Pretty much nobody knew who Houston Alexander was coming into UFC 71. Keith Jardine had just be*ten the crap out of Forrest Griffin at UFC 66 and was the 5-1 favorite going into this f!ght. Alexander had never fo*ght on the big stage, and at this point in the game was only training part-time, working as a DJ to pay the bills. But once the f!ght got started, it only took him 48 seconds to pound Jardine down, cramming him with a gig*ntic upp*rcut that sent his mouthpiece flying.
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou / Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Pride 33
It's funny to think that an undefeated f!ghter could be the underdog, but Rashad Evans wasn't expected to do much against veteran Chuck Liddell at UFC 88. Even though Chuck had a decade on Rashad, the general consensus was that their f!ght at UFC 88 was going to see the Iceman put Evans's chin to the test.
The first round seemed to carry those predictions forward - Liddell was obviously in control of the f!ght, l*nding solid blows despite Evans' superior mobility. But in the middle of the second, the tides changed almost instantly. Chuck went for an upp*rcut and Rashad snuck in with a thudd!ng right, kn*cking the Iceman to the mat and winning the match with one th*nder!ng p*nch.
Liddell actually considered retirement after this match, but came back in 2009 for a loss to Mauricio Rua and a loss to Rich Franklin before hanging up the gloves.
Fabricio Werdum / Fedor Emelianenko, Strikeforce
If there was one f!ghter in the word who was truly thought to be unbeatable, it was Fedor Emelianenko. After going a decade without a single loss (minus a h*tly cont*sted f!ght where he was spl!t open with an ill*gal elb*w str!ke), the Russian sambo master was widely considered the best in the world. Headlining a 2010 Strikeforce show, he faced Fabricio Werdum - an excellent Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner who nobody thought could go t*e-to-t*e with Fedor.
He didn't have to. After being r*cked by a few hard p*nches early on, Werdum went to the mat. Fedor followed him there, making the mistake that led to his first loss in ten years as the superior BJJ of Werdum c*ught him in an armbar and a triangle choke barely a minute into the match. The audience was flabbergasted as Fedor could do nothing but t*p.
Matt Serra / Georges St. Pierre, UFC 69
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