Hyping a young fighter in a sport as volatile as MMA is dangerous.
Today's prospect who just left town toting a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus can morph into tomorrow's roster-cut special in a flash, leaving fans and critics wondering how we made such a colossal error in judgement.
It happens more than you may even realize. Sometimes their decline is abrupt—a series of knockout losses leads to their permanent release—while other times three or four consecutive close calls on the judges' scorecards sends 'em packing.
It's an unfortunate result of having deep talent pools across every division in a top-flight organization like the UFC, but this is the nature of the beast.