David Loiseau: The Return of "The Crow"

David Loiseau is one of the best fighters to come out of Montreal, Quebec, Canada and one of the only to make it to the big show known as the UFC. Loiseau had his first UFC fight at UFC 42 and won by KO against Mark Weir.

From his debut in 2003 to 2006, David had a bumpy ride, but was able to make it to a UFC Middleweight title shot against then champion Rich Franklin. Although David was able to knock Franklin down, he was dominated the whole fight and lost a decision.

"The Crow" began his rise back to the top of the Middleweight rankings after the loss, but things didn't go too well. After his loss to Rich Franklin at UFC 58, he fought one of the most dangerous fighters in the division back then—Mike Swick.

Like the previous fight, Loiseau was dominated and lost a decision. After the two back to back losses, he was released from his UFC contract. Loiseau tried his luck in smaller MMA shows, including EliteXC.

In 2008, David returned to Canada, where he fought several times. He even created his own MMA organization up in Monteal called XMMA. He fought The Ultimate Fighter season three contestant Solomon Hutcherson at XMMA-5 and won.

Due to the victory, he now gets another shot in the UFC at UFC 97 in Montreal. His opponent will be another Ultimate Fighter season three contestant, Ed Herman. Herman is not a top fighter in the UFC, but he could possibly be a tough opponent to come back too if Loiseau isn't prepared enough.

David has the skills to beat Herman—he can even KO him—but sometimes, returns don't end up the way they should. Some fighters returned to the octagon and loss to someone they weren't supposed to, others shined after there return to the UFC. Here's a list of fighters that made long awaited returns to the UFC.

Ricardo Almeida

Ricardo Almeida made a return to the UFC after being gone from the UFC octagon for six years, plus, he hadn't fought for four years. The BJJ expert defeated Rob Yundt in dominant fashion at UFC 81 in his return.

Frank Mir

Everyone knows the story of Frank Mir. He was a former Heavyweight champion; he was in a huge motorcycle accident that kept him away from the octagon for a while. He returned to fight relative newcomer Marcio Cruz and Frank Mir was TKO'ed in the first round. He hadn't mentally recovered from the accident.

Jens Pulver

Jens Pulver was once know as the best Lightweight fighter in the world, he had victories over the likes of Caol Uno and BJ Penn. Pulver eventually returned to the UFC at UFC 63 against newcomer Joe Lauzon. Pulver was a 7-1 favorite to win the fight but ended up getting KO in the first round.

Evan Tanner

Evan Tanner was a former UFC Middleweight champion, he had fought the very best in the UFC and made a name for himself. He had been two years away from the UFC and was ready to make his return at 37-years-old. He made that return at UFC 82 and was KOed by Yushin Okami.

Randy Couture

At UFC 57, Randy Couture loss to Chuck Liddell and retired. He returned at UFC 68 to battle the UFC Heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia. Most people thought he was crazy, but "Captain America" dominated a much bigger adversary and became the new Heavyweight champion.

BJ Penn

Back in 2003, BJ Penn was considered the best pound for pound fighter in the world. He moved up a weight division to fight Matt Hugues for the Welterweight title and shocked the world to become the new champion. He left the UFC only to return at UFC 58 where he was defeated by Georges St-Pierre.

So for the fans that think David Loiseau has the advantage because of his return, four of the six names listed above had a unsuccessful return to the octagon. At UFC 97, the fate of Loiseau lies in his own hands.