5 UFC heavyweights who failed to live up to their hype

#4. Pedro Rizzo – former UFC heavyweight contender

Pedro Rizzo had remarkably heavy strikes, but failed to reach his potential overall

Modern fans may not recognize the name Pedro Rizzo. Aound two decades ago, the Brazilian was one of the most feared heavyweights competing in MMA. Unfortunately, it’s probably also fair to argue that ‘The Rock’ never quite lived up to his hype.

Rizzo actually debuted in the UFC way back in 1998, as he defeated legendary brawler Tank Abbott via knockout. At that stage, the Brazilian was 6-0 in MMA and was already beginning to garner huge hype based around the brutal kickboxing skills he’d picked up from his coach Marco Ruas, a former UFC champion in his own right.

By 2000, Rizzo had reeled off four wins in the octagon and earned a title shot against reigning heavyweight champ Kevin Randleman. In his title fight, to say ‘The Rock’ flattered to deceive would be an understatement.

A consummate counter-striker, Rizzo simply couldn’t commit to his offense when Randleman refused to walk into his traps and ended up coming out on the wrong end of a decision in what was a terrible fight.

‘The Rock’ did rebound with a pair of impressive wins, but two failed attempts in another pair of title bouts, this time against Randy Couture, damaged his reputation further. While he went 3-2 in his last five octagon bouts, by that point, his card had been marked.

Essentially, Rizzo had all the tools to become an all-time great heavyweight and showed flashes of that at points. However, his absolute refusal to commit to anything but counter-striking simply meant he could never live up to the hype that grew around him, leaving him as an overall disappointment in the eyes of the fans.

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#3. Brandon Vera – former UFC heavyweight contender

Brandon Vera looked like a surefire future star at heavyweight, but didn't quite reach the top

When Brandon Vera burst onto the UFC scene in 2005 with a knockout of Fabiano Scherner and then professed his goal to win both the heavyweight and light heavyweight titles, it was hard not to get drawn into the hype.

‘The Truth’ was 5-0 in MMA and came from a high-level wrestling background. Judging by his early fights, he possessed an absolutely deadly kickboxing game, too.

Vera quickly followed his win over Scherner with three more victories, all by stoppage, ending with a knockout of former heavyweight champion Frank Mir. At that stage, it seemed almost academic that ‘The Truth’ would actually reach the lofty goal he’d set for himself.

However, when he was on the verge of a title shot, Vera decided to play hardball with the UFC, demanding more money and teasing a jump to rival promotion Elite XC.

That didn’t go down too well with Dana White and company, who subsequently shelved ‘The Truth’ for a year. That put an end to any hopes of him claiming the title within two years of his arrival in the octagon.

When Vera returned, he suffered his first defeat in a listless bout with former champ Tim Sylvia. From there, his career completely slid off the rails.

A second loss to Fabricio Werdum triggered his long-rumoured move to 205 pounds. While he found some success there, he never came close to winning the title. A 2013 move back to heavyweight also failed to reignite his career and a loss to Ben Rothwell saw him wash out of the promotion altogether.

Vera did go onto win gold in ONE Championship, but despite this, it’s definitely fair to say that he never lived up to the early hype he received in the UFC.