10 UFC Fighters Who Were Supposed To Be The Next Big Thing (But Failed)
The UFC is a company that loves to hype up its fighters. If they see something in a given fighter, they will strap the promotional rocketship to that individual in order to boost their stock and make them one of the top fighters in their promotion. A lot of the time, the tactic works and has led to many fighters becoming stars for the UFC.
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Unfortunately for the UFC, for every Conor McGregor or Ronda Rousey the promotion has built, there have been a dozen fighters that have failed. Let's take a look at a few of those fighters who despite the promotional support, have crashed and burned.
10 Sokoudjou
Sokoudjou is one of the earliest MMA busts. Sokoudjou was signed to the UFC following a 4-1 start to his career, and two of those wins were major upset knockout wins over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Ricardo Arona. It's also worth noting that his one loss was future UFC champion, Glover Teixeira.
Sokoudjou's stint in the promotion didn't go well. His first fight was against another hyped-up fighter in Lyoto Machida, Machida dominated and finished the fight with a submission. The second fight against Kazuhiro Nakamura was close early but ended in an injury win for Sokoudjou. His third fight saw him get knocked out by Luiz Cane and released from the promotion.
9 Roger Huerta
Roger Huerta was the first fighter to ever grace to the cover of Sports Illustrated, and it wasn't by accident. In May 2007, Huerta began getting a promotional push due to his fun-fighting style, unique look and was seemingly a good ambassador for the sport. Not long after his cover appearance, the wheels fell off the train, however.
After his loss to Kenny Florian in 2008, he announced a move into acting. Choosing to leave the UFC in late 2009 after his loss to Gray Maynard, he then became a part-time fighter for the next few years in Bellator. His fall from grace was one of the quickest, and most surprising.
8 Brandon Thatch
Brandon Thatch was once one of the UFC's most hyped prospects. Debuting with two quick knockout wins, the then 11-1 Thatch was given a main-event spot against former lightweight champion Benson Henderson, in a welterweight headlining spot. Henderson stepped in on short notice after Stephen Thompson had to pull out.
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That night was the beginning of Thatch's downfall, getting submitted in the fourth round. Following the fight, Thatch lost three straight via finish, before getting released. To put it into perspective, all of Thatch's fights were on the undercard of Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey's fights, they really wanted to have him succeed in front of a big audience.
7 Todd Duffee
Todd Duffee was given a massive push in 2009. Looking like a Greek god, and having loads of knockout power, he quickly defeated Tim Hague in his first fight via a seven-second knockout. Following that bout, everything unraveled.
Duffee was then promptly by Mike Russow in one of the biggest upsets in UFC history the following year. He was then released from the UFC but did return in 2012 to the promotion. However, due to injuries, he's only competed four times in nine years.
6 Phillipe Nover
Phillipe Nover was on the eighth season of the Ultimate Fighter, and quickly made a good impression on UFC fans and notably UFC President Dana White. White even compared the then-undefeated Nover to then champions Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre.
Nover then went 0-3 in the UFC in his first stint before getting released in 2010. Nover worked his way back to the promotion in 2015, but then went 1-3 in the promotion before once again getting released, and announcing his retirement from MMA.
5 Erick Silva
Erick Silva entered the UFC 12-1 and quickly got a promotional push in 2011. Silva debuted with a huge knockout win over Luis Ramos in the first round, however, things soon would begin unraveling. He was disqualified in his next bout, he did pick up a win over Charlie Brenneman next.
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His next fight was against Jon Fitch, and he got promptly dominated, showing his true skill level. The truth about Silva is that he was never actually bad, he just couldn't reach the lofty expectations that he set for himself with his blazing start. He was released from the promotion in 2017, after going 7-8 in the UFC.
4 Brandon Vera
Brandon Vera was the prospect of the early 2000s. Starting his career 8-0, his hype was boosted by a knockout win over former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir. The win started lots of buzz around Vera, who was talking of becoming a champion at both heavyweight, and light-heavyweight.
In the end, Vera fizzled out of the UFC after all of the hype. He was around in the promotion for seven years but just couldn't break into title contention. For what it's worth, Vera did put together a good post-UFC career, becoming ONE heavyweight champion in 2015, and holding the title for six years.
3 Paige Vanzant
Paige Vanzant was the UFC's face of the strawweight division when it was introduced in 2014. A beautiful, young fighter with a fun-fighting style seemed like a layup for the UFC to promote. She quickly earned three wins in the promotion and broke into the top ten when she was given the main event spot against Rose Namajunas.
The future strawweight champion destroyed Vanzant, beginning her downfall. Vanzant went 2-3 for the rest of her UFC career, injuries combined with outside-of-the-cage ventures led her to disappoint in the big show. Her contract wasn't re-upped in 2020, and she then signed with BKFC, where she's gone 0-2.
2 Cynthia Calvillo
Cynthia Calvillo was essentially the female Donald Cerrone when she debuted in 2017. Calvillo racked up three wins in a little over fourth months and was given a huge promotional push as a result. Calvillo's first blemish came against Carla Esparza at UFC 219, but she rebounded going undefeated in her next four fights.
The wheels came to a crash in November 2020, getting dominated by Katlyn Chookagian at UFC 255. Since then, she's been dominated and finished in two straight fights, most recently losing to Andrea Lee. Her career isn't over, but at 34 with three straight bad losses, the writing is on the wall for Calvillo's title aspirations.
1 Sage Northcutt
Sage Northcutt was essentially a super prospect when he came to the UFC in 2015. The then 18-year-old Northcutt made a big impression winning his first two bouts via finish in the promotion. However, he then lost his next bout to Bryan Barberena, and never regained his steam.
Northcutt went 4-1 following the bout but never faced top competition. Northcutt left the UFC in 2019, going to ONE Championship. Northcutt got brutally knocked out by Cosmo Alexandre in his first bout for the promotion, breaking multiple bones in his face, and has been out of competition since.
