10 Emotional UFC Moments That Made The Fans Cry
9. Gustafsson Gets KO'd In His Hometown
Emerging as a white-hot MMA prospect in 2011 and 2012, Alexander Gustafsson gave Jon Jones real trouble in their Light Heavyweight Championship fight at UFC 165. He lost, but few fighters have ever given the transcendent 'Bones' such trouble, and Gus got back on track a few months later, knocking an overmatched Jimi Manuwa out at at a Fight Night event in London.
This earned him a title eliminator against the fearsome Anthony 'Rumble' Johnson in Gustafsson's native Stockholm. A win would've provoked pandemonium among the Swedes, but sadly, it wasn't to be.
Johnson is one of the hardest-hitting strikers the sport has ever seen, and he sent Gus to the shadow realm in just 2:15. A huge win for him, but for the defeated 'Mauler,' it was absolutely crushing. For the first time in his career, Gustafsson had been stopped by strikes. That it happened in front of his own people made it even worse, but the real emotional hit came later, when a behind-the-scenes photograph of a devastated Gustafsson being consoled by his girlfriend appeared on the UFC's Thrill and the Agony web series.