12 Fighters Who Had Their Hype Trains Derailed Abruptly

I’m not the kind of fight fan who believes losing a single bout, even if in shocking fashion, means a fighter is done and his potential lost. In a sport as erratic as mixed martial arts, favorites are going to lose, underdogs will sometimes prevail and those guys you’ve never even heard of will leap to the forefront of things with an unbelievable victory.

That’s just the way this game works.

However, I may be in the minority. Oddly enough, it seems a large portion of “MMA fans” are eager to leap and declare an individual’s hype deceased upon first defeat. I suppose that’s the nature of the beast; you’re only as good as your last fight.

Note: While there are 12 fighters on this list, the overall slideshow consists of only 10 frames. The reason being is that a few of these fighters fall into what I would call a “TIE” category in that their respective derailments mirrored the significance of another’s to a T.

10. Erick Silva

Erick probably doesn’t even belong on this list, but a whole slew of people will definitely disagree with that sentiment. He dropped an insanely tough fight to Jon Fitch at UFC 153, but he was never so horribly outclassed that hope for his future should be discarded. The man had his moments.

If anything, the loss to Fitch, who’s proven a perennial contender for well over half a decade, will only empower Silva. It’s good to know the areas in which work is required.

Perhaps Erick was man handling wrestlers in camp, and he believed that left him suited to take on the best wrestlers of the division. He now knows that a lot more hours on the mat are going to have to be invested if he hopes to topple guys of Fitch’s caliber.

9. Rolles Gracie

Prior to UFC 109, Rolles Gracie was considered the most promising heavyweight of the Gracie tribe destined for greatness. He’d picked up three quick submission victories to launch his career, and the UFC immediately saw an opportunity to capitalize on a marketable name.

Unfortunately for both Rolles and the UFC brass, it just wasn’t meant to be: Gracie was far from prepared for the big stage.

The rugged but fairly unrefined Joey Beltran welcomed the Brazilian to the cage, and in less than seven minutes, had prepped his bags for departure. Gracie gassed inside of five minutes, showcased rudimentary striking abilities and got folded by the "Mexicutioner."

8. Dustin Poirier/Hatsu Hioki (TIE)

This is one more interesting slot to fill, because like Erick Silva, Dustin Poirier has plenty of time to turn his career around, and unlike Silva, Hatsu Hioki probably doesn’t have the shelf time required to make the adjustments needed to return to the top of the division. Yet while their hype derailments differ drastically, both hold just about the same relevance to the featherweight division as a whole.

Dustin, who had racked up four wins inside the UFC’s octagon against not a single loss, ran into a wall when he met Chan Sung Jung (“The Korean Zombie”) at UFC on FUEL TV 3. Jung was simply superior everywhere the fight went, and Dustin, who sat on the brink of a title shot, was bumped from his perch with seeming ease.

Hatsu Hioki, in contrast, hasn’t really shined since signing with the North American promotion. He took decision nods over George Roop and Bart Palaszewski upon joining the UFC’s ranks, but he looked far from the world beater promised, or the grind ‘em down and wreck ‘em machine we’d seen compete in Japan.  Touted as a longtime top three competitor of the division, Hioki is looking anything but!

7. Muhammed Lawal

First off, it must be said: Lawal will prove a valuable and dangerous MMA commodity. He has all the physical tools to do it, and mentally, he’s one tough SOB. That doesn’t change the fact that a collective gasp was released when Rafael Cavalcante pounded the hype right out of this train at Strikeforce: Houston.

Lawal has rebounded since, but not without controversy. A brutal knockout over a pair of unbeaten in Roger Gracie and Lorenz Larkin looked to place “King Mo” right back in the discussion of the elite until the drug screening results returned following the Larkin knockout and anabolic steroids were detected in his system.

It’s back to the drawing board for “King Mo."

6. Bobby Lashley

Aside from Brock Lesnar, the sport hasn’t seen a professional wrestler convert to MMA with a substantially high level of hype behind him. Bobby Lashley, a hulking beast of a man, however, certainly turned a number of heads when he made his MMA debut at Mixed Fighting Alliance: There Will Be Blood.

Lashley made his debut a good one, stopping Joshua Franklin in just over 40 seconds. Four more impressive wins followed, and it seemed as though Lashley may prove a superior mixed martial artist to Lesnar.

Chad Griggs brought everyone, including Lashley, back to realist at Strikeforce: Houston, where he simply out-willed "The Dominator."

After two rounds, Lashley had seen enough. He called it quits before the final round had the chance to begin.

5. Joe Warren/Pawel Nastula (TIE)

Both of these men decided MMA was a sport they’d like to pursue post-30 (not a bright maneuver, unless your name happens to be Randy Couture). Age and a mean learning curve stood in the path of both, yet amazingly, both showed significant promise.

Joe Warren dropped a fight early in his career to Bibiano Fernandes, but victories over Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto, Chase Beebe and Patricio Freire negated the defeat. Most chalked it up to inexperience. Alexis Vila, and subsequently, Pat Curran made sure not only to stop the hype train from moving forward, they completely obliterated it.

Vila knocked Warren unconscious with a single blow at Bellator 51, and Curran delivered Joe one of the nastiest beatings you’ll ever see at Bellator 60.

Nastula, in contrast, could have been great immediately, but signing with Pride ensured the hype that followed this judoka into his MMA debut was halted immediately. Inside Nastula’s first four fights, he was paired against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Aleksander Emelianenko, Edson Claas Vieira and Josh Barnett. Needless to say, he kicked off his career at 1-3, and the buzz surrounding this potential stud never resurfaced.

4. Todd Duffee

Massive, chiseled, agile and superhero looks, these are the makings of a star. And, for a single fight, a star Duffee was. After leveling Tim Hague in seven seconds at UFC 102, it looked like the heavyweight division had a new face to take note of.

Mike Russow ensured that would not be the case, and he didn’t even look impressive in stopping the freakishly muscled Duffee in the process. After having his rear end handed to him for two-and-a-half rounds, Russow landed an unimpressive shot that sent Duffee sprawling to the canvas. The most embarrassing hammerfist in history somehow turned the one-time prospect’s lights out completely.

Train, meet derailment.

3. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou

Who wouldn’t believe Sokoudjou was destined for greatness after seeing him dispose of Pride stars Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Ricardo Arona in a combined 2:21?

The MMA world was certain that "The African Assassin" was about to alter the landscape of the light heavyweight division after such startling performances, but future champion Lyoto Machida had some plans of his own.

Eight months after squashing the aforementioned studs, Lyoto put a beating on Sokoudjou in his octagon debut. Thierry just couldn’t mount much effective offense, and Lyoto worked his magic steadily before submitting the Team Quest representative with 40 seconds remaining in the second round of their scheduled three-round affair.

Sokoudjou hasn’t looked the same since.

2. Edson Barboza

Edson Barboza likely has the talent to travel as high in the lightweight ranks as he desires, but he’s going to have to learn that not every man he faces will fold once he starts working those devastating kicks.

Jamie Varner showed the Brazilian exactly what can happen when durability and power collide with momentum and overconfidence.

Barboza never saw Varner’s swarm coming, but after having his senses temporarily rearranged by the former WEC champ, you can bet he’ll make note that some men are built for war and some aren’t.

1. Hector Lombard

I’m not one to tell you the Lombard hype train has officially been derailed, but most others may. I’ll admit he looked miserable and tentative against Tim Boetsch at UFC 149, but while he dropped his UFC debut, according to the judges, I still found his uninspired performance to be worthy of the nod.

My opinion doesn’t alter the books, and Lombard’s history will forever be marred by the “loss."

For many, Tim Boetsch upset the one man believed to possess an overall pedigree strong enough to give Anderson Silva an actual fight.

You can follow me on Twitter to unleash your profanities. Niceties will be warmly embraced in the comments section below.