Biggest Overachievers in UFC history

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Lionheart7167

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I see a lot of threads about biggest busts in UFC history.

On the flipside, who are people that succeeded tremendously or far-exceeded expectations? (for whatever reason....luck, heart, etc.). Define "overachiever" however you want. They found success.

Not talking hugely hyped prospects. Guys like Conor, Velasquez and Anderson had a lot of hype coming in.

Here's a few of mine

Matt Serra- He beat GSP. I can't think of many other huge, memorable wins, or bigger upsets in the whole history of the company
Dillashaw- Dillashaw was certainly a prospect, but I don't think anyone saw him rising to the levels he achieved (EPO or not)
Gonzaga- When he came into the UFC, I don't remember a lot of hype. A lot of people thought he'd be a stepping stone for CroCop. A big upset, and a title fight later... even though he never blew up, he had a few solid years
Frankie Edgar- Now he's practically a legend, but he was undersized and I don't recall others thinking he would go very far, early on.
 
Forrest Griffen - I'd love to see the odds on him subbing shogun
Julianna pena - won the title TWICE, one of the least skilled champs ever and the single worst 2x title holder without a doubt
Mackenzie Dern - who would have thought?
 
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yeah forrest is the one that immediately comes to mind. i mean he didn't even have much of a skillset, he had journeyman written all over him from the start. the win over rampage doesn't get enough credit for being one of the biggest upsets of all time.
 
aside from forrest, bisping's another one for sure. i wouldn't put serra in the running as it was just one flash in the pan win, that was gifted to him out of nowhere. with forrest and bisping you had more of a sustained run - serra came off a reality show, one big win and then disappeared just as fast.
 
VAfan said:
i wouldn't put serra in the running as it was just one flash in the pan win, that was gifted to him out of nowhere. with forrest and bisping you had more of a sustained run - serra came off a reality show, one big win and then disappeared just as fast.
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Isn't that the definition of an overachiever? Having the least talent and doing the most? Serra literally had the best win out of pretty much every single fighter out there.
 
Nate Diaz v Connor and in some other cases too (cowboy maybe)
 
loisestrad said:
Isn't that the definition of an overachiever? Having the least talent and doing the most? Serra literally had the best win out of pretty much every single fighter out there.
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i'd say there's a difference between fluke win and overachiever. for me at least, an overachiever is someone who builds something sustained (like a career) out of relatively little. IMO the serra fight was a fluke, a flash in the pan, caused more by his opponent's mistakes than anything else. GSP obviously underestimated him, and then when he got caught behind the ear (by his own admission) pride took over and he insisted on still trying to bang it out versus going for the TD.

whereas bisping and forrest had something more sustained, came up through the ranks, had notable wins here and there, dragged it out over a whole career. other people may define things differently.
 
Something about these threads really makes me hate how Griffin is always labeled an overachiever. He beat Rampage and Shogun back to back and was winning the first 2 rounds against Rashad. I'm not saying Forrest is the greatest LHW ever, but had pretty good skillset. He fell off afterwards, but lots of champs just lose after the belt, he went 3-2 after, and supposedly had tons of injuries and addiction problems which kept him out.

-One of the biggest LHW's pre Jones
-Cardio more than everyone at the time, I can't think of a LHW with better cardio
-Good kicks, striking good enough to stand with Rampage, just not enough for Silva.
-Never submitted, and good enough to sub Shogun or Chael on an off night.
-Chin sometimes can go haywire, but dude was able to go through wars and had heart.
-Good enough TDD to defend against Tito more than not

I'm just saying DDP is just as much as an "overachiever", but I wouldn't consider him that. Actually besides when UFC started out, I think all the UFC male champs are pretty solid.

Now WMMA on the other hand you have some really terrible champs.... Pena, Montano, and Pennington. But even those were just a reflection of a weak competition pool.
 
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Lionheart7167 said:
I think Belal and Miocic were pretty great. Excellent records and wins over lots of top opponents
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yep but belal was for a long time top 10-15 and even just outside the rankings before and no one was shocked. Him being champ, he overachieved compared to expectations
Same for Miocic. You wouldn't have expected him to be the HW champ who defended his belt the most with wins over Overeem, Ngannou, and Cormier when he was losing to struve
 
Nate Diaz and Masvidal also come to mind. Both of these guys were some how able to headline a non title fight ppv, without ever having held a title in their careers.
 
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