5 UFC fighters who scored viral knockouts but couldn't live up to the hype
The UFC is now a worldwide phenomenon, with millions of fans watching its events across the planet. So, unsurprisingly, the promotion’s fighters can become huge stars, particularly if they can deliver the goods inside the octagon.
One way to become a star in the UFC is to unleash a knockout that goes viral across the world, but unsurprisingly, it’s often hard for a fighter to live up to the hype that follows.
While some fighters like Conor McGregor and Francis Ngannou have been able to follow a viral knockout with more of the same, plenty of others have been unable to, and instead have sometimes been considered busts by the UFC fanbase.
With that in mind, here are five UFC fighters who delivered a viral knockout and then failed to live up to the hype.
#5. Uriah Hall (UFC record: 10-7)
Uriah Hall’s UFC record is somewhat underrated these days, and if he wins his fight with Sean Strickland this weekend, ‘Prime Time’ will be riding a five-fight winning streak and should be considered a UFC middleweight title contender.
However, had he been able to live up to the hype he garnered prior to his official UFC debut in 2013, he probably would already have claimed the UFC middleweight title and become a legendary champion.
Hall was part of the cast of the 17th season of The Ultimate Fighter, and before his first fight aired on the show, UFC President Dana White waslabelinglabelling him “the new Anderson Silva."
When his fight with Adam Cella did air, it quickly became understandable why White felt that way about Hall. ‘Prime Time’ used a spinning hook kick to knock Cella unconscious in what was one of the scariest knockouts in MMA history.
And when he followed that with two more violent knockouts of Bubba McDaniel and Dylan Andrews, the hype went into overdrive, with White labeling Hall “the most dangerous fighter in TUF history.”
It seemed academic that he’d overwhelm the smaller Kelvin Gastelum in his UFC debut in the season finale, but, incredibly, Hall fought a more passive bout and lost a decision, before following that with another dull decision loss to John Howard.
At that stage, the hype around ‘Prime Time’ was all but gone, and even though he’s scored wins over fighters such as Gegard Mousasi and Thiago Santos since, he’s never quite reached the level suggested by that insane knockout of Cella in 2013.