Where are they now? 5 forgotten UFC stars from 2010-2019

#3 Efrain Escudero

Efrain Escudero was a potential star for the Mexican market

Coming into 2010, the UFC looked like they had a potential Mexican star on their hands in the form of Efrain Escudero. The winner of the 8th season of The Ultimate Fighter, Escudero was unbeaten at 12-0 and had knocked out Cole Miller in his first post-TUF Octagon appearance.

The first month of 2010 saw him pick up his first loss in a tough fight with Evan Dunham, but he quickly bounced back by beating Dan Lauzon, only to be submitted by Charles Oliveira in a fight that also saw him miss the Lightweight division’s 155lbs limit by 4lbs. That was enough to trigger the UFC to release him, in a curious move given his status as a rising star.

‘Hecho en Mexico’ then went on to put together a 5-1 record on the smaller circuit before returning to the UFC in December 2011 – but another two losses sent him back into the wilderness. A third UFC stint came in 2014, and this time Escudero picked up his first two Octagon wins since 2010, beating Rodrigo de Lima and Drew Dober.

Those wins set up a chance for him to coach on the second season of TUF: Latin America, but on the finale of that show, he was defeated by Leandro Silva. A second successive loss, this time to Kevin Lee in April 2016, saw him released by the UFC for the third and final time.

As of writing, ‘Hecho en Mexico’ is still competing in MMA, most recently in Russian promotion Absolute Combat Akhmat, but he has not picked up a victory since a submission of Jason High in August 2018.