One Piece’s Monkey D. Luffy fought several enemies. Yes, he triumphed many times, but at other times, he suffered humiliating defeats.

One Piece is a thrilling action/adventure shonen anime packed with explosive fight scenes fans will never forget. Starting in the East Blue saga, protagonist Monkey D. Luffy met and fought an astonishing variety of foes, from local pirate captains to Warlords of the Sea. Eventually, he was tangling with the mighty Emperors, too. The whole time, Luffy learned and grew as a fighter and as a pirate captain, but it was never easy.

Luffy scored some incredible victories against his strongest foes throughout One Piece against all odds, but another question still stands: How many times has Luffy lost? He may be One Piece‘s hero, but he’s not invincible, and he has learned some hard lessons from his humiliating defeats. Luffy’s combat record may be mixed but he will always prevail and bring justice to every island he visits. And one day, the world will rejoice when Luffy inevitably becomes the Pirate King.

Updated on April 29, 2024, by Ajay Aravind: How many warlords did Luffy defeat in One Piece, and how many Emperors? Although the young Straw Hat has come a long way since his start in East Blue, his combat record has quite a few losses. Thankfully, Luffy doesn’t allow failure to stop him from trying again — and he almost always wins in the end. As such, we’ve updated this list with some more relevant information.

Luffy’s Triumphant Victories Show His Resilience

Luffy Defeated Arlong While Simultaneously Destroying His Entire Operation

Arc
Episode No.
Episode Name

Arlong Park
43
“The End of the Fish-Man Empire! Nami is My Friend!”

Monkey D. Luffy’s final fight in the East Blue saga pitted him against his first-ever Fish-Man opponent — the scheming Arlong, a former member of the Sun Pirates. He was absolutely determined to help Nami reclaim Coco Village’s freedom from Arlong’s tyrannical grasp. As a result, Luffy marched right into battle when Nami tearfully said “Help me.”

The fight was a rough one for Luffy, since he didn’t yet have Gears or Color of Arms Haki while Arlong had the benefit of his superhuman strength and plenty of water to work with. Still, Luffy prevailed in the end, and symbolically destroyed Nami’s cartography room in Arlong’s headquarters during that battle. Further, Luffy decided to destroy the Arlong Pirates’ base of operations with a magnificent Gomu Gomu no Battleaxe, ending their reign of terror for good.

Despite Failing Twice Before, Luffy Managed To Crush Crocodile

Arc
Episode No.
Episode Name

Arabasta
126
“I Will Surpass You! Rain Falls on Arabasta!”

Luffy’s first two fights against Sir Crocodile both ended in bitter defeat, but only moments after his second loss, Luffy was already back in shape for round three. Luffy chased after Crocodile in the war-torn capital Alubarna, and confronted his warlord nemesis in the underground chambers. As King Nefeltari Cobra watched, Luffy began the final fight for Alabasta’s fate.

This time, Luffy fully respected his opponents’ power and knew his weaknesses better than ever, which helped even the odds. Crocodile took a beating, and not even his poisoned hook could help him defeat the stubborn upstart Luffy. The Warlord is tossed around like a rag-doll, unconscious and completely helpless, until he finally crashes to the ground. With Crocodile’s final defeat, a relieved Luffy happily said “it was nothing” to set Cobra’s heart at ease.

CP9’s Rob Lucci Was No Match For Luffy’s Perseverance

Arc
Episode No.
Episode Name

Enies Lobby
309
“Feelings Put Into Fists! Luffy’s Full-Power Gatling”

In hindsight, Rob Lucci might not rank that high among the list of enemies Luffy defeated, but Luffy’s victory over Lucci was still a thrilling and meaningful one in the Water 7 saga. Luffy’s kuudere friend Nico Robin had been taken away, and Luffy’s crew arrived at Enies Lobby to get her back at any cost. At this point in the story, the Straw Hat captain had already learned how to use Gears 2 and 3, although not without severe repercussions on his body.

In any case, Luffy’s fights against CP9 broke new ground in One Piece, since he was finally using Gear 2 and Gear 3 in combat. After taking down Blueno, Luffy battled it out with the leopard-like Rob Lucci, using his Gears to give himself the edge against such a powerful Zoan-type fruit. Although the fight wasn’t easy, a combination of perseverance and Jet Gatling ensured Luffy’s victory over Rob Lucci.

Donquixote Doflamingo Remained Arrogant Until The Moment Of His Defeat

Arc
Episode No.
Episode Name

Dressrosa
733
“Attack on a Celestial – Luffy’s King Kong Gun of Anger”

Luffy had already heard all kinds of terrible things about Donquixote Doflamingo the warlord in the New World, but he didn’t get a chance to fight that tyrant until the climax of the Dressrosa saga. Doflamingo was seemingly unstoppable with his String-String Fruit and not even Law could handle him. However, Luffy intervened, finally using the power of Gear 4 to fight his greatest enemy yet.

It was a thrilling sight to see, especially since Doflamingo had already Awakened his Devil Fruit. Luffy ultimately combined Haki with his rubbery powers to create something new in Gear 4, and in the end, he prevailed. Doflamingo’s everpresent glasses shattered, marking his utter defeat. However, Luffy knew that this was just a warmup compared to taking on even greater foes in the future, such as Big Mom and Kaido.