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When Shane Carwin makes his UFC debut, he will be following a long line of fighters that have had to deal with the jitters of stepping onto MMA's biggest stage. The flow of debuting UFC fighters has been constant over the years, but most have struggled.
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Even under different ownership groups, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has always emphasized bringing in new blood. The promotion has run over a hundred events and only two haven't featured a debuting fighter: Ultimate Ultimate 1995 and UFC 66.
These debuting fighters by and large haven't gotten their UFC careers off to tremendous starts. The all time record of first-time UFC fighters is 227-332-14.
Does that poor record suggest that there is a real psychological effect of stepping into the Octagon for the first time? The answer isn't clear. Many of those losses were by fighters who just weren't as good as the average UFC fighter. On the other hand, UFC typically gives first-timers easier opponents, which should give an artificial boost relative to the rest of the fighter's career.
Regardless of how difficult the transition to the UFC is, early UFC success usually correlates to later UFC success. Most of the biggest stars of the UFC won their first UFC fight.
This who's who list includes Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz, Matt Hughes, Georges St. Pierre, Quinton Jackson, Anderson Silva, Forrest Griffin, Keith Jardine, B.J. Penn, Ken Shamrock, Royce Gracie, Dan Severn, Don Frye, Frank Shamrock, Bas Rutten, Ricco Rodriguez, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Tim Sylvia, Andrei Arlovski, Josh Barnett, Dan Henderson, Pat Miletich, Matt Lindland and Rich Franklin.
The list of fighters who lost their first UFC fight is significantly longer, but carries a much less impressive collective resume. This group includes Wanderlei Silva, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, Matt Serra, Hayato Sakurai, Jeremy Horn, Kenny Florian, Yves Edwards, Caol Uno, Din Thomas, Stephan Bonnar, Thiago Alves, Marcus Davis, Thales Leites, Chris Lytle, Frank Trigg, Patrick Cote, Ed Herman, Heath Herring, Fabricio Werdum, Marcus Aurelio, Manny Gamburyan, Kazuhiro Nakamura and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou.
Matt Serra is the only fighter in UFC history to lose his first UFC fight and then go on to become a UFC champion. This suggests that if you want to make your mark in UFC, you need to make it from the beginning.
Some prominent fighters have had very successful UFC debuts while others have struggled. Here are the UFC's most auspicious (or inauspicious) debuts.
Royce Gracie at UFC 1
Royce Gracie entered UFC 1 as a little Brazilian with a funny outfit and unfamiliar fighting discipline. He left as a dangerous magic man of fighting. His first bout came against boxer Art Jimmerson, who inexplicably wore one boxing glove to the cage. Gracie took Jimmerson down, and Jimmerson submitted before Gracie even had the chance to apply a choke or arm bar.
Kimo at UFC 3
Few fighters have ever made as impressive of an entrance as Kimo did at UFC 3. The muscular Hawaiian entered the Octagon carrying a gigantic wooden cross on his back. He then backed up his aura by becoming the first man to pummel Royce Gracie. Gracie submitted Kimo but was unable to continue in the tournament, and Kimo lived off this reputation for years.
