Fighters that reinvented themselves?

seiger

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Its so commonplace to hear of a 2.0 version of a fighter thesedays. They hit 30, catch a few losses and reinvent themselves with a more effective technique for their range.

As fighters age and they cant rely on youth to plug holes in their game, the only thing they can really work on is often technique. Then we have versions of fighters that may or may not have comedy value. Sea level Cain, Chuck with that look in his eyes, Econoreem. Magic spells that seem to brush away losses and promise a string of neverending victories for a fighter who has found the last piece of the puzzle. For some sadly the last piece of the puzzle is drugs. Happily for others, cough michael bisping, the final piece of the puzzle is there absence in others.

Bottom line is theres a lot of different versions of fighters, but few really reinvent themselves.

Who are some notable examples?

A few obvious ones -

Robbie Lawler - found cardio and discovered he had been agitating his own cardio issues for years. Moved location and never looked back right up until Tyrone woodley span his head sideways last fight.

Anderson - Wasnt known as a great until well into his 30s.

Fedor - primarily a grappler, became more of a stand up fighter as he got a taste for the knock out sudden victory. Some would say to his own detriment.

Chael - forgetting the chemicals for a moment, was the definition of forgettable until he discovered his voice and talent for self promotion. Conor came gift wrapped like that. Chael really seemed to hit his stride mid career.
 
Werdum and Maia had to learn how to punch from scratch, and both are better than average at it. it's complimented their main skill quite nicely.
 
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Mark hunt, after losing 8 straight worked his way to a ufc title shot
 
I guess you could say GSP became a wrestler and then a conservative boxer. He used to be a lot more spinning shit.

This was directly after tapping to punches.
 
Vitor reinvented himself so many times... Old Vitor, new Vitor, TrT Vitor...
Same goes for Uber, Eco, Runner, Overeeem
 
Dos Anjos made serious improvements. Even though he is young, I think Dillashaw has made a ton of positive changes to his game. I didn't give Dilly a chance the first time he fought Barao. He literally looked like a different fighter.
 
Dos Anjos made serious improvements. Even though he is young, I think Dillashaw has made a ton of positive changes to his game. I didn't give Dilly a chance the first time he fought Barao. He literally looked like a different fighter.

Ludwig-era Dillashaw is a paradigm shift for sure.
 
Great opening post TS -- I'd like to add that it is necessary to clarify the difference between "reinvent" and "evolve" or "improve". I like your examples. For example -- Chad Mendes wasn't much of a KO machine until several fights into his UFC tenure. This was because he improved as a fighter and became more well rounded. On the other hand, Robbie Lawler reinvented himself as a fighter who stylistically could go all 5 rounds at a high pace as opposed to a fighter who never really had many fights even go to decision.
 
Max Holloway every time he steps in the cage.

Wonderboy evolving his wrestling defense.
 
Oh, on topic I'll say TJ Grant. Remember him? Middling WW, monster LW.
 
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