fighters you called greatness on / great fighters that snuck up on you

[Dionysian]

Just curious if there was a pattern to these.

Fighters I called it on:
My sig history says it best. Many fighters I've had there for the past 10 years I called as being champ before they became champ. Shogun, Cain, Weidman, DC, Werdum and Khabib all eventually got gold. I only get half-credit for Shogun in 2010 of course since he clearly showed his greatness against elite LHWs back in 2005.

Fighters that snuck up on me:
Whittaker and Usman in particular.

Robert KOd Jacare and I thought "oh no Jacare lost his prime due to all this time in limbo" not giving enough credit to Robert for the KO. I thought he was just a random WW moving up to rejuvenate his career. It wasn't until he became champ that I saw how skilled he was and it totally caught me off guard as a guy who used to pride himself on paying attention to contenders and skillsets. Same goes for Usman, solely because I didn't see him until he was the main event. I didn't even know he had the longest win streak (alongside Khabib and Tony) until a UFC graphic told me in one of the events. How embarrassing as a hardcore fan for a contender to sneak up on me with me knowing so little about them.

Now that I think about it, maybe Robert and Usman flying under my radar means I've just been less excited more recently. Or UFC just wasn't promoting them much. Either way, "UFC is dying" confirmed I guess.

 

[SuperNerd]

I can't say I predicted greatness so much... But I like the thread and will attempt to offer something.. A strong motivation for making an account was getting on the Rampage bangwagon early.

He just got beat up by Chute Box, and was treated like gatekeeper by internet fans in 05.

I saw a guy who was going to be a major star in America, TUF just started, and he was capable of beating up Liddell. He was the perfect thing UFC needed, and they were going to crush PRIDE. It was only a matter of time before this guy was in ads for UFC.

I remember when he won the title, one of my favourite wins of all time, logging onto Sherdog and reading the hype about Rampage. He was suddenly the perfect fighter, and I was then trying to debunk Rampage zealots.

Being a Rampage fan was exciting.

 

[Dionysian]

I can't say I predicted greatness so much... But I like the thread and will attempt to offer something.. A strong motivation for making an account was getting on the Rampage bangwagon early.

He just got beat up by Chute Box, and was treated like gatekeeper by internet fans in 05.

I saw a guy who was going to be a major star in America, TUF just started, and he was capable of beating up Liddell. He was the perfect thing UFC needed, and they were going to crush PRIDE. It was only a matter of time before this guy was in ads for UFC commercials.

I remember when he won the title, one of my favourite wins of all time, logging onto Sherdog and reading the hype about Rampage. He was suddenly the perfect fighter, and I was then trying to debunk Rampage zealots.

Being a Rampage fan was exciting.

Nice, not many remember Rampage-mania. I still blame A-Team for it dying as early as it did. Ironic that Rampage played a character played by Mr. T, yet Rampage arguably pulled a Rocky from Rocky 3 in terms of getting lost in the spotlight.

People still make "motivated BJ" jokes but motivation for Rampage was always a huge issue IMO.

 

[FadeLess]

Edmen Shahbazyan .

 

[Ares Black]

I called Volkanovski and Zhang as future champions the first time I saw either of them fight.

 

[MMAProfessional]

Tj kinda snuck up. I remember thinking Barao was gonna beat him then he took his soul.

 

[TheSpider]

Anderson’s reign of terror that started with the Leben destruction caught a lot of us by surprise.

Jones and Aldo always looked like phenoms.

 

[gotBooched]

I’ll never

Anderson’s reign of terror that started with the Leben destruction caught a lot of us by surprise.

Jones and Aldo always looked like phenoms.

forgot the leben destruction. At that point that was the biggest mismatch I had seen in modern UFC. They did not belong in the same cage.

 

[gotBooched]

I am very bad at this

I thought Phil Davis was gonna be 205 GOAT.

thought chuck Oliveira was gonna be 155 GOAT.

 

[Tairy Hesticles]

The good: I called Gaethje being championship material a long time ago.
The bad: I said the same thing about Gunnar Nelson.

 

[Ares Black]

Tj kinda snuck up. I remember thinking Barao was gonna beat him then he took his soul.

Good call. I was shocked.

 

[Ares Black]

Anderson’s reign of terror that started with the Leben destruction caught a lot of us by surprise.

Jones and Aldo always looked like phenoms.

I was pretty sure Leben was going to send him back to Japan where the competition was easier.

 

[Mr Wings]

As a longtime fan, you’ll find yourself not keeping up as well at times. Sometimes I don’t even watch much MMA at all for periods of time. But I always come back. I think this is natural.

I think it’s pretty cool that you used to keep close track and know who the potential future champs are. But sometimes it might just not be interesting enough to get excited about fighters in that may or may not be champ one day. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy those title fights, or fights with former champs involved.

 

[blaseblah]

I called Conor becoming champ after the Poirier fight. Thought he could be the guy to knockout Aldo.

 

[misterfurious]

I said Jones would be champ from his first fight...also said Edgar couldn’t beat Bj Penn even if he used a baseball bat.

 

[Old Women]

I said Jones would be champ from his first fight...also said Edgar couldn’t beat Bj Penn even if he used a baseball bat.

I did the same for Jones. When he started spinning elbows and shit I called it. Never had a strong prediction for the Edgar/BJ saga. I was always a Penn fan, so I wanted him to win.

 

[CallMeCasual]

Yan is probably the most recent one. I called it early that this guy has a champ aura about him and now he's fighting for the title and I do believe he will win. Gilbert just came from nowhere and might now fight for the WW title in his very next fight, what surprised me is just how dominant he has been in his 4 WW fights.

 

[EXOICHO]

Conor and Gaethje were my biggest ones of the current era. I also called it on Weidman.

 

[fortheo]

I knew volk would be a legit contender after he embarrassed Kennedy. I knew he'd be champ after I saw how he performed against Elkins.

I predicted TJ pulling off the upset against Barao. TJ's improvements were evident before that fight. I didn't predict EPO, though.

Khabib's future was clear from the moment he got in the UFC.

Current predictions: Amanda ribas, Calvin Kattar, and magomed ankalaev will at the very least fight for a belt.

 

[drbolony]

Called: Rob at MW, Adesanya, Shevchenko, and Max.

Particularly Adesanya. I was at a watch party for his debut against Wilkinson. I told everyone there he'd be champion one day based on that performance. Everyone understandably dismissed and or mocked me.

Snuck up:

Cejudo: I thought he was done after the Joe B fight. I've been pleasantly surprised ever since. His last 4 fight run is probably the most impressive streak in MMA history. I'm including Tony and Khabibs winning streaks. Just those names and performances. My God, what's that little dude made of. Particularly the Moraes one.

Masvidal: I knew he changed some things, but I never expected his 2019. I know he still doesn't have what it takes to be a dominant champ at WW, but going from Journeyman Jorge to solid top 5 contender speaks for itself. Especially in that division.

Korean Zombie: He was always a fun fighter and I thought he'd always be just that. I know shoulda, coulda, woulda doesn't usually have its place in MMA. That said, that KO of the year Yair gave us was one of the flukiest wins in MMA. Had they reached the buzzer, KZ would've won a clear 49-46, and he'd be on a 4 fight win streak with 3 KO's. 2 against top competition. Patient KZ is a mother fucker.

Edit: forgot to mention I called Zhang. @leto1776 can confirm.