Sherdog's Top 10: Greatest UFC Debuts

9. (Tie) Joe Lauzon

Lauzon's outstanding debut against Jens Pulver allows him to crack a Sherdog top 10 for the first time. Personally, I had him even higher, at sixth. Pulver was the first and lineal UFC lightweight champion then, having never lost his title before the UFC had initially shuttered the 155-pound weight class. In the interim, Pulver had lost some fights, especially in Japan against top talent like Takanori Gomi and Hayato Sakurai in Pride Fighting Championships, but was still considered a top 10 lightweight. He was also a monster -400 favorite against the largely unheralded New England kid Lauzon, then just 22 years old. The commentators and even Lauzon himself believed his only path to victory was via submission, yet it took just 48 seconds for Lauzon to knock Pulver out. Neither was it a lucky punch; it was a complete evisceration. Lauzon easily took Pulver down, despite how much Joe Rogan was talking up his takedown defense, and landed some brain-rattling ground-and-pound. When Pulver regained his feet, it wasn't long before Lauzon hurt him with a knee and then starched him with a follow-up left hook that perfectly kissed his chin. Complete domination. It was utterly shocking, as Pulver had defeated top pound-for-pound talent B.J. Penn in a majority decision over 25 minutes, and even the best lightweight in 2006, Takanori Gomi, had required nearly seven minutes to knock out “Lil’ Evil.” Yet here was Lauzon doing so in under a minute in a one-sided beating. While part of this was attributed to Pulver's decline, it was a stunning, incredible debut. And indeed, Lauzon would go on to have a long, successful career in the promotion, winning his last fight in 2019 to finish 15-12. When it comes to huge upsets against big names achieved in scintillating fashion, this debut is one of the very best.

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