5 UFC Champions who were overrated
MMA is a complicated sport, after all, it’s an amalgamation of various intricate martial art forms. It’s a rarity to find a fighter proficient enough in every aspect of the game, and thus, rating fighters becomes all the more difficult.
Of course, there are the prodigal talents who were born to fight and are regarded as well-rounded specimens of MMA, but, you also have fighters whose weaknesses were apparent enough to exploit. The laughable fact is that many of the aforementioned fighters with noticeable chinks in their armor surprisingly went on to capture the top prize of the UFC.
Call it dumb luck, a momentary flash of brilliance or the result of unavoidable backstage politics; there were many Champions in UFC’s history that were hyped to the hilt. They may have won the title but were far from the best in their respective divisions and were found out sooner rather than later.
Agreed, you can be lacking in one facet of the sport and still have a respectable reign with smart game plans. However, consistency is what sets the champions apart from the rest and the names on this list lacked that too.
In this slider, we’ve mentioned overrated champions on the basis of the quality of their reign and the era they fought in. Now, the overrated-debate is a highly controversial and subjective topic. So, save your opinions and suggestions until the end of the slider.
#5 Forrest Griffin
It’s tough to hate a UFC Hall of Famer. Griffin was part of some memorable Light Heavyweight slugfests during his 7-year run with the UFC and won The Ultimate Fighter Season One.
Credited for catapulting the UFC’s mainstream credentials after ‘The Most Important Fight in UFC History’ against Stephan Bonnar, Griffin was naturally one of the hottest prospects in the promotion. He was bound to be pushed as a title contender but he could not capitalize on the hype that surrounded his likable persona.
Griffin staked his claim for Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson’s Light Heavyweight title by pulling off the upset of the year against Mauricio Rua. He realized his dream of becoming champion by beating Rampage at UFC 86 via unanimous decision by outpointing the loud-mouthed champion with a leg kick strategy. His reign, however, ended as a result of a clobbering he received at the hands of Rashad Evans in the subsequent fight.
He never recovered from the loss as he got humiliated in his first-round KO defeat by Anderson Silva in his next fight. Griffin fought four more times after the Silva bout and notched up wins against Tito Ortiz and Rich Franklin before hanging up his gloves due to chronic injuries.