5 Current UFC Fighters Who've Shown the Most Improvement
Some fighters are shipped to the UFC with "greatness" stamped onto the package.
For example, Anderson Silva immediately made his presence known within the first minute of his UFC debut. Jon Jones ran through every single opponent, regardless of the name, like a hot knife through butter.
Other fighters don't have that stamp of domination from the start.
These are the fighters who, for one reason or another, took time to improve and hone their skills before they could be considered atop the crowd of athletes in their division.
Scroll on to see which fighters made the cut.
Thales Leites
1 of 5
A man by the name of Thales Leites stepped into the UFC cage to fight Francis Carmont in 2014. He looked the part of a man who was as comfortable on his feet as he was on the mat.
Funny thing is, a man by the name of Thales Leites stepped into the UFC cage to fight Anderson Silva five years prior—except this guy looked nowhere near as comfortable on his feet. What a half-decade it was for Leites and his stand-up game.
Yes, few men outside of Chris Weidman have ever looked comfortable on their feet when standing against Silva, but few can argue that Leites hasn't made leaps and bounds since his title fight against the greatest fighter of all time.
Back-to-back (T)KO victories inside of two rounds have the former title contender climbing the middleweight rankings. Any more improvements on his hands or feet should see the Brazilian fighter crack the top 10.
Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza
2 of 5
Here's another Brazilian fighter who found early success on the mat and refined his approach to fighting by revising how he handles himself on his feet.
Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza has only suffered three losses in his 11-year career. The first was a knockout to Jorge Patino in 2003. The second was a technical knockout loss to Gegard Mousasi. The third was a unanimous-decision loss to Luke Rockhold.
The one thing they all have in common? Souza's inability to hold his own as a striker.
After suffering a 25-minute setback to Rockhold in 2011, Jacare took to the mitts to ensure he wouldn't be exploited any longer.
He hasn't necessarily abandoned his grappling ways (he's captured four victories by way of submission since his latest defeat), but he's shown that he can couple his elite-level jiu-jitsu with heavy hands that should force any fighter to take notice.
Anthony Johnson
3 of 5
It's not as if Anthony "Rumble" Johnson was a bad fighter when he swam in welterweight waters during his first stint with the UFC. With seven victories in his first 10 bouts at 170 pounds, you could say he was pretty good.
But as his first stint neared its end, it was obvious that Rumble had one glaring issue: his weight. Cue a logical move to middleweight, where Johnson would be afforded 15 extra pounds he wouldn't need to cut from his 6'2" frame—cue another failed attempt at making weight.
He was cut and no longer a problem for the UFC.
Fast forward two years and six straight victories at light heavyweight and heavyweight in other promotions, and Rumble was ready to ring the UFC's doorbell once again.
After proving he was capable of cutting down to 205 without a hitch, he would no longer be a problem for the UFC—just kidding.
Assuming he's able to wade through his legal issues unscathed and return from suspension, Johnson should meet a top contender in the 205-pound division to try and improve his winning streak to nine in a row.
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Robbie Lawler
4 of 5
Robbie Lawler was easily one of the most explosive fighters in the UFC in his early 20s. He stepped into each fight with two apparent intentions: to win and to entertain.
After spending some eight up-and-down years facing off against some of the better fighters that EliteXC and Strikeforce had to offer, Lawler made his return to the UFC cage with his welterweight roots intact. Three losses in last four Strikeforce fights had most of us thinking Lawler was merely part of the package that brought Gilbert Melendez, Jake Shields and Alistair Overeem.
Five wins in six fights since his return to the Octagon have most of us wondering just how far Ruthless can go. He's currently pegged to take part in the welterweight sequel that is Hendricks vs. Lawler II in December; we'll see if he can utilize the same sort of improvement to finally have a UFC strap to call his own.
T.J. Dillashaw
5 of 5
Few people outside of those training at Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, California, gave T.J. Dillashaw any sort of a chance against Renan Barao at UFC 173. He was supposed to be the next one to fall on Barao's path to greatness. He was supposed to be the fourth Team Alpha Male fighter to fail to defeat a Nova Uniao fighter. He was supposed to lose.
He didn't. Big time.
It took about two minutes for most of us to realize that this wasn't the same Dillashaw we'd seen in years past. He had poise like Silva; he had footwork like Dominick Cruz. He put it all together to give fans one of the most dominant performances in recent memory.
He was not the same guy who was knocked out by John Dodson in The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale. He wasn't even the same guy who beat Mike Easton four months prior to his crowning moment. He'll likely face off against Cruz in his next bout to show us just how far he's come by shining a light on the true bantamweight king.
Kristian Ibarra is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report. He also serves as the sports editor at San Diego State University's student-run newspaper, The Daily Aztec. Follow him on Twitter at @Kristian_Ibarra for all things MMA.
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