For some athletes like Israel Adesanya, it gives them the opportunity to shine at a much faster pace than others. The payoff is significant for someone like the UFC middleweight champ.
For every success story, however, there are a long list of fighters tagged as ‘the next big thing,’ only to watch the hype evaporate when they suffer a loss – or even a string of defeats.
Heading into UFC 244 on Saturday, Brazilian knockout artist Johnny Walker has a ton of hype surrounding his name. It didn’t take long; he earned three victories inside the Octagon in less than three minutes of combined cage time.