Biggest Hype Drain Derailment

[RJ43]

Having watched MMA for several years now I can remember pretty clearly how I felt after most "hype drain derailments." I was on some, off others, but it's always an interesting thing to see "special" fighters not reach their potential for one reason or another and then to look back and wonder what the hell everyone was thinking.

It got me wondering about Conor and how big of a derailment we'd call it if Siver just starched him this weekend. I was trying to think if it would be the biggest hype squash of all time and I actually think it would probably come in second to Brock Lesnar.

Now, we can debate about the fact of whether Brock was hype at all considering he won the belt and beat some legends in the sport. He accmomplished a lot in a short time, but what I'm referring to is the tipping point leading up to the Cain fight. To this day that is probably the single biggest/deepest divide this forum had ever seen with a near even split of vets/newbies/all-comers staunchly picking sides. IIRC Sherdog had Brock winning by a few % points.

There were respected posters creating threads about how Brock was a candidate as the best UFC HW of all time. How he'd destroy Fedor at any time. How he is an unstoppable force in the octagon. It seemed as though the Cain fight was the only thing stopping him from MMA immortality.

Then this happened:

Then this:

Now Lesnar is known more for his incredible drawing power than his actual ability in the cage.



For your money what was the biggest derailment of all time and where would a Conor KO this week place?

 

[SCADA]

 

[SCADA]

LOL at calling Brock a de-railing..the dude won the belt.

 

[Bokelj]

The biggest UFC HW derailment is CC how much it hurts to say.
Brock did amazing for his limited experience.

Alvarez was riding a high as did Lombard.

Conor wasn't a champ in a huge organization, he just has a big mouth and is charismatic

 

[RJ43]

LOL at calling Brock a de-railing..the dude won the belt.

He has five wins as a pro fighter. Most fighters have more wins than that before they even get to the UFC. He was fast tracked and beat a way over the hill natural LHW fighter.

Again, this is relative. It's easy now to say that Brock wasn't hype, but prior the the Cain fight he was literally being touted as the best UFC HW of all time...with 5 wins.

 

[Kneepocalypse]

 

[VinceArch]

So many hype trains have come and gone. One of the biggest will be Conor when he loses. He is good but not great.

 

[DaveHilly]

Bunch of dudes came into the UFC as champions and did poorly out of the gate. Heres my list:

Alistair Overeem
Gil Melendez
Pettis (after losing an embarrassing fight to Guida)
Eddie Alvarez
Lombard
Jake Shields
Nick Diaz

Rockhold also came in as a champion but I don't really remember him getting the hype that others did.

 

[tsarbomba]

Reem

 

[screaminleeman]

Cro-Cop by far.

Lesnar won the UFC title. Cro-cop went 4-6 in the UFC with by far his biggest win against no longer MMA fighter Pat Barry.

 

[SCADA]

The biggest UFC HW derailment is CC how much it hurts to say.
Brock did amazing for his limited experience.

Alvarez was riding a high as did Lombard.

Conor wasn't a champ in a huge organization, he just has a big mouth and is charismatic

Good examples...though Lombard has rebounded nicely. Not sure if Eddie will or not.

Bock came into the UFC with 1 fight...he tore shit up and won the HW belt. Then he got sick, then fell apart. He was not derailed by any means....like you said. Pretty fuking good considering his experience.

 

[Vikassi]

Cormier, for sure. He has nowhere to go now, until Cain and Jones retire.

 

[tsarbomba]

Cro-Cop by far.

Lesnar won the UFC title. Cro-cop went 4-6 in the UFC with by far his biggest win against no longer MMA fighter Pat Barry.

Cro-cop is another great example

 

[Jorge Luis Borges]

He has five wins as a pro fighter. Most fighters have more wins than that before they even get to the UFC. He was fast tracked and beat a way over the hill natural LHW fighter.

Again, this is relative. It's easy now to say that Brock wasn't hype, but prior the the Cain fight he was literally being touted as the best UFC HW of all time...with 5 wins.

He has wins over Herring, Couture, Carwin, and Mir. Any one of those wins is worth more than the five wins in local promotions guys bring with them into the UFC.

While I do not agree Lesnar is the best UFC HW ever, at the time he had as many title defenses as any other champ. A win over Cain would have given him a claim as the best UFC HW champ ever.

 

[SCADA]

He has five wins as a pro fighter. Most fighters have more wins than that before they even get to the UFC. He was fast tracked and beat a way over the hill natural LHW fighter.

Again, this is relative. It's easy now to say that Brock wasn't hype, but prior the the Cain fight he was literally being touted as the best UFC HW of all time...with 5 wins.

Sounds like you were being trolled in the Brock era...

 

[SCADA]

I also agree with CroCop...

 

[Le Fisticuffs]

So you're saying someone is going to down the hype drain?

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

 

[memoriesofrem]

Hard to beat this one.

 

[Limbo Pete]

Huerta fell so hard

 

[RJ43]

Sounds like you were being trolled in the Brock era...

It wasn't trolling at all. Half of the Conor hype right now is trolling. Most of Hunt's recent hype was trolling. Brock was different. People truly believed he was an unstoppable force and that after Cain no one could touch him except maybe Fedor. The idea that Brock would be TKO'd in the first round in his next two bouts and never fight again would seem completely insane back in 2010.