Over the years in the UFC, there have been several ‘fraud checked’ moments with UFC prospects failing to live up to their expectations.
With the UFC being the premier promotion in MMA, they are consistently putting on fights between the best fighters in the world.
Despite that, the promotion is currently going through somewhat of a lull, and Nate Diaz and Jon Jones believe they know the exact reason why.
Along with failing to put together some of the biggest fights in the sport, the UFC are currently struggling with a lack of stars problem, according to Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn.
Ex-UFC star sparks ‘biggest fraud check’ debate
One of the reasons why the UFC is arguably lacking stars, is because when there is a fighter who is widely regarded as a future star, there is a big chance they get ‘fraud checked’.
When Bo Nickal made his debut in the promotion in 2023, he was instantly regarded as a future champion in the middleweight division and a potential big star in the sport.
Despite that, earlier this year he suffered his first loss in professional MMA when he was knocked out by Reinier de Ridder, putting an end to his surge.
Former UFC star Derek Brunson has sparked a debate online after asking fans what the ‘biggest fraud check’ in MMA history is.
“Bo Nickal for sure,” one fan commented, with many other fans commenting Nickal as their answer.
“Has to be Ronda (Rousey). Easy to say someone like (Darren) Till or Colby (Covington), but they never sniffed the hype/fame Ronda had. A total fraud and marketing creation,” another fan suggested.
Ronda Rousey is widely regarded as one of the biggest stars in UFC history, becoming the first-ever female UFC champion.
Her hype was brought to an immediate end when she was shockingly knocked out by Holly Holm at UFC 193 and subsequently beaten by Amanda Nunes.
‘Biggest fraud check’ debate continues
“Brandon Thatch vs Benson Henderson is a good one,” another fan said.
Brandon Thatch was once regarded as a potential star in the UFC, but a loss to Benson Henderson in 2015 immediately brought those comments to a halt.
“Payton Talbott, next question,” one fan suggested a more recent example.
Following his emergence on Dana White’s Contender Series and a few impressive wins under the UFC banner, Payton Talbott was being highlighted as a potential future UFC bantamweight champion and potentially the next Sean O’Malley.
Despite that, earlier this year Talbott lost his undefeated record when he was convincingly beaten by UFC veteran, Raoni Barcelos.