Fighters who were exciting before becoming champions

[RafaelDosSantos]

Answer? ALL

Get rid of belts and 5 round (coasting / point fighting) fights!

Add tournaments!

 

[PlatinumAmerican]

I agree with ur sentiment but the fighters are too good for single day tournaments now they all get hurt to bad to continue in first fight

 

[TheYoshiSlayer]

GSP

 

[Alanf7]

Stipe is still exciting as hell.

 

[mmafan559]

conner is the only answer

you guys member when he used to fight mma?

member?>

 

[LockardTheGOAT]

GSP and Aldo used to be killers before becoming champion. Unfortunately, they lost their balls and rarely took more than a little risk after winning the strap.

 

[Limit Smasher]

Jose Aldo.

He was a killer until he won the belt. After he became champ he turned into a pitter patter point fighter. Only exciting fights he's had since then have been him getting knocked out.

 

[Cantalope]

conner is the only answer

you guys member when he used to fight mma?

member?>

 

[RaZer Cruz]

Jose Aldo.

He was a killer until he won the belt. After he became champ he turned into a pitter patter point fighter. Only exciting fights he's had since then have been him getting knocked out.

Mendes?

 

[ThEiCeMaN6791]

All of them. I’d even go a step further and say that in #1 contender fights people tend to fight more carefully.

 

[El Fernas]

Woodley went from kind of boring to snoozefests. Every other champ might play it safe, but they are not there yet, probably Nunes.

 

[Head Movement]

Tyron Woodley was a lot more exciting before he won the belt but that's not really saying a lot.

 

[Szwok]

Woodley went from kind of boring to snoozefests. Every other champ might play it safe, but they are not there yet, probably Nunes.

this is giving woodley way to much credit....

 

[007]

Randy Couture. Knowing him personally and after he won the belt and leaving Team Quest he changed

 

[chefa]

I have never been a fan of this idea that champs stop being exciting. They simply no longer get the luxury of gimmie fights. Once the level of competition goes up things dont look the same.

If you take a guy like Aldo who comes up through the ranks just killing people but they are not really on his level so he looks like a god. Than he beomes champion and almost all of his fights are now against people on his level or close the field evens and they look more human. Are they playing it safer probably because the slightest mistake can cost them everything. Which is why the challenger is responsible for it as well.

It is why once a champion losses their belt but is not to the point that they have aged and their skills are gone they ussually look like world beaters in their next fight if they get someone several levels below them.

 

[BOTTICELLI]

Bigg Rigg seemed like he had a crazy rise to the top then turned into a point fighter and boring fighter

 

[kuka45]

You know why some fighters became boring when they became champions? Because they started to face hardest possible opossition, fighters at 150%, after best camps, with best gameplans etc. That's why you won't walk through your oponnents when you are champion.

 

[SKITZADACTYL]

• GSP (i still liked watching him)
• aldo (he isn't boring, just coasts)
• woodley's last 3 were dogshit
  
  
  but really any championship fight or big fight makes me feel nervous and excited, just because i'm such a huge fan of MMA.

 

[BForrester]

I have never been a fan of this idea that champs stop being exciting. They simply no longer get the luxury of gimmie fights. Once the level of competition goes up things dont look the same.

If you take a guy like Aldo who comes up through the ranks just killing people but they are not really on his level so he looks like a god. Than he beomes champion and almost all of his fights are now against people on his level or close the field evens and they look more human. Are they playing it safer probably because the slightest mistake can cost them everything. Which is why the challenger is responsible for it as well.

It is why once a champion losses their belt but is not to the point that they have aged and their skills are gone they ussually look like world beaters in their next fight if they get someone several levels below them.

This is a fine post right here, and I don't think many people give that facet the consideration it deserves. When you're the champ, every fight from that point on is (or should be) against the next best fighter in your division. There are no squash matches once you get the belt.

 

[CrocodileJoe]

do we have any idea how much a champ gets paid vs an ex champ? I remember that Alvarez was going to get ppv points when he signed with the ufc, and I didn't think it was only if he was champ.