The UFC

is what it is today because of the exciting style of fights that mixed martial arts brings to fight fans. About half of UFC fights are finished before going the distance, but the other half are decided by what three judges sitting cageside think. These decisions have caused plenty of drama and outrage from fighters and fans throughout the years, but it’s a nuance accepted in the fight business.

Let’s take a look at four UFC fighters who have a lot of experience losing decisions based on what those judges believe happened during the fight.

4

Jim Miller

12 Total Decision Losses In His UFC Career

Jim Miller can easily be considered an “Iron Man” type athlete in mixed martial arts. At 41 years old, he has competed in the UFC octagon 45 times and is still doing well against the highest level of talent, in arguably the most impressive division. This career has turned out to be great for him and his family, making lots of money and providing him with a great life when he decides to retire.

When Miller looks back on his career, he will remember the hard work and consistency it took to get there and to achieve all he has in the sport. Even with 27 wins and great memories, he still suffered heartbreaking defeat 12 different times by the decision not going his way. The three judges decided he didn’t do enough to win, along with keeping him from earning half of his paycheck 12 times.

His first UFC loss after signing with the company alongside his brother, Dan, was a decision. Then, his seven-fight winning streak from 2009 to 2011 was ended by another unanimous decision. Miller lost three fights in 2017; two via unanimous decision and one by majority decision. These are all close, heartbreaking losses in a time when he was still in his prime.

The amount of decision losses for Miller doesn’t portray him as a loser, because he is one of the biggest winners in UFC history. These losses show how longevity can lead to ups and downs in a mixed martial artist’s career, and how he overcame all these losses to provide himself a great, fruitful career.

3

Jeremy Stephens

12 Total Decision Losses In His UFC Career

Jeremy Stephens is a fighting man through and through. Coming from a rough childhood, he found mixed martial arts after excelling at wrestling as a teenager. By age 16, Stephens was competing and then started training full-time at 18 years old.

Now, at 38 years old, Stephens is experiencing a slight career resurgence since being let go by the UFC in 2021. He has competed in Bare Knuckle Boxing and even has a potential bare knuckle fight with Conor McGregor in his future. He is making his return to the UFC to fight in his hometown, Des Moines, on May 2, 2025.

His skills might not be improving at this stage of his career, but Stephens has loads of experience in the cage, and that can carry him to some good wins in the future. Anybody with 18 losses in the best fight promotion, but still has opportunities, is a legendary fighter in their own right.

The judges decided his fate in the octagon 12 different times, including three split-decisions. This is heartbreaking for any fighter, but it takes a special kind of athlete to continue doing this brutal sport after all the bumps in the road.

2

Clay Guida

10 Decision Losses In His UFC Career

Anybody who steps into the octagon 40 total times in their life belongs in the UFC Hall of Fame. Guida is already in the Hall of Fame for a legendary fight against Diego Sanchez, but will he be named to the fighter wing as well? The only thing holding him back is the number of losses he took, including 10 by decision.

The quirky, hippy-like wrestler was a fan favorite for the two decades he competed in mixed martial arts. After being released by the UFC in January 2025, there is no doubt he will continue to compete for another organization.

His love for “The Big Lebowski” and all the philosophy from that film has surely helped him navigate the hard times as a UFC fighter, especially after coming up short on the judges’ scorecards on 10 different occasions.

Even with his fighting style, which can be considered “boring” by many new fans of the UFC today, and his UFC record for most losses in the organization (19), Guida is still a fan-favorite and a legend in his own right.

1

Rafael Dos Anjos

10 Decision Losses In His UFC Career

Rafael dos Anjos is a future UFC Hall of Fame inductee with one of the most impressive resumes in mixed martial arts history. He has the most fight time in UFC history, while also being the first fighter to ever reach 8 hours of total time in the octagon.

The number of decision losses can be traced back to two things: Dos Anjos’ incredible toughness and the number of world-class fighters he has shared the octagon with. Looking back at his resume, Dos Anjos has fought almost 20 different men who are respected as some of the greatest to do it in the last 15 years. Even in his forties, he is still considered one of the best in the world.

He is the only one from this short list to achieve the pinnacle of the sport. Dos Anjos was the UFC lightweight world champion after beating Anthony Pettis by decision in 2015. He defended that belt once with a TKO win over Donald Cerrone, and then lost it to the great Eddie Alvarez in his next title defense attempt.

The common denominator of these four that made the list is longevity. Longevity in mixed martial arts can look ugly, but these four have handled it with grace and continued to fight at the top of the game for many years, even after unfortunately taking many decision losses at the hands of the judges.