5 UFC fighters who have improved exponentially in recent years

#4. UFC light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira

Teixeira has improved his record from 27-7 to 33-7

Glover Teixeira looked destined for greatness when he first entered the UFC. He won his first five fights in the organization and earned a title shot against then-champion Jon Jones in the process.

His first tilt at the light heavyweight title ended in a one-sided unanimous decision loss to ‘Bones.’ Following the disappointment, Teixeira's career somewhat stalled as he went 5-4 in his subsequent nine fights. In that period, he lost to Phil Davis, ‘Rumble’ Johnson, Alexander Gustafsson, and Corey Anderson.

However, since his loss to Corey Anderson in 2018, the Brazilian has won six in a row. The latest victory was a second-round submission of Jan Blachowicz to win the UFC light heavyweight gold at 42 years old, thus becoming the oldest first-time champion in the promotion’s history.

Teixeira attributes this turnaround to a smarter approach to training, working on the fundamentals, and a willingness to learn new skills even this late in his career.

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#3. UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou

Ngannou has improved his record from 11-3 to 16-3

Francis Ngannou's explosive potential quickly became apparent as he finished his first six UFC opponents to earn a shot at heavyweight gold. However, he then suffered consecutive losses to Stipe Miocic and Derrick Lewis, leading many to question if 'The Predator' was as good as advertised.

In his first title fight with Miocic, the big Cameroonian seemed to believe his own hype and threw everything at Miocic in the first round in an effort to knock him out. Unsuccessful with this strategy and his gas tank clearly diminished, he was unable to stop Miocic from controlling the rest of the fight and lost a clear decision. His next fight against Derrick Lewis was the most tepid performance of his career. Ngannou, perhaps still bearing the scars of the Miocic loss, was gun shy and lost another decision.

In response to these disappointments, Ngannou made the necessary adjustments and secured four consecutive first-round knockouts to earn himself a second shot at Stipe Miocic and the heavyweight championship. The newer version was more methodical and less wild, though his brutal knockout of Jairzinho Rozenstruik was a call back to his old ways.

His improvements were evident in the rematch against Miocic as a more well-rounded Ngannou showcased a vastly improved fight IQ to secure a TKO and win the heavyweight title. Composure was another factor in this particular success. Just before landing the left hook that put Miocic down, Ngannou was himself noticeably wobbled but kept his calm to spot and execute the opening.

He will now face Ciryl Gane at UFC 270.