5 of the most disappointing debuts in UFC history

#4. CM Punk vs. Mickey Gall – UFC 203

CM Punk looked like he didn't know how to fight in his UFC debut

Okay, so it’s safe to say that no serious UFC fans were expecting former WWE champion CM Punk to capture gold inside the octagon, or even climb up into the top 10 in the welterweight division. Many figured he’d lose his promotional debut to neophyte Mickey Gall, in fact.

However, given that he’d been training for his debut for well over two years in a highly-rated camp in the form of Roufusport, looked to be in the best shape of his life physically, and was seemingly taking things seriously, it was expected that Punk would at least look like he knew how to fight.

Bizarrely, that didn’t seem to be the case at all. Despite Gall only having two professional fights to his name, he looked far more comfortable than Punk from the off, and when the former WWE man threw an amateurish punch, he found himself quickly taken down.

From there, Gall ran a grappling train on ‘The Straight Edge Superstar’, slicing into full mount with ease before beating him down en route to a first-round rear-naked choke win.

Not only had Punk lost his octagon debut, he’d been utterly embarrassed by Gall in the process, and never looked like he belonged for a second. Even his biggest doubters were expecting more than this, making this one of the most disappointing UFC debuts of all time.

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#3. Rolles Gracie Jr. vs. Joey Beltran – UFC 109

Rolles Gracie Jr. did not live up to the reputation of his family in his octagon debut

The UFC’s earliest events were famously dominated by one man, Royce Gracie, who introduced the world to the art of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. However, despite multiple members of his extended family competing in various MMA promotions across the world, once Royce had drawn with Ken Shamrock at UFC 5, it felt like we’d seen the last of the Gracies in the octagon.

That changed in early 2010, when the promotion announced that they’d signed Rolles Gracie Jr. to a contract. The news immediately excited hardcore fans, particularly as Rolles was billed as a “next generation Gracie” and already had three victories in MMA to his name.

Matched with fellow debutant Joey Beltran on his first trip to the octagon, it was fully expected that Rolles would simply run through ‘The Mexecutioner’. Not only was Beltran unheralded, he also looked like a smaller heavyweight.

Unfortunately for fans of the Gracie family, that wasn’t the case at all. Things started off well for Rolles as he took Beltran down and immediately secured back control. However, when he couldn’t submit his opponent, the wheels quickly came off.

Gracie looked exhausted coming into the second round, and it didn’t take long for Beltran to force him to the ground and stop him with a series of punches. Given the hype, as well as the reputation of his family, to say this was a disappointing debut would be an understatement.

Unsurprisingly, Rolles was then cut from his UFC contract and never really made any subsequent noise in MMA afterwards.