Biggest Overachievers in UFC history

[Limeade]

Recently it has to be Tom Aspinall. The guy got a title shot off a win over Martin Tybura. His best win is against Alex Volkov. Yet people talk about him like he’s an all-time goat.

None of that makes him an overachiever. He has talent and looked good in his title run.

An overachiever would be someone lacking athletic talent but still finding a way to win fights especially against elite opponents.

 

[Tweak896]

I get what you're saying, but you're also describing why people call him an overachiever.
-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.
-Good enough TDD to defend against Tito more than not
-Chin sometimes can go haywire, but dude was able to go through wars and had heart.

Basically, he's a competent fighter but nothing about him says he would go on to become a world champion, or beat the likes of Rampage, Shogun or even Rich Franklin

You can dissect every champ in those regards. Rich Franklin sucks because he couldn't stand with Silva. Yet he was considered a dominant champ before him.

I say subbing black belts, defending takedowns from Tito, out striking Rampage makes him pretty well rounded. Again he was giant at the time for LHW too.

 

[Clark Rogers]

Sera and Forest IMO.

Not sure how to quantify which was a bigger overachievement, neither were supposed to happen.

Forest wasn't supposed to win TUF much less the title, and of course Sera only gets to that fight because of a TUF redemption season.

 

[HHJ]

Sera and Forest IMO.

Not sure how to quantify which was a bigger overachievement, neither were supposed to happen.

Forest wasn't supposed to win TUF much less the title, and of course Sera only gets to that fight because of a TUF redemption season.

I mean, when Forrest won TUF, and UFC absolutley wanted him to get the title from that point on. It's insane that he actually pulled it off though. He beat Rampage with the only possible strategy that would have worked for him.

 

[Limeade]

He has a goofy-looking style and often does some hilarious shit in the cage. Just poking a bit of fun, obviously he is an elite fighter and a powerhouse in the division.

Missed lateral drop. I feel his pain, I did that once and got trapped for 5 minutes. Well good for DDP for still winning in the end.

 

[Killer Whale]

Bisping
Miocic

 

[SalvadorAllende]

Do Bronx.

Years ago nobody would have thought he was going to win the LW title.. let alone defend it.

 

[invictorious]

Not the biggest, but Michael Reece-Page, aka MVP, is one.
Page's mostly dominant wins in Bellator were overshadowed by claims he fought subpar opponents.
His first loss to Douglas Lima supposedly exposed him.
Some ignore the fact that Lima was a former champion, and that Page later avenged that loss in a close decision.
Page is now 3-1 in the UFC. By exceeding the expectations of many, he has overachieved.

 

[Substance Abuse]

Tracy Cortez?

 

[TankAbbott4Eva]

I've always said Dan Kelly for this one. Dude has a judo background which doesn't really translate directly to MMA very well, basic striking to say the least as well plus he was old and I think his knees were bad by the time he made it to the UFC.

Anyway he had a nice little run there (but did get KOd by Sam Alvey unfortunately haha), outstruck Rashad Evans somehow and if he found a way through Brunson he might have gotten a title shot. I think Whittaker had the belt at the time, would have been a great local title fight for the Aussies.

 

[cheesus]

Pena is a two-time champ with a 12-6 record averaging one fight per year and beat the greatest female fighter of all time despite being as slow a Suzuki Samurai and having the striking coordination of a toddler, Forrest Griffin would get my next vote but he's not as bad as people make him out to be.

 

[FreddieRoachsVoice]

Forrest is the obvious answer. He went from being a scrappy awkward guy on an experimental reality show to being the guy who turned MMA into a mainstream sport to being a sacrificial lamb for the top Pride LHW to being the UFC LHW champion. Incredible stuff.

However, considering Forrest has been mentioned many times already, I will say Jon Fitch. He had zero punching power, non-existent stand up, objectively pretty weak BJJ, his college wrestling record is actually pretty bad, and yet he still went 13-1-1 in the UFC over 6 years and 21-1-2 over a 9 year period in MMA... that is pretty mind blowing considering how insanely non-threatening he was as a fighter. The guy didn't have a single 1st round stoppage across 22 of those fights! lol

Also, he maintained this longevity despite being absolutely HATED by Dana White who actively tried to get him out of there on numerous occasions. It took him 6 straight wins to get a co-main event spot, 8 wins to get a title shot, he was released after losing to GSP because of a dispute over the video game, put on the prelims upon his return, denied a rematch with GSP after winning a title eliminator, specifically matched up with stylistically difficult opponents, and openly mocked by Dana on Twitter after losing outside the UFC following his release.

In hindsight, it is pretty insane that Jon Fitch had the run he had with so little going for him. He was the de facto #2 guy for 5+ years while the MMA GOAT ruled his division... pretty damn good for a guy who didn't finish a fight for over a decade.

 

[TheFakeMacoy]

I've always said Dan Kelly for this one. Dude has a judo background which doesn't really translate directly to MMA very well, basic striking to say the least as well plus he was old and I think his knees were bad by the time he made it to the UFC.

Anyway he had a nice little run there (but did get KOd by Sam Alvey unfortunately haha), outstruck Rashad Evans somehow and if he found a way through Brunson he might have gotten a title shot. I think Whittaker had the belt at the time, would have been a great local title fight for the Aussies.

His success was definitely unexpected. While Rashad was past his prime, all of Kelly's MMA career was past his as well.

I remember him KO'ing Shoeface as being hilarious.

 

[josh345]

RDA. In terms of how his career just started off so average.becomes a world champion and even defends it in a domination of cowboy

In terms of little talent and going far....as others have said Griffen and bisping.

 

[Cletus Fertitta]

Damn has anyone mentioned Bethe? She started mma in her mid 20s after being done with cardio kickboxing, and obviously not athletic. But damn she beat enough people to get a title shot.

 

[lefthighkick01]

Forrest's talent wasn't his MMA technical ability or overwhelming physical attributes, it was his perseverance.

yeah I agree, he was a big LHW with big heart, but sometimes that beats technical abilities.. thats the beauty of MMA

 

[El Fernas]

Eddie Alvarez has always struck me as overachiever for his UFC run, 4-3-1, yet still managed to get the title, he has won a lot outside of the UFC, but his run was never UFC champion level to me imho.

 

[handle]

black beast.

 

[Pancake Sprawl]

i think Couture was an overachiever. he has a lot of losses to journeymen yet still won multiple UFC titles

 

[Eric Silva 2.0]

There is some merit in Nate’s overachiever call-out.

He was the slower fighter in every match in his career. Possible to exception is Cowboy.

But his hard work, toughness and “timing” kept him in the elite mix and earned him a title shot.

Also: Carlos Condit was neither fast, explosive or particularly athletic in the typical MMA sense….

But he was a champion and elite for quite a long while…. By hard work and ferocity !

If I look at his career closely, "timing" had a lot to do with it. I enjoyed watching him fight into his prime.