Just two weeks ago, TJ Dillashaw turned the MMA world upside down when he sent reigning UFC bantamweight champion Renan Barao out of the Octagon without his title.
Many counted him out before the fight even started, criticizing the promotion for granting the seemingly unproven Team Alpha Male fighter a highly coveted title fight with Barao. It only took one round and a stunning knockdown to silence them. It took a dominant five-round performance to prove that you should never count any fighter out, no matter how underestimated.
Dillashaw now joins the ranks of current and former champions Chris Weidman, Matt Serra, Forrest Griffin, and Frankie Edgar as champions who overcame massive odds.
With the exception of Serra, it would be irresponsible to count any of these fighters as dark horses in their respective divisions leading up to their title fights. It would be even more irresponsible, however, to count any of the listed dark horses out of potential title fights with any of the current crop of champions.
In listing these fighters, only those outside of the Top 10 of the UFC’s divisional rankings will be considered. These fighters are listed in no particular order.
