Sherdog's Top 10: Greatest UFC Debuts

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Welcome again folks, this time to Sherdog’s list of the ten greatest debut appearances in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Personally though, the appeal of any such list isn't the exact order or who was included or excluded, but the actual discussion of each entry. Anyone can come up with a list with no further commentary and it's no more “right” than another. However, the best such lists have entertaining and informative explanations, which is the goal I hope to accomplish.

The criteria here were open-ended and voters clearly used different ones. Mine was to compare prior expectations versus the actual performance within the cage. Thus, huge upsets were prioritized, although credit was given to smaller upsets if they were achieved in a spectacular or dominant manner. Other voters used different criteria, likely a mix of how impressive and memorable the debut was, regardless of expectations. Most voters, myself included, also included the entirety of one-night tournaments within a “debut,” even though they were more than a single fight. With that in mind, let us begin.

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