Skilled Fighters Who Were in the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time

Mixed Martial Arts is a sport where one athlete can be dominant for a long period of time.  In MMA a long period of time can be five or more fights since big names fight an average of three or so times a year. 

That being said during a reign of a dominant fighter or fighters skilled fighters may get lost in the shuffle and forgotten.  There have been a few notable fighters who have come close to a major title win but fell short.

First one that comes to mind is Jeremy Horn.  A fighter who newer fans may not have ever heard of.  He was a respected MMA pioneer who had two chances at UFC gold first against Frank Shamrock who he lost to by kneebar after a long battle.  He was a last minute fill in for the title fight. 

The second time was against Chuck Liddell during his reign of domination.  Horn showed great heart in the Liddell fight but the earlier punishment he endured became too much in the fourth round as he was no longer able to see due to severe swelling of his eyes.  He had previous defeated Chuck Liddell years before.

Pedro Rizzo was a beast in the early days of the UFC heavyweight division but fell short in three heavyweight title matches, all of them were to accomplished wrestlers Kevin Randleman and twice to Randy Couture.  

Rizzo was so dominant in the UFC for a period of time outside of those particular matches.  Knocking out a young Josh Barnett at one point.  A knock out that Barnett returned to him last year at Affliction 1. 

Rizzo/Couture 1 was a heart breaking defeat for the Marco Ruas protege.  It was a fight that many thought he had won.  Honestly, it was a close call.  After that defeat he wasn't the same and seemed to be a shell of his former self.  In the rematch Couture was dominant and wore down Rizzo and eventually earned a referee's stoppage. 

Rizzo is still actively fighting as is Horn but both seemed to have lost the fire that made them MMA pioneering standouts.  Another fighter that comes to mind is Renato "Babalu" Sobral.

Sobral was a dominant light heavyweight in the UFC until he faced Liddell and has knocked out with a vicious head kick in 2002.  Following the defeat he went on a tear winning 11 straight and earning a title shot at Chuck Liddell's light heavyweight crown in 2006.  He was knocked out again.

Following the lost he was knocked out by little known Jason Lambert in a match he was dominating until he was caught by a couple heavy shots.

Unlike Rizzo and Horn he seems to be more dedicated then ever and he is currently on a five fight win streak including a win over Bobby Southward in which he earned Strikeforce's Little Heavyweight title. 

He has been successful in Affliction thus far going 2-0, and has an upcoming fight at Affliction's Trilogy against Gegard “The Dreamcatcher” Mousasi on August 1st at Honda Center in Anaheim.

I know that this list is not all inclusive but made up of three of my favorite fighters.  So fellow MMA fans who else are good fighters who have been lost in the shuffle during a dominant fighter's reign?