30 Sports Legends Who Suffered Stunning Defeats

Darren - June 15, 2021

30 Sports Legends Who Suffered Stunning Defeats

Darren - June 15, 2021

8. Jose Aldo (2015)

Aldo established himself as the best featherweight fighter on the planet, becoming a WEC and then-UFC champion for eight years. Nobody was able to put him in serious trouble. The likes of Chad Mendes and Frankie Edgar challenged him but were unable to take his crown. But along came an Irish upstart by the name of Conor McGregor. His rise was unprecedented and he swiftly obtained a title shot.

The build-up to this fight was grueling. The two men went on a world tour to promote the fight and Aldo suffered mental fatigue as a result. However, McGregor reveled in it and used it as a weapon against his opponent. When the fight finally arrived, Aldo waded forward with guns blazing. The Notorious caught him with a counter left and knocked him unconscious in 14 seconds. It was an iconic moment.

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7. Patrick Ewing (1985)

Georgetown was all-conquering in 1984. A year later, they were back. Ewing was the team’s superstar and all basketball fans knew that he was a special player. Later, his NBA career reflected this. He is one of the New York Knicks’ greatest-ever athletes. However, in ’85, Ewing suffered one of the first major setbacks of his basketball life. To be fair, it set him up well for his long Knicks tenure.

The school had the chance to win back-to-back championships. Only lowly Villanova stood in their way. Villanova lost ten games throughout the season. Because of this, nobody gave them much of a chance. Unfortunately, for Ewing and Georgetown, their opponents were up for this game. This was one of the most stunning victories in college basketball history.

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6. Cristiano Ronaldo (2004)

Greece was never a soccer powerhouse. However, the Mediterranean nation achieved one of the most stunning results in the sport’s history. Euro 2004 went down in Portugal. The host nation lost to Greece in the opening game but progressed to the final anyway. They had an incredibly rare opportunity to win the trophy in their own country. Meanwhile, they had a chance to get revenge against the unfancied Greeks.

The Greeks were massive outsiders before the tournament but obviously, nobody told them this. Portugal had the likes of Figo, Deco, and Ronaldo in their team. But this star power wasn’t enough to defeat the Greeks. Nobody knew half of the players in the Greek squad but they held firm, In the end, they ground out a 1-0 victory. Furthermore, they inflicted the most painful of defeats on Ronaldo and his team.

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5. Ronnie O’Sullivan (2019)

Most people accept O’Sullivan is the greatest snooker player of all time. The UK star is a six-time world champion. Meanwhile, he also has seven Masters titles to his name. Infamously volatile, O’Sullivan is always box office material. However, even the best suffer defeats and O’Sullivan is no exception. He lost in shocking circumstances against an unknown amateur.

The likes of golf and snooker are fascinating because brilliant individuals occasionally materialize. In this case, James Cahill came out of the woodwork and inflicted a crushing defeat on O’Sullivan. Nobody expected him to stand a chance against the world number one. Meanwhile, Cahill also defeated another world champion in Mark Selby. Sometimes it’s impossible to predict what will happen.

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4. Conor McGregor (2016)

McGregor was on course to become the UFC’s first simultaneous two-weight world champion. After he won the featherweight title, he moved up a division to face Rafael dos Anjos. However, McGregor agreed to face Nate Diaz on short notice when lightweight champ dos Anjos suffered a foot injury. He didn’t want his traveling Irish fans to come all the way to Las Vegas for nothing. But things didn’t go the way he expected.

The fight was at welterweight because Diaz didn’t have time to make the 155 lb. limit. McGregor pieced Diaz up for one-and-a-half rounds. But then he ran out of gas and Diaz clipped him. The Irishman shot for a takedown in desperation but Diaz ended up choking him out. Before this, McGregor seemed invincible. This was one of the most shocking defeats in UFC history because of the circumstances and drama.

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3. Mike Tyson (1990)

Tyson was the most feared fighter on the planet in 1990. The heavyweight champion of the world held three titles and built up a record of 37-0. All of his opponents knew that they were likely to leave the ring unconscious. But then along came Buster Douglas to upset the apple cart. Tyson agreed to fight Douglas in Tokyodome, Japan. It was essentially a tuneup fight for a proposed bout against Evander Holyfield.

Nobody gave Douglas a chance. Tyson’s corner team didn’t even bring ice because they were so convinced of their fighter’s superiority. However, Douglas produced a stunning upset. He used his jab efficiently and effectively to shut Tyson’s eye. Then he went to work and got the finish in the tenth round. Later, it emerged that Tyson partied all night in Tokyo. But it was still one of the most shocking defeats in the history of boxing.

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2. Ronda Rousey (2015)

Rousey was unstoppable until she ran into Holly Holm. The bantamweight champion’s exploits convinced UFC President Dana White to open up women’s divisions. She went on a tear and crushed her opponents with her judo skills. Furthermore, she became a genuine superstar in the process. But it all came to an end one night in Melbourne, Australia, when ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ took her title away.

Holm executed the perfect game plan against Rousey. She used footwork to evade Rousey’s takedown attempts and outboxed her on the feet. But Rousey continued to strike with Holm. This proved fatal because Holm lit her up and finally knocked her out in the second round. Everybody expected Rousey to add Holm to her list of scalps. In the end, she lost her crown in brutal circumstances.

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1. Dan Marino (1999)

Marino led the Miami Dolphins for the entirety of his NFL career. One of the best quarterbacks of his generation, he unfortunately never won a Super Bowl. This is a bit of a travesty because he was definitely worthy of a ring. However, the players around him weren’t always of a high enough standard to make Miami competitive. His final appearance came in 1999 when he suffered one of the worst defeats of his career.

Miami played the Jacksonville Jaguars in a playoff game. Everybody knew that this was Marino’s final season. But they thought that his team might contend for a final time. In the end, that’s not what happened. The Dolphins were more like goldfish as the hungry Jaguars destroyed them. Jacksonville won 62-7 after totally destroying their opponents. It was a shame for Marino as he played terribly as well.

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