Cain Velasquez's Legacy: How Will You Remember "Cardio Cain"?

[drbolony]

As an honest man who owned to being ko'd, and an absolute animal when healthy. Disfruta tu retiro Cain, bien merecido campeón.

 

[Iron Wolf]

Yet another of those supposed “New Breed” Heavyweights, along with Lesnar, Carwin, JDS and Duffee who were all supposed to obliterate Fedor’s greatness, yet never came close to touching his legacy in terms of overall career.

That said, I was a big fan... Cain seemed like a great guy and a fierce competitor whose body betrayed him.

 

[GearSolidMetal]

In his prime, the 2nd greatest HW of all time.

 

[kingJohn]

 

[X Factor]

Cardio to match:
Nogueira. Maybe not speed, but cardio.
Couture.
Somebody massively undermentioned; Brock. Huge gas tank.
Of course, Fedor.
Arlovski.
JDS. Again, not speed, but cardio.
A bunch of the pre modern era HWs. 10+ minutes of straight fighting.
Kharitonov. (watch him vs Nogueira).

It may well be that during that actual time of him holding the belt, that it was hard to find cardio machines in the UFC during that year but they weren't rare.

He beat JDS gassing him out though so I don’t think you can say he matches Cain’s cardio. Brock has only gone the distance 2 times and they were 3 rounders bro I don’t think the proof is there for that case either. I’ll agree Nogueira, Couture, maybe Arlovski And Kharitonov but even then it’s rare and they didnt have better cardio just cardio to match I’d say that’s pretty rare.

 

[ImmigrantMentality]

His career could have been so much better but legendary nonetheless and in his prime, beats any other fighter in mma history

 

[Jabbathehook]

Superhuman cardio that was almost unfathomable for a man of his size and fighting style, which subsequently diminished once competent drug testing was introduced.

 

[Noraaq]

Overrated, only had 1 elite opponent in JDS

 

[Morris88]

A special talent whose body sadly couldn't keep up with the demands of being a full time fighter.

I feel like as fight fans we were robbed of seeing some more amazing performances from him and that's a real shame.

 

[BGDDYKWL]

I think a case could be made that on his best day he was the best HW of all-time. But between his body not holding up and him seeming to be a bit chinny it's almost a case of what could have been.

 

[rjmbrd]

JDS resume is better no contest but after the beating he took vs cain he became a different fighter

Meh. He had an absolute banger in a 5 round war with Stipe immediately after his second loss to Cain. That includes eating bombs and giving them.

He would continue to be a fixture in the top 10 the entire time from the Cain rematch until this day. He never improved much as a fighter though - he still backs up in a straight line, has bad footwork and gets out of position.

It's likely Dos Santos loses to current Ngannou at any point in his career, or at best would have 50/50 chances. Same with Overeem, who is a glass cannon. No doubt the mileage from Cain and Stipe added up, but so did age and injuries.

 

[dildos]

cain was a can.

injury prone is the only acceptable answer.

 

[Skankhunt420]

I am gonna take a wild guess and assume that Milwaukee tools are prone to wear and tear.... That's one option I should have picked.

 

[Weuylf]

I'm gonna answer after his fight with Tyson Fury in WWE. Sooner or later it's gonna happen

 

[Deleted member 460645]

Injury-prone UFC HW Champ.

Also "Sea level Cain"

 

[HHJ]

One of the best HW fighters to ever compete. First and foremost.

 

[HHJ]

As a member of Sherdogs Mount Rushmore of most overrated fighters of all time.

who is in your AV

 

[jeff7b9]

He is in my hall of “what if” w Dominic Cruz.

Could have been GOAT level and showed signs of brilliance but couldn’t sustain it due to injury and will always be a case of what could have been.

 

[jeff7b9]

Uninjured Cain is the HW GOAT

Uninjured Sea Level GOAT*


* vs JDS and Bigfoot

 

[ermac88]

He was a total beast.
Just very short , injury prone career