who is the most wasted talent in mma history?

[filthybliss]

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.

 

[Luthien]

Khamzat - Used to be like =
Now he's On Twitter

 

[tehMoose]

Vitaly Minakov by far

 

[humdizzle]

zabit

 

[Reach4theSky]

Questionable supplements aside. I'd go with Sean Sherk. Had they had the smaller weight classes like today he might be in the GOAT discussion. He was always fighting larger opponents..

 

[reddhelium]

A few come to mind:

Zabit Magomedsharipov
Lee Murray
Uriah Hall
Paulo Filho
Brandon Vera

 

[Get To Da Choppa]

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...

This is my pick as well. Even Fedor said Alex is much more gifted than he is. He had incredible hand speed as well as power for a true heavyweight

Another one that comes to mind is Erick Silva. We all thought he was gonna be at least a two division champ when he wrecked his first two UFC opponents within 70 seconds combined. But now 12 years later, he still hasn't fulfilled his potential and he's already 17

 

[Barteh]

Erick Silva

 

[ipowerslapmywife]

Conor wasting his prime

 

[LEWIS540]

Almost certainly some guy no one has ever heard of.

 

[NicholasJBasile]

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.

 

[ipowerslapmywife]

 

[Ares Black]

Karo Parisyan may have been more successful if he quit smoking.

 

[blaseblase]

A few come to mind:

Zabit Magomedsharipov
Lee Murray
Uriah Hall
Paulo Filho
Brandon Vera

Zabit I agree with, but the others? How did Hall or Vera waste their talent? They just weren't that good.

 

[Oscar Madison]

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.

 

[WaylonMercy5150]

Ralek Gracie made really corny rap music. Wasted his natural talent.

 

[reddhelium]

Zabit I agree with, but the others? How did Hall or Vera waste their talent? They just weren't that good.

I think it hinges on the interpretation of wasted talent. Did Vera, Hall, Lee Murray and Filho have talent and a career trajectory that didn't match their accomplishments or accolades in the end? I say yes. Whether they wasted their talents intentionally, or their talents were wasted (not fulfilled), is up for debate.

 

[VinceArch]

Questionable supplements aside. I'd go with Sean Sherk. Had they had the smaller weight classes like today he might be in the GOAT discussion. He was always fighting larger opponents..

He still captured the LW title and only lost to the elite. I don't think the talent was THAT wasted. More like, 'what could have been?' though.

 

[blaseblase]

I think it hinges on the interpretation of wasted talent. Did Vera, Hall, Lee Murray and Filho have talent and a career trajectory that didn't match their accomplishments or accolades in the end? I say yes. Whether they wasted their talents intentionally, or their talents were wasted (not fulfilled), is up for debate.

I disagree. Vera was never that good. Just a run of the mill heavyweight who fought a post injury version of Mir. Hall was never that good. Hall had hype from a viral TUF moment against a bum, his actual skills were not enough to get him to top contender status. He certainly was given the opportunity.

 

[White Belt_Knowledge]

Lee Murray, the dude was a real good striker and had a slick submission game of his back. I feel he could have been real popular name with the fans, he had a tons of charisma but threw it all away