I grew up in a boxing family so i never really got into mma until around 2008.
I remember watching jds debut vs werdum and loved him! its been awesome to follow a guys career from the start but i think it being my start in the sport also has given me a real soft spot for him.
Any of you guys got someone similar?
I envy the old school guys who followed royce from the start! 
Machida and Bisping I'll never stop cheering for them until the end 
Royce Gracie.
I remember being 7 and scraping up money from my paper route to order all the early UFCs. I always had to drink an extra capri sun or two because of the excitement.
I remember seeing vitor fight when I was a kid on vhs from blockbuster. I wanted him to lose. I remember they reference the age 19 but tbh I think they were just mentioned his debut and this wasnt it. Then one day im flipping channels and vitor vs franklin event is on and im like " I remember that guy" ( tbh id been watching a few events here and there)
Watched 90% of events since and it sucks I missed a lot of the good bits. Discovered the ug app while searching for mma apps and never looked back
Helio Gracie.
I've been a fan for a really long time no matter what my join date suggests.
when i was younger i remember going in town with dad to the only grocery store we had and they had a video/game rental area with the ufc on vhs there in the sports section.. i remember after renting some of the tapes showing my friends fights that wasn't boxing and thinking it was so crazy. it wasn't til i got a little older and started falling out of my wwf craze that i really started to watch the fights for what they were and not just fast forwarding to either Tank Abott (oh my thinkin back lol) or igor to watch a brutal ko.lol. im an ohioan so i grew quickly to Mark Coleman and Kevin Randellman and followed them as much as i could witch lead to pride fc and man do i miss pride. for those who are newer fans than the pride era, watching them back then and that whole mystic of witch brand had the truly best fighters ufc or pride was just too fuckin sweet now that i look back. when i seen the monster ko crocop i must have screamed for 20 min or so.same when he fuckin Zangeifed Fedor i blew up but i will say , of all the fighters of the past and favorites come and go, one person i knew was going to be something special thats still going strong is ruthless Robbie Lawler. i love watchin his fights. how his legs stayed on his body during that manhoef fight til the brutal ko is just nuts.
When I signed up for Tae Kwon Doe (in 2005 I was 15) my instructor asked who my favorite fighter was and it was Nick Diaz then, and still is now.
Barnett.
Baby face assassin killing it in pride and the early UFC. Great to see him come back. Would loved to have seen him and handy in the octagon.
Hopefully one day UGers can say me :)
forrest, kos & rashad from tuf. they were the only guys that i followed, til 08 when forrest won the belt. from then on i became obsessed..
sort of similar to you op. was extremely casual til 08, and am also from a boxing family. my fav fighter winky wright at the time was the only boxer that respected mma & would openly admit that he'd "get killed" in the octagon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2xlvjIdfTk
Sara McMann. We both had our first ammy fight on the same card. I remember sitting next to her at medicals and when they were checking our blood pressure I remember looking at her and saying, "Jesus! Your arms are bigger than mine!" I was a pretty well built light heavy at the time and her arms are HUGE in person. Especially for a woman. She's a super cool and down to earth person too. It's pretty cool to think that I had about 30 minutes of 1 on 1 time with somebody who has accomplished what she has. To top it off we both won our fights and I took a guys belt that night. Pretty cool.
Myles Jury. Got to see him in a few grappling tournaments, and some local MMA shows.
Well considering I've seen every UFC from the start including every TUF, UFN, UFC on Fox etc this could get very long...
Whambo - Well considering I've seen every UFC from the start including every TUF, UFN, UFC on Fox etc this could get very long...So your saying brock
i caught tail end of royce. i remember being blown away by gary goodridge and belfort. i became huge fans of both immediately. i stopped giving a shit for belfort during his time in pride when he became more of a wrestler. goodridge was always fun to watch though
Tina Lähdemäki, started reading her blog when she started it in 2010, she also won women's finnish MMA championship that year, got a great amateur record and nowadays is a professional fighter signed by UFC
E: That wasn't my start though, I started watching in 2007, Crocop was my first huge favorite, I still watch his MMA / Kickboxing fights
StephenLangdown - Hopefully one day UGers can say me :)
Mirko Filipovic
and not finished yet but.....
Stephen Langdown
Anthony Johnson, kind of fell out of my favorite list after his attitude toward the end of his first UFC stint
used to watch cung le dominate everyone in san shou and thought he'd do well in mma
he had a good undefeated streak in mma for awhile