Derrick Lewis and 4 other UFC fighters who never evolved despite others figuring out their styles
Certain UFC fighters stick to their guns, doing so with a stubborn refusal to evolve and grow as mixed martial artists, regardless of the circumstances they find themselves in. Sometimes, fighters are forced to adapt to specific strategic and tactical changes that sweep the entire MMA landscape.
But a change in the MMA meta isn't frequent. What is frequent, however, is a rival coach game-planning for certain fighters and eventually figuring out their tendencies. Thus, fighters are encouraged to diversify their skill sets or, at least, the approach they use when implementing their skills.
Unfortunately, some fighters just never change, no matter how clearly their peers have figured out their styles. They remain the same, either blissfully unaware that their foes can now read them like open books, or convinced that their woes inside the octagon are due to something else, like a recurring injury.
#5. Julianna Peña, UFC women's bantamweight
There is no doubting the heart and grit of Julianna Peña. 'The Venezuelan Vixen' was able to walk through Amanda Nunes' onslaught, jabbing with her to disrupt her ability to string combinations together, and score one of the greatest upsets in the history of MMA. But, she has never been a hyper-skilled fighter.
In fact, Julianna Peña has not evolved as a fighter at all. She has remained a hard-nosed bruiser who lunges forward. While she lacks the power to truly flatline anyone, her iron chin allows her to walk into the line of fire without fear. Unfortunately, her recklessness has been her downfall on several occasions.
She constantly flares her elbows before every punch, telegraphing her strikes while she storms forward without moving her head off the center line. This led to her being dropped several times by Amanda Nunes in their rematch.
Additionally, she has also never tightened up her grappling defense on the mat, which allowed Valentina Shevchenko to armbar her and even a Brazilian jiu-jitsu white belt like Germaine de Randamie to guillotine her.
#4. Edson Barboza, UFC lightweight/featherweight
Edson Barboza is one of the most explosive strikers in the entire promotion. He is also known for being one of MMA's most powerful low-kickers. His kicks in general are extremely dangerous, as evidenced by him being the first fighter to score a spinning wheel kick knockout in the UFC.
Unfortunately, kicking is all Barboza has. His boxing is underdeveloped, as is his lateral movement. Furthermore, he is plagued by a lack of pivoting when he finds himself in tight angles. For years now, opposition fighters have determined his vulnerability to be pressure and crowded spaces.
As a kicker, he needs space and time to plant and throw his kicks with leverage and power. If he's forced onto the backfoot, not only can he not plant and square his hips for kicks, but he is also deprived of the space he needs to throw kicks. Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson both did this to him to great effect.
Yet, Barboza has never addressed this issue of his and it continues to be his greatest drawback in fights.
#3. Cody Garbrandt, UFC bantamweight
At one point in time, Cody Garbrandt looked primed to embark on a lengthy run at the top of the bantamweight division. He was the undefeated champion, who had just slain all-time great 145-pounder Dominick Cruz for the title. Unfortunately, he never defended his title, suffering five losses in his next seven fights.
Worse still, four of those five losses were either knockouts or TKOs. But it isn't his chin that's shot, it's merely the consequence of an issue he's always had and has simply never addressed due to his belief that his shortcomings in the cage are due either to injuries or him not being healthy.
Garbrandt is extraordinarily fast with his hands and has monstrous knockout power, both of which complement his boxing ability. He is lightning-quick when stringing together combinations. Unfortunately, he has no defense whatsoever when he wades into the pocket to trade with his opponent.
Instead, he simply swings without moving his head off the center line or pivoting to his opponent's open side. Worse, he can be easily drawn into the counter due to his tendency to lunge into the pocket, as he believes he's fast and powerful enough to always prevail in such circumstances. Instead, he gets himself knocked out.
#2. Tyron Woodley, former UFC welterweight
Some fans are convinced that Tyron Woodley's decline was a result of age catching up to him, but this isn't entirely true. In fact, it's likely that age has only had a negligible impact on his performances. The reason he exited the UFC on a four-fight losing streak is because he had been figured out.
For years now, the former welterweight champion's intentions inside the octagon have been clear to anyone with a keen mind. He did not use his wrestling much at all, for fear of grappling. He was, in essence, a welterweight version of Yoel Romero in that he was a low-volume counterpuncher with almost no setups.
Woodley never threw combinations and simply retreated in a straight line to try and trick his foe into following him, but only just, as he required time and space to throw his counter-overhand right with leverage and power. But this made it easy for him to back up to the fence, which almost everyone who has beaten him has done.
Yet, no matter how many times this drawback was exploited, Woodley always explained away his losses with excuses and never addressed this issue, leading to his four-fight drop-off towards the end of his UFC tenure.
#1. Derrick Lewis, UFC heavyweight
No one has any misinterpretations about Derrick Lewis' potential as a fighter. He is not, and was never, expected to become the UFC heavyweight champion. What he is, is a humorous personality with more knockout power than almost anyone who has ever fought in the UFC.
As a heavyweight, 'The Black Beast' fancies himself as a counterpuncher, but much like Tyron Woodley, he has no real setups other than backing up to line up his big right hand. In fact, he has almost no diversity to his strikes besides a jumping switch kick and a flying knee, both of which are last-ditch attempts.
He is slow, plodding, and easily flustered when his space is crowded. Furthermore, his absence of a jab makes it easy for opponents to get into range. And his headhunting makes it easy for foes to land body shots. Then, there's his lack of head movement that makes him even more hittable.
Yet, despite the 9 losses he's suffered in the promotion due to these drawbacks, he hasn't changed a thing about his approach and style. He simply is what he has always been: Derrick Lewis.