Is Zabit Magomedsharipov the most wasted potential in UFC history?

[Pierce 34]

Zombit MAGAmedsharabulletov is the most overtalked fighter in history with fancy kickboxing and 2 rounds of cardio, with a single notable win over Kevin Qatar
Jeremy Stephens and Kyle GOATchniak gave Zombit some trouble, so dagibro started calling for titleshots trying to desperately dodge Yair Rodrigez

Haha MAGAmed that was fuckin hilarious

 

[HI SCOTT NEWMAN]

Don't know, haven't seen enough of him against top guys, the best fighter he fought by far was Kattar and that was a struggle.

 

[HatKick]

He probably retired at the right time. He managed to not take an L but everyone was just waiting to exploit that huge cardio weakness. Max and Volk would have melted him badly over 5 rounds. That said he was one of the most skilled and well rounded fighters I've ever seen, just lacked the physical.

 

[Necrocrawler]

Called a Suloev Stretch. First documented in a fight when Amar Suloev hit it on Paul Cahoon, it's been around for a while.

Exactly

A bana split submission (rare AF) attacks another part of the body. I believe a random .50 fighter managed to hit one once in MMA.

 

[FriskyRandy]

This is a strange answer and likely retarded.

My answer to the question is Jon Jones.

Ive always thought, if he had his shit together, what else could he have accomplished?

Arguably the GOAT despite all the crazy bull shit.

 

[Tweak896]

I think the difference there is that Khamzat has the wrestling to dictate exactly where the fight goes and the pace as well, while Zabit was leaned more towards his striking rather than an overwhelming wrestling game. Not to say he wasn't adept there as well, but he wasn't as good or suffocating with it compared to Chimaev.

The other thing is that Khamzat only looked vulnerable against a title contender (Burns) who was a bad matchup for him due to his BJJ, and a former champ with impeccable takedown defense. Compare that to Zabit slowing down vs Stephens, Kattar and worst of all, Bochniak.

I think he'd have capped out as a top 3 guy if only because the two best fighters he'd have to get past that at the time, Volk and Max, are incredible in 5 rounders and don't concede ground very easily.

I mean someone like Max, I could see Zabit gassing against for sure. His super stylized striking comes at more of an expense than wrestlers, where getting takedown saps the opponent's cardio as well. Had we not gotten the Zabit/Yair stalemate shit we would've actually seen some of the top matchups. It's really a shame.

 

[Greyscale]

As long as no one would do a 1.5-round title fight just for him, no.

 

[Pequeño Corey]

Bathtub brigade so tired of waiting for Movsar to finally get a TS that they anointed Zabit as the mythical Cain-like "what could have been" uncrowned FW GOAT.

 

[svmr_db]

Just remember everyone shitting on Zabit's cardio probably were saying Khamzat had none as well. I thought it could've just been a bad fight for him and he probably would've been champ.

Some narratives get proven true, and some get proven false. Case by case basis. Just because Khamzat proved he could go 5 rounds and not gas doesn't mean anything in regards to Zabit's situation. Regardless, we'll never find out.

 

[humdizzle]

His cardio was suss but its hard to say if that was just because of his genetics/training... or because he through wild spinning shit in the opening rounds to get the crowd on board. everyone thought khamzats cardio was bad until he walked all over DDP.

his skills were definitely elite. amazing striking and caught that one guy in a banana split / suloev stretch submission. He probably is one of the biggest what ifs imo because he was undefeated and fighting top ranked guys... then quit

 

[NicholasJBasile]

I don't know if I'd call it "wasted" potential, but my old coach David Terrell is up there -- he quit MMA to live a happy life and manage his gym, so I'm not sure I'd call that a waste, but in my personal (and biased) opinion, he was an incredibly skilled man that could've given anyone a tough fight.

 

[SuperNerd]

This is a strange answer and likely retarded.

My answer to the question is Jon Jones.

Ive always thought, if he had his shit together, what else could he have accomplished?

Arguably the GOAT despite all the crazy bull shit.

I've always thought Jon should be a bigger draw than he is.

The ratings bump he gives a UFC show, would arguably be done by any generic person with the same record. It's not a massive bump.

 

[Senbonzakura]

I dont know if this would be considered "wasted" potential. Didnt he retire because of medical issues? Maybe the phrase "what could have been" is a bit more respectful.

Playing along though yeah Zabit is up there for sure along with a few other guys I can think of like TJ Grant, Chris Holdsworth, and Claude "The Prince" Patrick for my top 4 what ifs

 

[Bork Neslar]

I'm not sure.

 

[snugglecakes]

Ronda and brock are both in the wasted potential discussion. They both had talent from a grappling background but they both had mcdojo MMA training. Who knows what could have been if ronda walked into an elite gym instead of walking into edmond's mcodojo that fateful day & who knows what brock could have been had he went to an elite gym instead of building a mcdojo in his garage.

 

[mkt]

That's a good argument, if he had great cardio he'd be something to behold I believe.

Is it too late for him to hook up with Dillashaw and his trainer who miraculously improved Khamzat's cardio?

 

[mkt]

Ronda and brock are both in the wasted potential discussion. They both had talent from a grappling background but they both had mcdojo MMA training. Who knows what could have been if ronda walked into an elite gym instead of walking into edmond's mcodojo that fateful day & who knows what brock could have been had he went to an elite gym instead of building a mcdojo in his garage.

Brock had a late start (already in his 30s) and then had a near death experience with diverticulitis after just a few fights. Maybe on a different timeline with him starting MMA 5 to 10 years earlier he could've been a long-time champ.

Ronda...I don't know. She was a great two-trick pony in the early days of WMMA (judo thrown then arm bar). And some fighters lost to her mentally before they entered the cage (Cat Zingano). But once she lost, she seemed mentally defeated. I don't know how much a better camp would've helped.

 

[mkt]

Rampage Jackson. He didn't take UFC seriously after winning title and beating Hendo.

Nah, he barely beat Hendo. Then Anderson demolished and finished Hendo months later in a fight for the MW title. No version of Rampage was going to beat Jon Jones, either.

 

[mkt]

This goes way back, but Mikey Burnett left the UFC (and MMA) after just 7 fights in 1999. Then he sadly came back 6 years later on TUF and fought (and lost) with a broken neck--that's what he's most known for.

But when he left in '99, he was only 25 and was one of the best 170 pounders in the world. He arguably beat Militech (but lost the decision) and there were only a few other elite guys that size in Japan (Sakuraba, Newton). He had a D1 wrestling background along with Golden Gloves boxing and was doing sprawl-n-brawl before Chuck Liddell. If he stuck around, I'm sure he and Matt Hughes would've had some great fights in the early 2000s.

 

[PrideNverDies]

Nah, he barely beat Hendo. Then Anderson demolished and finished Hendo months later in a fight for the MW title. No version of Rampage was going to beat Jon Jones, either.

Rampage made Jones look very bad striking. Like embarrassingly bad. But revisionist history beer goggles viewers that didn't actually watch the fight live will always just pretend like Jon beat him easily and quickly, he didn't.