Who Has Fought The Toughest Competition Upon Entering UFC?

YOLOGOGOPLATA said:
This crossed my mind after the Gaethje fight this weekend. He was immediately thrown to the wolves against Michael Johnson, who is never an easy out and has some of the fastest hands out there. Then he fought the ex-champ and renowned brawler Eddie Alvarez. Next was Dustin Diamond who, again, is a very skilled brawler and if the UFC made fights based on merit has a great claim to a title shot behind the LW holy trinity. Vick was a step down but still respectable.

I'm a relatively new fan so while I've watched all the legends, I wasn't around to witness the Pride greats crossing over to UFC. In recent times Brock Lesnar comes to mind as well. He definitely got matched up with killers to start his UFC career and did very well, eventually capturing the belt.

Who comes to mind when you all think of a fighter who immediately began facing elite competition as soon as they began fighting in the UFC?
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Babalu:

1st UFC fights: Maurice, Randleman,Chuck,Elvis
 
YOLOGOGOPLATA said:
This crossed my mind after the Gaethje fight this weekend. He was immediately thrown to the wolves against Michael Johnson, who is never an easy out and has some of the fastest hands out there. Then he fought the ex-champ and renowned brawler Eddie Alvarez. Next was Dustin Diamond who, again, is a very skilled brawler and if the UFC made fights based on merit has a great claim to a title shot behind the LW holy trinity. Vick was a step down but still respectable.

I'm a relatively new fan so while I've watched all the legends, I wasn't around to witness the Pride greats crossing over to UFC. In recent times Brock Lesnar comes to mind as well. He definitely got matched up with killers to start his UFC career and did very well, eventually capturing the belt.

Who comes to mind when you all think of a fighter who immediately began facing elite competition as soon as they began fighting in the UFC?
Click to expand...
Randleman:

Maurice,Bas,Pete Williams,Rizzo,Couture,Chuck,Babalu
 
Lesnar.

I think that the guy is a dickhead but I always respected the fact that he demanded top competition right out of the gate.
 
Antonio Silva kicked things off against Cain, Travis Browne, Overeem, Cain then Mark Hunt. Crazy first 5 fights in the UFC.

Overeem was thrown into the deep end too though he came in not long after winning the strikeforce championship
 
Any of you guys ever heard of Rory McDonald?
 
Cain

2-0 upon entering the UFC (which is crazy to me but that's another story)

Fights Jake O'Brien, a highly touted prospect, in his 3rd UFC.

Then fights Kongo, Rothwell, Big Nog, Lesnar, JDS, Big Foot, Werdum and Browne.
 
Joe Soto. Dude fought dillashaw on short notice for his first fight lol
 
YOLOGOGOPLATA said:
This crossed my mind after the Gaethje fight this weekend. He was immediately thrown to the wolves against Michael Johnson, who is never an easy out and has some of the fastest hands out there. Then he fought the ex-champ and renowned brawler Eddie Alvarez. Next was Dustin Diamond who, again, is a very skilled brawler and if the UFC made fights based on merit has a great claim to a title shot behind the LW holy trinity. Vick was a step down but still respectable.

I'm a relatively new fan so while I've watched all the legends, I wasn't around to witness the Pride greats crossing over to UFC. In recent times Brock Lesnar comes to mind as well. He definitely got matched up with killers to start his UFC career and did very well, eventually capturing the belt.

Who comes to mind when you all think of a fighter who immediately began facing elite competition as soon as they began fighting in the UFC?
Click to expand...
Rizzo:

Tank,Coleman,Tra,TK,Randleman,Beast,Barnett,Couture x2,AA,
 
JayJayMMA said:
Antonio Silva kicked things off against Cain, Travis Browne, Overeem, Cain then Mark Hunt. Crazy first 5 fights in the UFC.

Overeem was thrown into the deep end too though he came in not long after winning the strikeforce championship
Click to expand...
Doesn't matter to me what they did before UFC. Overeem is fair game for the purposes of this thread. As good as the fighters in strikeforce were, I think we can all agree UFC is the cream of the crop. Thanks for mentioning him, Great post.
 
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Overeem and JDS had some tough fights from the get go. At least Overeem was already established, JDS was unknown and tossed into the mix.
 
KevinThaKilla said:
Jon Jones

So obvious that it's not even a legit question.
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Many fighters have faced tougher competition off the bat than Bones. Gusmao, Bonnar, o'Brien, Hamill, Vera, Matyushenko are not even close to some of the guys already mentioned in this thread
 
Jones was green and beating legends that are still fighting.

Bitches complain about him partying and crashing his car but whateves...he's been wrecking fools in the octagon and that's all I care about. Dick pills don't bother me.
 
KevinThaKilla said:
Jones was green and beating legends that are still fighting.

Bitches complain about him partying and crashing his car but whateves...he's been wrecking fools in the octagon and that's all I care about. Dick pills don't bother me.
Click to expand...
I hear ya dude, it's just not relevant to this convo lol
 
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