5 UFC fighters who weren't afraid to vocalise outlandish goals after making their debuts
Whenever a fighter debuts in the UFC, it’s probably fair to guess that their goal would be to become a champion inside the octagon – however, to hear them outright state this is usually rare.
On some occasions, we’ve seen fighters debut in the UFC and immediately vocalize their goals. Some of those goals seem remarkably lofty to say the least.
Sometimes, these fighters have managed to achieve their goals, while others saw their early claims blow up in their faces.This reduced their statements to bizarre soundbites.
Here are five UFC fighters who weren’t afraid to state their outlandish goals when they joined the promotion.
#5. Bo Nickal – UFC middleweight contender
When stellar collegiate wrestler Bo Nickal made his first appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series in August, it seemed clear that he had a bright future in the UFC. This despite the bout being just his second professional MMA fight.
Nickal dealt with opponent Zach Borrego with ease in that fight, and after defeating Donovan Beard on this week’s edition of Dana White's Contender Series (DWCS), he was unsurprisingly inked to a long-term deal with the promotion.
‘The Allen Assassin’ is expected to make his octagon debut proper either later in 2022 or at some point in early 2023. Despite his lack of experience in the fighting world, he hasn’t been shy in showing his overall confidence.
In his first interview after earning his UFC contract, the former NCAA Division I national champion called out Khamzat Chimaev, the hottest prospect in MMA right now. 'Borz' is a fighter who has six octagon wins under his belt already.
Bo Nickal just called out Khamzat Chimaev! 👀 https://t.co/QZrqXYOJdG
Remarkably, Nickal claimed that Chimaev would be a good match for him, essentially claiming that his incredible wrestling would be able to neutralize the powerful grappling game of Chimaev.
Unsurprisingly, White himself was quick to shoot the idea of a Nickal vs. Chimaev bout down – suggesting it was “crazy.” The fact that the newcomer clearly has such belief in himself – he also stated that he’ll be “the champ” by 2024 – means that he’ll definitely be a fighter to watch going forward.
#4. Brandon Vera – former UFC heavyweight contender
When lists are created of UFC fighters who failed to live up to their early potential, one name that tends to come up is Brandon Vera.
Following his octagon debut in 2005, ‘The Truth’ received a remarkable amount of hype. Sure, a lot of it was down to the way in which he dispatched opponent Fabiano Scherner, but Vera also wasn’t shy in vocalising his self-belief and lofty targets.
Despite only just picking up his debut win, ‘The Truth’ took to the microphone after the bout to state that his long term goal was to claim the heavyweight title. After that, he planned to drop to 205lbs to dethrone then-light-heavyweight champ Chuck Liddell to become the promotion’s first double titleholder.
At that point, it seemed like a pipe dream – but when he quickly reeled off three more wins it seemed like he might actually pull it off. One of them was stopping former heavyweight champ Frank Mir in the process.
Free fight - a heavyweight Brandon Vera vs. Frank Mir at UFC 65 ufc.com/media/UFC-on-F…
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Losses to Tim Sylvia and Fabricio Werdum ended his dreams of becoming heavyweight kingpin, and although he did drop to 205lbs as he promised, he never came close to winning the title there, either.
Eventually, the outlandish claim Vera made after his debut seemed more like a cautionary tale than anything else – a lesson to younger fighters to keep their feet on the ground, or to avoid vocalising such lofty goals in the first place.
#3. Khamzat Chimaev – UFC welterweight contender
Right now, it’s fair to say that there is no hotter fighter on the UFC’s roster than Khamzat Chimaev. Not only is ‘Borz’ seemingly on track to challenge for either the welterweight or middleweight title in 2023. He’s also been able to retain an aura of invincibility even despite taking some damage in his war with Gilbert Burns earlier this year.
If you’re a believer of the idea that self-confidence can breed success, then it should hardly come as a surprise to see Chimaev flying so highly despite only debuting in the promotion two years ago.
#UFC267"EVERYBODY! I COME HERE FOR EVERYBODY! KILL EVERYBODY! I'M THE CHAMP!"
@KChimaev wakes up and ALWAYS chooses violence 😰 #UFC267 https://t.co/7e7z1lrLBc
After all, the Chechen-born fighter showed an absolutely remarkable level of self-assurance even at that stage, most notably in an interview following his victory over Rhys McKee.
That interview not only saw ‘Borz’ coin the famous statement that he would “smash everybody”, but also claim that there wasn’t anyone in the welterweight division that could challenge him. He also claimed he would smash the champions at both welterweight and middleweight.
Thus far, Chimaev has lived up to his claims, although whether he can indeed claim gold in the near future remains to be seen. If he can, though, he’ll become one of the few fighters to back up every word he’s said, despite it sounding outlandish at the time.
#2. Diego Sanchez – former UFC welterweight contender
One fighter who was never short on self-confidence was former lightweight and welterweight contender Diego Sanchez, who departed the UFC in 2021 after fifteen years of wars inside the octagon.
‘The Nightmare’ burst onto the scene in 2005 by winning the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter, and after making a drop to the welterweight division later that year, he was quick to announce his goals.
In a 2006 interview, Sanchez claimed that while all of the other TUF products would end up losing fights, he would go through his entire career undefeated, finishing all of his opponents, winning the title and then getting out of his contract without falling to defeat.
To say that this was an outlandish statement would be an understatement, but at the time, it was clear that ‘The Nightmare’ truly believed it, as he managed to defeat tough opponents like Karo Parisyan and Nick Diaz, often relying on his mental strength to pull him through tricky situations.
Diego Sanchez was once 19-0 https://t.co/Fh0vX9DyAJ
Unfortunately for Sanchez, things didn’t quite pan out how he believed they would. He suffered his first defeat in early 2007 at the hands of bitter rival Josh Koscheck, and while he did challenge for the lightweight title in late 2009, he came up short, and ended up departing the promotion with a record of 19-14.
In this case, there was nothing wrong with the self-confidence of ‘The Nightmare’ – but he perhaps would’ve been better off had he not vocalised it quite so much.
#1. Conor McGregor – former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion
While many fans now believe he’s past his prime, it’s probably fair to say that Conor McGregor is one of the most successful fighters in UFC history.
Not only did ‘The Notorious’ become the first fighter to hold titles in two different weight classes simultaneously, he also holds wins over some all-time greats such as Jose Aldo, Dustin Poirier and Eddie Alvarez.
Unsurprisingly, given his reputation as a supremely confident trash talker, McGregor was never one to play down his lofty goals even in his early days with the promotion.
The Irishman debuted in the octagon in early 2013 with a quick knockout win over Marcus Brimage, and while Brimage wasn’t a ranked featherweight at the time, McGregor’s first interview following that win saw him make some huge claims.
When asked if he’d become the featherweight champion, ‘The Notorious’ replied “100%”, and then went onto state that he didn’t feel any pressure despite supposedly having the “weight of a nation on his shoulders”.
Incredibly, even a torn ACL in his second trip to the octagon didn’t really derail him. McGregor returned a year later, continued to take out foes just as easily as he’d done to Brimage – and eventually defeated Aldo to become champion, just as he’d said he would, in late 2015.
While his ‘Mystic Mac’ reputation has slipped somewhat in recent years, it’s safe to say that he stands as the ultimate example of a fighter who vocalised their lofty goals and then firmly lived up to them.