Cain Velasquez's resume, overrated?

[The Natural Born Runner]

I've been thinking about this for a while, is Cain Velasquez a little overrated?

Him as a fighter, in my opinion is NOT overrated. He is extremely well-rounded for a Heavyweight, with great cardio, solid kickboxing and elite wrestling. A questionable chin, but normally doesn't get hit a whole lot anyway.

When I say overrated, I'm more talking about resume.

Kongo, Rothwell, Nogueira, Lesnar, dos Santos x2 and Silva x2, doesn't scream LEGEND or all-time great.

I say this because he's often mentioned in the same breath as Fedor or Werdum, and even in the recent advertisement for the fight with Browne - there is a sound clip of Mike Goldberg calling him a "legend".

I think the idea that he's above Fabricio Werdum on any all-time Heavyweight list is quite frankly laughable. As crazy as it sounds, I think Junior dos Santos actually has a better resume at this stage.

Injuries are clearly Cain's biggest issue, and have stopped him from adding names to his record/resume - but unfortunately that's not the fan's problem when making lists of all-time greats and such.

Thoughts? Is Cain's resume and legacy, a tad overrated?

 

[Brock Tober]

This is what comes to mind when I think of Cain. He needs a few healthy years of fighting guys not named JDS and Bigfoot.

 

[Ceez]

When Cain's not coming off an injury and into a fight he is one of the best the HW's have ever seen. Both of his losses are after injury and coming after extended layoffs.

 

[Uncommon Valor]

JDS has a better resume, yet Cain beat JDS twice.

 

[The Natural Born Runner]

When Cain's not coming off an injury and into a fight he is one of the best the HW's have ever seen. Both of his losses are after injury and coming after extended layoffs.

His loss to dos Santos cannot be excused by injury.

Junior always said post-fight that he needed an early knockout because his leg would not hold up, he had a serious leg issue during and coming into that fight.

Getting KO'd in 1:04 seconds cannot be blamed due to injury.

 

[The Natural Born Runner]

JDS has a better resume, yet Cain beat JDS twice.

Yes, he did - but you fight other fighters in fighting sports, it's not just about your fights together.

Also, Junior knocked him into next week in the first fight. Don't get me wrong, Cain demolished him beyond comprehension in the next 2 showdowns. Junior has beaten the better guys though, and that cannot be denied.

Jermain Taylor beat Bernard Hopkins twice. One is a legend and one isn't.

 

[bjpenngoat]

you cant possibly be considered one of the top 3 hws ever if you have only fought 3 guys your entire career.

 

[Ceez]

His loss to dos Santos cannot be excused by injury.

Junior always said post-fight that he needed an early knockout because his leg would not hold up, he had a serious leg issue during and coming into that fight.

Getting KO'd in 1:04 seconds cannot be blamed due to injury.

You aren't paying attention here..

I'm sayin that both of his losses are after he has had extended layoffs due to injury, almost like ring rust where he needs to get a fight under his belt to get his juices going again. The next fight after he lost to JDS he looked much better. Cain doesn't make excuses, he's one of the good guys that just gets in there to fight nothing more.

 

[The Natural Born Runner]

I think his KO of Antonio Nogueira was amazing, and shocking - but personally I think Nog was shot by then.

The win over Rothwell looks so good now in retrospect due to Ben's recent improvements - but don't forget that Ben had accumulated 30 wins against nobodies, with the exception of Ricco Rodriguez and a SD over Nelson.

Those wins to me are not as great as they may seem at a glance.

 

[The Natural Born Runner]

You aren't paying attention here..

I'm sayin that both of his losses are after he has had extended layoffs due to injury, almost like ring rust where he needs to get a fight under his belt to get his juices going again. The next fight after he lost to JDS he looked much better. Cain doesn't make excuses, he's one of the good guys that just gets in there to fight nothing more.

Yes, he doesn't make excuses I will give you that.

Also, don't take the conversation/debate down the typical Sherdog sarcasm route by saying I'm not paying attention.

You are essentially making an excuse on his behalf, saying that if he's not coming off of a layoff he's normally amazing. I cannot understand how you can equate being coming off of an injury to somehow being at more of a deficit, than the man who's actually injured whilst fighting you.

You then get KO'd in 1:04, but that's because of ring rust, right? Come on...

 

[KONE]

you cant possibly be considered one of the top 3 hws ever if you have only fought 3 guys your entire career.

To be fair TRT Bigfoot was an excellent HW fighter, and JDS is JDS.

I can agree that his resume is somewhat overrated considering he only fought 2 guys he matches up well with in a span of 2 years, as well as a win over Rothwell before he went bonkers, Lesnar who I personally thought was overrated as well, etc. I think the main reason people call him legendary status is because despite how hilariously lackluster his striking defense is, when he was healthy, he looked like one of the best HWs ever skillwise. He was an incredibly well rounded fighter. Cardio like that is also unheard of at HW. Now after injuries took their toll I doubt we'll see that Cain again.

I do find it hilarious that the Kongo fight was on the feet for a grand total of 8 seconds and Cain got dropped like 3 times though.

 

[LEXTHEANARKIST]

His loss to dos Santos cannot be excused by injury.

Junior always said post-fight that he needed an early knockout because his leg would not hold up, he had a serious leg issue during and coming into that fight.

Getting KO'd in 1:04 seconds cannot be blamed due to injury.

Gotta agree. Just got caught early.
He mightve gassed if the fight lasted longer due to the injury but thats not what happened.

 

[megaton]

I've been thinking about this for a while, is Cain Velasquez a little overrated?

Him as a fighter, in my opinion is NOT overrated. He is extremely well-rounded for a Heavyweight, with great cardio, solid kickboxing and elite wrestling. A questionable chin, but normally doesn't get hit a whole lot anyway.

When I say overrated, I'm more talking about resume.

Kongo, Rothwell, Nogueira, Lesnar, dos Santos x2 and Silva x2, doesn't scream LEGEND or all-time great.

I say this because he's often mentioned in the same breath as Fedor or Werdum, and even in the recent advertisement for the fight with Browne - there is a sound clip of Mike Goldberg calling him a "legend".

I think the idea that he's above Fabricio Werdum on any all-time Heavyweight list is quite frankly laughable. As crazy as it sounds, I think Junior dos Santos actually has a better resume at this stage.

Injuries are clearly Cain's biggest issue, and have stopped him from adding names to his record/resume - but unfortunately that's not the fan's problem when making lists of all-time greats and such.

Thoughts? Is Cain's resume and legacy, a tad overrated?

Kind of have to agree, Lesnar and JDS were really his only highly creditable victories, he needs at least a couple more quality wins over top tier competition to claim HW goat status
Respect to Cain though what a machine

 

[Ceez]

Yes, he doesn't make excuses I will give you that.

Also, don't take the conversation/debate down the typical Sherdog sarcasm route by saying I'm not paying attention.

You are essentially making an excuse on his behalf, saying that if he's not coming off of a layoff he's normally amazing. I cannot understand how you can equate being coming off of an injury to somehow being at more of a deficit, than the man who's actually injured whilst fighting you.

You then get KO'd in 1:04, but that's because of ring rust, right? Come on...

Again you're not paying attention...

"both" of "his losses" have come after "extended layoffs due to injury". He hasn't lost any other fight except after those circumstances. Let's see how he does in this fight with Travis and how he looks. I"m not taking anything away from JDS or Werdum, what I stated is a fact not an opinion. I think he's a guy who needs to be fighting all the time to stay sharp and after long layoffs like that he's not what he normally is.

 

[Amst3rdam]

I still believe in cain and I believe he can be champ again, guy's an absolute animal and one of the all time heavyweight greats of MMA period.

 

[The Natural Born Runner]

Again you're not paying attention...

"both" of "his losses" have come after "extended layoffs due to injury". He hasn't lost any other fight except after those circumstances. Let's see how he does in this fight with Travis and how he looks. I"m not taking anything away from JDS or Werdum, what I stated is a fact not an opinion. I think he's a guy who needs to be fighting all the time to stay sharp and after long layoffs like that he's not what he normally is.

So, are you saying that if you minus those circumstances he would have beaten Junior and Fabricio?

Is that what you are indirectly hinting at?

 

[Taric]

Accomplishment wise:
Fedor/Nogueira/Werdum
....
...
..
.
Cain/JDS
.......
......
.....
....
...
..
.
The rest

 

[Ceez]

So, are you saying that if you minus those circumstances he would have beaten Junior and Fabricio?

Is that what you are indirectly hinting at?

Did I say that? Nope..Stay focused man don't try and read too much into shit. I'm sayin let's see what he looks like in this fight with Travis and if he can keep his ass from getting injured if he wins and is able to keep fighting I think he makes another run at the strap. When he stays busy he is sharp

 

[The Natural Born Runner]

To be fair TRT Bigfoot was an excellent HW fighter, and JDS is JDS.

I can agree that his resume is somewhat overrated considering he only fought 2 guys he matches up well with in a span of 2 years, as well as a win over Rothwell before he went bonkers, Lesnar who I personally thought was overrated as well, etc. I think the main reason people call him legendary status is because despite how hilariously lackluster his striking defense is, when he was healthy, he looked like one of the best HWs ever skillwise. He was an incredibly well rounded fighter. Cardio like that is also unheard of at HW. Now after injuries took their toll I doubt we'll see that Cain again.

I do find it hilarious that the Kongo fight was on the feet for a grand total of 8 seconds and Cain got dropped like 3 times though.

Still cannot get over how overrated Kongo was for a period.

Also, the memories I have of Bigfoot Silva's second shot at Cain - embarrassing.

 

[HI SCOTT NEWMAN]

He is a good fighter but he doesn't fight enough and we have missed out on tons of fights he could have had. In the last 5 years he has fought 3 guys, thats insane!!!. 3 different fighters in 5 years.. you can't even call him a active fighter. He has pulled out of more fights than he has actually fought. The chances of him actually fighting Browne is so tiny for me, I will only believe it if I actually see him at the weigh ins