UFC debuts are often lackluster. Coming in as a new addition to the roster under the bright lights is a tough thing to do.However, from time to time there will be a debut that makes you stand up out of your seat and celebrate. It will awe you and insta…
UFC debuts are often lackluster. Coming in as a new addition to the roster under the bright lights is a tough thing to do.
However, from time to time there will be a debut that makes you stand up out of your seat and celebrate. It will awe you and instantly put that fighter on your radar for their next outing.
As the UFC looks forward in 2013, Bleacher Report will look back at the past events to determine who has come on the scene most impressively. Who burst on to the scene with an excellent performance and made their presence noticed.
Here are the 25 most impressive debuts in UFC history.
Ronda Rousey is set to defend her newly minted UFC women’s bantamweight championship against Liz Carmouche in the main event of UFC 157. The UFC is taking a gamble by making her the top bill, but the risk is certainly worth the reward. The UFC has alre…
Ronda Rousey is set to defend her newly minted UFC women’s bantamweight championship against Liz Carmouche in the main event of UFC 157. The UFC is taking a gamble by making her the top bill, but the risk is certainly worth the reward.
The UFC has already lessened the risk of having her headline UFC 157. They have littered the card with fantastic fights. Dan Henderson and LyotoMachida meet in a big co-main event and Urijah Faber is on the card to boot.
She is not carrying this card alone, but she is the big name on the poster.
What’s the worst that can happen? Rousey, and subsequently the entire division, could fail. That would be unfortunate, but the UFC is in a position to risk that. They will only be out a small amount of money.
If she were to fail, then there could be a black eye, not to the UFC but to women’s MMA in general. The UFC can easily spin it in the public relations room. They can take the stance that they gave it a shot on the big stage, and it simply is not ready.
The risk for them is small. Very small.
What about the reward?
Rousey could be the next superstar.
She is undoubtedly already a star. Rousey has graced multiple magazine covers, has been on numerous podcasts and shows, and is frequently sought after for appearances. She is on the precipice of becoming a massive star for the sport.
Having her under the UFC banner can be huge for the company.
She speaks well. She fights even better. She can help sell the UFC brand.
Rousey is on the brink of becoming a transcendent star. If she can break out in to the mainstream, it will pay dividends for her, and also the UFC. Her pay-per-view fights will suddenly become financial windfalls. They will be can’t-miss.
This first PPV event will be telling. With a big main event and other significant names on the card, everyone will eagerly anticipate the numbers of the event. Media will have their fingertips on their keyboards waiting to call it a success or failure immediately, but this is only the beginning.
This will merely tell the UFC where they are starting from. They see the upside to Rousey being on their roster already.
The UFC will give her the platform to shine. They will be there to help her with anything she needs to succeed. Rousey’s success will also be a success for all of women’s MMA. That is where the UFC could really benefit.
If she can put women’s MMA on the map on the biggest stage and make it a success, the UFC will see benefits for years to come. Years down the line, the UFC could owe Rousey a big debt of gratitude.
When the risk is this minimal, and the potential reward this big, the UFC has the easy choice to take the gamble. Rousey is not a sure thing, but she is just about the closest thing there is to it.
Eddie Alvarez’s attempt to join the UFC is now entering the legal system. Two lawsuits have been filed and now everyone must await a decision to be made to see where the lightweight will end up. But who wins in this situation? Let’s start w…
Eddie Alvarez’s attempt to join the UFC is now entering the legal system. Two lawsuits have been filed and now everyone must await a decision to be made to see where the lightweight will end up.
But who wins in this situation?
Let’s start with the most important figure, Eddie Alvarez.
He certainly is a loser in all of this. Here stands a fighter in his prime forced in to be inactive. He is losing time off of his short athletic career. Until this matter is resolved, all he can do is sit on the sidelines and watch other athletes pass him by.
Alvarez is a top-10 lightweight who could be a potential title challenger in the near future. His window for being the best in the world is a small one, and it is slowly being shut on him.
And all of that is not to mention the financial strain that must also come with this. Alvarez is not getting a paycheck sitting on the sidelines. As the lawsuit drags out, the financial responsibilities he has will start to mount. His livelihood has been taken away temporarily.
The UFC is not a winner in this matter.
Sure, it could sign a top-10 lightweight and add Alvarez to his ranks. However, if the details of the contract are accurate, then that could cause a rift with other lightweights in the division. How many lightweights, or any other weight for that matter, will feel slighted or underpaid if and when Alvarez signs on the dotted line?
When the UFC signs someone new and he enters with a big contract, it will surely ruffle the feathers of some.
Also, Alvarez could be a bust. The UFC is spending a lot of money for someone it is only hoping can rise up the ranks. The UFC is a totally different beast than Bellator. While Alvarez looks to be one of the best, until he steps inside the Octagon and competes against the elite, we won’t know. He could flop, and the UFC could be flushing a lot of money away.
Thankfully, for the UFC, that is just a minor concern and it has the coffers to gamble.
The big loser in all of this is Bellator. It is now in a no-win situation.
If it wins and Alvarez re-joins the Bellator roster, it gets an unhappy camper to grace its organization. That will be good for no one. And lost in the shuffle if it does get Alvarez back under contract is the fact that it will have to pay the steep price to keep him.
That would be a significant amount of cash for the smaller promotion to dole out to one fighter. Is it worth it just to keep an unhappy fighter who will probably not speak well of you from this point out?
If it loses Alvarez, it loses one of the few upper-echelon fighters it has. A potential star is removed from its ranks. How many fans tuned in to see him fight for Bellator? How many would now stop watching its programming?
Bellator is also losing the PR battle. That is quite possibly the biggest battle of all.
It look petty. While from a business aspect it is understandable that Bellator is trying to retain one of its only stars, from a fan’s perspective it is coming across as the evil organization. It is stopping a man from doing what he wants, and also stopping him from making a living.
Alvarez has given everything he can to Bellator, but it still wants more and refuses to let him move on in his career. At least, that is how it looks to the average fan.
The only hope now is that this can be resolved quickly and Alvarez can find himself in someone’s cage soon. It is a shame one of the top-ranked fighters in the division has to sit on the sidelines during his prime.
There are no winners in this. Each entity loses something or angers someone. Even the fans lose.
UFC will bring their first event of the year to the masses, live and free, from São Paulo, Brazil this Saturday.UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Bisping features nine fights on the card, and it is capped off by a big middleweight clash between Vitor …
UFC will bring their first event of the year to the masses, live and free, from São Paulo, Brazil this Saturday.
UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Bisping features nine fights on the card, and it is capped off by a big middleweight clash between VitorBelfort and Michael Bisping. A victory by Bispingwill earn him a title shot against long-time champion Anderson Silva.
The rest of the card features a mixture of veterans, newcomers, and some other interesting matchups.
Before 2013 kicks off in full swing, the UFC has a solid night of action awaiting fans in this event.
Here are your power rankings for the entire fight card.
The UFC brings two free cards to the table in January. Things kick off on Jan. 19 with UFC on FX 7: Belfort vs. Bisping, and return one week later on FOX with the UFC’s sixth network television event.Michael Bisping takes on Vitor Belfort in a crucial …
The UFC brings two free cards to the table in January. Things kick off on Jan. 19 with UFC on FX 7: Belfort vs. Bisping, and return one week later on FOX with the UFC’s sixth network television event.
One week later, the UFC flyweight championship will be on the line on FOX. Champion Demetrious Johnson defends the title against John Dodson.
The two main events are not the only interesting fights lined up, but they are most certainly where the focus is. UFC matchmakers Joe Silva and Sean Shelby have put together two strong cards to open the year, and the UFC is giving them away on free television.
Here is an early look at the odds and predictions for the five biggest fights of the month.
Tyron Woodley, former Strikeforce Welterweight Championship contender, steps in for the injured Erick Silva to square off against Jay Hieron at UFC 156.Woodley will not only get his arm raised at the end of the fight, but he will put himself on the map…
TyronWoodley, former Strikeforce Welterweight Championship contender, steps in for the injured Erick Silva to square off against Jay Hieron at UFC 156.
Woodley will not only get his arm raised at the end of the fight, but he will put himself on the map in the UFC’s 170-pound division.
Hieron is a tough opponent and his pedigree makes him a great debut opponent for Woodley. He has excellent strikes, knockout power, and solid tools in the other areas of his game. However, Hieron simply will have no answer for Woodley‘s ground game.
Woodley enters the cage for the first time since the title fight against Nate Marquardt in Strikeforce—a fight that Woodley ended up being knocked out in. The 30-year-old finally got a taste of what it was like at the top of the division, which will help him grow as a fighter after such a great learning experience.
As UFC 156 rolls around Woodley will definitely be prepared for Hieron‘s striking game, and he will know that stylistically he is a bad matchup for his opponent.
Hieron has always struggled against wrestlers, and the change in opponent will affect him more than Woodley coming on a month’s notice.
Silva is a dynamic athlete who loves to strike and has knockout power. The fight against Hieron was shaping up to be an interesting striking matchup, but now the 36-year-old has to switch gears and prepare for a top-level wrestler. Even though Hieron knows the style well it is still difficult to switch gears and prepare for a new opponent.
Woodley will be in good condition. The fight is scheduled for February 2, and by fight time “T-Wood” will have had one month of camp. If it were another fighter that may be a bigger issue, but the former University of Missouri stand-out always keeps himself in the gym and in shape.
And Woodley will always have his wrestling to fall back on in case he does get in trouble against Hieron, but he has been inside the cage with powerful strikers such as Paul Daley before.
Woodley is still growing as a fighter. He can show flashes of dominance, but still look very green. When he steps inside the Octagon for the first time we will see what he has been working on since the loss to Marquardt.
The former Tiger can walk in the cage knowing he can take down Hieron at will and grind for 15 minutes. That can sometimes be tiresome for the fans, but Woodley mixes up strikes on the ground well and has big power in his ground and pound.
Hieron cannot allow Woodley to have space to reign down blows. Woodley generates a lot of power in short distances and it only takes one punch slipping through to put the fight away.
He also has an underrated submission game.
Regardless of how the fight finishes, by stoppage or a decision, Woodley will get his hand raised at UFC 156, he will do so in dominant fashion, and he will make a statement in his debut for the company.
Welterweight is still the division of wrestlers, and one of the best wrestlers in the division has arrived in the Octagon.
