5 times hot UFC prospects suffered shock defeats

#2. Stipe Miocic vs. Stefan Struve – UFC on Fuel TV 5

Stipe Miocic would go onto UFC greatness - but as a prospect, he was upset by Stefan Struve.

Despite losing his UFC heavyweight title to Francis Ngannou earlier this year, Stipe Miocic is still widely recognised as the promotion’s greatest-ever heavyweight. That is because of his record tally of four successful title defenses.

However, before rising to become the UFC heavyweight champion, Miocic was just another hot prospect entering the octagon and hoping to climb to the top. He debuted in the UFC in 2011 with a win over Joey Beltran. After impressing in a victory over him, Miocic reeled off another two wins – both via TKO – over Phil De Fries and Shane del Rosario.

With a UFC record of 9-0 and a highly dangerous set of skills, it was clear Miocic had a bright future. So the UFC decided to match him with veteran Stefan Struve in his first-ever headline bout at UFC on Fuel TV 5.

Unfortunately for Miocic, the fight did not go so well. After suffering an eye poke, he was knocked out by ‘The Skyscraper’ in the second round in what felt like a major upset at the time.

The win didn’t propel Struve to the top of the UFC. However, it did take some of the shine from Miocic, who took nearly a year away from the octagon before returning to defeat Roy Nelson, beginning his rise to the heavyweight title.

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#1. Maycee Barber vs. Roxanne Modaferri – UFC 246

Maycee Barber's status as a hot prospect was damaged by Roxanne Modaferri at UFC 246.

She is still only 23 years old, and is back on the winning track following her victory over Miranda Maverick. However, it is probably safe to say that Maycee Barber should still be considered a hot prospect in the UFC.

'The Future’ looked a lot hotter a couple of years ago, when she was undefeated and appeared to be on the fast track to a shot at the UFC flyweight title. Barber debuted in the octagon in late 2018 at the age of just 20, destroying Hannah Cifers with a series of elbows in a seriously impressive performance.

Two more victories via TKO followed, with Barber looking so good that her dream of becoming the youngest champion in UFC history looked entirely plausible. However, against former title challenger Roxanne Modafferi at UFC 246, ‘The Future’ faltered badly.

Maycee Barber attempted to take out ‘The Happy Warrior’ early, but couldn’t manage it, and from there, her cardio failed before she suffered a serious knee injury. That combination left her a sitting duck, and she ended up just about managing to survive until the end of the fight, where she lost a clear decision.

Nobody expected the athletically-challenged Modafferi to knock off such a hot prospect like Maycee Barber in that way. The loss left Barber so badly damaged that it took her over 18 months to pick up another win in the UFC.