5 Best Fights The Dragon Ball Franchise Where Goku Lost

Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball follows unimaginably powerful characters who can easily destroy planets if they want. The series is known for its intense fights and overpowered villains who always give the heroes a run for their money. As the protagonist of the story, not only is Goku exceptionally talented in martial arts, but he also keeps getting more powerful at an exponential rate throughout the story. He reached new heights of power after unlocking his Super Saiyan form, and since then, he has honed his abilities to an almost god-like level. His feats in Dragon Ball Super are the result of his unwavering dedication and his love for battles.

However, although Goku enjoys fighting more than anything, that doesn’t mean he is going to win against every opponent he faces. There have been several times in the story when he lost to his opponent, but he keeps getting back up stronger than ever.

5) Goku Wasn’t Strong Enough to Defeat Cell

As someone obsessed with fighting powerful opponents, Goku surprisingly raised his hands against Cell, who had achieved his perfect form. Although Goku and Cell clashed before the Cell Games, the fight didn’t end in the protagonist’s favor. Even after training relentlessly in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Goku didn’t manage to surpass the villain. Knowing he’s not powerful enough to defeat Cell, Goku declared his son should fight the villain, considering Gohan was already much stronger than both of them.

4) Majin Vegeta Got The Upper Hand Against Goku

Vegeta has always considered Goku his rival and strived to surpass him. His obsession with becoming stronger than Goku became extremely dangerous in Buu Saga when he allowed Babidi to turn him into a Majin and gained a major power boost. The fight between Majin Vegeta and Goku was longer than expected as the Saiyans went toe to toe against one another. All this time, Vegeta was in the dark about Goku’s Super Saiyan 3 form, which the latter could’ve used if it didn’t drain his stamina. Although Vegeta won due to an underhanded trick, it was still Goku’s defeat.

3) Beerus Didn’t Even Use His Full Power Against Goku

Beerus travelled through the entire universe just to look for a Super Saiyan God he saw in his prophetic dream, and eventually found Goku. Thanks to Shenron and his fellow Saiyans, Goku unlocked the Super Saiyan God form and accepted Beerus’ challenge. However, despite reaching the level of a literal god, he was no match against the Universe 7’s God of Destruction. While Goku went all out to protect his planet, Beerus won almost too easily.

2) Zamasu Forced Goku to Flee

Goku and Vegeta traveled to Future Trunks’ timeline when humanity was on the brink of destruction because of Zamasu. The future version of the villain used Super Dragon Balls to ask for immortality, and the current version swapped bodies with Goku. Thanks to his new powers, Zamasu almost succeeded in world domination, and not even Goku was able to stop him. During his first encounter with the villain, he had no choice but to run back to his timeline. In his second attempt, Goku sought the help of Master Zeno to erase the entire timeline just to stop the villain’s rampage.

1) Goku Didn’t Win The Tournament of Power

The Tournament of Power introduced several powerful characters across multiple universes, but no one gave Goku nearly as much trouble as Jiren. In order to save his universe, he pushed past his limits even after unlocking his Ultra Instinct form. During the final stretch of the battle royale, Goku, Frieza, and Android 17 teamed up against Jiren. While Universe 7 tasted the ultimate victory, the last one standing wasn’t Goku but Android 17.

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