Nineteen upsets took place among the major MMA organizations in December, one greater than in November despite there being significantly fewer fights. Topping the list is a victory for Masanori Kanehara at the New Year’s Eve Dynamite show in Japan over the -475 favorite Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto. Following in second place is Cung Le who was stunningly knocked out as the -453 favorite by Scott Smith in the third round of their Strikeforce Evolution tilt. Other big names making the list were the disqualified Jon Jones, Marcus Jones, and Sokoudjou who were all heavy favorites heading into their December bouts.
Favorites won just 55% of major MMA bouts in December, resulting in the lengthy list of underdog victories below. Six of the upsets took place in the UFC, five in the WEC, one in Strikeforce, and seven in the Dynamite show in Japan. 11 of the upsets were via decision, five came by KO or TKO, two were delivered by submission, and one unusual upset ended via disqualification.
| Rank | Odds | Loser Name | Odds | Winner Name | Result | Fight Date | Event Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | -475 | Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto | +325 | Masanori Kanehara | Decision | 12/31 | Dynamite 2009 |
| 2 | -453 | Cung Le | +318 | Scott Smith | Round 3 KO/TKO | 12/19 | Strikeforce Evolution |
| 3 | -368 | Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou | +283 | Ikuhisa Minowa | Round 3 KO/TKO | 12/31 | Dynamite 2009 |
| 4 | -363 | Justin Wren | +283 | Jon Madsen | Decision | 12/5 | TUF 10 Finale |
| 5 | -340 | Satoshi Ishii | +265 | Hidehiko Yoshida | Decision | 12/31 | Dynamite 2009 |
| 6 | -301 | Marcus Jones | +260 | Matt Mitrione | Round 2 KO/TKO | 12/5 | TUF 10 Finale |
| 7 | -285 | Jon Jones | +240 | Matt Hamill | Opponent DQ’d | 12/5 | TUF 10 Finale |
| 8 | -250 | Edgar Garcia | +200 | DaMarques Johnson | Round 1 Submission | 12/12 | UFC 107 |
| 9 | -243 | John Hosman | +193 | Chad George | Decision | 12/19 | WEC 45 |
| 10 | -243 | Muhsin Corbbrey | +193 | Zach Micklewright | Decision | 12/19 | WEC 45 |
| 11 | -225 | Anthony Pettis | +183 | Bart Palaszewski | Decision | 12/19 | WEC 45 |
| 12 | -201 | Houston Alexander | +172 | Kevin Ferguson | Decision | 12/5 | TUF 10 Finale |
| 13 | -195 | Jameel Massouh | +160 | Erik Koch | Decision | 12/19 | WEC 45 |
| 14 | -178 | Takeya Mizugaki | +145 | Scott Jorgensen | Decision | 12/19 | WEC 45 |
| 15 | -170 | Hayato Sakurai | +140 | Akihiro Gono | Round 2 Submission | 12/31 | Dynamite 2009 |
| 16 | -160 | Kazuo Misaki | +130 | Melvin Manhoef | Round 1 KO/TKO | 12/31 | Dynamite 2009 |
| 17 | -148 | Katsuyori Shibata | +118 | Hiroshi Izumi | Decision | 12/31 | Dynamite 2009 |
| 18 | -128 | Hiroyuki Takaya | -103 | Michihiro Omigawa | Round 1 KO/TKO | 12/31 | Dynamite 2009 |
| 19 | -125 | Rodney Wallace | -105 | Brian Stann | Decision | 12/5 | TUF 10 Finale |
[...] upset rankings for recent months: – Top 50 Upsets For 2009 – December 2009 – November 2009 – October [...]