5 UFC debuts that did not go as planned

#4. CM Punk vs. Mickey Gall – UFC 203

Former WWE champion CM Punk was destroyed by Mickey Gall in his octagon debut

In late 2014, former WWE champion CM Punk announced that he intended to embark on an MMA career with the UFC. Nobody really knew quite what to expect.

After all, Punk was already 36 years old at the time, didn’t come from any kind of martial arts background, and didn’t seem to be the most athletic specimen either.

However, it did seem like the former WWE champ was taking things seriously. He began training heavily with a highly reputable camp in the form of Roufusport. While he signed with the UFC in late 2014, he waited almost two years to actually make his debut in the octagon.

After searching for a potential first opponent for the former pro-wrestler, the promotion eventually settled on Mickey Gall who, at the time, had just two professional fights to his name.

Gall appeared to be skilled but, given his inexperience, many fans felt that Punk at least stood a chance of coming out on top in the fight.

When it came to fight time, though, Punk seemed completely unprepared for what was about to happen. After throwing a weak punch, Gall tackled him to the ground, destroyed him with strikes, and then submitted him with a rear-naked choke in just over two minutes.

It was painfully clear from this debut that the former pro-wrestler simply wasn’t cut out for MMA no matter how hard he’d trained. After one more loss, it was no surprise to see him depart the UFC and return to his former roots. To say his debut didn’t go to plan would be an understatement.

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#3. Luke Rockhold vs. Vitor Belfort – UFC on FX 8

Vitor Belfort turned Luke Rockhold into a punchline in his octagon debut

Although Luke Rockhold’s knockout losses to the likes of Jan Blachowicz, Michael Bisping and Yoel Romero have made him a punchline of sorts in the eyes of some fans, at his best, he was a truly brilliant fighter.

Rockhold famously won the UFC middleweight title from Chris Weidman in 2015, capping off an impressive five-fight winning streak. However, prior to embarking on that, he suffered a terrible loss in his octagon debut that threatened to derail his career entirely.

Rockhold came into his debut as the reigning StrikeForce middleweight champion. He was matched with Vitor Belfort, who was coming off a violent win over Bisping.

Essentially, it felt like Rockhold would be handed a title shot with a win. Unfortunately, Belfort had other ideas entirely.

‘The Phenom’ came into the fight in phenomenal shape. After just two minutes, he caught Rockhold with a ridiculous spinning wheel kick that knocked him absolutely senseless.

The win unsurprisingly moved Belfort into position for a title shot, while Rockhold was basically knocked to the back of the queue. While he didn’t remain there for long thanks to his abilities inside the octagon, it’s probably not unfair to say that his debut couldn’t have gone much worse.