How great a fighter could've Cain Velasquez been?

[Trabaho]

It's fighting who doesn't get injured. If Arlovski and Overeem never got their chins cracked, would they be dominant champions ? Same logic. You are your body, you are your injuries.

 

[Fight Professor]

Cain needed 2 simple things to become the best fighter ever.

1. A weight training coach that is knowledgeable and ensured Cain do not do anything stupid.

2. Learn to protect himself when closing distance.

He really had no other weaknesses. Werdum fight was an outlier because Cain was not prepared properly.

 

[Lawrence]

He had a bunch of serious injuries that thwarted his abilities to fully realize his potential imo.

If he was more healthy do you think he would have reached GOAT status?

Ranked up there with the rest of the GOATs Fedor, Jones, GSP and Anderson.

Respectfully TS.. None of the above.

Cain was at his Peak/Prime and that man at that time in my opinion would destroy any past or present heavyweight MMA fighter or Champion.

Legacy and statistics are another conversation... projecting what he could have done is silly... We know what he did..

Cain and JDS were a fucking gift to us fans and it's crazy that they peaked at the same time.

I think JDS dispatches Fedor and the gang as well. With maybe Cormier being a styles make fights kind of opportunity to beat him.

 

[SirRealKiller]

IDK, if he would be the GOAT HWT but he would probably be in the conversation at least.

 

[ipowerslapmywife]

He’s the best heavyweight of all time skill wise

 

[Daniel_LaRusso]

Overrated. Had he been more active, his resume would have likely been littered with losses.

Time on the shelf extended the amount of time he was considered relevant.

 

[blaseblase]

Devil's advocate here:

He would have been figured out if he fought a wider selection of opponents. Were the Werdum sub or JDS KO really flukes? The rockings against Kongo?

(that said, yeah if he was healthy I think he had a shot at goat hw, maybe goat goat)

They were definitely not flukes. He had poor striking defense.

 

[Striker Fox]

Were the Werdum sub really flukes?

Yes

The rockings against Kongo

He fought Kongo only a few fights into his career tho, while Kongo was an MMA vet at that point and an accomplished Kickboxer:

• 2005 World Champion Federation King of the Rings
• 2005 King of Colosseum Tournament Champion
• 2005 Rings World Champion
• 2004 King of the Ring Super World Champion
• 2004 Muay Thai World Champion
• 2003 Intercontinental Muay Thai Champion
• 2002 RINGS European Champion
• 2001 RINGS European Vice Champion
• European Savate Champion

Cain still won easily

 

[Kryptt]

That’s like being a hardcore alcoholic and blaming your liver for being weak.

If you say so. Babble on bruh...

 

[dog y]

He wasn’t injury prone. His ignorance and stupidity in his training techniques and workouts lead directly to the injuries.

His ignorance and stupidity don't mean he was or wasn't prone. Just means he was ignorant and stupid in his training techniques and workouts, as you say.
And that it his team. Max -leg-extensions-with terribleform.gif

 

[dog y]

That’s like being a hardcore alcoholic and blaming your liver for being weak.

Man, I blame my liver for being borderline indestructible. Fucker allowed me way more than my brain and rest of the body could handle.
Guess I'll have to keep upping shit till I find out. Just like Sensei Velasquez and his Sensei Mendez

 

[Foghorn Leghorn]

They were definitely not flukes. He had poor striking defense.

I agree. I think he was... reckless? Overconfident? He could have cleaned those things up in his game, but it's a very legitimate criticism of him as a fighter.

Yes


He fought Kongo only a few fights into his career tho, while Kongo was an MMA vet at that point and an accomplished Kickboxer:

• 2005 World Champion Federation King of the Rings
• 2005 King of Colosseum Tournament Champion
• 2005 Rings World Champion
• 2004 King of the Ring Super World Champion
• 2004 Muay Thai World Champion
• 2003 Intercontinental Muay Thai Champion
• 2002 RINGS European Champion
• 2001 RINGS European Vice Champion
• European Savate Champion

Cain still won easily

Absolutely, he beat Kongo's ass bad in that fight. Truly shocking to see someone scoring it 30-25 back in those days, even those 30-26's were rare.

But he still got clubbed bad at the start of each round (I think that's what it was, it's probably been a decade or more since I saw that fight).

People also forget Brock took him down (he got back up, to his credit, and then teed off on Lesnar and finished the fight not long after).

It really makes me sad for us fans that he spent so much time fighting the same guys. Rematches suck for that.

 

[OLD RED]

All time great. Even with his limited peak he had some amazing wins.

Smashed peak JDS 2x
Smashed peak Bigfoot 2x
Smashed Rothwell
Smashed Browne
Smashed old Nog

I also think he would have Smashed Stipe had they ever met

 

[Striker Fox]

I agree. I think he was... reckless? Overconfident? He could have cleaned those things up in his game, but it's a very legitimate criticism of him as a fighter.

Absolutely, he beat Kongo's ass bad in that fight. Truly shocking to see someone scoring it 30-25 back in those days, even those 30-26's were rare.

But he still got clubbed bad at the start of each round (I think that's what it was, it's probably been a decade or more since I saw that fight).

People also forget Brock took him down (he got back up, to his credit, and then teed off on Lesnar and finished the fight not long after).

It really makes me sad for us fans that he spent so much time fighting the same guys. Rematches suck for that.

Yeah I think 30-25 was a stretch considering Kongo did rock him at the start of the first two rounds.

Kongo actually took Cain down as well in the 3rd round, but it was basically like the Lesnar one where he got right back up and started dominating again.

He was clearly a green striker when he fought Kongo tho. Not sure why so many always bring up that fight like he never improved on the feet by the time he hit his peak. Not many fighters fight a guy as talented as Kongo that early in their career.

Prime JDS was just a beast who caught Cain behind the ear and messed up his equilibrium.

That's HW though, like when Stipe got rocked and finished by Struve, Gane dropped by Tuivasa, Werdum murked by JDS ect

 

[m249viking]

His ignorance and stupidity don't mean he was or wasn't prone. Just means he was ignorant and stupid in his training techniques and workouts, as you say.
And that it his team. Max -leg-extensions-with terribleform.gif

“Well, that’s like your opinion man”