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Biggest wastes of talent.

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#1 ·
This topic was inspired by me seeing a once great UFC veteran being knocked out by a regional prospect in 25 seconds...and it to me to thinking, what fighters in the UFC have really just been colossal talents that went to waste.

Obviously the tried and true answer is David Terrell, who was one of the better no-gi grapplers in his weight class at the time and showed excellent athleticism, hand speed and power and could've been another Frank Shamrock before the injuries and confidence issues that derailed him.


IMO, however, an equally sad waste of talent was Drew Fickett, who just got KO'd by some random prospect a few days ago.


Just looking back and this dude was a pretty amazing fighter when he was on.

Came into the UFC at 24-2 with wins over Dennis Hallman and Ken-Flo but man were his wins in the UFC spectacular.

Choked OUT Josh Neer, Choked OUT Josh Koscheck, then choked Kurt Pellegrino is a top tier ground technician himself.
Then you consider he is one of the few dudes in the UFC to ever get released off of a win because he couldn't put down the bottle and had a tumultuous personal life with going to jail...having problems with his wife and kids.


After the UFC stint, he would just go through these stints of chaos and near homelessness' and go in and get cracked by random regional fighters and bow out.....then go on a stretch where he submits like 4 UFC fighters in a row all the while being half-fat and barely motivated.



42 wins, 31 submissions....and a hell of a lot of wasted potential.
 
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#10 ·
Brandon Vera isn't a good example.


Brandon Vera was just overrated.


Mark Kerr would definitely make my top 5.

Even though hat dude obviously abused steroids....the painkiller addiction basically destroyed his career when he was thought to be Mark Coleman 2.0 and a lot younger.


Ricco is another good example...he's different though as I think he was as good as he was going to get, but he destroyed his career prematurely just because he couldn't be bothered to control his weight. 28 years old and 300+lbs and past it....sad.




Again, like Vera...he just sucks.



I'm not talking about perceived potential..I'm talking about dudes who were legit studs but floundered away because of other problems.

Guys like Fickett who have a laundry list of top flight fighters they have tapped out a weight class above their natural weight but was relegated to an afterthought because he was an alcoholic and undependable.
 
#3 ·
I think the biggest waste of talent has been BJ Penn. His fight's have been exciting when his opponents get under his skin but when they don't he just goes through the motions. I still remember watching diego acting all psycho before their fight and thinking maybe bj bit off more then he could chew, but bj showed what he could do & vs a solid wrestler with a good chin and decent striking.

Another fighter I thought would have made a bigger impact is thiago alves, though almost all his fights have been exciting.
 
#4 ·
Even though BJ Penn is alreay a legend, and has accomplished more in MMA than most...I'm going with him. The reason is, had he had the commitment to train like a GSP or Cain, I believe he would have a much better record and would probably be in the top 2 or 3 fighters of all time.
 
#12 ·
If Brandon Vera bulked up and stayed at HW he might have been a UFC HW champion. He could have defeated Nog or Lesnar, he could have jumped to Strikeforce and taken out Fedor. He could have been a champion but he chose just to be enhancement talent for future and former ones.
 
#30 ·
Lesnar would have mauled Vera, even a bigger stronger Vera. Pre-illness Lesnar would have made him his bitch.

While he's not a 'waste' of talent per say, I think Shogun would have been even better without the chronic knee injuries. He's still a legend but clearly, his best days are behind him.

BJ's wasted a ton of his talent for sure, during his Lightweight title run, that was just a different man, he was living up to his potential and he laid one of the ungodliest ass whippin's of our time on Diego Sanchez. That was an animal, a savage, an ass kicking machine, then he left the Marinovich's and he went downhill from there.

I do think, with Edgar gone though and if properly motivated, he could be Lightweight Champ again but that may just me being one of those diehard BJ fans who think he's God's gift to MMA.

Tyson Griffin also deserves a mention, I was for sure thinking he'd at least fight for the title in 2010 after he beat Franca but man he went down hill big time. Griffin vs. Guida is still one of my all time favorite fights.
 
#16 ·
Pretty much flushed his life down the drain though.

Not really. Apparently he has a comfortable time in the Moroccan jail, getting special treatment (not sexual :p) and when he comes out he still has millions of pounds hidden which were never recovered. He'll come out of jail as a middle aged multi-millionare living an exotic lifestyle in a beautiful country.
 
#19 · (Edited)
I'd have to say Melvin Guillard. The kid has ridiculous speed, but unlike some lightweights who are really fast, he also has a lot of power to balance that. Speed, power, athleticism, and experience is a great recipe for a great fighter. His hands have the potential to knock out any lightweight, and his wrestling isn't bad either when he uses it.

His physical attributes may have been good, but his mental game has always been lacking. With all of the experience he has fighting, you'd think he wouldn't make all of these amateur mistakes, but he always finds a way to ruin things for him once he starts to build up momentum. Whether it be in or outside of the cage, he's his own worst enemy. He has some wins over solid competition, but he's always just one loss away from starting back at the bottom of the ladder. A lot of fights have been very winnable for him if he just stayed focus and learned from his mistakes. If he had the mental game of a champion, he would have been a champion by now in my opinion, or at least would have fought for the title.

That's why he's been a waste of talent from my point of view.
 
#24 ·
Frank Mir a couple reasons first the motorcycle accident he probably could have held the belt for a while back in the day when the HW division was thin.

As of lately I remember watching a show before one of his fights or something and seeing his camps and training and he brings his family to his training camps and seems like he just kind of does what he wants he also has his dad do a lot of the cornering and calling strategies. I think even nowadays if he went to say a greg jacksons or aka or something like the he could do a lot better i believe.
 
#25 ·
Joe Stevenson immediately sprung to mind. Great BJJ, geart Wrestling, decent standup. He was a beast then just hit a wall it seemed (not just one name BJ Penn...another waste of talent). Joe went on an insane losing streak to guys we would have destroyed a year before.
 
#29 · (Edited)
Guillard and by a mile for me. For guys that come to mind he was the first and really only guy who came to me.

He still has lightening quick hands. Power. TONS of Athleticism. A decent wrestling base.



I don't agree with this. Was a big Joe Daddy fan, and he seems to have lost the love for the sport. But that is fine, he was getting passed up by evolving fighters.

He won a ton of fights in his career fighting at weights that were way to big for him. He was a little T-Rex with short arms. When fighters evolved he couldn't compete with them at 155. They were too long. Too well versed in wrestling or BJJ. He had a weird body type. He got all the way to a title shot with BJ Penn. I would say he was quite accomplished. Especially when you realize his stature was suited for 135, but he was just so naturally thick. If the UFC would have had a 145 division, he would have been there way earlier in his career.
 
#26 ·
Penn

He's already highly touted but like someone else said, if he trained even close to what GSP trains, he would have been regarded as one the best to ever be in the sport. Penn already has a decorated career, I'm not trying to knock the guys career but in 5-10 years from now, you will remember Anderson and GSP for the most part depending on how he does in the next 2-3 years after the surgery. Will Penn be remembered? might be, but there will always be doubts and what could have beens surrounding him.

For the better part of his carer, he relied on nothing but talent and out of his 26 fights, how many can you say that he was in the best shape he possibly could have been? maybe 5, not much more though.
 
#28 ·
Wilson gouveia= Had decent boxing, excellent ground game- he made light work of Jason McDonald and Ryan Jensen on the ground, two guys known for their grappling, but he rarely trained hard enough and was notorious in ATT for being lazy and having a bad attitude.

Philipe nover= blessed with natural talent and athleticism, when he ploughed through everyone on TUF, it looked like Dana had unearthed a gem, but he proved in the final against escudero, that he folds under pressure and hasn't got the heart to fight through adversity. In almost all his losses you can see he basically gives up, and if a guy as no heart, he won't get very far.
 
#31 ·
David Tererll is and will always be my top pick. The way he handled Lindland was amazing and after his loss to Tanner it was shocking to see him fade away. Crap, just looked him up, I didn't even realize he subbed Scott Smith at UFC 59.

Anyways, another fighter that comes to mind is Ricco Rodriguez. He's got a good record but he isn't where he could have been if he didn't party his life away outside of the cage.
 
#32 ·
Nick Diaz would get my vote. All the talent and dedication in the world, but his personality/mental health issues keep him from being all he could be.
 
#34 ·
Nick Diaz is really good though...and the dude will probably be fighting for a title soon...


David Tererll is and will always be my top pick. The way he handled Lindland was amazing and after his loss to Tanner it was shocking to see him fade away. Crap, just looked him up, I didn't even realize he subbed Scott Smith at UFC 59.

Anyways, another fighter that comes to mind is Ricco Rodriguez. He's got a good record but he isn't where he could have been if he didn't party his life away outside of the cage.


I actually was able to track that down and have it downloaded. One of the rarer fights I own.
 
#40 · (Edited)
We saw him with good training...when he was with Marv Marinovich - he didnt like having to train so hard and gave it up after because he didnt like traning so hard.

But he was picking up late wins over KenFlo and Sanchez, BJ Penn was truly a beast throughout his lightweight run - but in them fights his Stamina looked great too.
 
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