who is the most wasted talent in mma history?

It depends on your definition. I dont think BJ Penn wasted his talent. He was just so naturally gifted than when finally push came to shove,he just wasnt accustomed to dealing very well with real adversity. Couldnt be the nail only the hammer. Still achieved many accolades regardless. A testament to his skill.


Aleks on the other hand,seemed on the cusp of something great but never got there. In 2008 he was essentially banned from competing anywhere except the lawless eastern european lands,which basically shut him out of achieving anything subsantial,so no wonder he lost motivation. Unfortunatley for all that,his talent was wasted.
 
Alex is #1 without a doubt according to anyone that's trained with him. Would have surpassed Fedor if he had the same mentality, but alas, he was the Mr. Hyde of the two of them.
 
jx820 said:
I think Jon Jones is the GOAT, and still had the most wasted potential. Between his time off and his suspensions he spent years of his prime on the shelf.
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word on the street is that he would do blow and party a week before his fights. maybe the coke made him better?
 
filthybliss said:
off topic, but god damn, your account is literally older than me. it musta been nice to be a mma fan during those times, less nonsense and straight action. not to mention, the greatness of Pride FC
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Indeed sir and I was lucky enough to attend couple of Pride events whilst living in Japan
 
Sometimes gifted people dont learn how to deal with hard work because they dont have to. They miss experience.
 
I think Conor is up there. This guy is just some dude from Ireland training with a bunch of regional level fighters and yes men, and became double champ pretty much off talent alone. If he was locked in like some of these hungry guys who try to improve themselves all the time, how good could he be, when he's already this good. No Floyd money, no drinking etc, just dedicated to martial arts, he could have been that guy to beat Khabib and be the modern lightweight goat.
 
Sherdoggers. They think they know more about MMA than the actual fighters, so that must mean they're wasting their talents by not fighting.
 
filthybliss said:
The ones that scream at me are Alex emelianeko, dude was fedor but bigger. legit had goat potential but chose to pursue the art of being human filth...

BJ Penn is another one, don't get me wrong, he achieved a fuck ton but I feel like he got cucked out of that GSP first fight which would have maybe catalyzed him to remain more motivated and not just fight for the quick buck.

Cain Velasquez, Nick Diaz, and Tony...All of them were held back from different variables but nonetheless none of them were able to reach the heights of mma that they were capable of.
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Dana vs Tito, Dana is a Boss.
 
Anthony Smith. On paper he beats any top 10 lhw. Just hasn't always shown up on fight night
 
licensed-image
 
filthybliss said:
The ones that scream at me are Alex emelianeko, dude was fedor but bigger. legit had goat potential but chose to pursue the art of being human filth...

BJ Penn is another one, don't get me wrong, he achieved a fuck ton but I feel like he got cucked out of that GSP first fight which would have maybe catalyzed him to remain more motivated and not just fight for the quick buck.

Cain Velasquez, Nick Diaz, and Tony...All of them were held back from different variables but nonetheless none of them were able to reach the heights of mma that they were capable of.
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Roy Nelson
 
Oscar Madison said:
Henry Cejudo.

Mini-Khabib with balls to go look for larger dudes to waste.

Left early when he should've gone for the UFC Championship Hat Trick.

He could've led a global army of below height-average men to greater self-respect.
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cejudo immediately came to mind. i think he overvalued his worth. what he could have done in those three years he missed is unfortunate. his legacy is still incredible, but with a few more defenses, he could have gone to goat status. even still, giving merab the fight he did after that long layoff was incredible.
 
filthybliss said:
speaking of russian mutants. I always day dream about how monstrous karelin woulda been if he put a genuine effort into mma. just looking at the advantage that wrestling gave to Brock and DC in the more modern era, I feel like he would be unstoppable during his heyday if he had a modicum of striking ability.
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Knew a guy that wrestled Karelin back in the day. Not only was he a technical monster, but he says that his strength simply wasn't human. You could find the physically strongest guy in any tournament and be sure that karelin was about twice as strong, it just didn't make sense.
Imagining him learning to throw a punch is a horrifying mental excercise.
Even his two losses were controversial and on points, but even with them, having a career where you go 887-2, doubling Ricksons larping fanfic, that's a beast right there.
 
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NicholasJBasile said:
Gregor Gillespie comes to mind. I loved watching him fight. He recently retired. He just never really seemingly cared about MMA all that much -- good for him though; now he can focus on fishing and stuff.
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Where did he say he retired ?
 
filthybliss said:
The ones that scream at me are Alex emelianeko, dude was fedor but bigger. legit had goat potential but chose to pursue the art of being human filth...

BJ Penn is another one, don't get me wrong, he achieved a fuck ton but I feel like he got cucked out of that GSP first fight which would have maybe catalyzed him to remain more motivated and not just fight for the quick buck.

Cain Velasquez, Nick Diaz, and Tony...All of them were held back from different variables but nonetheless none of them were able to reach the heights of mma that they were capable of
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I don't see how bj penn could be a waste he was a lw fighter to begin with gsp was the ww goat and nobody has bj pens accomplishments the guy faught ww skipped mw did an open weight vs a 205 pound lyoto machida
 
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