Fighters that were mediocre but became something special

[Hellowhosthat]

Dillashaw probably wasn't exactly mediocre but once he went to Ludwig he became truly outstanding.

 

[VinceArch]

Only cause jon vacated the belt

And I'm sure you had different fighters in mind on who would be his successor other than Jan. So did most others, myself included.

 

[Pastinaca1]

Diaz brothers.

Never showed anything impressive and somehow managed to win some fights and became popular.

 

[Pastinaca1]

Bisping and Masvidal are prime examples

Masvidal had his 15 minutes of fame after he punched Edwards backstage and KOd Askren. Now no one likes him anymore and after he loses again to Usman he will go back to irrelevance

 

[welcometohavoc]

There are a lot of guys/girls in this game that seem destined for greatness since day 2. While other come from outta nowhere. Someone who comes in demoing like nothing special but works at their craft and slowly becomes something great.

That is what really impresses me, is watching fighters grow over time.

Who are your best examples of mediocre fighters that were able to great overtime?

I hate to say he was mediocre because he did face some of the best in the division, but RDA went from a top 20 guy to the world champ in a matter of months

 

[VinceArch]

Dillashaw probably wasn't exactly mediocre but once he went to Ludwig he became truly outstanding.

Mmm.. I'm curious on what's in the Ludwig peanut butter and TJ has never surpassed a 4 fight win streak ever. Can someone truly be outstanding when they keep losing after a 4th win?

 

[RemyR]

RDA is my vote. rafael cordeiro can work miracles.

Rafael Corderio is IMO one of the greatest striking coaches ever. Hell even Mike Tyson went to go train with him when he made his comeback.

 

[blacknblue104]

Masvidal isn’t special at all. But he’s mediocre as fuck and is making money now. So fuck it

So being a former lightweight that went up and KO'd a massive welterweight in Darren Till (who just fought the former MW champion to a 48-47 decision) wasn't impressive?

Or arguably beating Benson Henderson when Henderson was in his prime or fighting tit-for-tat with a guy like Demian Maia in a grappling heavy fight wasn't special?

I'm not a fan of Masvidal's blown up ego either, but to call the guy mediocre doesn't make any sense. His skills are not mediocre whatsoever.

 

[Jorge Luis Borges]

Only cause jon vacated the belt

This might be true. Jon never lost as champ. But the fights with Reyes and Santos showed his reign was coming to end.

 

[Jorge Luis Borges]

Michael fucking Bisping. Won the world title and defended it once.

Ah, nothing but love for the Count, but that "defense" doesn't really mean anything. Henderson wasn't even top ten anymore. But yeah, he was a high level journeyman who never earned a title shot, and here I am arguing about his title defenses.

 

[Slatersan]

Oliveira and Poirier. Now they’re top dogs in their division.

 

[SeattleFightFan]

Tim Sylvia.

He was an uncoordinated and unathletic lug until he started training. Lost his first ammy fight to a future 185er. But never quit.

 

[felmmando]

Ah, nothing but love for the Count, but that "defense" doesn't really mean anything. Henderson wasn't even top ten anymore. But yeah, he was a high level journeyman who never earned a title shot, and here I am arguing about his title defenses.

Bisping was never mediocre; he hovered in the top 6 of his division for a long time.
That defence was phony, as far as I could tell, regardless of where Henderson ranked.

 

[El Fernas]

Michael fucking Bisping. Won the world title and defended it once.

Thing with Bisping, he was always around the same level, good but not great, and he landed the perfect fight/streak when it mattered the most, he made it to the belt and got paid against George "are you intoxicated" St-Pierre.

Love Bisping btw, he was always a fight away from the title fight.

 

[felmmando]

I nominate LHW Alistair Overeem.

Also, not exactly mediocre but Fabricio Werdum certainly bloomed in the fights leading up to his championship.

 

[ElZid]

I dont think Mas, Bisping or Jan are good examples.
They were always very good but did not get that much better. They capitalized on the opportunity given to them, hats off to them.

Nunes comes to mind, she improved sooooo much.
Same with Cejudo. Until the Reis fight I thought he would be another guy but became an absolute killer.

 

[ZeeTV]

Tyron Woodley was getting knocked out by Nate Marqduat.

he sat out for his title shot and took the title from Lawler. This was after Lawler put away Rory MacDonald. Defends twice and whoops the UFC hype job Darren Till.

I have no clue what happened to him after that. The pressures of being a champ, having his hands in too many things outside of fighting, something got to him and a dedicated focused guy like Usman came through and took it.


Who else?......

Could Mighty Mouse be thrown in there?

Calvin Kattar had some good hype before losing to Max.


Oh no another great candidate.

Dustin Poirer. After getting destroyed by McGregor he leveled up big time.

 

[sutherland]

Rose and Frankie Edgar

 

[JSN]

RDA went from being a middling guy who lost to clay guida to champion of 155 and contending for a belt at 170 with wins over guys like Lawler and Pettis when he looked invincible.

For sure on RDA. All of a sudden he hit on all cylinders and looked about as good as we’ve seen outside of the ant Rushmore guys like Jones and GSP.

 

[markg171]

Lawler comes to mind. I guess Blachowicz too, he's had a pretty long career that wasn't that special and now he's at the top.

Never would have I guessed he'd be champion but here we are.

Ehhh, both guys only became champions because Jones and GSP vacated