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Every year, it seems like the UFC’s roster expands, as the promotion adds more fighters to its stable, but that’s particularly been true during the last decade. The UFC has expanded massively since 2010, moving from Spike TV to Fox and finally to ESPN, and over time they’ve begun to put on more and more shows.
Of the newcomers to the UFC roster, many of them are lesser-known fighters looking to make a name for themselves once they arrive into the Octagon, but sometimes, we’ve seen fighters enter the promotion with a lot of hype behind them as blue-chip prospects.
In the decade between 2010 and 2019 some of those prospects have gone onto major stardom; think Conor McGregor, Khabib Nurmagomedov or Chris Weidman. Others. on the other hand, have flamed out massively, not living up to the hype they were given coming into the Octagon.
Here are 5 top UFC prospects who failed to live up to the hype in the last decade (2010-2019).
#1 Brandon Thatch
Striker Brandon Thatch exploded onto the UFC scene in 2013 with back-to-back vicious TKOs of Justin Edwards and Paulo Thiago, and for all intents and purposes, it looked like he had everything required to become a title contender in the Welterweight division.
A lifelong martial artist, ‘Rukus’ was already heavily hyped prior to his UFC debut; he’d gone 9-1 on the regional scene and had looked like the real deal there, stopping all of his victims in the first round. And at 6’2” with a 74.5” reach, he had an enormous frame for a 170lber, even towering over then-UFC champion Georges St-Pierre, one of his training partners.
However, when he was given his first step up in competition – against Benson Henderson, the former Lightweight champion making his first trip up to 170lbs – holes in Thatch’s game were exposed. Essentially, if he couldn’t destroy his opponent with his strikes early in the fight, he would run out of steam pretty quickly.
Henderson survived the early rush and submitted him in the fourth round, and from there Thatch’s UFC career fell apart; he lost his next three fights, all by submission, and was released from the promotion in 2016. ‘Rukus’ hasn’t fought since, and never managed to live up to the early promise he showed.
#2 Chris Holdsworth
Bantamweight Chris Holdsworth was just 4-0 in professional MMA when he was signed by the UFC to star in the 18th season of The Ultimate Fighter in late 2013, but he was already widely recognised as a fantastic prospect.
A Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Marc Laimon, Holdsworth was part of Urijah Faber’s Team Alpha Male, and had gone professional after putting together a 6-0 amateur record, showing both fantastic athleticism and slick grappling skills.
Those skills got him through the TUF house essentially unscathed; he submitted Louis Fisette, Chris Beal and Michael Wootten by chokes, all in the first round, and then followed that with a submission of Davey Grant in the final, making him a TUF champion to watch.
Unfortunately, Holdsworth’s career soon came crashing to a halt. He defeated Chico Camus by decision at UFC 173, but was then forced out of action by a concussion sustained in training – reportedly, then-training partner TJ Dillashaw hit him with a reckless knee strike – and hasn’t fought since.
As we edge closer to 2020, it doesn’t seem likely that ‘Holds Em Down’ will be returning any time soon; at 32 he’s still got a window of opportunity, but it’s been years since any news has been reported on him and it just doesn’t seem likely that he’ll ever recover from post-concussion syndrome. Through no fault of his own, he’s never come close to reaching his massive potential.
#3 Alex Garcia
One of the most naturally gifted athletes in MMA, Alex Garcia was only cut from the UFC a couple of months ago, and at 32 years old and in the most loaded division in the sport (Welterweight), there’s every chance he could return in the near future.
‘The Dominican Nightmare’ came into the promotion with high hopes of becoming a legitimate title contender, and sadly never came close.
He started off excellently; wins over Ben Wall and Sean Spencer put him at 2-0 in the UFC and 12-1 overall midway through 2014, and his loss to Neil Magny was a controversial decision that saw him severely injure his knee.
He returned in 2015 to defeat veteran Mike Swick, and it seemed that he was back on track, his mix of powerful wrestling and striking blended together with insane athleticism.
That wasn’t the case though, as his next fight saw him KO’d by Sean Strickland after losing steam in the later rounds. That turned out to be a pattern for ‘The Dominican Nightmare’ – he could finish opponents in violent and flashy ways, as he did against Mike Pyle and Muslim Salikhov, but if a foe could survive the early rush, Garcia tended to gas out and struggle down the stretch.
If the Dominican fighter could’ve closed that hole in his game, he almost certainly would’ve been a UFC title contender if not a champion, but as it is he’ll go down as a missed opportunity more than anything else, a blue-chip prospect with an unfortunate major weak spot.
#4 Jared Rosholt
Successful amateur wrestlers almost always do well in MMA, and thus it’s no surprise that before they reach the UFC, they become recognised as some of the best prospects in the sport.
This decade saw the rise of wrestlers like Henry Cejudo, Chris Weidman and Stipe Miocic – all of whom went onto hold UFC gold – and at one point, Jared Rosholt was expected to join them at the top of the promotion.
A three-time NCAA All-American, Rosholt’s brother Jake had seen some brief UFC success in 2009, but hadn’t quite lived up to the hype given to him; Jared, nicknamed ‘The Big Show’ for his massive size and strength, was hoping to go a step further than his brother and make his way into title contention.
Early on it looked like he could do it, too. Bringing a record of 8-1 into the UFC, he used his powerful wrestling to win 6 of his first 7 bouts in the Octagon, even defeating veteran Stefan Struve at UFC 193.
The only problem? Rosholt’s fighting style was extremely dull. Essentially, he found he was simply able to outwrestle the majority of his opponents – and so his other skills began to lag behind, particularly his striking game, as most of the time he didn’t need to use them. He was winning, but not in the way the UFC wanted.
A fight against Roy Nelson in early 2016 saw him lose a close decision, and sensing an opportunity, the UFC released him from his contract. In all honesty it was a harsh release, but due to his boring fighting style, few UFC fans had complaints.
Had he fully rounded out his game, he could’ve been a contender – but as it was, ‘The Big Show’ failed to live up to the hype.
#5 Rony Jason
The Featherweight winner of the inaugural Ultimate Fighter: Brazil season, Rony Jason seemed like he had all of the tools to reach the top in the UFC. Named after the infamous serial killer from the Friday the 13th movie series, Jason came into the reality show with a record of 10-3, and buzzsawed his way through the competition, showing ruthless finishing skills on the feet and on the ground.
A somewhat dull win over Godofredo Pepey in the season’s finale at UFC 147 soured some fans on him, but an ultra-exciting win over Sam Sicilia in a brawl at UFC 153 sent his hype train into overdrive. Had the UFC found their next Brazilian superstar? A third Octagon win – over Mike Wilkinson – suggested they had.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Jason suffered a violent knockout at the hands of Jeremy Stephens in his next fight, and although he then bounced back with a KO of Steven Siler, subsequent fights against Robbie Peralta, Dennis Bermudez and Jeremy Kennedy saw him flatter to deceive – and a positive drug test for a banned diuretic in 2015 didn’t help.
The case appeared to be that while Jason’s offensive skills were tremendous – meaning he could take out lower-level fighters in stunning fashion – he just didn’t have the defensive skills nor the wrestling base to succeed at the very top level. He was released from the UFC in 2017 and hasn’t returned since.
