Fighting in the light heavyweight ranks is different than competing lower on the scale, where divisions are deep and raw upstarts with potential are often afforded the opportunity to learn, grow and make mistakes long before they are thrust into battle against ranked competitors.
Former lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos began his UFC tenure with consecutive losses and a .500 record over his first eight starts. It wasn’t until five years later, at the age of 29, that he began to emerge as a contender and a few more years after that until he captured championship gold.
Reigning welterweight kingpin Tyron Woodley had a tremendous start to his career, rattling off 10 consecutive victories before suffering his first loss. But that initial setback kicked off a 3-3 stretch that left people wondering if “The Chosen One” was destined to reside in the lower half of the Top 10 for the duration of his career.
He’s undefeated in seven fights since and turned in his most impressive performance since winning the title last time out against Darren Till at UFC 228 in September.
But because two or three consecutive victories can carry you into the Top 10 in the 205-pound weight class, up-and-comers are often forced to learn on the fly, and the natural ebb and flow of their career produces far greater swings in terms of where they stand in the divisional hierarchy and court of public opinion.
In his eighth fight, Anderson was facing Jan Blachowicz, who had more than three times as many fights and a lengthy title reign in Poland’s KSW promotion under his belt. In his eleventh appearance, he went toe-to-toe with former champion Maurico “Shogun” Rua, dropping a contested decision to the Brazilian legend in his hometown of Curitiba.
