oddsmaker betting lines for fights as of the start of the bout. The heavier the betting favorite that went down with a loss, the bigger the upset. The rankings are not based on the opinions of the Tapology staff.
23 of the top 50 upsets came by way of a judge’s decision. 18 were either a KO or TKO, and only 7 were submissions. For good measure, two upsets were decided by way of opponent disqualification: Matt Hamill defeating Jon Jones at the Ultimate Fighter season 10 finale, and Akihiko Mouri defeating Maximo Blanco at Sengoku 8.
24 of the upsets were in the UFC organization, 8 from Dream (including the Dynamite 2009 New Year’s show), 7 were in the WEC, and 7 more were in Sengoku. Rounding out the bottom were 3 upsets from Strikeforce and a single major upset on Affliction’s January 2009 card, the last card of the promotion’s existence.
Did we miss any major upsets? Let us know and enjoy the rankings.
50 through 41
| Rank | Odds | Loser Name | Odds | Winner Name | Result | Fight Date | Event Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | -250 | Edgar Garcia | +200 | DaMarques Johnson | Round 1 Submission | 12/12 | UFC 107 |
| 49 | -255 | Aaron Riley | +210 | Shane Nelson | Round 1 KO/TKO | 3/7 | UFC 96 |
| 48 | -256 | Anthony Njokuani | +216 | Benson Henderson | Round 2 Submission | 1/25 | WEC 38 |
| 47 | -260 | Antonio Duarte | +200 | Albert Rios | Decision | 1/24 | Affliction 2 |
| 46 | -265 | Rafaello Oliveira | +231 | Nik Lentz | Decision | 9/19 | UFC 103 |
| 45 | -265 | Gleison Tibau | +220 | Melvin Guillard | Decision | 6/20 | Ultimate Fighter Finale 9 |
| 44 | -271 | Denis Kang | +226 | Alan Belcher | Round 2 Submission | 1/17 | UFC 93 |
| 43 | -276 | Yushin Okami | +228 | Chael Sonnen | Decision | 10/24 | UFC 104 |
| 42 | -285 | Jon Jones | +240 | Matt Hamill | Opponent DQ’d | 12/5 | TUF Season 10 Finale |
| 41 | -288 | Sergei Kharitonov | +225 | Jeff Monson | Round 1 Submission | 4/5 | Dream.8 |
40 through 31
| Rank | Odds | Loser Name | Odds | Winner Name | Result | Fight Date | Event Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | -290 | Mike Swick | +223 | Dan Hardy | Decision | 11/14 | UFC 105 |
| 39 | -295 | C.B. Dollaway | +235 | Tom Lawlor | Round 1 Submission | 7/11 | UFC 100 |
| 38 | -298 | Bart Palaszewski | +250 | Ricardo Lamas | Decision | 3/1 | WEC 39 |
| 37 | -301 | Marcus Jones | +260 | Matt Mitrione | Round 2 KO/TKO | 12/5 | TUF Season 10 Finale |
| 36 | -301 | Hiromitsu Miura | +271 | Edgar Garcia | Round 1 KO/TKO | 1/25 | WEC 38 |
| 35 | -305 | Sean Sherk | +275 | Frankie Edgar | Decision | 5/23 | UFC 98 |
| 34 | -308 | Chris Wilson | +263 | John Howard | Decision | 1/31 | UFC 94 |
| 33 | -308 | Matthew Riddle | +248 | Nick Osipczak | Round 3 KO/TKO | 11/14 | UFC 105 |
| 32 | -310 | Steve Cantwell | +255 | Brian Stann | Decision | 9/16 | UFC Fight Night 19 |
| 31 | -320 | Joseph Benavidez | +250 | Dominick Cruz | Decision | 8/9 | WEC 42 |
30 through 21
| Rank | Odds | Loser Name | Odds | Winner Name | Result | Fight Date | Event Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | -328 | Pat Barry | +273 | Tim Hague | Round 1 Submission | 5/23 | UFC 98 |
| 29 | -328 | Hidehiko Yoshida | +278 | Sanae Kikuta | Decision | 1/4 | Sengoku No Ran 2009 |
| 28 | -335 | DaMarques Johnson | +261 | James Wilks | Round 1 KO/TKO | 6/20 | Ultimate Fighter Finale 9 |
| 27 | -340 | Satoshi Ishii | +265 | Hidehiko Yoshida | Decision | 12/31 | Fields Dynamite 2009 |
| 26 | -345 | Thales Leites | +295 | Alessio Sakara | Decision | 8/8 | UFC 101 |
| 25 | -355 | Donald Cerrone | +278 | Benson Henderson | Decision | 10/10 | WEC 43 |
| 24 | -363 | Justin Wren | +283 | Jon Madsen | Decision | 12/5 | TUF Season 10 Finale |
| 23 | -368 | Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou | +283 | Ikuhisa Minowa | Round 3 KO/TKO | 12/31 | Fields Dynamite 2009 |
| 22 | -370 | Maximo Blanco | +290 | Akihiko Mouri | Opponent DQ’d | 5/2 | Sengoku 8th Battle |
| 21 | -380 | Stephan Bonnar | +302 | Mark Coleman | Decision | 7/11 | UFC 100 |
20 through 11
| Rank | Odds | Loser Name | Odds | Winner Name | Result | Fight Date | Event Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | -384 | Miguel Torres | +278 | Brian Bowles | Round 1 KO/TKO | 8/9 | WEC 42 |
| 19 | -386 | Phillipe Nover | +326 | Kyle Bradley | Round 1 KO/TKO | 5/23 | UFC 98 |
| 18 | -386 | Dave Herman | +356 | Mu Bae Choi | Round 2 KO/TKO | 1/4 | Sengoku No Ran 2009 |
| 17 | -408 | Martin Kampmann | +293 | Paul Daley | Round 1 KO/TKO | 9/19 | UFC 103 |
| 16 | -415 | Andre Galvao | +285 | Jason High | Decision | 7/20 | Dream.10 |
| 15 | -415 | Rafael Cavalcante | +320 | Mike Kyle | Round 2 KO/TKO | 6/6 | Strikeforce |
| 14 | -450 | Satoru Kitaoka | +325 | Mizuto Hirota | Round 4 KO/TKO | 8/2 | Sengoku 9th Battle |
| 13 | -453 | Cung Le | +318 | Scott Smith | Round 3 KO/TKO | 12/19 | Strikeforce |
| 12 | -463 | L.C. Davis | +323 | Michihiro Omigawa | Decision | 3/20 | Sengoku 7th Battle |
| 11 | -475 | Andrei Arlovski | +300 | Brett Rogers | Round 1 KO/TKO | 6/6 | Strikeforce |
The Top 10
| Rank | Odds | Loser Name | Odds | Winner Name | Result | Fight Date | Event Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | -475 | Norifumi Yamamoto | +325 | Masanori Kanehara | Decision | 12/31 | Fields Dynamite 2009 |
| 9 | -475 | Akihiro Gono | +325 | Dan Hornbuckle | Round 2 KO/TKO | 8/2 | Sengoku 9th Battle |
| 8 | -476 | Josh Koscheck | +388 | Paulo Thiago | Round 1 KO/TKO | 2/21 | UFC 95 |
| 7 | -478 | Ikuhisa Minowa | +358 | Katsuyori Shibata | Decision | 4/5 | Dream.8 |
| 6 | -500 | Brock Larson | +423 | Mike Pierce | Decision | 9/19 | UFC Fight Night 19 |
| 5 | -550 | Norifumi Yamamoto | +400 | Joe Warren | Decision | 5/26 | Dream.9 |
| 4 | -563 | Brock Larson | +388 | Brian Foster | Round 2 KO/TKO | 11/21 | UFC 106 |
| 3 | -568 | Hayato Sakurai | +428 | Marius Zaromskis | Round 1 KO/TKO | 7/20 | Dream.10 |
| 2 | -600 | Hatsu Hioki | +425 | Michihiro Omigawa | Decision | 11/7 | Sengoku 11th Battle |
| 1 | -715 | Wagnney Fabiano | +465 | Mackens Semerzier | Round 1 Submission | 10/10 | WEC 43 |
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