UFC Plots: Fighters Who Made a Grand Entrance But A Small Show

In the case of the UFC, the first whistle has to build in terms of hype. Grand entrances, high expectancy, and a wave of anticipation can set the stage for a memorable fight night. But it doesn’t always all go their way; not for everyone. In fact, some grand-entrance fighters end up disappointing fans and analysts time and time again with their underwhelming performances. This text talks about those UFC fighters who introduced themselves to everyone so greatly into the promotion, only to fail in delivery on fight night.

1. From WWE Superstar to UFC Reality: CM Punk

The most awaited UFC debut had to be that of CM Punk, a celebrated superstar from the WWE during its heyday, who took a rather unorthodox decision to switch from pro wrestling to mixed martial arts. His real name was Phil Brooks, one of the biggest superstars at the time in professional wrestling with that known charisma, in-ring ability, and skills on the mike. His signing with the UFC, of course, in 2014 sure did raise a couple of eyebrows from the wrestling and MMA harlots alike.

So, basically everyone was more hyped at the time for Punk’s UFC debut. Everyone wanted to know how he would perform in his first fight with no competitive fighting experience. He took a serious dedication to training nearly for two years at one of the most famous MMA trainers, Duke Roufus, at Roufusport gym.

Finally, in 2016, Punk made his long-awaited UFC debut at UFC 203 against relative newcomer Mickey Gall. After months of buildup and excitement over seeing the professional wrestling legend in an actual fight, he was literally run over by Gall, who took him down, took control, and finished a rear-naked choke submission in the first round.

His second fight, against Mike Jackson at UFC 225 in 2018, too ended in a one-sided defeat. Jackson outclassed Punk—also comfortably—for three full rounds en route to a unanimous decision victory. This ended the UFC career of those great exits with a 0-2 record, proving that the way in MMA from professional wrestling really isn’t going to be that easy.

2. James Toney: Boxing Legend Meets the Octagon

James Toney is a legendary boxer, a former world champion in several weight classes, and quite famously known for his defensive slickness and large power in counterpunching. When he officially announced that he would now be trying his skills out in mixed martial arts and fighting in the UFC, many in the combat community considered him controversial. That year, Toney signed with the UFC, with the hopes of showing the world that the sweet science he possessed in boxing had its place in the gritty art of mixed martial arts.

The UFC hyped Toney’s debut as a mixed martial artist, putting him in a fight against UFC Hall of Famer and the former two-division champion Randy Couture during UFC 118. The much-expected showdown was hyped as “Boxing vs. Wrestling” since many were keen on it to see how far Toney would run around the ring with the Mixed Martial Arts great.

Unfortunately for Toney, the fight was a one-sided affair. After just around 15 seconds, Couture took Toney to the ground and on top, clearly somewhere outside the realm of the boxing champion. Couture dominated Toney on the ground, eventually locking up an arm-triangle choke for the first-round submission. The fight went on for a little over three minutes and clearly showed the differences between boxing and MMA.

Despite Toney’s great entrance and all the hype there was around his UFC debut, the latter part of his UFC career lasted as long as one single fight, in which he painfully lost to an MMA legend.

3. Kimbo Slice: Street Fighting Sensation Meets the UFC

The streetfighting phenomenon, Kimbo Slice—aka Kevin Ferguson—found worldwide fame from video footage of his backyard brawls, with his inexorable power and downright sinister presence in each clip turning him into an internet pop star that paved his way to a pro MMA career. Slice’s road to the UFC started with EliteXC, the stage where he surged to become one of the hottest names in that promotion.

After this, Slice would go on to take part in a reality show called “The Ultimate Fighter” season 10, in which the winner won a contract to fight in the UFC. Although Slice did not manage to win the show, his popularity and marketing potential eventually helped to earn him a deal with the UFC.

Slice officially debuted in the UFC in 2009 at The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights Finale against Houston Alexander. However, this debut did not actually amount to much for him. The fight was savagely promoted and built up as a slugfest between heavy hitters, but it actually was more of a snorefest, with two conservative and castigating fatigued fighters. Slice prevailed by unanimous decision, but the fight was far from the explosive debut that fans had hoped for.
Slice’s next UFC encounter was against Matt Mitrione in UFC 113, wherein he lost by TKO and, arguably, ended his UFC career. Generalizing or summarizing his case, one can say that boasts and fanfare cannot sustain one’s career with UFC, since despite his large following and a grand entrance that ensured he got noticed by everyone, Slice was able to engage in a grand total of only two fights in the UFC.

4. Hector Lombard: The Judo Phenom’s Underwhelming UFC Run

Hector Lombard was one of the most feared middleweights in the world before signing with the UFC. A former Olympic judoka and the reigning Bellator Middleweight Champion, Lombard brings his 31-2-1 (1 NC) record with him to the UFC. His finishing power, in the form of knockouts, and judo skills certainly made him one of the most highly anticipated signings in UFC history.

The first time Lombard stepped into the Octagon was at UFC 149 in 2012 against Tim Boetsch. The fight had a lot of anticipation behind it, but he was just disappointed; Lombard looked hesitant and couldn’t seem to pull the trigger, and he lost this fight by split decision.

While in the UFC, Lombard did have somewhat of a successful career, with impressive finishes of men like Nate Marquardt and Rousimar Palhares. He has proven not to be the one he was broken into the sport to be but rather inconsistent, actually losing to top contenders like Yushin Okami, Neil Magny, and Dan Henderson.

Lombard’s UFC run was all glamor through the front door, showcasing all the promise back then, yet it ultimately failed. It would seem his career serves as one to show how success in a promotion doesn’t follow to the UFC.

5. Todd Duffee: The Return of the Heavyweight Prospect

The arrival of Todd Duffee onto the UFC scene, back in 2009, offered possibly his most significant win to date: crushing Tim Hague in just seven seconds, at the time marking yet another UFC heavyweight division record. Duffee was immediately christened heavyweight’s future megastar, emboldened in his appliances by any real definition of the term.

However, due to setbacks in career, foremost among them injuries and personal inconveniences, he always made comebacks into the sport. Duffee returned to the octagon in 2012 with his re-entry to the UFC fight in a much-anticipated and consequently anti-climactic fight against Phil De Fries at UFC 155.

Whereas all the talks of excitement and anticipation before his return were one thing, Duffee’s return was ruled by further knee injuries and inconsistent results during his subsequent run with the UFC. So much promise at the beginning of Duffee’s career never really panned out into the championship success that most called for. Yet his huge entrance to the UFC and, subsequently, his return were both highly anticipated, leaving so much more to be desired.

6.Cro Cop: Selling a Legend but in Name Only

Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipović is one of the most legendary figures in MMA, due to his elephant-like left leg and international popularity with the Japanese promotion PRIDE Fighting Championships. One thing he never had to deal with, as far as hoards of cheering fans, on introductions while headlining pay-per-views in the heavyweight division of the UFC, came in 2007 when Cro Cop sauntered into the hell-bound rhinoceros populated and talented heavyweight division amidst much hoopla.

But that was pretty much the way it went with Cro Cop in the UFC. After a win in the debut fight against Eddie Sanchez, Cro Cop was moving on to fight Gabriel Gonzaga in UFC 70. It was supposed to be a showcase match for the Croatian striker. Instead, Gonzaga knockout Cro Cop with a head kick in one of those sequence-of-events moments that stand as maybe the most iconic MMA upset ever.

The troubled days continued into the UFC, where he had little resemblance to his former PRIDE self. Although heralded as a hero, entering the promotion in quite a grand fashion, the whole Cro Cop run with the UFC was very disappointing, showing losses against Junior dos Santos and Frank Mir, among others.
Although he would find some success in his return to Japan, Cro Cop’s UFC career remains a reminder that even the most feared fighters can struggle in a new environment.

7. Sage Northcutt: The Teen Phenomen

Slick-haired, fresh-faced Sage Northcutt embarked on his UFC journey late in 2015 as the teenage phenom. A name built on the basis of athleticism, flashy striking, and clean-cut image, the buzz that surrounded Northcutt—by a few months away from even being able to drink—was pegged as being pegged for something special in his mixed martial arts future. The UFC had all intentions to push—up until that debut came, anyway, ahead of his showcase spot on the heavily promoted debut at UFC 192. And Northcutt delivered in his first fight, winning by TK.
But as Northcutt stepped up the competition level, it was easy to learn he still had much to learn.

A set of losses, starting with Bryan Barberena and then Mickey Gall, exposed a lot of holes in his ground game and overall fight IQ. Despite all the potential in the world and stylized hype coming into the UFC, Northcutt’s career was defined by fits of inconsistency.

After a couple of years in the UFC, Northcutt signed with ONE Championship, where he would be brutally knocked out in his promotional debut. But he’s still luminescent against the dark of the Octagon, and Father Time himself marches eagerly into the Octagon ahead. Northcutt’s run in the UFC was a clear lesson on the hazards of over-hyping young talent who had failed to be completely developed.

8. Roger Huerta: The Magazine Cover Star’s Fall from Grace

Roger Huerta was one of the high-profile UFC lightweight fighters. By matchmaking antics based on his good looks and exciting style, he was made a megastar and ranked among one of the faces of the lightweight division of the UFC. CNN listed him among the world’s most visible mixed martial artists.

Huerta blazed into the UFC, pulling off his first six UFC wins in a row, including a tremendous comeback win over Clay Guida at The Ultimate Fighter 6 Finale. But after bursting onto the scene and becoming a fan favorite, his career went downhill. He lost a close decision to Kenny Florian at UFC 87 before taking a layoff to seek opportunities as an actor and in other takes.

People on his side: Huerta returned to the UFC without an impressive return to the form he had shown prior, losing to Gray Maynard at UFC Fight Night 19. He would be one who did, of course, go on to leave the UFC and go on with his career in other promotions but who would never hit the heights expected of him again. Huerta is more a reminder that early success and hype do not equal stardom in the long term.

9. Goran Reljic: The Croatian Sens

Goran Reljic was another one of those fighters who burst into the UFC with a great showing and then flamed out and fizzled. The Croatian fighter made his debut in the UFC in 2008 and promptly knocked out Wilson Gouveia in highly impressive fashion as at that time, he showcased a great striking power and potential. Reljic was immediately hailed as a future contender in the light heavyweight division.

However, injuries derailed Reljic’s career, and he temporarily took an extended break from the sport. His return to the UFC in 201201Det852 clublosecKB,A] however, found him unable to regain his previous form, and he bagged three back-to-back losses against C.B. Dollaway, Kendall Grove, and Krzysztof Soszynski. His UFC career, therefore, did anything but flourish, and he ended up parting ways with the promotion in 2011.

Reljic tells a story similar to injuries and unbeaten time that spoiled the most aspiring fighters’ promising careers. Although his grand entrance had been at the UFC, he could never live up to the initial expectations one had after witnessing that fight.

10. Kron Gracie: The Jiu-Jitsu

The highly anticipated UFC debut of Kron Gracie, son of the great Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend Rickson Gracie, came in 2019 with a lot of family history on his shoulders. He had already made a name for himself under the banner of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and was expected to live up to those standards in MMA. Gracie made his UFC debut at UFC Fight Night 144 with success, submitting Alex Caceres in the first round, showcasing his world-class grappling. Now with his win, further the hype built around Gracie from people who believed he could real steamroll the division. For his second UFC affair, Gracie was matched against Cub Swanson, a grizzled veteran well known for his stand-up game.

To the surprise of many from his jiu-jitsu pedigree, Gracie largely fought with Swanson on the feet, coming out on the wrong end of a unanimous decision. The fight served to expose Gracie’s literal liabilities to two of the sport’s spectrums of classes, the defending arts in wrestling and the raiding arts in boxing. While Gracie stays a talented and potential-full fighter, his career in UFC has so far failed to live up to the massive expectations that came from his debut. That loss against Swanson, however, humbled him, and it’s really left to be seen if he’ll be able to effectively move from there and back into the win column.

Conclusion
It is an unpredictable sport and, for that matter, even the most hyped fighters can later fall short in the UFC. The fighters of this article, fueled by this anticipation and excitement, made a grand entrance into the promotion, only to later turn in an incredibly underwhelming performance for the fans and analysts, a feature that was somehow disappointing. Both their stories give one the possibility of realizing that all is not guaranteed in the UFC and success in the Octagon will ask of much more than just hype and potential. Be it injuries, personal overcomings, or just the fact that they were not good enough—these fighters’ careers show the trials of competing at the highest level of the sport. While their time in the UFC may not have lived up to the initial hype, their journeys provide valuable lessons about the realities of life in the world’s premier MMA organization.