Mixed martial artists can be divided up any number of different ways: weight, race, country of origin, penchant for B-movie embarrassments, style.
Randy Couture (Pictures), as iconic an MMA competitor as there’s ever been, was successful because he managed to marry his genetic and athletic gifts with a desire to learn and a winner’s mindset. Of his losses, nowhere will you find excuses that he “just wasn’t there” that night.
But for every Couture, there are athletes who have promised epic things and wound up — for one reason or another — disappointing. For most, their physical or technical abilities are far beyond the norm, but their career choices in and out of the ring prevented them from rising to the top. Some simply deflate in competition; others attack with the improper strategy; still others are too stubborn to alter their training or goals.
This list represents a rank of athletes who should’ve been decorated champions; instead, they failed to meet the demands of their reputations and abilities.
In ascending order of under-achievers …
10) Valentijn Overeem
Hard to believe, but the older brother of PRIDE standout Alistair failed to make similar waves during his PRIDE tenure. As a RINGS alumnus, he was deified for his submission wins over Randy Couture (Pictures) and Renato Sobral (Pictures); most expected his grappling abilities and powerful frame to pose big problems for the lumbering heavyweights.
Instead, he was stopped by PRIDE gatekeeper Gary Goodridge (Pictures), an auspicious start that led to a stunningly poor 0-4 run in the organization. Worse, the submission stalwart dropped three of those bouts via submission.
Most observers attributed Overeem’s collapse to a weak will and serious aversion to getting smacked in the head (RINGS rules didn’t allow for cranial strikes on the mat); regardless, it all amounted to a .500 record for someone who should’ve been Frank Mir (Pictures)’s overseas counterpart.
9) Karam Ibrahim (Pictures)
It’s difficult to gauge a fighter’s prospects based on only one bout, but the Egyptian gold medalist’s unique wrestling gifts were done a resolute disservice with his strategy.
Making his MMA debut against Kazuyuki Fujita (Pictures), Ibrahim opted to abandon his grappling pedigree and slug it out with the iron-chinned Japanese — imagine Mike Tyson rushing in for a double-leg and you’ll understand the dichotomy at play here. Despite muscling Fujita around, Ibrahim eventually ate a looping forearm to the chin that put him down and out. It was an unnecessary climax to a fight that had a terrific chance of showcasing a formidable new talent.
Ibrahim may be the best athlete this sport has yet seen; he has the kind of explosive agility that would overwhelm most fighters. But his preference to stand and trade left fans incredulous. Here’s hoping he returns with a more sensible approach.
8) Gilbert Yvel (Pictures)
“The Hurricane” possesses devastating stand-up; he’s one of the most gifted strikers in the heavyweight division. Unfortunately for his legacy, it’s accompanied by some of the worst sportsmanship ever captured on tape. Yvel’s record displays an astonishing three losses via disqualification, the most egregious of which came when he struck a referee in Finland. He also dampened Don Frye (Pictures)’s comeback bid in 2001 by repeatedly raking his fingers across Frye’s eyes.
Someone this talented should adjust their temperament. Of all the fighters on this list, Yvel remains the least sympathetic. He’s walking ammunition for the negative propaganda opposing this sport.
7) Vitor Belfort (Pictures)
Unknown wise men are fond of saying that fighting is “90 percent mental.” If that’s accurate, then Vitor Belfort (Pictures) enjoyed success utilizing only 10 percent of his worth.
Illuminating a depressed SEG-era Ultimate, Belfort ran through a heavyweight tournament like it was nothing. He then steamrolled Tank Abbott in a bout that even the ornery brawler confessed he was outclassed in.
The seams started to show immediately prior to his 1997 bout with Randy Couture (Pictures), when the enigmatic fighter kept his opponent and the arena waiting for nearly 20 minutes before entering. After dropping that bout, other bizarre incidents followed: insisting on fighting former training partner Joe Charles in Ultimate Japan; claiming a UFC sabbatical was due to a “worm”; and while rematching Couture, seemingly giving up midway through the fight.
Belfort’s genetic superiority was in evidence early on, and thanks to special attention paid by Carlson Gracie, he was the recipient of world-class training. But dissolution with Brazilian Top Team and a series of uninspiring performances still leave us wondering what a confident, stable Belfort could’ve done in this sport.
6) Mark Kerr (Pictures)
By his own admission, Kerr combined years of world-class wrestling and physical strength with a number of pharmaceuticals. The result was a physical behemoth that pummeled opponents with relative ease.
Kerr’s struggles are well documented in “The Smashing Machine” documentary; his increasing reliance on painkillers and performance enhancers seemed to mask a natural apathy toward the fighting sports. Kerr knew he could succeed in MMA, but his interest — like his physique — atrophied without supplementation. By the time he entered the ring relying only on primal instinct, he found himself surprisingly fragile, suffering a knockout during a takedown attempt against the mediocre Yoshihisa Yamamoto (Pictures).
A desire to end his career on a better note resulted in more controversy in early May, when Kerr dropped out of a fight with Wes Sims (Pictures) at the last minute. It was not the ending Kerr was hoping for, but if history is any indication, it was the only ending possible.
5) B.J. Penn (Pictures)
Like Belfort, Penn presents as a gifted athlete, one able to assimilate techniques with little to no difficulty. And like Belfort, Penn can claim some spectacular performances in his career: the dismantling of Matt Hughes (Pictures) and Caol Uno (Pictures), the violent mauling of Takanori Gomi (Pictures).
But Penn also presents with Belfort’s strange mid-fight boredom. If things become difficult, he simply seems to abandon his will to fight. Against Georges St. Pierre (Pictures), he succumbed to the bloodied Canadian’s sluggish takedowns and lost the decision. After winning the belt from Matt Hughes (Pictures), Penn decided to embark on a spastic run through multiple weight classes. He was directionless, with lackluster bouts against Rodrigo Gracie (Pictures) and Ryoto Machida (Pictures) proving little about his abilities in a more competitive playing field.
Penn’s greatness may be threatened by his premonition of greatness; he constantly talked of wanting to fight Rich Franklin (Pictures) and Wanderlei Silva (Pictures). Before he tackles his mortality in that manner, it might be best to conquer his own weight class first. And that’s something that takes more than one win to accomplish.