5 UFC debuts that did not go as planned
For any MMA fighter, even truly great fighters, making a debut in the UFC can be an absolutely nerve-racking experience. Seemingly anyone can suffer from the dreaded ‘octagon shock’.
Over the years, we’ve seen a number of big-name fighters debut in the UFC to much fanfare, only for their debuts to go horribly wrong with a devastating loss.
Some of these fighters were able to overcome their debut loss and find success in the promotion. For others, it merely marked the beginning of a bad run overall.
With that in mind, here are five UFC debuts that did not go as planned.
#5. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou vs. Lyoto Machida – UFC 79
When PRIDE closed its doors and the promotion’s fighters began to migrate to the UFC in 2007, arguably the hottest fighter coming out of the Japanese organization was Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou.
‘The African Assassin’ had begun the year as almost a complete unknown. However, after knocking out perennial 205lbs contender Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in his PRIDE debut in a huge upset, it was hard not to be excited by him.
Top upsets in MMA history
#1 Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (+1350) vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira – (Pride 33: 2-24-2007)
#2 Shana Dobson (+1150) vs. Mariaya Agapova - (UFC Vegas 7: 8-22-2020)
#3 Steven Siler (+1100) vs. Magomed Idrisov – (PFL 1: 6-7-2018)
That level of excitement only increased when he followed that win with a second knockout of another highly ranked fighter in the form of Ricardo Arona. When the UFC announced they’d signed him to a contract, fans couldn’t wait for his octagon debut.
He was matched with a tricky opponent in the form of Lyoto Machida, who was unbeaten at 11-0. However, given Sokoudjou’s incredibly heavy hands, as well as his remarkably high-level background in judo, it seemed inconceivable that the native of Cameroon would lose his debut.
Unfortunately, the exact opposite happened. Sokoudjou was outfought by Machida in every facet of the bout. He ended up being submitted with an arm triangle choke in the second round.
The loss took the shine off ‘The African Assassin’ entirely. While he rebounded with a knockout win over Kazuhiro Nakamura, he followed that with a loss to Luiz Cane and washed out of the promotion less than a year after debuting.
Essentially, his debut – and his entire career with the promotion – did not go as planned at all.