MMA’s Most Overrated and Underrated Fighters

Just like every other sport, there are a lot of overrated and underrated fighters in MMA. Since there are so many weight classes in MMA, it can be hard to accurately asses the skills of every professional fighter. This leads to some fighters getting more respect than they deserve while other fighters never get the credit they have earned. These are the fighters that are in my opinion the most overrated and underrated in mixed martial arts right now.

Underrated

Khabib Nurmagomedov

It may be hard to imagine an undefeated fighter as underrated, but Khabib Nurmagomedov has been overlooked on a regular basis during his time in the UFC. Despite easily beating every top contender in the UFC’s lightweight division, Nurmagomedov has never been given a title shot. He has proven that he can beat any professional mixed martial artist, but Nurmagomedov is still only at number 12 on the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings. His spot in the rankings is continually too low because he does not own a title, but that has absolutely nothing to do with the fighting ability of Khabib Nurmagomedov. The disrespect he gets in the sport is on display every time he is forced to fight on the undercard of a major UFC pay-per-view despite being one of the best in the world.

Stephen Thompson

In addition to only being defeated one time in his first 15 professional MMA fights, Stephen Thompson has had no problem defeating some of the top contenders in the UFC’s welterweight division. Thompson finally got the title shot he deserved at UFC 205, and he ended up fighting to a draw with champion Tyron Woodley. The 8th best fighter in the UFC was unable to defeat Stephen Thompson, but he is still nowhere to be found on the company’s pound-for-pound rankings.

Overrated

Robbie Lawler

Robbie Lawler will go down as one of the best fighters in MMA history, but he is severely overrated at this point in his career. He was knocked out in the first round in his last fight with Tyron Woodley. Lawler was on an impressive winning streak before his title loss to Woodley, but he was not very impressive in any of those victories. Winning split decisions against some of the lower-ranked welterweights in the UFC is not a good way to impress the fans. Lawler will most likely win a few more big fights in his career, but he is not one of the best fighters in the sport anymore.

Nate Diaz

Nate Diaz has proven that he knows how to create exciting fights, but that does not mean he deserves to be considered one of the best welterweights in the UFC. Diaz proved he can look amazing in the octagon when he defeated Conor McGregor, but he is far too inconsistent to take seriously. Diaz has never held a title during his time in the UFC, and he has lost four of his last seven fights. A 20-11 record is not indicative of a good MMA fighter, but Diaz continues to find a way to stay at the top of the rankings in his weight class.