5 UFC fighters who improved greatly in a short amount of time

Every UFC fighter believes in the strength of their skill-set. For example, mixed martial artists with a background in wrestling must have confidence in their ability to secure takedowns. Similarly, fighters with a background in striking must believe in their ability to outstrike their foes.

While confidence is necessary for fighters to succeed in MMA, they also need a team of coaches to enlighten them on their weak spots. But due to the conflicting nature of believing that they can beat anyone in the world, while somehow recognizing their limitations, improvement can sometimes be difficult.

Furthermore, mastering new skills can be difficult after a lifetime of training in a completely different one. Thus, time is required for fighters to improve in a significant manner. This list, however, looks at UFC fighters who have shown vast improvements after very little time has passed.

#5 Rafael dos Anjos, UFC lightweight

Rafael dos Anjos has showcased three different versions of himself throughout his storied MMA career. During his early days, he was a grappler with a breadth of Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills. After working his way into the UFC, he developed into a generalist but his bread and butter remained grappling.

The greatest performance of his career 🙌

Rafael dos Anjos became the UFC Lightweight Champion at UFC 185 after a clinical performance against Anthony Pettis 👊 https://t.co/JZdsSAp2kG

But in the span of a few months in 2014, 'RDA' underwent a significant change. His tutelage under Rafael Cordeiro peaked and the future lightweight titleholder developed a brutal and suffocating pressure-based Muay Thai game. He began incorporating thunderous low kicks, but rarely threw his kicks naked.

Anjos often marched his opponents down with sweeping punches that attacked the space around them before landing low kicks as his foes retreated. This led to the beginning of a win streak that saw him become the first UFC fighter to dethrone Anthony Pettis as the lightweight kingpin.

#4 Francis Ngannou, former UFC heavyweight

Francis Ngannou is arguably the most powerful puncher in MMA history. His natural knockout power is a tremendous asset that has carried him through most of his bouts. While the Cameroonian phenom was wilder in his earlier days, which cost him a possible win in his initial title fight, he eventually fine-tuned his striking.

Who had @francis_ngannou wrestling his way to victory at #UFC270? 🤔 https://t.co/5uoFoCFFtM

Ngannou became a more patient puncher and even added a competent low-kicking game. That, however, is not his most impressive improvement. After crushing Stipe Miocic in their rematch at UFC 260, he defended his title for the first time at UFC 270 the following year. His opponent was former teammate Ciryl Gane.

While most fans expected a striking battle, what ensued was an extended grappling affair. In his first clash with Stipe Miocic, 'The Predator' was absolutely helpless against his foe's wrestling. For him to outwrestle 'Bon Gamin' while injured after looking like a complete novice against Miocic was jaw-dropping.

#3 Henry Cejudo, UFC bantamweight

Henry Cejudo is one of the most credentialed wrestlers in UFC history. He is an Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling and his grappling background is something he paired with basic boxing fundamentals. An overhand-right, for example, requires a level-change that works well with takedowns.

Henry Cejudo's striking has evolved immensely, he just destroyed Wilson Reis in under two rounds. Lethal. #UFC215 https://t.co/f303VYSkVB

While he was a boxer-wrestler during the first half of his career, 'Triple C' underwent a significant evolution after suffering a split-decision loss against Joseph Benavidez. The future UFC double champion's subsequent bout was against Wilson Reis.

After a year away from the octagon, Cejudo implemented years' worth of changes to his striking in one year. He adopted a Shotokan karate style that altered everything from his stance and movement to his punching mechanics and it led to the birth of one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time.

#2 Kamaru Usman, UFC welterweight

For most of his career, Kamaru Usman was frequently branded as a boring fighter. As a physically imposing wrestler, 'The Nigerian Nightmare' implemented a straightforward gameplan. He sought to either secure takedowns or pin his opponents against the fence with an overhook-underhook combination.

Once he trapped his foes against the fence, the all-time great 170'er battered them with punches en route to lopsided decision wins. While Usman's wrestling has always been elite, his striking was always severely lacking. He appeared to lack punching power and his looping punches didn't have much kinetic chaining.

#UnDiaComoHoy hace exactamente 1️⃣ año, Kamaru Usman retenía el Título UFC 🏆 del peso wélter propinándole este brutal KO 💣💥 a Jorge Masvidal en el rd2 en #UFC261

🎥 @UFCEspanol

#ESPNKnockOut https://t.co/1ncWwVjjsE

What's incredible is that he dethroned Tyron Woodley with that skill-set. Afterwards, however, he developed arguably the best jab in the promotion. The Nigerian-born demonstrated it months later against Colby Covington. He has since improved and introduced a devastating right cross and apt stance-switching as well.

The 35-year-old has improved so much that he became the first fighter to KO Jorge Masvidal out cold and TKO'd Gilbert Burns with a jab, of all things. Kamaru Usman went from having very poor striking skills to having the best jab in the promotion.

#1 Alexander Volkanovski, UFC featherweight

The foundation of Alexander Volkanovski's fighting style has always been volume. He tries to overwhelm his opponents with a combination of feints, strikes and level changes. The purpose of doing so is to overload his opponent's decision-making process due to the sheer volume of activity he's forcing them to react to.

But during the early days of his MMA run, 'The Great' also made great use of his Greco-Roman background to pin his opponents against the fence. But as time went on, he made massive improvements between his fight with Brian Ortega and his trilogy bout with Max Holloway.

UFC 276
Alexander Volkanovski vs Max Holloway
What a match
What a win for Alexander Volkanovski

#UFC276 #UFC #UFC276Live https://t.co/oxNdJXKRS2

Volkanovski countered his opponent's jabs either by jabbing with them or throwing an overhand-right over the top. His calf kicks became sharper as counters to opponents who stepped forward with jabs of their own. Furthermore, he became an active stance-switcher to introduce a deadly shifting combination.

More than that, however, the reigning UFC featherweight champion has become freakishly fast. He was so fast that Chan Sung Jung and Holloway were both helpless against his newfound speed in their trilogy bout.