Issue 094

November 2012

Heavily hyped fighters sometimes have a habit of woefully under-delivering on their UFC debuts. Color commentator Joe Rogan calls the syndrome ‘Octagon Shock.’ Here’s five of the worst cases

1 Heath Herring  

Just minutes before this list’s number three, Sean Salmon’s, disastrous UFC debut, experienced Texan heavyweight Heath Herring made his much-ballyhooed first appearance in the Octagon. Considered a real title challenger in Pride back in 2001, he hadn’t beaten a top contender in years and owed much of his pre-fight hype to the scarcity of talent in the UFC heavyweight division at the time. Even then, his dismal showing in dropping a decision to the ordinary Jake O’Brien was a real disappointment. Even worse, in his post-fight interview, Herring whined about O’Brien’s wrestling-heavy approach and not wanting to stand and trade with him. Having started so badly, it’s only fitting that Herring’s five-fight UFC tenure ended with him being outmuscled, outwrestled and humiliated by Brock Lesnar 18 months later. 

2 Takanori Gomi

The last of Pride’s real star fighters to sign a UFC contract, ‘The Fireball Kid’ headlined the March 2010 UFC Fight Night event, facing two-time UFC title challenger Kenny Florian. Many longtime fans looked forward to Takanori Gomi’s Octagon debut, but those who had followed his post-Pride career closely had their doubts. As the poster boy for Pride’s Bushido series, Gomi was one of the world’s most destructive and entertaining lighter weight fighters. But he’d been inconsistent and disappointing throughout 2008 and 2009. And against Florian he looked sluggish and uninspired. Dominated for the first two rounds, he was choked out in the third, in a performance so damaging to his reputation it ended any real chance of moving into title contention, even after he blasted out Tyson Griffin in just over a minute four months later. 

3 Sean Salmon

As long as Rashad Evans is around, and as long as the UFC produce hype videos on him, poor Sean Salmon’s January 2007 UFC debut, headlining the eighth Fight Night show, will be remembered. You may not have seen the fight, and you may not know the name, but you will know the finish. Salmon was the victim of a stunning, brutal head kick knockout that saw him leave on a stretcher. Up to that point Salmon, 9-1 at the time and a good wrestler, had been expected to give Evans a real test and was actually giving The Ultimate Fighter season two winner (himself considered little more than a wrestler with some fast hands and a cocky attitude) some problems in the first round. Four months later, Salmon was back in action. Guillotined in 51 seconds by Alan Belcher, he never fought in the UFC again. 

4 Jake Shields

Back when UFC and Strikeforce were bitter promotional rivals, Dana White memorably rubbed Scott Coker’s nose in it at the April 2010 Aldo vs Faber WEC pay-per-view. Sat next to Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields (just a week after he’d defended the belt against Dan Henderson and then been involved in the infamous post-fight brawl in the cage), White put his arm around Shields and mouthed, ‘He’s mine,’ while sporting a gigantic grin. Six months later at UFC 121, a weight-drained Shields took on Martin Kampmann in his UFC debut, for a shot at the title. White probably felt like giving him back and asking for a refund. Shields did well in the first but quickly tired and only Kampmann’s tentative performance allowed him to escape the fight with a decision victory. 

5 Hector Lombard

Boasting some Olympic judo credentials, heavy hands, a comic book physique and most impressive of all, a 25-fight unbeaten streak (24 wins, 1 draw) dating back to February 2007, the reigning Bellator middleweight champion looked on paper to be a superb signing. An explosive finisher with a whopping 18 first-round wins, Hector Lombard entered his UFC 149 fight with Tim Boetsch a heavy favorite. True, many questioned his stamina and the quality of his opposition, but an impressive win would have immediately put him into title contention. Yet when the fight began, Lombard did essentially nothing. For three excruciating rounds. He landed a few shots here and there. He scored a few takedowns. But he looked terrified to commit to much and fully deserved to lose a fight where the crowd would have been happier if someone had just told them both to, ‘pack it up and go home,’ long before the end of the third round.