By Bloody Elbow,Jamie Theodosi

Copyright yardbarker

Ankalaev labels his lone UFC loss the worst in history

Before losing to Ankalaev, ‘Poatan’ was widely regarded as the biggest star in combat sports after running through anyone put in his way.

And despite having lost his title, the Brazilian could become the first fighter in modern history to become a three-time UFC champion in two different weight classes, joining Randy Couture.

Ankalaev on the other hand has only lost one fight throughout his 23 fight MMA career, and that came back in 2018 in his UFC debut.

After his impressive run on the regional scene, ‘Big Ank’ was offered his first UFC fight against Paul Craig. And after dominating the Scottish fighter for the majority of the fight, he was shockingly submitted with just one second left on the clock.

Reflecting on his lone loss ahead of his first title defense, Ankalaev has claimed that it could be the worst loss in UFC history because of the fact that he self admittedly ‘gave up’.

“I used to be worried about losing and what people say about me,” Ankalaev said in an interview with the UFC.

“That doesn’t happen anymore. You can say that I had the worst loss in the UFC, I gave up in literally the final moments of a fight, people were saying good and bad things.

“The way I see it – I don’t do something to benefit someone else, I do it for myself, my close ones, those who believe in me… That loss changed my life. It was hard for me at first, I didn’t come out in public for a month.

“I thought I wouldn’t fight anymore, then within that month, I realized that it wasn’t because of me. I did everything I could, it was the will of the Almighty,” he continued.