If Alexander Karelin entered UFC 1

Happy Boy said:
That photo still makes me sad.
Shinichi Shinohara>>>>>>>>David Douillet.
Great misjudgement in sport's history.
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Impossibile to say, both had their peak in different years.
Douillet had his peak in 1996.
Shinohara in 2000.
A fight between a 1996 Douillet vs a 2000 Shinohara, I don't know how would it end.
 
Patrick Jane said:
I'm not sure how much difference ground and pound by Severn would have made. He was notoriously weak at finishing people even when he was in an advantageous position (when there was concern about Severn having a heart attack in 1996, Ken Shamrock's camp joked about Dan being "unable to finish a heart attack" after he was all-clear). It is borderline amazing how Dan could ride Tank Abbott for 18 minutes while elbowing his brains in 100+ times without being able to finish the fight.
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Severns downfall, was how soft the mats were.
 
faixabranca said:
The answer is that we don't know...but it sure is fun to play 'what if' games!

Like, for example, what if a unicorn entered UFC 1...what would have happened then? Do you think Royce would have subbed him or would the unicorn have gored Royce to death?
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This is dumbest response.
 
I think people are over-hyping Karelin's potential abilities in a Vale Tudo context. He was incredibly strong and athletic, and a truly great Greco-Roman wrestler but what he is really famous for is specialising in a kind of gut wrench . . . which is about as martially useful as Worm Guard. Did he have any striking or submission defence? Not that I'm aware of.
 
Karelin could not even beat a prime Hendo in pride. He would rag doll anybody in greco though.
 
Einheri said:
I think people are over-hyping Karelin's potential abilities in a Vale Tudo context. He was incredibly strong and athletic, and a truly great Greco-Roman wrestler but what he is really famous for is specialising in a kind of gut wrench . . . which is about as martially useful as Worm Guard. Did he have any striking or submission defence? Not that I'm aware of.
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He was apparently a combat sambo champion while he was in the armed services. So he had at least some skills there, but I can't speak for the quality of his opponents.
 
ShadowoftheSun said:
He was apparently a combat sambo champion while he was in the armed services. So he had at least some skills there, but I can't speak for the quality of his opponents.
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Combat Sambo didn't exist when he was in the armed services. Was he a sport sambo champion, perhaps? Winning a sambo title in Russia obviously makes you pretty tough, but then again, so does being a billion-time Greco Roman champion.

My main issue with the Karelin stuff is that Greco-Roman, in a vacuum, without the American scholastic wrestling background that every American fighter that utilized Greco had, can potentially leave you severely handicapped when it comes to 50% of the wrestling that you'll have to deal with in MMA. Shooting and defending shots, dealing with trips and all that is a huge part of MMA wrestling. And we've seen guys from pure Greco backgrounds--wrestling wise--like Shibata or Kongo struggle somewhat with that limitation.
 
Damn this is an old ass thread and plenty of material lol

Islam now goes back in a time machine and wins UFC

Coked/roided up McGregor would go back in time and smash Royce lol
 
Lol, there’s a reason he wasn’t invited. Karelin probably break his back in NHB.
 
Nathan LaMontagne said:
Imagine how different MMA history would be if Kimo just had a less goofy hair cut.
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This is so true and so fascinating at the same time. That one ponytail is hugely responsible the worlds obsession with BJJ. If it doesn't exist, Joe Rogan is a Taekwondo master who used to do this joke bullshido called Gracie jiu-jitsu.
 
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