Pseudo Sane
Black Belt
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2009
- Messages
- 5,327
- Reaction score
- 1,017
As set out in the thread title.
This is a safe space to reminisce on fighters who were touted as the next big thing but who never managed to meet their potential (or whose potential was massively overblown).
1) Roger Huerta: It is difficult to remember now what a big deal Roger Huerta was eight years ago. In May 2007, Roger Huerta was the first MMA fighter ever to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated. At the time, he was supposed to be the new face of MMA. However, Huerta, then 20-1-1, hit the ceiling in late 2007, barely scraping by Clay Guida with a late submission, before suffering back to back decision losses to Kenny Florian and Gray Maynard which closed out his UFC contract. Since the Guida fight, Huerta's records has been 2-6.
2) Diego Sanchez: It is hard to remember now (and almost unbelievable given their career trajectories since then), but in late 2006 Sanchez, then 17-0, was frequently mentioned as a real threat (perhaps the only threat) to then newly-minted WW champion Georges St. Pierre. That threat never materialized, and Sanchez never fought for the title, as he consistently fell short against top competition (although he did fight for, and lose, a LW title fight in 2009).
3) Brandon Vera: Given the way his career turned out since then, it seems ridiculous in retrospect, but in 2007, Vera looked like a sure thing as the next UFC superstar, sporting an 8-0 record topped by a dominant win over Frank Mir. Those dreams of superstardom vanished in October 2007 when he suffered a lopsided decision loss to Tim Sylvia. Since then, he failed to beat a single name opponent, dropping fights to Werdum, Jardine, Randy Couture, Jon Jones, Thiago Silva, Shogun, and Ben Rothwell. Vera was released from the UFC in 2013.
That's it for me. Anyone else think of anyone?
This is a safe space to reminisce on fighters who were touted as the next big thing but who never managed to meet their potential (or whose potential was massively overblown).
1) Roger Huerta: It is difficult to remember now what a big deal Roger Huerta was eight years ago. In May 2007, Roger Huerta was the first MMA fighter ever to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated. At the time, he was supposed to be the new face of MMA. However, Huerta, then 20-1-1, hit the ceiling in late 2007, barely scraping by Clay Guida with a late submission, before suffering back to back decision losses to Kenny Florian and Gray Maynard which closed out his UFC contract. Since the Guida fight, Huerta's records has been 2-6.
2) Diego Sanchez: It is hard to remember now (and almost unbelievable given their career trajectories since then), but in late 2006 Sanchez, then 17-0, was frequently mentioned as a real threat (perhaps the only threat) to then newly-minted WW champion Georges St. Pierre. That threat never materialized, and Sanchez never fought for the title, as he consistently fell short against top competition (although he did fight for, and lose, a LW title fight in 2009).
3) Brandon Vera: Given the way his career turned out since then, it seems ridiculous in retrospect, but in 2007, Vera looked like a sure thing as the next UFC superstar, sporting an 8-0 record topped by a dominant win over Frank Mir. Those dreams of superstardom vanished in October 2007 when he suffered a lopsided decision loss to Tim Sylvia. Since then, he failed to beat a single name opponent, dropping fights to Werdum, Jardine, Randy Couture, Jon Jones, Thiago Silva, Shogun, and Ben Rothwell. Vera was released from the UFC in 2013.
That's it for me. Anyone else think of anyone?
