Darren Till was once tipped as the next great British title hope. He was seen as the man to follow in Michael Bisping's footsteps and become the second UFC champion from these shores.
He dismantled Donald Cerrone, outstruck Stephen Thompson on a wonderful homecoming in Liverpool and had the talk to back it up.
But since those landmark wins, Till has lost four of his last five and Saturday night's defeat by Derek Brunson was a brutal reality check.
Darren Till suffered a hugely disappointing defeat by Derek Brunson in Las Vegas
Brunson showed his superior grappling ability and revealed holes in Till's game
Among those willing Till to win in Las Vegas was the middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya. Adesanya has made no secret of the fact that he wants to face Till and the 'Gorilla' was primed to be next in line for a title shot but those dreams have been dashed for now.
Till is a brilliant salesman and utterly convinced in his own ability, he's spoken about not only becoming a champion, but going down in history as one of the greats.
He previously told ESPN: 'I don't think it's a matter of how long it takes. I don't know, I have no goal. I think when the time's ready – I know what I was put on this earth for, no one can convince me otherwise.
'I was put on this earth to be a champion in the UFC and be a future GOAT, so when it happens, it's going to happen.
'I just want to fight, I just want to be the best,' he continued. 'I can't do anything else.
'I will not be able to retire if I don't become one of the best.… I have to do it, I've got to do it, and I'm so determined and convinced. I'm going to train harder, and I'm going to be more vicious and violent as ever.'
Till went into the Brunson fight as a slight favourite and landed some crisp, clean shots on the 37-year-old American.
But it soon became clear that Brunson's advantage in the wrestling department was significant.
Israel Adesanya's middleweight title remains the ultimate aim for Till
He is undoubtedly the strongest fighter in the grappling department that Till has ever faced but it was still a surprise to see him fail the examination so severely.
After 90 seconds of the first round, Brunson lunged for a double-leg takedown and secured it like a hot knife through butter.
There's no shame in being taken down by such a decorated wrestler but Till's work on the ground off his back will have disappointed him. Brunson was able to pin him down and land some heavy artillery.
One elbow in particular caused Till's eye to swell up and almost close. To his credit, he was able to kick Brunson off him and stand up with just under a minute to go in the first.
Two minutes into the second, he was taken down again and then crucially when enjoying his best spell of the fight in the third, he was taken down and Brunson ended up in mount, finding the finish soon after.
The concern is now that there is a clear blueprint to beat Till. He can go toe-to-toe with the very best on the feet and lost a narrow decision against Robert Whittaker, one of the best around.
Till posted this picture of Michael Bisping winning his middleweight championship
Till was in touching distance of a title shot but came up short against Brunson
But when it comes to his defensive wrestling, improvements must be made. Bisping made the point on commentary that British fighters are
