So I started looking at stats today, and found an interesting trend.
Over the last decade and a half, we have seen a number of very talented and successful fighters that, for one reason or another, the UFC doesn’t get behind. Because of their relative lack of enthusiasm, some guys have had to go on extended (perhaps excessive) win streaks before the UFC finally gives in and grants them a shot at gold. Here is a list of examples of fighters who had to win at least 9 fights before getting their chance:
Merab – 10
Leon – 10
Belal – 10
Islam – 10
Max – 10 (incl. interim)
Kamaru – 9 (11 incl. TUF)
Ankalaev – 9
Whittaker – 9
Ulberg – 9
Now, if you started reminiscing about these fighter’s championship runs, you’ll notice the trend that made me write this: every single one of them won the belt when finally granted the chance.
Several other fighters have had extended win streaks, but did not reach 9.
Fitch got to 8, Cerrone had 8, Maynard had 8 (before the draw), Colby got to 7, Maia got to 7, Suarez got to 7, Fiorot got to 7.
They all lost.
Arnold Allen and Lerone Murphy got to 10 and 9 win streaks respectively, but did not receive a title shot before losing the streak. Tony got to 12, but never fought for the undisputed, and has such an enigmatic career that he’s hard to compare to anyone at all.
So it turns out that there is no UFC fighter in modern history that has won 9+ fights before getting their shot at undisputed gold who then failed to do so.
Movsar Evloev has 10 straight wins.
Should we all be betting on the dog?