Goku is known for being an incredibly powerful warrior who always ends up saving the Dragon Ball universe. However, despite all the villains he brings to justice, Goku actually loses a lot more fights than most people probably realize. More than just being a super-strong martial artist, Goku is someone who never gives up no matter what obstacles he faces.
He certainly encounters his fair share of insurmountable threats in Dragon Ball and DBZ. Due to the incredible powers of the villains Goku fights, it's actually very rare for Goku to defeat a major Dragon Ball villain the first time he fights them. Instead, Goku usually has to lose at least once or twice before he finally comes back stronger than ever and wins.
10 Goku Could Only Destroy Mercenary Tao's Outfit
Red Ribbon Army Saga (Dragon Ball)
Mercenary Tao was one of the more interesting villains in the history of the Dragon Ball franchise. He was a reoccurring threat that Goku and his friends faced multiple times throughout the series, and he had a close connection to one of Dragon Ball's main heroes, Tien. While not as strong as Tien, Tao was also a merciless threat in his own right, showing time and time again why he was the most powerful mercenary in the world.
Tao would often pull off the most ridiculous feats of power, from killing General Blue with his tongue, to whipping Goku with his braided hair in their first meeting. When the two first met in battle, Goku fired every attack in his arsenal at Tao, to no avail. The only real damage Goku did with his Kamehameha Wave was to Tao's clothes; a result that didn't sit well with Tao. Considering Tao had such incredible strength, it was a wonder Goku even survived one of Tao's headbutts, let alone his infamous Dodon Ray.
9 Goku Only Survived His First Fight With Piccolo Thanks to a Miracle
Piccolo Saga (Dragon Ball)
Goku's first battle with King Piccolo was a monumental moment for Dragon Ball in a number of ways. For one, it displayed the overwhelming power of Dragon Ball's first truly great villain. Additionally, it was the first time that Goku essentially "died" in the series before his first actual death in DBZ against Raditz.
After losing to King Piccolo, Goku lied on the ground, completely lifeless, and Piccolo even checked his pulse to make sure his heart had stopped beating. Miraculously, Goku somehow came back to life, though the exact mechanism behind this revival is never revealed. Nevertheless, it showed Goku's superhuman resilience that was only later tied to his saiyan heritage.
8 The Fight Against Android 19 Proved Even Goku Can Have Health Concerns
Android Saga (DBZ)
Goku's loss against Android 19 may very well have been the most human moment for Goku in the entire Dragon Ball franchise. While Goku has lost to other enemies before, it's almost always due to the fact that he is either outsmarted or simply outmatched in terms of raw power. Against Android 19, however, Goku found himself fighting a threat he never encountered before: health problems.
Specifically, Goku was inflicted by the Heart Disease which Future Trunks warned him about, and it was just as debilitating as was promised. Goku did eventually recover thanks to the medicine Future Trunks gave him, but not before being rendered completely unable to fight against the Androids. Lucky for him and the rest of the Earth, Vegeta had recently become a Super Saiyan himself.
7 Jackie Chun Taught His Students a Valuable Lesson
21st Tenkaichi Budokai Saga (Dragon Ball)
Dragon Ball is often credited with popularizing the tournament arc in shonen manga, and that's largely thanks to incredible fight scenes like Goku vs Jackie Chun. As fans were aware of at the time, JackieChun was none other than the Turtle Hermit, Master Roshi, who dressed up in a disguise to fight Goku and Krillin during the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai.
Goku and Krillin far surpassed their master's expectations, both in their training leading up to the tournament, and in their performances during the matches. In fact, Goku would have easily become the champion of the world had Roshi not stepped up to remind him that there's always somebody stronger out there. This fight also displayed one of the first major feats of incredible strength in the Dragon Ball franchise: Master Roshi blowing up the moon.
6 Goku's Loss to Raditz Was a Win For Humanity
Saiyan Saga (DBZ)
Goku's iconic fight against Raditz was a win for the planet Earth, but a loss for Goku. In fact, the only possible way for humanity to live through Raditz's invasion was for Goku to die. Not only did Goku lose by being killed in the fight, but, by dying at Piccolo's hand, he finally gave the Demon King the victory he has always sought since their first meeting when Goku was still a boy.
Ironically, Goku's decision to deliberately lose the fight ended up being the greatest victory he could have had. Not only did he save the world by bringing Raditz down with him, but Goku also earned the trust of Piccolo as well. If that never happened, Gohan wouldn't have begun training to become a powerful fighter under Piccolo, meaning that Cell would have likely destroyed the entire planet in the future. In more ways than one, Goku's failure against Raditz became a success in the long run.
5 Goku Lost the Battle Against Kid Buu but Won the War
Kid Buu Saga (DBZ)
Majin Buu was never an opponent that Goku expected to beat. With the limited period Goku had to fight Buu in his Super Saiyan 3 form, he was always bound to lose in the end. While his initial fight against Majin Buu ended in something of a draw, Goku's fight against Kid Buu ended much worse.
Goku attempted to defeat Kid Buu in his SSJ3 form which gave him an equal fight, but he was unable to hold the form for long enough to deal the final blow. In the face of the existential threat that was Buu, Vegeta was finally forced to acknowledge that Goku was the Universe's only chance of survival, risking his life to hold back Buu to give Goku time to recover. If it weren't Vegeta, Good Buu, and Hercule's combined efforts in helping Goku gather energy for his Genkai Dama, the entire Universe would have been destroyed, all for Kid Buu's amusement.
4 Majin Vegeta Betrayed Goku's Trust
Babidi Saga (DBZ)
While any fight between Goku and Vegeta is bound to be a classic, Goku's fight with Majin Vegeta is especially beloved by fans. Part of that is due to the choreography and animation of the fight itself, but a big part of it is also the context of the battle. Vegeta's Majin form was the final release of all Vegeta's villainous energy that culminated in his infamous Final Explosion against Majin Buu. The fight between Goku and Majin Vegeta was evenly matched.
However, the fact Goku never used his most powerful form, SSJ3, says a lot about Goku's sportsmanship, even in the face of a threat to the entire Earth like Buu. He has always been one to want to fight in the fairest conditions possible, and Goku's greatest weakness has always his willingness to always see the best in others. Unfortunately, that insistence on seeing the best in even his greatest enemies was what led Goku to be knocked out by Vegeta when his back was turned.
3 Goku May Have Lost to Tien, But The Turtle School Won in the End
Tien Shinhan Saga (Dragon Ball)
There's a good reason why Dragon Ball's tournament arcs were so influential, and Goku’s fight against Tien during the 24th Tenkaichi Budokai is the perfect example of why. As a practitioner of the Crane School of martial arts, Tien's style of fighting was particularly merciless, leaving Yamcha utterly broken after their fight in the semi-finals. This made Goku’s final match with Tien more personal, because it was not only a fight between the Turtle and Crane Schools of martial arts anymore, but a fight for his friend's honor.
Ultimately, Goku's incredible skill gained Tien's respect during their fight, a factor which helped in Tien's personal redemption arc. Tien saw that true strength wasn't all about being a brutal and heartless fighter; a person can fight fair while still being the strongest. Even though Goku lost the match against Tien, it was only on a technicality. After Goku headbutted Tien with the last of his strength, the two collapsed at the same time, but Goku happened to get hit by a passing car, causing him to technically touch out of bounds first.
2 Vegeta Beat Goku, But he Couldn't Beat Goku's Friends
Saiyan Saga
Few anime fights are as iconic as Goku's first fight against Vegeta in DBZ. The slow build-up of Vegeta's introduction in the series made him a terrifying enemy long before he even showed up on Earth. That drama was only further increased by Goku's usage of the Kaioken technique, which gave him a substantial boost of power at the cost of being extremely taxing on the body. Unfortunately, Vegeta's raw power forced Goku to utilize the Kaioken to its utter limits, putting Goku's ability to fight at full power on a timer.
Even though the most exciting part of the fight was between Goku and Vegeta, Goku was never actually in it entirely alone. Goku ended up losing the individual battle to Vegeta, but what truly made Goku different from the villains was his kind-hearted nature, which attracted an entire group of allies willing to fight by his side. It was that group that won in the end, giving Vegeta a shot to the pride that he never truly recovered from.
1 Goku Never Planned to Defeat Cell in the First Place
Cell Games Saga (DBZ)
Goku's fight against Cell during the Cell Games is widely considered to be one of the best fights in DBZ. In terms of both fight choreography and animation, it’s top tier, and Goku's performance is easily his best at that point in the series. Goku truly was a master martial artist who had even taken to training his son in the way of the fist. At every stage of the battle, even when Cell proved superior in strength at times, Goku was always the more clever warrior with a higher combat IQ than the Android.
In the end, Goku lost the match by forfeiting; a decision which both shocked and horrified his friends. Goku was supposed to be the Earth's greatest chance at defeating Cell, so the fact that Goku gave up seemed like a death wish. Of course, Goku knew he was never the Earth's greatest hope to begin with; it was always Gohan. Goku's choice to concede defeat and place the fate of the Earth in Gohan's hands ended up being the right decision, even if it seemed utterly unthinkable to everyone watching at the time. If there's one thing Goku had learned from all his other prior losses, it's that sometimes, the hero has to lose so that justice can win out in the end.
