7. Phillipe Nover
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aln1BahXFOc Phillipe Nover is the prime example of a guy with a great deal of hype before being tested against someone in the top 25 of the division. However, the extent of Nover's expectations were gargantuan - UFC president Dana White stated that Super Nover would become the next Anderson Silva, also known as the greatest MMA fighter to walk the planet. To compare Nover now to Silva back in 2008 would be ridiculous, so I'll avoid the outlandish statement from White. DW also said the following coming into the TUF series,
Hes 24 and hes destroying people. Its sick how bad ass he is. Im getting goose bumps talking to you about him.
After notching up three submission victories in his time in the Ultimate Fighter house, Phillipe was matched up in the finale against Mexican standout Efrain Escudero, who similarly defeated his three foes en route to the finale via submission. With the hype surrounding Phillipe, few gave the Mexican a chance in the fight though one lesson that should be learnt in sport, particularly in Mixed Martial Arts, is that nothing is set in stone. Efrain won the fight via unanimous decision, dedicating the fight to his late father and ultimately bringing Super Nover back down to earth. Although the decision was not divisive insofar as a three round mullering, Efrain did manage to decisively win two of the three stanzas. Mr. Nover was signed to the UFC anyway and matched up against Kyle Bradley in another outing he was expected to win, a tune-up fight. Nightmare ensued. In a very controversial stoppage, Bradley took Nover down and landed some heavy strikes but Phillipe was seemingly active and protecting himself, though referee Yves Lavigne decided to stop the fight awarding Bradley a TKO victory just 1:03 into the first round. Although this was very unfortunate for the New Yorker, his next bout was far less controversial; Robert Emerson decisioned Nover unanimously and Nover was subsequently cut by the promotion. Post-UFC, Nover has been frustratingly inconsistent. Leaving the organisation with a 5-3-1 record (as TUF fights are seen as exhibition fights thus not appearing on fighters' professional records), Nover opted to fight for independent promotion Hoosier FC. Phillipe managed to pick up a unanimous decision in his first win since leaving the Ultimate Fighter house, and the future did not look so bleak for the American. He subsequently signed for Bellator MMA and was matched up against Polish sensation Marcin Held, losing a close, split decision. Since this loss, Nover has won two for the Bellator promotion whilst losing a fight for a regional promotion in between via majority decision. Due to the problems faced in the process of signing Roger Hollett and the attempt to sign Eddie Alvarez, it is unlikely that UFC would sign Phillipe Nover any time soon. Bellator are very difficult to work with, thus Nover is likely to stick with them for the remainder of his contract. His future does not seem too terrible, but claims that he can be the next Anderson Silva have been answered unsuccessfully.