Who is your pick for ‘best that never was’?

[BjPenn2017]

Gabriel Gonzaga is definitely one for me

 

[FIghtxIQ]

Yeh - I’m pretty much big time Conor hater now because I think he’s shitty person AND he’s done as a championship level fighter.

That being said on the night of UFC 205 I watched him and thought ‘this guy could rule the world’.

How much of it was down to Eddie being the perfect guy and that is debatable but that night he was pitch perfect.

Conor still has the opportunity for more greatness. He had it with the Dustin fights but fell short on them. Luckily he broke his leg before he can lose the fight so the option is still there for him once he recovers. Him wanting to train with Canelo's team is great sign and something he should devote a lot of time into. Not just a few weeks, he should spend months there day in and day out to improve his boxing. When he recovers he can get an immediate rematch with Dustin, depending where Dustin is at that point of his career, he may very well be the LW champion. So it's quite possible that Conor is one win away from being the champion again.

It's going to be up to him if he's going to be able to achieve that or not though. He's going to have to change up a lot from his training and pre-fight stuff, what he's doing currently hasn't got him winning results recently.

 

[GORO]

Houston Alexander he was 1 win away from title shot chuck or rampage

 

[FIghtxIQ]

Masvidal, he was so close too

He's still close to it. If someone happens to beat Usman he's right in title contention again. If he drops down to LW he can get to a title shot quickly. He still has some options unless he just wants to focus on money fights like a Diaz or Conor fight down the road once Conor is out of title contention.

 

[Franklin U.]

Mousasi

Always got grapplefucked when he was near the top

Hes a 6 time world champion and is currently on some pound for pound lists as we approach 2022 ( incredible).
????????
You mean how ,lol, Chris grapplefucked him to finish out his ultra impressive 8 fight deal and Bisping declined him his shot ?
That Mousasi ?

 

[Pierced7681]

He's still close to it. If someone happens to beat Usman he's right in title contention again. If he drops down to LW he can get to a title shot quickly. He still has some options unless he just wants to focus on money fights like a Diaz or Conor fight down the road once Conor is out of title contention.

Masvidal is my fav active fighter, been riding with him since shark fights against Paul Daley, I really hope he gets the belt before he retires.

 

[CashMoney1991]

3 fighters come to mind; Cain but he was always injured and only defended his belt I believe once, Gus since he pushed Jones and DC to their limits and Rory since he was up 3-1 on Robbie b4 that tko , Idt Conor was ever all that, don't get me wrong he was very good but I will die on a hill saying that Frankie would of owned him at 145 if Conor stayed there

 

[Stormtrooper85]

He's still close to it. If someone happens to beat Usman he's right in title contention again. If he drops down to LW he can get to a title shot quickly. He still has some options unless he just wants to focus on money fights like a Diaz or Conor fight down the road once Conor is out of title contention.

Masvidal will never be champion. He's far too inconsistent

 

[Franklin U.]

Gus

Rory was a decent favorite to beat Lawler TWICE to become world champ.
I'd say that qualifies for this topic.

 

[HI SCOTT NEWMAN]

Probably Jon Hess, undefeated in UFC and was banned from UFC for being too dangerous for the sport, which was sad to see as he would have dominated for many years. they won't allow SAFTA due to how dangerous it is and no defense to it

 

[Franklin U.]

Masvidal will never be champion. He's far too inconsistent

I love watching Maz fight but he represents the lack of depth in todays 170 division. A guy like him getting 2 cracks at UFC gold - no.

 

[woodsideQ]

Who was the person you looked at in terms of pure talent and ability and thought ‘they will achieve greatness’ who, for whatever reason, didn’t get there?

I’m taking people who you still feel annoyed we’ll never see what they could have done.

(I’m personally going for Velasquez - I know he was champ but I remember watching him in his prime and being sure he’d be HW GOAT, stolen by injury etc and now a bit forgotten outside serious fans)

UberTS

 

[woodsideQ]

Yeh - I’m pretty much big time Conor hater now because I think he’s shitty person AND he’s done as a championship level fighter.

That being said on the night of UFC 205 I watched him and thought ‘this guy could rule the world’.

How much of it was down to Eddie being the perfect guy and that is debatable but that night he was pitch perfect.

yeah I didn't love conor but saw greatness to come. and not just against manlets. he beat aldo and alvarez

 

[Fedorgasm]

Aleks.

"Who's that guy over there?"

"Him? Oh you know the greatest fighter in MMA history? Well that's his bigger, younger, meaner brother."

 

[woodsideQ]

Probably Jon Hess, undefeated in UFC and was banned from UFC for being too dangerous for the sport, which was sad to see as he would have dominated for many years. they won't allow SAFTA due to how dangerous it is and no defense to it

despite being banned he seems to pass on his unbeatable knowledge outside the UFC;: "On April 25, 2010 Hess cornered Team Quest fighter Steven Tobias at Gladiator Challenge, where Tobias won his first pro fight. Since 2007, Hess has made several efforts to get into fighting shape and has suffered a number of injuries, including breaking three toes and an ankle. As of December 2014, Hess is 9-0 cornering fighters with 8 KO's and one submission"

 

[woodsideQ]

It's Rory for me, I was convinced we were maybe witnessing the GOAT in the making. Still had a great career, but it seemed to me that he was going to the very top and staying there.

did the Lawler fight take that much out of him?

 

[woodsideQ]

Houston Alexander he was 1 win away from title shot chuck or rampage

but he also looked like trash against Kimbo....

 

[tmnpothead]

John Hathaway

 

[Spiritual Sight]

Shogun's UFC career. Those knees turned him from a high flying killer with gas tank for days, into a tortoise who eaty and sleepy.

 

[bad mojo]

did the Lawler fight take that much out of him?

I believe the injuries played a big part. He was fighting professionally since the age of 16, and that must've taken a toll on him. He missed several UFC fights due to serious injuries. That rematch with Lawler probably messed him up both mentally and physically, I guess but he was probably damaged goods already by that point.