5 UFC Champions who were Overrated: Mixed Martial Arts is one of the most physically demanding sports of all time. To compete in it, let alone succeed, requires superhuman resilience and ability. UFC, as the peak of the sport, naturally houses some of its greatest practitioners.
Calling a UFC fighter, that too a former Champion, overrated does not question their skill or technical prowess inside the Octagon. An overrated UFC Champion is someone who did not deliver on their initial promise after winning a championship. All these names, at some point in their career, were pegged to be all-time greats. But for some reason or another, that did not transpire.
Here are 5 UFC Champions Who Were Overrated
5) Lyoto Machida
From a Karate and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu background, Brazilian Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida’s name comes up in one of the most infamous UFC moments of all time. Machida went into his seventh UFC fight undefeated as he challenged Rashad Evans for the UFS Light Heavyweight Championship at UFC 98. After catching Evans off-guard near the four-minute mark in the second round, Lyoto won the fight and his first and only UFC Championship.
The infamous moment came when popular commentator and podcaster Joe Rogan proclaimed “Welcome to the Machida Era” right after Machida’s win. This moment went down in infamy because of how underwhelming the Brazilian subsequent title reign and UFC career was.
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In his first defence at UFC 104, Machida defeated Mauricio Rua via unanimous decision. But most people who saw the bout believed that Rua should have won it. Because of the backlash, the two fought again at UFC 113. This time, Machida suffered his first UFC loss and lost the title.
After his first loss, Lyoto Machida fought 14 more times for the UFC with a record of 8-6. He did have some good wins in there but was never able to defeat any top-level fighters. To be fair, Machida’s ‘overrated’ status comes from that iconically infamous line by Joe Rogan.
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4) Mark Coleman
Putting Mark Coleman’s name in a list of overrated UFC Champions might be sacrilege. The first winner of what is now called the UFC Heavyweight Championship, Coleman was a massive pioneer for the sport. Among other things, he is attributed for coming up with the term ground-and-pound.
But Coleman’s shadow on the sport is bigger than his career itself, which, though impactful, was not among the greatest. After winning the UFC 10 and 11 CHampionship tournaments, Mark took on and defeated UFC Superfight Champion Dan Severn. His success was an indication that wrestlers and grapplers could succeed in MMA. His win over Severn made him the first-ever UFC Heavyweight Champion.
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His reign however, was less than iconic. In only his first title defence at UFC 14 in July 1997, Mark Coleman lost the Championship to massive underdog Maurice Smith via decision. After his match with Randy Couture for the Championship was cancelled, Coleman lost two more fights in UFC and then went to an up-and-coming PRIDE promotion in Japan, only coming back to the UFC in 2009. After losing two out of three of his fights upon his UFC return, Mark Coleman retired from the sport.
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3) Holly Holm
An accomplished boxer before ever stepping into the UFC, Holly Holm had the pedigree to make it big in the promotion. But no one could predict how much of an impact she would have on the sport.
In only her third UFC fight, Holm took on a living legend Ronda Rousey in the main event of UFC 193. The face of women in combat sports at the time, Rousey was a massive favourite going into the bout as the UFC Bantamweight Champion. Despite any pre-fight conceptions, Holm controlled the bout, ultimately knocking Rnda out with an iconic kick to the head and subsequent punches in the first minute of the second round.
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With Holly Holm becoming a household name overnight, all eyes were on her as the Bantamweight Champion. But her first title defence raised more questions than answers. A submission defeat to Meisha Tate was followed by two more defeats. Her UFC career since winning the Championship has been below 500, with her record being 6-8 since then.
At the time of writing, Holly has lost her most recent bout against Mayra Bueno Silva via submission.
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2) Matt Serra
Matt Serra’s UFC career, unfortunately, is defined by one moment. But that moment was one of the greatest in UFC history. After winning The Ultimate Fighter 4, Serra had a decent record of 5-4 in UFC but some momentum behind him. This momentum thrust him into a fight with one of the greatest UFC fighters of all time and at the time UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre (GSP).
Going into the fight as big of an underdog as one could be, Serra shocked the world with a first-round TKO win over GSP, winning the Welterweight title in the process.
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Following the fight, Matt Serra became one of the coaches on Season 6 of The Ultimate Fighter alongside Matt Hughes. The two coaches were to face off in the season finale, but Serra herniated a disc while training on the show.
His next fight came a year after his last in the form of a rematch with GSP, which the Canadian great won via TKO. Despite remaining a fan favourite every time he was on the screen, Matt Serra only fought for the UFC three times after his loss against GSP.
After his loss to Chris Lyle at UFC 119, Serra claimed that he would not step into the Octagon for the foreseeable future. He never did that since.
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1) Ronda Rousey
One of the biggest names in UFC history and the reason behind the promotion having a women’s division in the first place, Ronda Rousey’s image has been tarnished in the eyes of the fans since she left the company for the pastures of WWE in 2018. One of the most adored and marketable fighters on the roster, Rousey was also an undefeated Champion in Strikeforce and UFC for years.
After a 6-0 record in Strikeforce, Rousey jumped to UFC in 2013 and became the promotion’s first Bantamweight Champion. She then defended the title six times in over two years.
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Fans and experts now rightly claim that Rousey did not face strong competition in all her time at the top of the MMA world. The fighter she faced Rousey easily took down due to her Judo background.
The beginning of the end began at UFC 193. Ronda Rousey went in as heavy favourite against a good striker in Holly Holm. We all remember how that fight went. The above-mentioned kick to the head spelt disaster for Rousey.
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Looking to come back strong, Ronda Rousey was all over the promotion of her fight against Amanda Nunes at UFC 207. That fight ended even quicker, as Nunes knocked out Rousey in the first minute of the fight.
With her legendary status in the sport, and two defeats against the only good striking opponents she ever faced. Ronda Rousey is definitely one of the most overrated UFC Champions of all time.
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