Fighters that were mediocre but became something special

RDA, wouldn't say mediocre but was so-so then went on a run. Would have loved to have seen that version of RDA vs Khabib.
 
Blachowicz.

Always the underdog and even after winning the belt didn't get much credit. Then while beating Izzy the commentary was still trashing him, then after he had won the fight they said how the scoring was way off....
 
Maurice Smith didn't appear particularly impressive until he completely dominated Mark Coleman
 
Anderson Silva was mediocre in Pride, maybe he had some bad luck in his fights but he seemed to concede takedowns too easily and got into trouble by fighting on his back, maybe it was because of his earlier training background with Dela Riva/Nogueira.
 
Only cause jon vacated the belt

I think he would do ok against kickboxing Jones we have seen the last couple years. Jon could out point him at range, but jan seems strong and powerful enough to avoid wrestling and counter Jon with some big shots and possible squeek out a close decision under the new judging criteria.
 
Werdum was a fat sack.of crap, that literally got knocked out of the UFC by JDS.

Went on to end Fedors streak, came back to the UFC, in shape, with a rounded out game and became HW champ.
 
Robert Whittaker personifies this..
Obsure Ozzie to P4p ranking is warranted.

Bisping is a good fighter who stayed determined and got somewhat better, along with some fortunate timing.

Forrest is Forrest.

In terms of talent rob
In terms of improvement rob
In terms of accomplishments.. Let's face it nobody saw him against court mcgee and saw him as anything but good/mediocre
 
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Poirier. The guy couldn't make it in FW , had to jump to LW where he got slept by Michael Johnson. He was termed chinny by many fans that time.
Fast forward and he became champ and is now arguably the best LW in the world after Khabib.
 
Erick Silva has a not so spectacular record. But once he gets a bit older he will become a dominant UFC champ.
 
Franky Edgar. No power, mediocre boxing to beating a prime BJ Penn, then a legend in the sport? Wutt?!??!!
 
Minowaman...at one point he was 2-9, who would of thought he'd end up becoming an MMA legend.
Chael Sonnen, was always talented but very inconsistent ended up becoming a top contender at MW and nearly being the first to dethrone Anderson Silva, was certainly the first to give him a real challenge.
Overeem - Again similar to Chael, had some good tools but fell short for a long time. Largely seen as a gatekeeper in Pride
 
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