5 UFC hype trains that have been derailed

#2. Uriah Hall

Alongside Israel Adesanya, Uriah Hall is a fighter once regarded by many as the second coming of legendary middleweight Anderson Silva. Having recently retired, Hall no longer has the chance to make good on those expectations.

A powerful, highly explosive, and educated striker, Uriah Hall's claim to fame was his sensational spinning back-kick knockout over Adam Cella in the 17th instalment of The Ultimate Fighter.

While Hall ultimately lost the TUF finale to future top middleweight contender Kelvin Gastelum, many observers, including Joe Rogan, believed that 'Prime Time' only needed to overcome his mental drawbacks to fulfil his potential as a future championship-level fighter.

The pressure of being the next Anderson Silva seemed to weigh heavily on Hall, and many used it to discount the strategic issues 'Prime Time' encountered inside the octagon.

By 2018 and onwards, however, Hall had embarked on a win streak, stringing together four victories as he hoped to challenge middleweight kingpin Israel Adesanya for the divisional title.

To further magnify his chances, Hall became more vocal, engaging in uncharacteristic trash talk against the likes of Darren Till and Adesanya himself.

Unfortunately, upon facing Sean Strickland, Hall's win streak came to an end. Another loss followed and so too did retirement from MMA, with Hall never succeeding Anderson Silva as the next great middleweight champion.

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#1. Johnny Walker

At one point in time, Johnny Walker was thought by many to be the fighter destined to dethrone Jon Jones. Standing at 6 feet 5 inches tall with a reach of 82 inches, Walker is one of the largest light heavyweights on the roster.

His fun-loving personality, in-cage explosiveness, and shattering punching power endeared him to fight fans around the world. Before signing with the UFC, Walker was on a 6-fight win streak that included 4 KO/TKO wins and 1 submission victory.

With excitement surrounding his UFC debut, Johnny Walker entered the promotion with a KO win over Khaleel Rountree Jr. before flattening Justin Ledet with a spinning backfist in his subsequent bout.

Walker's finishing streak continued when he felled Misha Cirkunov with a flying knee to record a sub-minute knockout win. Walker next faced Corey Anderson in a matchup that would have likely earned him a title fight with the then reigning champion Jon Jones.

The Brazilian seemed to be on the cusp of championship success, however, a shocking knockout loss to Corey Anderson — a wrestler — was the beginning of the end for Johnny Walker’s prospects as a top contender as the Brazilian went 1-2 since losing to Anderson.

No longer able to consistently pull the trigger to use his incredible punching power and explosiveness to threaten his foes, Walker has faded from the limelight.