Yes marketing is what has brought the UFC and MMA to what it is today but it has also has given us false or misleading expectations about certain fighters. It might not be their fault but MMA organizations, forums, blogs have given fighters better creditability than then actually deserve.
Below are the top 5 mixed martial arts fighters that are overrated.
5) Chris Leben
One fighter that has benefited from the Ultimate Fighter reality series has been Chris Leben. He is a heavy puncher but has little skills to back up his MMA game. He was marketing and overhyped so much that when he fought Anderson Silva he was the online betting favourite in most of the sports books.
That was until reality set in.
Over hyped, very much so.
4) Jorge Gurgel
Gurgel got a 7 fight UFC contact strictly on the basis he was Rich Franklin’s friend. Gurgel was criticized throughout his seven-fight run in the UFC for not displaying Jiu-Jitsu in his fights. He is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu who trains with Rich Franklin.
Everytime he fought Joe Rogan would talk about how he has so much skill and how his grappling game was so good. And every time Gurgel would lose to below average fighters.
3) Rich Franklin
Despite his popularity Franklin has never been the fighter the hype has made him out to be. Yes he was UFC middleweight champion but he fought in a very weak division and he never fought a top ten fighter.
As champion he fought subpar fighters and the UFC marketed him as a world beater when in fact he is an average fighter. Â
As UFC middleweight champion, Franklin beat Evan Tanner at UFC 53: Heavy Hitters, Nathan Quarry at UFC 56: Full Force, and David Loiseau at UFC 58: USA vs Canada. Franklin had problems with Loiseau and Tanner and Quarry who were C+ plus level fighters at best. Franklin never faced real top level competition in his career and once he did he was exposed.
Franklin’s lack of skill has been revealed and the UFC can no longer protect him as more and more people are realizing that he is overrated as a fighter.
2) TUF Cast members
Many of the fighters that come out of the TUF series are below average fighters but have good marketing value. Also the UFC gets these fighters into the show for a cheap price and since the fighters have some sort of marketability they are put into the UFC events. TUF alumni are given higher-profile spots than more deserving competitors.
More and more UFC events have TUF fighters in the shows and most of these fighter should not be fighting or are way overrated. Just because people see them on the TUF show they automatically think they are good fighters.
Many of the cast members have no business being in the UFC yet they continue to be. It’s apparent the UFC has invested a lot of TV time in these fighters, but there has to at least be some semblance of competition.
1) Kimbo Slice
No fighter is more overhyped than Kimbo Slice. He was protected in EliteXC and while on the TUF show he was marketing in every commercial and clip they could squeeze him in.
The Internet made Kimbo to what he is today and they is no way we can out the genie back in the bottle unless the UFC gives him actual fights. They will try to protect him and market him until he has to prove himself. He is by far the most overrated fighter in history.
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