# Most hyped up fighters that turned out to be flops



## Rauno (Nov 20, 2009)

I was watching an ancient UFC DVD last night where Houston Alexander annihilated Keith Jardine within a minute and then did the same to Sakara. The way they daltked about him was like he was going to become a champion. What fighters can you think of that everyone had high hopes for but failed miserably at the end? 

Although not a UFC fighter, Sokoudjou deserves a mention as well.


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## PheelGoodInc (Jul 23, 2009)

Overeem and Crocop instantly come to mind.

A lot of title contenders were pretty well hyped only to later flop. Hardy, Stevenson, Trigg, ect.

Oh yeah, Brandon Vera. How the hell did I forget him?


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## John8204 (May 13, 2010)

Josh Grispi

One Hall of Famer that was mostly hype, Ken Shamrock never won a tournament, lost to all the top guys and his biggest "victory" is a draw against Royce Gracie.


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## Swp (Jan 2, 2010)

Crocop was at his end of carrer anyway


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## Liddellianenko (Oct 8, 2006)

Akiyama. Was going to be a top MW contender supposedly, hyped as one of the biggest imports ever from Japan. Takes a robbery split against Belcher, loses next 4 straight, and only just won his first legit UFC fight yesterday after 6 fights.


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## Sportsman 2.0 (Jul 10, 2012)




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## LL (Mar 12, 2011)

Erick is definitely up there, Fitch put a beating on him.

Tyson Griffin was a huge flop, I don't know how hyped up he was as far as future champ talks go but he was definitely someone I thought was gonna go far back in 09.


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## Canadian Psycho (Apr 22, 2007)

Phillipe "The Next Anderson Silva" Nover


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## Joabbuac (Jan 31, 2009)

I remember Luiz Cane building up quite a bit of hype before he came crashing down.


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## SexyHobo (Jan 7, 2012)

Brandon Vera was gonna hold belts in two weight classes.



Rauno said:


> Although not a UFC fighter, Sokoudjou deserves a mention as well.


His time in the UFC was so shitty you forgot about it.


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## Life B Ez (Jan 23, 2010)

SexyHobo said:


> Brandon Vera was gonna hold belts in two weight classes.


To be fair no one but Brandon Vera was saying that.

Erik Silva is the guy that comes to mind. As well as Kid Yamamoto, but you could replace him with pretty much any asian fighter.

Also not ufc but Aoki is another guy as well.


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## Joabbuac (Jan 31, 2009)

Yea... you could name quite a few asian fighters Gomi and Hioki instantly come to my mind.


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## Sportsman 2.0 (Jul 10, 2012)

Conor McGregor. You read here first.


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## anderton46 (Apr 23, 2010)

A little cruel/early perhaps but Todd Duffee? All it took was the baby hammer fist of doom to shatter the image of him being a beast.


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## edlavis88 (Jul 12, 2009)

Certainly from a UK point of view Paul sass comes to mind. People were talking about him like he could be the first UK UFC champion when he beat Volkmann... Didn't really work out for him.


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## anderton46 (Apr 23, 2010)

edlavis88 said:


> Certainly from a UK point of view Paul sass comes to mind. People were talking about him like he could be the first UK UFC champion when he beat Volkmann... Didn't really work out for him.



That Matt Wiman loss was brutal. I was there, and I don't think anyone expected him to lose via a submission. As soon as that happened though I think people realised if he can get beat at his own game then people who can keep it on the feet could smash him :/

I still love watching him fight though,I love how aggressive he is on the ground


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## Pillowhands (Mar 10, 2012)

anderton46 said:


> A little cruel/early perhaps but Todd Duffee? All it took was the baby hammer fist of doom to shatter the image of him being a beast.


The new breed of HW.....I remember that one.

Here is the baby hammer fist....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBXSQ33LL7Q


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## SideWays222 (Sep 9, 2008)

Kid Yamamoto deserves a mention. At one time people thought he would wreck everyone in the lighter weight divisions. But sadly after he got injured he never was the same fighter again. His ferocity is completely gone.

I remember when people would say that Yamamoto would outclass Urijah Faber.


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## Killz (Oct 5, 2009)

That black guy from TUF who Lost to Kelvin Gastilum in the finale who's name totally escapes me right now.

People were going on like he would beat Silva at the time.


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## Spite (Jul 7, 2009)

Killz said:


> That black guy from TUF who Lost to Kelvin Gastilum in the finale who's name totally escapes me right now.
> 
> People were going on like he would beat Silva at the time.


His name is Uraih Hall. He could still go on to be a great fighter, they way he won his last fight with a broken toe was pretty sick... did you see Dana's Blog where they put it back in place... ouch.


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## canecorso (Jul 10, 2012)

Chris Weidman. Everyone talked about how he was gonna be the champ and come and defeat Anderson Silva, and all that. then...


oh wait.


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## prospect (Mar 26, 2014)

I might say machinada because when he won the lhw championship we expected him to dominate the division But... 
Still you can't call him a flop. 

I'd put gray Maynard in there. Nate marquardt. 

I'm probably gonna put Gus here next year when both Jones and cormier beat him


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## BrianRClover (Jan 4, 2008)

Well this may shock some to read from me but I'm a fan not a fool... a large amount of people believed, myself more than most, Erick Silva would have at least challenged for the title by now if not carried it.

But since the kid insist on fighting like he's in a living highlight reel and has the worst adrenaline dumps I've ever seen in an athlete... he instead, is... well... where he is.

I'll always cheer for him, but a champion, pretty sure that's not happening by now.


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## prospect (Mar 26, 2014)

Killz said:


> That black guy from TUF who Lost to Kelvin Gastilum in the finale who's name totally escapes me right now.
> 
> People were going on like he would beat Silva at the time.


He's a ******* beast


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## Liddellianenko (Oct 8, 2006)

Spite said:


> His name is Uraih Hall. He could still go on to be a great fighter, they way he won his last fight with a broken toe was pretty sick... did you see Dana's Blog where they put it back in place... ouch.


Yeah actually Hall had a slow start in the UFC, mostly because he was being less aggressive that he was earlier in his career, but he's on the upswing again and putting it back together ... I agree, he still has great potential and isn't quite a flop.


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## kc1983 (May 27, 2007)

In no particular order...
Sexyama
Mirko
Erick Silva
Uriah hall
Reem
Diego Brandao




Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


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## Voiceless (Nov 8, 2010)

PheelGoodInc said:


> *Overeem* and Crocop instantly come to mind.
> 
> A lot of title contenders were pretty well hyped only to later flop. Hardy, Stevenson, Trigg, ect.
> 
> Oh yeah, Brandon Vera. How the hell did I forget him?


To be fair, Overeem was completely dominating the fights against Browne and Silva until he brainfarted. Rothwell was actually the first opponent where the fight was competitive until Overeem got dropped.


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## John8204 (May 13, 2010)

Ivan Salaverry - 3-4 in the UFC but is still brought up all the time due to his body triangle on Tony Frykland.

Jeremy Horn - 6-7 in the UFC fought for the title twice and could conceivably end up in the Hall of Fame for what he did outside the UFC.

Tra Telligman - 1 UFC win but fought Tim Sylvia, Vitor Belfort, and Pedro Rizzo twice


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## King Daisuke (Mar 25, 2013)

Uriah Hall doesn't belong in this thread in my opinion. Yes, he was overhyped, but it's not like he was exposed as a bad fighter in the two losses. He always was a beast, he just needed to get his killer instinct going.


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## edlavis88 (Jul 12, 2009)

Not UFC but Brett Rogers is definitely worth a mention. At one point he was 10-0 and tipped to beat Fedor. Fast forward a few years and he is 15-9 I think and career is all but over.


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## AJClark (Sep 19, 2010)

Just skimmed the thread and I'm pretty shocked that Drew McFedries and Houston Alexander haven't been mentioned. Their names are pretty much synonymous with threads like this, much like Robert 'The Saint' Emerson is with p4p GOAT threads.


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## Dr Gonzo (May 27, 2010)

AJClark said:


> Just skimmed the thread and I'm pretty shocked that Drew McFedries and Houston Alexander haven't been mentioned. Their names are pretty much synonymous with threads like this, much like Robert 'The Saint' Emerson is with p4p GOAT threads.


Houston Alexander was mentioned in the OP. One that hasn't been mentioned yet is George Sotiropoulos.


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## RangerClydeTheBlue (Jul 11, 2012)

UFC Undisputed 3 Contenders Pack

Nick Diaz - 1-2 (Semi Retired)
Brian Stann - 6-5 (Retired)
Mayhem Miller - 0-2 (Retired)
Phil Davis - 8-2-1 (Active)


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## usernamewoman (Sep 24, 2007)

Chael "PED" Sonnen


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## Soojooko (Jun 4, 2009)

When considering hype to flop ratio, it has to be Brock Lesnar. Sure, he had some success. But the hype was of godzilla proportions.


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## Canadian Psycho (Apr 22, 2007)

usernamewoman said:


> Chael "PED" Sonnen


The man handed Anderson Silva his first unofficial UFC loss. The entire PED story was just something Silva fans concocted to deal with their grief. There were no PEDs involved whatsoever. 



Soojooko said:


> When considering hype to flop ratio, it has to be Brock Lesnar. Sure, he had some success. But the hype was of godzilla proportions.


You consider winning the UFC Heavyweight title "some" success? 

Please invite me over to your castle sometime so that I may marvel at your Picassos and stock portfolio, because clearly you're a man of immense accomplishment.


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## PheelGoodInc (Jul 23, 2009)

Soojooko said:


> When considering hype to flop ratio, it has to be Brock Lesnar. Sure, he had some success. But the hype was of godzilla proportions.


This times a million.

I remember in the countdown to UFC 100, Rogan was saying something like "Anyone who wants to stand with that beast is in for a death sentence."

Ha!

Nevermind. Found it. It was Dana being Dana.

Scroll to 3:40


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## Soojooko (Jun 4, 2009)

Canadian Psycho said:


> You consider winning the UFC Heavyweight title "some" success?
> 
> Please invite me over to your castle sometime so that I may marvel at your Picassos and stock portfolio, because clearly you're a man of immense accomplishment.


Hold on there tiger. We are talking about hype here. I dont recall people on TV saying im the dogs bollocks. Brock had gargantuan hype. He was indestructible. A gorilla. The best wrestler in MMA. He kills beasts with his teeth and eats them raw.

And yes. Within the context. He may well have won the softest HW title fight ever. I call that some success. No more. No less.


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## _RIVAL_ (Mar 7, 2008)

Yosihiro Akiyama.


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## slapshot (May 4, 2007)

Davis was never made out to be a world beater, I think the guy gets less credit than he deserves tbh.

Paul Daley
Kimbo
Wandy


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## _RIVAL_ (Mar 7, 2008)

slapshot said:


> Paul Daley


Paul Daley was wrecking fools in the UFC. He lost one fight which was a title eliminator because Koscheck layed and prayed on him all night...

That's not really flopping. Dude had the WW division on notice.


Skillwise he didn't flop. Just that decision he made.


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## Sportsman 2.0 (Jul 10, 2012)

Bummer, it hurts, but I think most will agree with this one: 

Welterweight Demian Maia.


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## Toxic (Mar 1, 2007)

Ricco Rodriguez, guy was a beast who made some horrible life choices and was just never able to put it together again


Sent from Verticalsports.com App


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## LL (Mar 12, 2011)

prospect said:


> I might say machinada because when he won the lhw championship we expected him to dominate the division But...
> Still you can't call him a flop.
> 
> I'd put gray Maynard in there. Nate marquardt.
> ...


Maynard didn't flop, he lost his chin and got old. Those two Edgar fights in 2011 were some wars that took a lot out of both guys.


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## 420atalon (Sep 13, 2008)

Shogun hasn't been mentioned yet. I guess he did become champion eventually but only because he had the perfect style to beat Machida.


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## RangerClydeTheBlue (Jul 11, 2012)

Paul Daley is currently still absolutely wrecking people.


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## King Daisuke (Mar 25, 2013)

Now that all has unfolded, I'd agree that Wanderlei was one of their bigger flops.


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## Sportsman 2.0 (Jul 10, 2012)

420atalon said:


> Shogun hasn't been mentioned yet. I guess he did become champion eventually but only because he had the perfect style to beat Machida.


I know we are not discussing reasons, but Shogun used all what was left from his health for those two fights against Machida. I had hopes he would get back on track with that title, but sadly he was already a broken man.


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## prospect (Mar 26, 2014)

Shogun isn't a flop....


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## Killz (Oct 5, 2009)

You can't class someone who fought for UFC gold a flop, never mind someone who actually was champion.


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## Stun Gun (Oct 24, 2012)

Kimbo was a flop in the sense of most causal fans, I don't think a lot of the hardcore fans gave him much of a chance. 

Gonzaga comes to mind even though he's probably one of my favourite fighters, he had a HUGE amount of hype around him after he KO'd Cro Cop. 

Hioki again one of my favourites, but his run in the UFC has be less than spectacular even though I felt he got robbed on a few fights, he was never the "aldo killer" that some were labelling him as.

Sexyama was hyped up to be the best fighter to come out of Japan at one point, even though he had some great fights he never took off in the UFC.

Cro Cop was considered one of the top 3 HWs before coming into the UFC where he bombed hard, sadly. 

others that come to mind would be Yamamoto ( though was well passed his prime when he joined the UFC)

Nick Diaz was a bit of a flop when he returned to the UFC in the sense that he was the man to dethrone GSP, he smashed a washed up Penn, lost to Condit then finally talked his way into title fight with GSP and looked awful compared to most of his fights. 

Karo Parisyan was also overhyped early on.


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## slapshot (May 4, 2007)

_RIVAL_ said:


> Paul Daley was wrecking fools in the UFC. He lost one fight which was a title eliminator because Koscheck layed and prayed on him all night...
> 
> That's not really flopping. Dude had the WW division on notice.
> 
> ...


I just dont agree, he's beat gatekeepers and thats it.

Look at his record, everyone he faced who was a big name beat him and the names he did beat were fighters on their way down.

He's got talent, I just dont think he could ever hold a belt and he was hyped alot.


We are talking about fighters that were hyped and pushed by Zuffa right?

I put Kimbo down because of all the lip service Rogan gave him.


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## Stun Gun (Oct 24, 2012)

I thought Daley was a little overhyped as well. Gom had a lot of hype coming into the UFC, but most people were aware that he was well passed his prime.


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## 420atalon (Sep 13, 2008)

Killz said:


> You can't class someone who fought for UFC gold a flop, never mind someone who actually was champion.


I can and just did...

Yes he became champ but he never lived up to the hype he had. It was thought he would run through the UFC division but instead he was manhandled his first fight and then looked pathetic against a guy who shouldn't have even been in the UFC. He then was gifted a title shot after a win over no chin Liddell and eventually was able to claim the title due to his berserker style working against Machida.

After that things went back to normal and Shogun started looking bad and losing fights again...

Sure he had a moment of glory but realistically had he of had to earn his title shot by facing a top opponent at that time like Rashad, Rampage etc he likely never would have even got his title shot...


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## Stun Gun (Oct 24, 2012)

Shogun was a bit overhyped coming into the UFC. But I think he is just past his prime and has suffered too many injuries. He is a still a tough guy and a legend of the sport.


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## GDPofDRB (Apr 18, 2013)

420atalon said:


> I can and just did...
> 
> Yes he became champ but he never lived up to the hype he had. It was thought he would run through the UFC division but instead he was manhandled his first fight and then looked pathetic against a guy who shouldn't have even been in the UFC. He then was gifted a title shot after a win over no chin Liddell and eventually was able to claim the title due to his berserker style working against Machida.
> 
> ...


lol you are not smart.


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## Stun Gun (Oct 24, 2012)

GDPofDRB said:


> lol you are not smart.


Lets keep it civil.


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## slapshot (May 4, 2007)

GDPofDRB said:


> lol you are not smart.


LOL you are not smarter..


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## prospect (Mar 26, 2014)

You guys are both not smart and not very civil


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## Stun Gun (Oct 24, 2012)

And to get back on topic, I think Wandy was overhyped coming into the UFC.


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## prospect (Mar 26, 2014)

Yeah he definitely turned out to be a flop. I didn't like him back then to be honest


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## 420atalon (Sep 13, 2008)

Serra was a champion for as long as Shogun was and won his title in a similar matter. Does that make him a great fighter too?

Shogun really is the LHW version of Serra... Didn't earn a title shot, got lucky, went on to bomb the rest of his career...


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## slapshot (May 4, 2007)

prospect said:


> You guys are both not smart and not very civil


Actually I fancy myself as above average, low bar I know but its more than adequate for most of my needs. 

As far as civil you do realize your posts are searchable right, lol and I freely admit sometimes Im not. =)


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## 420atalon (Sep 13, 2008)

Stun Gun said:


> And to get back on topic, I think Wandy was overhyped coming into the UFC.


Pretty much ever pride, asian, strikeforce and bellator fighter to come into the UFC has been overhyped...

People tend to think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence but in reality the UFC has always had the best talent for quite some time now minus a few of the WEC guys.


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## prospect (Mar 26, 2014)

420atalon said:


> Pretty much ever pride, asian, strikeforce and bellator fighter to come into the UFC has been overhyped...
> 
> People tend to think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence but in reality the UFC has always had the best talent for quite some time now minus a few of the WEC guys.


Keep saying smart comments. Who gives a shit what those none civil guys are saying


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## Voiceless (Nov 8, 2010)

Rua got dropped by a 43 yo MW.


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## _RIVAL_ (Mar 7, 2008)

slapshot said:


> I just dont agree, he's beat gatekeepers and thats it.


Daleys hype was that he was a monsterous power hitter. Nobody including Joe Rogan said that this was the Paul Daley era. Hell everybody knew that if he made it to GSP he'd get ground humped to death and probably lose by decision.

I just don't see where his hype wasn't justified. Because the truth remains the same, if you stand with Paul Daley and get sucked in to a striking war chances are he's gonna put your lights out.

If anything he's lived up to that. They guys that beat him like Tyron Woodley and Jake Shields weren't dumb enough to stand there trading shots with him. IMO Daley is still on the move knocking cats out that wanna test the waters in the striking department. 

Can't agree with you here. The Paul Daley hype is real.


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## prospect (Mar 26, 2014)

Rua won a ufc belt...

And his last fight was against a top ten fighter


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## slapshot (May 4, 2007)

prospect said:


> Keep saying smart comments. Who gives a shit what those none civil guys are saying














_RIVAL_ said:


> Daleys hype was that he was a monsterous power hitter. Nobody including Joe Rogan said that this was the Paul Daley era. Hell everybody knew that if he made it to GSP he'd get ground humped to death and probably lose by decision.
> 
> I just don't see where his hype wasn't justified. Because the truth remains the same, if you stand with Paul Daley and get sucked in to a striking war chances are he's gonna put your lights out.
> 
> If anything he's lived up to that. They guys that beat him like Tyron Woodley and Jake Shields weren't dumb enough to stand there trading shots with him. IMO Daley is still on the move knocking cats out that wanna test the waters in the striking department.


Come on mang, you know he was built up to be better than he was. And Joe was talking about him being a threat for the title. 

If you tossed him in todays UFC do you think he breaks the top ten?


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## Liddellianenko (Oct 8, 2006)

420atalon said:


> Pretty much ever pride, asian, strikeforce and bellator fighter to come into the UFC has been overhyped...
> 
> People tend to think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence but in reality the UFC has always had the best talent for quite some time now minus a few of the WEC guys.


Yeah, like Cormier and Jacare from Strikeforce, what complete busts, they'll never fight for any sort of UFC title in their lives. 

And Rampage, total dud, Chuck sure smashed that Pride bum. Ditto for Big nog, UFC and their top talent the great Timmy sure showed him. Hendo? Overrated, why I bet even UFC's gatekeepers like Bisping could take him. He couldn't even beat that all UFC fighter Anderson Silva, we all know guys like that would never fight in Pride.

And all those Bellator fighters that the UFC imported, like Lombard, will never be a title contender. And ... Alvarez, who hasn't had a UFC fight yet. Yeah, he's totally bust too, I've seen the future.

The only part you're sort of correct about is the Asian bit, but then the UFC never acquired the top ones like Aoki. It can be argued that Gomi and Yamamoto were brought in past their primes, at age 32 and 34, but I'll give you those.


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## Killz (Oct 5, 2009)

Right this pathetic bickering and belittling stops now. this board has become a hive of childish insults and patronising posts recently and it ends now. 

Final warning. 

And if I need to be clearer 420, GDP, Slap, Prospect, I'm looking at you guys in this thread.


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## _RIVAL_ (Mar 7, 2008)

420atalon said:


> Pretty much ever pride, asian, strikeforce and bellator fighter to come into the UFC has been overhyped...
> 
> People tend to think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence but in reality the UFC has always had the best talent for quite some time now minus a few of the WEC guys.


*Anderson Silva (PRIDE) Daniel Cormier (SF), Rhonda Rousey(SF), Luke Rockhold(SF), Gilbert Melendez(SF), Hector Lombard(BELLATOR),Jacare Souza (SF), Jorge Masvidal(SF), Yoel Romero(SF), Tim Kennedy(SF), Dereck Brunson(SF), Meisha Tate (SF), Bobby Green (SF), Jordan Mein (SF), Mark Hunt (PRIDE).... * I can go all day your statement isn't valid bud... hell even Rampage came from PRIDE and knocked out the reigning LHW UFC champion at the time.... if anything a lot of UFC fighters have been overhyped.



slapshot said:


> If you tossed him in todays UFC do you think he breaks the top ten?



Yes he does if the UFC gives him the right opponents like they've done with say..... Matt Brown. Honestly who in gods name has Mr. Top Ten Matt Brown ever beaten?


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## prospect (Mar 26, 2014)

Killz said:


> Right this pathetic bickering and belittling stops now. this board has become a hive of childish insults and patronising posts recently and it ends now.
> 
> Final warning.
> 
> And if I need to be clearer 420, GDP, Slap, Prospect, I'm looking at you guys in this thread.


Chill out brahh


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## _RIVAL_ (Mar 7, 2008)

prospect said:


> Chill out brahh


Kllz doesn't need to chill, if he's warning about insults or baiting take it with a grain of salt.


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## 420atalon (Sep 13, 2008)

Killz said:


> Right this pathetic bickering and belittling stops now. this board has become a hive of childish insults and patronising posts recently and it ends now.
> 
> Final warning.
> 
> And if I need to be clearer 420, GDP, Slap, Prospect, I'm looking at you guys in this thread.


For the record, I haven't insulted anyone in this thread...



_RIVAL_ said:


> *Anderson Silva (PRIDE) Daniel Cormier (SF), Rhonda Rousey(SF), Luke Rockhold(SF), Gilbert Melendez(SF), Hector Lombard(BELLATOR),Jacare Souza (SF), Jorge Masvidal(SF), Yoel Romero(SF), Tim Kennedy(SF), Dereck Brunson(SF), Meisha Tate (SF), Bobby Green (SF), Jordan Mein (SF), Mark Hunt (PRIDE).... * I can go all day your statement isn't valid bud... hell even Rampage came from PRIDE and knocked out the reigning LHW UFC champion at the time.... if anything a lot of UFC fighters have been overhyped.


Yes there have been a few good/decent fighters from those organizations. Most of the guys on your lists didn't come in with huge expectations though... Only Cormier, Melendez, Rockhold, Souza and Hunt really have exceeded expectations to be top fighters. While Lombard was supposed to wreck the MW division and we saw how that went...

What about Shogun, Wanderlei, Cro Cop, Gomi, Gono, Nogueira, Overeem, Hioki, Akiyama, Shields, Diaz, Torres, Miller, Lombard, Omigawa. 

Those are all guys that came in with huge expectations, many of them were even thought of as future champions. Some of them are doing decent/had decent careers but for the most part they failed to reach the level of their hype.


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## Stun Gun (Oct 24, 2012)

Gomi never came to the UFC with that much hype though. He came in after losing his motivation and he was drinking a lot and barely training. It wasn't before he joined the UFC that he started taking fighting serious again. Guys like Wandy, Shogun, Cro Cop all had hype and were considered the best at their weight class. I'd call Cro Cop and wandy a flop but not Shogun.


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## slapshot (May 4, 2007)

Killz said:


> Right this pathetic bickering and belittling stops now. this board has become a hive of childish insults and patronising posts recently and it ends now.
> 
> Final warning.
> 
> And if I need to be clearer 420, GDP, Slap, Prospect, I'm looking at you guys in this thread.


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## 420atalon (Sep 13, 2008)

Stun Gun said:


> Gomi never came to the UFC with that much hype though. He came in after losing his motivation and he was drinking a lot and barely training. It wasn't before he joined the UFC that he started taking fighting serious again. Guys like Wandy, Shogun, Cro Cop all had hype and were considered the best at their weight class. I'd call Cro Cop and wandy a flop but not Shogun.


Shogun was considered by many to be the #1 LHW fighter when he came into the UFC... He had won 12 of his last 13 fights(only loss by injury) and went on to lose his UFC debut and has since lost more fights then he has won...

How could that possibly be considered reaching expectations? Because he had 5 minutes of glory???

You can't compare him to say Cro Cop who was probably the UFC's biggest flop(Overeem not far behind) but still I don't see how anyone can think that Shogun actually truly lived up to his fans expectations...


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## _RIVAL_ (Mar 7, 2008)

420atalon said:


> Cormier, Melendez, Rockhold, Souza and Hunt really have exceeded expectations to be top fighters.


I agree.



420atalon said:


> While Lombard was supposed to wreck the MW division and we saw how that went...


People most def expected Lombard to make an impact in the UFC and he has. Just at a different weight class. He's one big win away from a title shot so you can't say that he's over hyped yet, he's still very much in the mix.

When you beat Nate Marquardt and Jake Shields back to back that's a big deal. Hector is sitting in a very good position right now.



420atalon said:


> What about
> 
> Shogun


Defeated Lyoto Machida to win the LHW title. So he can't have been a flop. 
IMO Shogun is past his prime and I wouldn't even consider him a top 10 fighter anymore. But if you win a UFC title than your hype has been substantiated plain and simple.



420atalon said:


> Wanderlei


Wanderlei flopped. Had some good fights, a sick war against Stann but I have to agree on this one. Wanderlei was most definitely a let down. This is coming from a huge Silva fan too... 



420atalon said:


> Cro Cop


Floparooski. Mirko stole a piece of my soul when he fizzed out in the UFC.



420atalon said:


> Gomi


No way can you include Gomi on this. Everybody knew that Gomi was way past his prime when the UFC signed him and everybody knew it. Hell he had lost 2 of his last 4 before Zuffa even inked him. His name is null and void in this debate.



420atalon said:


> Gono


Gono flopped plain and simple. I expected big things from that guy.




420atalon said:


> Nogueira


Noguiera won a UFC title.



420atalon said:


> Overeem


Overeem has been very successful!!!! At injuring training partners.

Alastair Overeem has been a legitimate flop.



420atalon said:


> Hioki


I don't remember Hioki having a huge amount of hype behind him outside of Joe Rogan jerking him off while he commentated his fights to be honest. I'm big on prospects and I didn't expect this guy to come close to a title shot at all.



420atalon said:


> Akiyama


I've always considered Akiyama over hyped. The guys is mediocre at best. But yeah fans were cooing this guy.



420atalon said:


> Shields


Jake Shields got done dirty plain and simple. The guy hadn't lost a fight in 4 fights in a row and loses a decision to a huge prospect in Hector Lombard. He was on the cusp of a title shot and he gets let go. We are talking about a guy who literally strangled Robbie Lawler in Strikeforce and submitted him. 

Jake then comes to the UFC and wins a title eliminator in his first fight. He then fights for the title VS GSP, loses in a 5 round decision leaving GSPs face bloodied up.

His dad/trainer dies and he doesn't pull out of his scheduled fight, he fights 6 days after his father dies and loses.

Most fighters would have pulled out of that fight. Hell I would have advised him not to fight after a huge loss like that if I was his manager.

He returns to rattle off three wins in a row. He beats Woodley (Top 5), out classes the best ground fighter in the world at WW in Damien Maia (Top 10), and blows through Akiyama.

He loses one fight in a 3 way title eliminator WW UFC card to Hector Lombard (top 10) 

And the UFC cuts him. Jake Shields did not flop. He got let go because of political reasons. 



420atalon said:


> Diaz


Nick Diaz is about to headline what many believe has the possibility to be the biggest PPV in UFC history, all of which is because of his and his opponents names..... Dana White stated that if Nick Diaz wins this fight he will get a title shot. He's in the upper tier of the UFC right now.... regardless of his tactics... they seem to be working. He's in the mix still. Not a flop.



420atalon said:


> Torres


 Which Torres?? Miguel Torres??? If you are talking about the WEC that's an entirely different roster of fighters now... we can address that as well if you want because the WEC fighters are lighting shit up right now.



420atalon said:


> Miller


Who expected Miller to win a world title?



420atalon said:


> Omigawa.


Another fighter that NOBODY called a world beater. Not much was expected out of him.



420atalon said:


> Those are all guys that came in with huge expectations, many of them were even thought of as future champions. Some of them are doing decent/had decent careers but for the most part they failed to reach the level of their hype.



I'd give a few on your list good case of being flops. You're not a flop if you win a world title in the UFC. And if you stay in the top 5 or 10 for years you're not a flop either.

By all means I can name twice as many fighters that did not flop so my argument remains. Especially when we have the Strikeforce LW champion fighting the WEC LW champion for the UFC LW title.

And the title eliminator is the WEC (Cerrone) VS Eddie Alvarez (Bellator)


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## 420atalon (Sep 13, 2008)

_RIVAL_ said:


> Which Torres?? Miguel Torres??? If you are talking about the WEC that's an entirely different roster of fighters now... we can address that as well if you want because the WEC fighters are lighting shit up right now.


Miguel fought in the UFC. His hype train had already been somewhat derailed though. DJ put the nail in the coffin and then McDonald sent him packing. 

For the record my post was obviously an exaggeration. My point mainly is that the highly hyped guys have practically all failed to meet expectations. There are a lot of good fighters that have come in from these other organizations but when you compare say Anderson Silva to Wanderlei Silva the one that was successful isn't the one that you would have expected to be based on hype. 

Oh and Nick Diaz, I can't believe you even went there... One of the most overrated fighters ever, I can't wait to see Silva destroy him and then Diaz cry and retire again...


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## prospect (Mar 26, 2014)

Nick succeeded in his career already. He might've not won anything. But he fought champs and in main events. 
He's alot like rich Franklin only better But without a belt


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## Stun Gun (Oct 24, 2012)

Nick Diaz is a great fighter no doubt. But there is no denying that the man is extremely overhyped. He was considered the best WW, and the GSP killer. He flopped when he came back to the UFC because he failed to live up the hype, he lost to Condit whether people like it or not and he looked like crap against GSP. He only managed to beat Penn who was well past his prime.


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## slapshot (May 4, 2007)

Stun Gun said:


> Nick Diaz is a great fighter no doubt. But there is no denying that the man is extremely overhyped. He was considered the best WW, and the GSP killer. He flopped when he came back to the UFC because he failed to live up the hype, he lost to Condit whether people like it or not and he looked like crap against GSP. He only managed to beat Penn who was well past his prime.


How many other fighters can be successful in three weight classes? 

He never flopped that's silly and Ive never herd anyone say he was a sure bet against GSP. He certainly wasn't hyped by the UFC as "the guy" who's going to beat GSP. He has the BJJ pedigree to warrant speculation and nobody at the time was seen to have a chance at stuffing GSP's td's so in that circumstance people felt he had a better chance than most. 


He "looked like crap against GSP"? 

No he didn't, GSP couldn't do any damage to Nick and had it been pride he might have gotten carded for stalling. Nick certainly was never winning the fight but he was never in any trouble was never hit with anything worth noting and GSP didn't DO anything more than hold him down.

The only fighter that looked better than Nick in a loss to GSP is holding the strap. You have to consider the quality of the opposition, Nick could fight any number of fighters in the UFC and beat them to pad his record. 

Nick is legitimately a instant top ten fighter in any weight class he chooses to fight in and not many fighter can do that.

Look at all the fighters who switch divisions to get an advantage but then it doesn't pan out for them thats not Nick. The Condit fight wasn't a blowout. You act like if Condit beats you, you must be canon fodder and thats not true.

The key to Nicks "hype" is not about his record, its about his style and he delivers.


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## Sportsman 2.0 (Jul 10, 2012)

slapshot said:


> How many other fighters can be successful in three weight classes?


Not too many.


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## JASONJRF (Nov 3, 2009)

Machida, granted he is a top fighter but he was unbeaten and hard to figure out I think when he won the belt he had a lot of hype like he was going to keep it for a long time.

Huston Alexander prolly number 1.

Overreem

Erick Silva


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## usernamewoman (Sep 24, 2007)

Chael Sonnen deserves to be considered a flop, not to mention a cheater of epic proportions. His biggest win is over Shogun who was way past his prime, and what should have been a loss to Bisping.


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## prospect (Mar 26, 2014)

Chael fought for how many titles now?


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## King Daisuke (Mar 25, 2013)

usernamewoman said:


> Chael Sonnen deserves to be considered a flop, not to mention a cheater of epic proportions. His biggest win is over Shogun who was way past his prime, and what should have been a loss to Bisping.












You can call Chael many things, like "Daddy" or "Sir", but a flop he is not.


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## LizaG (May 12, 2008)

Going on previous reputation, accomplishments, and overall expectations going in tot he UFC...I'd say Nick Diaz and Shogun. Yeah Shogun got the belt then declined *heavily*.

Just my opinion, not a popular one I'm sure  but just my personal opinion.


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## prospect (Mar 26, 2014)

Your opinion needs to be changed ASAP. 

Shogun won championship.. 
Nick fought in championship fights.. 

In a another way 
Shogun is a former ufc world championship. 
Nick is a former iffy title contender. 
Flops their not..


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## 420atalon (Sep 13, 2008)

prospect said:


> Your opinion needs to be changed ASAP.
> 
> Shogun won championship..
> Nick fought in championship fights..
> ...


Neither lived up to the hype...

Shogun has a losing record in the UFC... Don't let his Serra like 5 minutes of fame cloud your judgement...

Nick was supposedly the best WW striker, he was going to beat GSP, best pound for pound fighter and all he could beat was an over the hill midget... Most people thought he would walk through Condit, that he was better in every way, but what we found out was that the opposite was true...


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## Sportsman 2.0 (Jul 10, 2012)

King Daisuke said:


> You can call Chael many things, like "Daddy" or "Sir", but a flop he is not.



Nor "the baddest man on the planet" either.


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## prospect (Mar 26, 2014)

Can everyone explain what flop means?


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## LizaG (May 12, 2008)

prospect said:


> Your opinion needs to be changed ASAP.



It really really really does not thank you


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## prospect (Mar 26, 2014)

CupCake said:


> It really really really does not thank you


I say it does. But That's just my opinion.


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## edlavis88 (Jul 12, 2009)

Anyone who has fought for a title surely can't be a flop and calling a former UFC champ a flop is ridiculous.

In that case Anderson Silva is a flop! He should have been undefeated forever but lost twice in a row! Flop, flop flop.


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## LizaG (May 12, 2008)

That's stretching it a bit...


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## prospect (Mar 26, 2014)

But seriously though. How could you ever call a guy who was once recognized as the best fighter in the world in his weight division a flop. 
Even if the fighter performed greatly vs the champ then he isn't considered a flop. Like gustaffson. He's not a flop because he gave the champ a fight and arguably won that fight.


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## LizaG (May 12, 2008)

To be one of the best LHW's ever coming over from Pride, got finished by Forrest, losing to Machida, got finished by Jones, losing to Gus, lost to Hendo, got finished by Chael, got finished by Hendo...when you weigh that against the initial expectations of him from both UFC and the fans...he's a flop.


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## prospect (Mar 26, 2014)

Okay.. Anderson Silva was definitely a stretch. But Let's find out who really are flops.. 
Lyoto machida was a big flop. He knocked out by flop rua. Beaten by rampage. Embarrassed by jones ( future flop ) . Beaten by Phil Davis ( terrible fighter who isn't even considered a flop ) . And beaten by weidman ( future flop ) 

Rashad Evans is a flop because he was beaten by flop.future flop and flop. 

Dan Henderson. I think this one speaks for itself 

Shane carwin. He was looked at as the baddest scariest man in the world But hey both Brock ( flop ) and jds ( flop ) beat him 

Matt hughs. He was beaten by flop Penn, flop GSP , thiago alves and Josh koscheck . 

And obviously the biggest flop of em all is bj Penn.


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## _RIVAL_ (Mar 7, 2008)

Lotta floppin going on in this thread.


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## 420atalon (Sep 13, 2008)

If Shogun isn't a flop, neither is Lesnar...

Lesnar at least defended his title...


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## Liddellianenko (Oct 8, 2006)

_RIVAL_ said:


> Lotta floppin going on in this thread.


Almost as much as Leites/Maia vs Anderson Silva .... badumtsshhh!


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## prospect (Mar 26, 2014)

Both Shogun and lesnar aren't flops. Close the thread already


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## King Daisuke (Mar 25, 2013)

Lesnar can't be a flop when most people expected him to get his ass beat in UFC and instead he became the HW champion with multiple title defences.


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## Sportsman 2.0 (Jul 10, 2012)

Two title defenses...


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## prospect (Mar 26, 2014)

are we seriously saying that Brock is a flop ?! 
The only reason we're talking about him right now is because he proved us all wrong.


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## LizaG (May 12, 2008)

Eddie Alvarez???


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## Rauno (Nov 20, 2009)

Imma reserve judgement until he's fought in the UFC for a couple of times but people did say he was going to run through the division once he arrives.


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## LizaG (May 12, 2008)

I was kidding about, but yeah he needs to turn it up a notch next time around.


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## Spite (Jul 7, 2009)

prospect said:


> Can everyone explain what flop means?


It means like when you meet a lady after several alcoholic beverages but you can't get rigid and end up trying to 'thumb in a softy'.

Or if you suffer erectile dysfunction, like Dan Henderson or Vitor Belfort.


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## Soojooko (Jun 4, 2009)

King Daisuke said:


> Lesnar can't be a flop when most people expected him to get his ass beat in UFC and instead he became the HW champion with multiple title defences.


Thats not how I remember it at all. Brock got a lot of hype from the UFC and the fans. A lot of people thought he was the real deal and would steam roll the division. He was the favorite going into the Cain fight, as utterly absurd as that sounds now.

I consider Brock to have flopped big time.


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## slapshot (May 4, 2007)

_RIVAL_ said:


> Lotta floppin going on in this thread.


Must be a lot of democrats in the house.:thumb02:



Nick Diaz was never labeled the best striker in any division and for all his hype ive never seen anyone say he was.

You cant say Nick flopped, his fans love his style not his record. He's beat a lot of top fighters its not like he's Matt Brown.


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## King Daisuke (Mar 25, 2013)

Soojooko said:


> Thats not how I remember it at all. Brock got a lot of hype from the UFC and the fans. A lot of people thought he was the real deal and would steam roll the division. He was the favorite going into the Cain fight, as utterly absurd as that sounds now.
> 
> I consider Brock to have flopped big time.


I meant before and after the first Frank Mir fight.


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## slapshot (May 4, 2007)

Anyone say Bisping yet? Well they will soon. /snicker


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## Roflcopter (Sep 5, 2008)

CupCake said:


> Eddie Alvarez???


I like this answer.


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## Rauno (Nov 20, 2009)

Boss thread.


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## prospect (Mar 26, 2014)

slapshot said:


> Anyone say Bisping yet? Well they will soon. /snicker


He has been fighting in the ufc forever. I doubt a loss late in his career would qualify him as a flop


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## slapshot (May 4, 2007)

prospect said:


> He has been fighting in the ufc forever. I doubt a loss late in his career would qualify him as a flop


What about all the other losses, don't they count too? /snicker


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