5 UFC stars who were written off and then proved their doubters wrong
Next month at UFC 303, Conor McGregor will make his long awaited comeback when he faces Michael Chandler. Unfortunately, many observers are writing 'The Notorious' off.
Given his lengthy absence, Conor McGregor being written off is no surprise. However, over the years, other UFC stars have been written off in similar fashion, only to prove their doubters wrong.
On a handful of occasions, these fighters then failed to follow up their big performance, showing it was perhaps a one-off. However, to shut their doubters up for one night could be seen as enough for them.
Here are five UFC stars who were written off and then proved their doubters wrong.
#5. Tito Ortiz - former UFC light heavyweight champion
Once the most feared light heavyweight on the planet, by the start of 2011, Tito Ortiz seemed to be well past his prime.
His title reign had ended the best part of a decade ago, and he'd suffered a number of serious injuries. More to the point, his various feuds with the UFC had left him out in the cold, often wasting years of fighting time.
'The Huntington Beach Bad Boy' came into 2011 on the back of a five-fight winless run, including a one-sided defeat to Matt Hamill in late 2010. When he was matched with prospect Ryan Bader, it felt like Ortiz was being set up to help build 'Darth' into a star.
Literally everyone wrote the former champ off, but remarkably, he shocked everyone with his performance.
Before Bader could move out of first gear, Ortiz surprised him with a left uppercut that dropped him, and then grabbed onto a guillotine, forcing him to tap out in less than two minutes.
The fans in attendance went wild as 'The Huntington Beach Bad Boy' busted out his old 'gravedigger' celebration, and for a brief moment, it felt like 2001 all over again.
Unfortunately, the amazing performance turned out to be Ortiz's final win in the octagon. For longtime fans, though, it was still nice to see him prove the doubters wrong, even if only for one night.
#4. Georges St-Pierre - former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion
By 2011, Georges St-Pierre had reigned atop the UFC's welterweight division for three years, turning back the challenge of all comers.
'GSP' was widely recognized as not just the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, but arguably the greatest fighter to set foot in the octagon, period.
However, when he put on a largely disappointing performance in his title defense over Jake Shields, fans began to question whether he'd gone past his prime. When he then blew out his knee entirely before a planned defense against Carlos Condit, it suddenly became easy to doubt him.
St-Pierre spent well over a year on the shelf rehabilitating the injury, while Condit claimed an interim title by defeating Nick Diaz in his absence. By the time 'GSP' came back, many fans predicted he'd never be the same fighter.
Of course, the Canadian proved them very wrong. Not only did he defeat Condit, he produced his best showing in years, beating 'The Natural Born Killer' down and even surviving a knockdown from a head kick.
'GSP' continued his reign as champion for another year before stepping away from the UFC, but never lost his title inside the octagon, only adding to his legend.
#3. B.J. Penn - former UFC lightweight champion
Back in 2010, B.J. Penn was not only the UFC lightweight champion, he was also seen as unstoppable.
'The Prodigy' had claimed the title by choking out Joe Stevenson and then dispatched three top contenders in Sean Sherk, Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez.
However, the Hawaiian suffered an upset loss at the hands of Frankie Edgar that April, losing his title in the process. When he then failed to regain it in a rematch, with Edgar thoroughly outclassing him, it looked like he'd fossilized overnight.
Nobody was sure what'd caused Penn to stagnate so badly, but when it was announced that he was intending to move back to 170 pounds for his next fight, most observers thought he was making an error.
Penn's first fight back at welterweight saw him matched with his old rival Matt Hughes, who he'd split two title bouts with previously. Given Hughes was in the midst of a resurgence, winning three fights in a row, it became easy to write 'The Prodigy' off.
However, Penn instead stunned viewers by knocking the former welterweight king out with a one-two in just 21 seconds. It was a hugely unexpected turnout, particularly given how bad 'The Prodigy' had looked against Edgar.
Unfortunately, the win wasn't a career turnaround for the Hawaiian. Instead, it turned out to be his final win in the octagon. Penn went onto various retirements and comebacks to diminishing returns - eventually ending his career on an eight-fight winless streak.
#2. Wanderlei Silva - former UFC middleweight contender
In his peak days in Japan's PRIDE promotion, Wanderlei Silva was probably the world's most feared fighter. A berserker who would attack his opponents with punches, stomps and soccer kicks, 'The Axe Murderer' famously went unbeaten for five years, claiming PRIDE's 205-pound title in the process.
By 2007, though, the Brazilian looked past his best. He lost his PRIDE title to Dan Henderson via knockout at the start of the year, and when he made his way to the UFC, things didn't get much better.
Although he fought admirably, he lost to Chuck Liddell in a wild brawl that saw him stunned badly on more than one occasion. Given his history of absorbing damage, his career at the top looked all but over.
When he was then matched with Keith Jardine, who was on the hottest streak of his own career, most fans wrote Silva off. They figured 'The Dean of Mean' would easily defeat the PRIDE legend and continue his own charge into title contention.
Instead, Silva produced a showing straight from his PRIDE playbook, proving his doubters painfully wrong.
After stunning Jardine with a short punch, he swarmed all over him, knocking him down with a flurry and then destroying him on the ground. It was a terrifying display from 'The Axe Murderer', and it was enough to transform him into a UFC superstar in his own right, even if he never fully recaptured his PRIDE form.
#1. Randy Couture - former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion
When Randy Couture was inducted into the UFC's Hall of Fame shortly after retiring in early 2006, it came as no surprise.
After all, 'The Natural' had put together a legendary resume that had seen him win the heavyweight title on two occasions and the light heavyweight title on two occasions as well.
However, after his final loss to Chuck Liddell, it made sense for Couture to ride into the sunset. He was nearly 43 years old, had nothing left to prove, and appeared to be winding down from a physical perspective.
When it was announced that he'd be returning to face Tim Sylvia for the heavyweight title in early 2007, then, it was hardly a shock to see most observers write him off.
Not only had he not fought in over a year, but he was old and past his prime, and was also giving up a ridiculous amount of size to 'The Maine-Iac'. Essentially, nobody gave 'The Natural' a chance.
Remarkably, though, Couture made all of his doubters eat their words. He stunned Sylvia by dropping him with practically the first punch he threw, and then dominated him for five straight rounds to claim the title.
Given Couture's age, it was probably the most remarkable performance in UFC history, and remains so to this day. More than a decade on, it still stands as one of the best examples of a fighter who'd been written off proving everyone wrong.