who is the most wasted talent in mma history?

[cburm]

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

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

 

[cburm]

Dillashaw pissed his career away karma
Vitor Belfort was so good he took off damn near a decade and was still top 5 I know he had fucked up circumstances but I feel he would of been a champ

But definitely the Russian guy that retired like undefeated at bw or fw can't think of his name he got sick tall skinny crazy skills umm dang can't think of it he looked dagestani but had amazing standup

 

[sjon22]

BJ Penn
TJ Grant
Zabit
David Terrell

 

[Dr Guildo]

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 karelia 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.

If Karelin's chin was as durable as it looks and with decent striking defence he would have been an absolute monster in MMA. Dont think any Judo or BJJ could submit him. Maybe aikido. Sensei Seagal would have been the first one to stop him.

Sensei Seagal also belongs in this category. Karelin and Seagal, most wasted talent in MMA.

 

[marvinparsons]

Brandon Vera had a solid wrestling background, learned BJJ with Lloyd Irving and did well at grappling and had a natural aptitude for striking. He was basically the perfect size for 205, especially 17 years ago when a lot of undersized guys that could fight at 185 were at LHW.

But he had zero fight IQ and would often just accept whatever his opponent was doing. He also never looked like he was in great shape and his cardio was not great. Extremely frustrating fighter.

I think you take his body/skills and put Shogun/Hendo's brain in him and he beats Keith Jardine, Sylvia, ancient Randy, and Thiago Silva.

 

[WoozyFailGuy]

Dillashaw pissed his career away karma
Vitor Belfort was so good he took off damn near a decade and was still top 5 I know he had fucked up circumstances but I feel he would of been a champ

But definitely the Russian guy that retired like undefeated at bw or fw can't think of his name he got sick tall skinny crazy skills umm dang can't think of it he looked dagestani but had amazing standup

Zabit. Outside of the cardio questions guy was a beast and the only person that could say "they don't want to fight me" as he had to retire and become a doctor because of it. Huge what if

 

[WoozyFailGuy]

If Karelin's chin was as durable as it looks and with decent striking defence he would have been an absolute monster in MMA. Dont think any Judo or BJJ could submit him. Maybe aikido. Sensei Seagal would have been the first one to stop him.

Sensei Seagal also belongs in this category. Karelin and Seagal, most wasted talent in MMA.

Man I don't want to know how helpless a man would feel with Karelin slapping a kimura or Americana on you holy shit. I 100% think he would have been top 3 especially since we're talking the generation he'd be hypothetically fighting in the UFC during his last Olympic run are the late 90s early 2000s fighters, Randy, Tim Sylvia, Rico Rodrigues. Karelin would have torn through MMA at the time if the blockhead could take a punch. If he got in even earlier like 96, it would have been even easier for him IMO. That's a wonderful what-if, imagining Fedor and Karelin meeting in early PRIDE

 

[ferrisjso]

Dillashaw pissed his career away karma
Vitor Belfort was so good he took off damn near a decade and was still top 5 I know he had fucked up circumstances but I feel he would of been a champ

But definitely the Russian guy that retired like undefeated at bw or fw can't think of his name he got sick tall skinny crazy skills umm dang can't think of it he looked dagestani but had amazing standup

He literally was a champ though. Fluke or not. His tombstone will read UFC LHW champion.

 

[Siver!]

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.

Sam Alvey.

Dude lost one fight and wasn't given any chances to get back into the win column.

Thought he was cut far too soon for an electric striker.

 

[HeffDoesWant]

Zabit

Rumble

 

[Kaiokenrye24]

Mirsad Bektic

 

[Dr Fong]

The most common name I see listed for 'wasted talent' is a 2-weight division champion with multiple title defences in one.

MMA fans certainly haven't wasted their talent for retardation.

 

[joenewbie]

Gokhan Saki.

I bet on his fight with Rountree and lost big and I couldn't figure out why/how he made such basic mistakes. If I remember correctly he threw out a naked leg kick and Rountree countered it with a straight punch down the middle that put Saki down and then he just was hopeless on the ground.

He was a world champion kickboxer but got his leg kick countered by a straight punch. It's obvious that he never learned to block/parry/slip a punch with the small gloves on. He probably used big gloves in the gym. And he must not have learned any wrestling or scrambles on the ground. Rountree is a great MMA fighter/kickboxer for sure, but Saki should have been so much better on the feet than Rountree.

I'm just a know-nothing arm chair UFC fan, but dang- what was is training camp working on for that fight?

After that he got injured in training and quit his run at MMA. So much hype and hope that never went anywhere in the UFC.

 

[StonedLemur]

I agree, sir

(Bows in respect)

 

[Morning Star]

To me, Zabit is more of a what-if than a waste.
BJ Penn and Lee Murray and people of the like that made BAD decisions are a waste. Guys like Zabit and Khabib that chose to retire early arguably made very GOOD decisions.
Splitting hairs, I know.

Came to say this. Zabit leaving the sport was involuntary since it had to do with health issues so I don't consider him wasting his talent. BJ was lazy, liked to eat shit food, party, do drugs and only surrounded himself with yes men and refused to train at a serious gym with other top level fighters. He still won 2 belts but he could have accomplished so much more.

 

[Violent Violin]

Chris Weidman. If he were my son, I would have disowned him. Wasting all that talent.

Nice pull

 

[Violent Violin]

Roy Nelson could have achieved a lot more if he had been in better shape.

No, he was in decent shape. He used his belly and his low center of gravity to his advantage in a very clever way.

 

[Neck&Neck]

Miguel Torres

 

[Violent Violin]

I don't know about #1, but Frank Shamrock has to be up there. He retired from the UFC in his prime when he was beating everyone and never made it back and never was as good when he finally fought again.

He won multiple high level belts. What more do you want?

 

[OLD RED]

Aleks E.
Lee Murray
Zabit Magomedsharipov