The reason that the Superbowl is the biggest event of the year is based on official rankings. After a season of play, teams move to the playoffs, where the best representatives of each league emerge to battle for the biggest prize in sports. The two teams playing have earned the right to call themselves the best in their respective league.
In mixed martial arts, promoting a fight between two of the baddest men on the planet can generate an enormous buyrate. However, without a regular season in which you compete against everyone in your division, a fighter doesn’t have the opportunity to make an undisputed claim that he is the best.
That’s where hype comes into play.
Anything can happen in mixed martial arts. Upsets occur on a regular basis as a way of reminding us that we cannot predict with 100 percent certainty who will win any given matchup.
Because of this ambivalence, hype can convince fans that some promising fighter is the next big thing in the business. By pushing the strengths of unproven or unworthy commodities, promoters can add a “must-see” level of intrigue to their next matchup.
Do you remember believing, if only for a second, that Dan Hardy could defeat Georges St-Pierre? Behold the power of hype.
Some hyped prospects are labeled as such early on in their careers, and eventually strap championships around their waists. Junior dos Santos, Jon Jones and Brock Lesnar are members of that elite club. Others didn’t fare quite so well.
Today, we focus on the losers. Here is a look at fighters who entered the UFC with a lot of hype, but failed to live up to the expectations.