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Yamato Damashii
27-07-2007, 20:29
Van CBS sportsline:
http://cbs.sportsline.com/mmaboxing/story/10267555
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Five Ounces of Pain: The 10 biggest underachievers in MMA

Unless you're a diehard MMA fan, chances are you somehow missed a Hardcore Championship Fighting event that took place in Edmonton, Canada this past weekend in which former UFC welterweight contender Joe Riggs defeated Dan Chambers. Advertisement

For Riggs, it was a much needed win. He had not fought since a loss to Diego Sanchez at UFC Fight Night 7 following a knee to the head at just 1:45 into the first round. That was last December.

With the victory, Riggs' career will likely continue with Zuffa under the banner of the WEC, the sister-company of the UFC.

While the win was clearly a positive, it still left me wondering how the enigmatic Riggs ended up as an afterthought on a show that was conducted miles away from the epicenter of MMA. He is clearly one of the sport's biggest underachievers, and it got me thinking: Where does Riggs rank on the list of biggest underachievers currently in MMA?

Based on the Riggs question, I decided to compile a list of the 10 biggest underachievers in MMA and rank them in order. For the purposes of this article, I decided to present them from 10-to-1 instead of 1-to-10 because I always find countdowns that open with their No. 1 choice to be anti-climatic.

Before I get to my list, I wanted to issue a disclaimer. While some people might consider this list to be negative, a fighter wasn't able to make this list unless he had talent to begin with.

The odd thing is, despite the string of disappointing performances by the fighters on this list, I consider myself a fan of most of them. There's also no denying that the sport of MMA would be even more enjoyable to watch if any of the names on this list were able to compete to their full potential.

10. Alistair Overeem: The Dutch-born kickboxer is a tremendous athlete who has lost to the likes of Chuck Liddell, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (twice), Ricardo Arona, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, and Fabricio Werdum. On the verge of breaking into the world's elite at 205 pounds, it seemed like the only thing that prevented Overeem from doing so was his lack of conditioning. After a 14-fight career in Pride, he is now competing for K-1's MMA promotion, Hero's. The problem is that Overeem is just fighting to keep himself relevant in MMA when he should be fighting to prove that he's one of the sport's best.

9. Carter Williams: Williams shocked the kickboxing world in 2003 when he won K-1's U.S. Grand Prix at the age of 23. Entering the tournament as an 18-to-1 underdog, Williams took out the likes of Michael McDonald, Rick Roufus and Dewey Cooper on the way to the tournament title. The sky appeared to be the limit for Williams following his strong showing, but he's never come close to reaching his full potential in the years since. His disappointing ways have carried over into MMA when he showed up 20 pounds overweight for his June 22 bout on the undercard of the Frank Shamrock vs. Phil Baroni main event. Williams was knocked out by Paul Buentello at 0:10 into the second round and it was later revealed he had tested positive for cocaine during a pre-fight drug screening. If "The Beast" spent less time at the club and more time at the gym, there's no telling how far he could go.

8. Kevin Randleman: Considered a contemporary to fellow former standout college wrestlers such as Randy Couture and Mark Coleman, Randleman has failed to achieve even a small fraction of the success that they've accomplished in MMA. Randleman's downfall has been his insistence of relying almost exclusively on his world class wrestling ability. If he had devoted himself to a standup discipline he would have matched Coleman and Couture's level of success. Currently on suspension by the Nevada State Athletic Commission after attempting to cheat a urine test, Randleman is rumored to be mounting a comeback while training under the guidance of Shawn Tompkins. Tompkins is currently one of the best striking coaches in MMA and could be exactly what Randleman needs.

7. Frank Mir: Once the poster boy of the UFC's heavyweight division, Mir is currently known more for his excellent work as a commentator on WEC WrekCage on the Versus network. Mir hasn't been the same since being involved in a serious motorcycle accident several years back and based on his appearance during his comeback fights, looks to have slacked off on his conditioning. Few heavyweights have better submission skills than Mir so it would be a mistake to write him off just yet. Unfortunately, the clock is ticking, and if he doesn't show something against kickboxing standout Antoni Hardonk at UFC 74 on Aug. 25, then it might be time for Mir to focus solely on his broadcasting career.

6. Evan Tanner: An original Team Quest member, Tanner is a well-rounded fighter with good submission wrestling and strong boxing skills. Unfortunately, personal demons outside of the fight game have derailed a brilliant career that has seen Tanner not only hold the UFC middleweight title but also defeat Phil Baroni, Robbie Lawler, Paul Buentello, Heath Herring and David Terrell. Now 36, time is not on Tanner's side. However, there still could be time for one more run at the title; he's reportedly back in training with Chute Boxe USA and might be making a comeback in the UFC this September.

5. David Loiseau: A talented striker who has a rare ability of defending himself when he gives his back to a fighter, Loiseau was on top of the world following a TKO victory over Evan Tanner at UFC Fight Night 2 in October of 2005. However, "The Crow" has been caught in a downward spiral ever since, beginning with a lackluster performance against Rich Franklin during a UFC middleweight title bout at UFC 58. Loiseau was then unceremoniously dropped by the UFC following another tentative effort during a unanimous decision loss to Mike Swick at UFC 63. Things seemed to be turning around for him after signing a lucrative three-fight deal with EliteXC. However, Loiseau looked like he was sleep walking during yet another unanimous decision loss, this time against Joey Villasenor at EliteXC's debut card on February 10. After snapping a three fight losing streak while fighting for the Art of War promotion on May 11, Loiseau will look to rebuild his once promising career. He's still only 27 and has been relatively injury free during his career. As such, there's a realistic opportunity for him to regain everything he lost so long as he starts fighting aggressively again.

4. Yves Edwards: Watching Edwards in person compete for Bodog Fight in Trenton, N.J. on July 14 triggered a range of emotions as I watched him enter the ring to fight Jorge Masvidal. A personal favorite for several years, I was excited just for the chance to see Edwards fight but was depressed that he was doing so in an arena that was only one third full. Once one of the top lightweight strikers in the world, I was at a loss when trying to figure out why he wasn't competing for the UFC lightweight title in the middle of a packed arena. My perplexed state ended after Edwards was knocked out at 2:19 into the second round following a high kick by Masvidal. With five losses in his past six fights, Edwards needs to do some soul searching and see if he can get back to being the fighter who holds wins over the likes of Hermes Franca (twice), Josh Thomson, Rich Clementi and Dokonjonosuke Mishima. Advertisement

3. Joe Riggs: The inspiration for this column, Riggs is considered a beast when it comes to training. When I hear fighters who have trained with Riggs talk about him, they describe him as a future world champion. Injuries and issues outside of the cage have no doubt held him back, but there has to be a bigger reason why the fighter so many others have raved about comes up small in actual fights. Only 24, it's way too early in the game to write off a guy who once weighed over 300 pounds and has also had to deal with the death of an infant child. If Riggs can stay healthy, fight exclusively as a middleweight and remain focused, there's no reason why he still can't develop into an elite fighter. The tools are all there, he just needs to utilize them.

2. B.J. Penn: You might be asking, what is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world doing on this list? But that's the issue; why are we talking about him as one of the best and not the best?

Penn is the Roy Jones Jr. of MMA: he's a multi-dimensional fighter capable of being dominant in multiple weight classes. Like Jones, Penn possesses a level of athletic prowess unrivaled by most of his peers.

If Penn dedicated himself to conditioning to the extent he did in his preparation for his fight against Jens Pulver at the TUF 5 finale he'd be capable of being the first fighter in history of holding the lightweight, welterweight and middleweight title on a simultaneous basis. There might be those who consider that a melodramatic statement, but how many fighters are out there who posses both Abu Dhabi grappling ability and K-1 standup skills?

1. Vitor Belfort: In addition to being a former UFC light heavyweight champion, Belfort also holds career victories over Tank Abbott, Wanderlei Silva, Gilbert Yvel, Heath Herring, Marvin Eastman and Randy Couture (due to a cut from an inadvertent thumb poke). His list of career losses is even more impressive and includes Couture, Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, and Dan Henderson. The bottom line is that Belfort was at one juncture a big time fighter who fought in big time fights.

The fact that so many pundits talk about him in the past tense speaks volumes because he's only 30. If Belfort had solved the mental aspect of fighting we might be referring to him as the top 205-pound fighter in the world. He's one of the best natural boxers in the light heavyweight division and received a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu from Carlson Gracie.

His next fight is scheduled for Sept. 22, but it won't be for the UFC in Anaheim, Calif. Instead, he'll be headlining for the UK-based Cage Rage promotion. There's still plenty of time for him to get it together and make another run, but it's unlikely to happen for a major promotion in North America. That's because Belfort tested positive for steroids following his loss to Henderson at Pride 32 and defied the Nevada State Athletic Commission's mandate by fighting before fully serving his nine-month suspension.

Others who received consideration
(zie website CBS, de tekst was te lang om hier te posten)

The Bulldog
27-07-2007, 20:45
10. Alistair Overeem: The Dutch-born kickboxer is a tremendous athlete who has lost to the likes of Chuck Liddell, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (twice), Ricardo Arona, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, and Fabricio Werdum. On the verge of breaking into the world's elite at 205 pounds, it seemed like the only thing that prevented Overeem from doing so was his lack of conditioning. After a 14-fight career in Pride, he is now competing for K-1's MMA promotion, Hero's. The problem is that Overeem is just fighting to keep himself relevant in MMA when he should be fighting to prove that he's one of the sport's best.

Door een amerikaan bekeken snap ik zijn laatste zin...UFC is in zijn ogen de wereld top. Moet eerlijk bekennen dat ik ook denk dat Allistair bij de top mee kan in de HW...

In ieder geval erkenning door"prove that he's one of the sport's best."

Evilman
27-07-2007, 21:36
Zn stand up is echt goed vind ik.
als je laatste gevecht tegen shogun ziet..
deed hij het staand beter in het begin.

Maar conditie wellicht en toch ook grondwerk imo
laten het afweten.

Kato
27-07-2007, 21:52
Miss. is dit dan ook wel de reden waarom hij ergens anders is gaan trainen.

Evilman
27-07-2007, 21:56
Frank Mir heb ik niet veel van gezien
maar wat ik ken is echt vet werk,
zoals tegen tank, sylvia en nog zon armlock tegen iemand.

als ie straks weer vecht hoop k dat ie flink asskickt.
die gast is echt vet om bezig te zien!

Kato
27-07-2007, 21:57
Frank Mir heb ik niet veel van gezien
maar wat ik ken is echt vet werk,
zoals tegen tank, sylvia en nog zon armlock tegen iemand.

als ie straks weer vecht hoop k dat ie flink asskickt.
die gast is echt vet om bezig te zien!

IK hoop het niet....hij moet tegen HArdonk....

redjuh
27-07-2007, 23:36
ik heb alle partijen van mir gezien. tot zijn ongeluk wereldtop, daarna een hele moeilijke tijd

Evilman
28-07-2007, 00:40
En babalu eigenlijk?
kheb wel eens een docu over m gezien en hij traint ook echt hard!
Ik denk dat hij ook echtwel meer in zn mars heeft eigenlijk..
het komt er alleen niet uit nog.

redjuh
28-07-2007, 01:26
En babalu eigenlijk?
kheb wel eens een docu over m gezien en hij traint ook echt hard!
Ik denk dat hij ook echtwel meer in zn mars heeft eigenlijk..
het komt er alleen niet uit nog.

imo is dat er wel uitgekomen... 10 straight wins en een title-shot
dat hij die titel niet pakt van chuck mag geen schande heten

Evilman
28-07-2007, 04:19
zit wat in ja :)
alleen erkenning krijgt ie niet echt heb ik het idee.
maar binnenkort mag ie weer

maartenjackie
28-07-2007, 23:45
waar is tank abbot?

The Maniac
29-07-2007, 04:52
Krazy Horse hoort zeker daarbij als hij eens seriues gaat trainen met echt goede mma trainers & sparringspartners zou hij best ver komen.


Verder nog:
Dave Terrell
Phillip Miller
Alexandre Pequeno
Pele
Newton

Evilman
29-07-2007, 05:12
Carlos Newton?
die heeft toch echt flinke overwinningen.

herring weet ik niet.. ik heb hem nooit geweldig gevonden.
kvin m n soort james thompson die ook kan trappen.

maartenjackie
29-07-2007, 05:34
pele is een vale tudo legende die man geweldig

Biiyen
29-07-2007, 05:54
Pele een underachiever? Ik heb tijden naar dit topic gekeken en niet gereageerd, deels vind ik het negatief en deels ben ik het er totaal niet mee eens... Maar nu hier iemand Pele neerzet schiet het me in me keelgat... Hoe durf je? Hoe fokking durf je Pele te schrijven? Motherfokker motherfokker... ik eis dat je Pele terugneemt. Als ik een admin was had ik je gebanned. :boos:

Mike
30-07-2007, 03:19
jeremy horn

topvechter die volgens mij bijna al zn titleshots verloor. Maar die echt een impressive lijstje wins heeft

redjuh
30-07-2007, 04:07
waar is tank abbot?

in the bar, drinking coctails

redjuh
30-07-2007, 04:08
de enige underachiever die ik kan bedenken, en dan heb ik het er dus over dat hij imo meer uit zijn mogelijkheden heeft kunnen halen, is Alexei Ignashov (ok geen mma, maar goed)