Let's go back to when Tai Tuivasa "potential" meant something.

Istryker

Istryker

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What exact changes could he have made to have a more successful career in the UFC? He was never going to be a TD machine/grappling wiz but he should be way better than he is right?
 
Lose some fat is the most obvious one. Most likely can increase his speed, would also be good if he can build some muscle.

Most Heavyweights in MMA I feel like are big guys who wouldn't be accepted in any other sports. I have a desk job and dont even work out that much and looks fitter than 90 percent of MMA Heavyweight its embarassing to see lol.
 
Fengxian said:
Lose some fat is the most obvious one. Most likely can increase his speed, would also be good if he can build some muscle.

Most Heavyweights in MMA I feel like are big guys who wouldn't be accepted in any other sports. I have a desk job and dont even work out that much and looks fitter than 90 percent of MMA Heavyweight its embarassing to see lol.
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Yeah, but are you will always be sexy no matter what happens sir lol
 
Odoylerules4lyf said:
Maybe at least fight the hands when someone has his back
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Or fight the grip when someone is trying to take him down, instead of reaching around the other side of his opponents head looking to land weak punches.

So, either learn basic takedown defense, and learn basic sub defense for when the former isn't enough.

Those 2 things alone would make him twice the fighter he currently is.
 
I imagine that if he actually trained professionally and intelligently (i.e., all facets of MMA, like 98% of successful fighters) that he would have done better. Instead, he has poor fight IQ, and only sticks to the thing he's good at. . . which is "brawling". So, no surprises here.

P.S. I've hated on Tybura for pushing a decade now, thinking that he's a slow, powerless HW slug that grapples but doesn't have a sub game. . . .yet I KNEW he'd sub Tai.
 
Fengxian said:
Lose some fat is the most obvious one. Most likely can increase his speed, would also be good if he can build some muscle.

Most Heavyweights in MMA I feel like are big guys who wouldn't be accepted in any other sports. I have a desk job and dont even work out that much and looks fitter than 90 percent of MMA Heavyweight its embarassing to see lol.
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The oldest story in sports! - particularly heavyweight combat sports.

As much as our action figures and hollywood movies like to imply that you can't be good at fighting unless you look like a body builder, that just is simply not the case at HW.

It's not like there have been a couple of guys who did okay with significant chub - there are LOTS of HW and even some LHWs packing some pudge who have reached the elite of the sport. If you didn't know any better, prime Fedor looks like an alcoholic brick layer, and he was an absolute killing machine.

For every one of those guys though, it is impossible not to imagine what would have happened if they had lost weight and either dropped a weightclass or if they had stayed at HW but added significant speed with their new, slimmer body. It's tempting to think anybody with some pudge should just drop a weight class, but there's huge money to be made in championship fighting. If Roy Nelson suspected that he could drop down and clean out the LHW division, you can bet he'd have done it - or have been forced to do it by his coaches/family.

That would be an interesting thread - a comprehensive discussion of the times a fighter with visible bodyfat thinned out and/or dropped a weightclass. I'd have to think they don't find success with this, or else we'd never see a chubby HW, and LHW would be stacked.
 
Qays Stetkevich said:
I imagine that if he actually trained professionally and intelligently (i.e., all facets of MMA, like 98% of successful fighters) that he would have done better. Instead, he has poor fight IQ, and only sticks to the thing he's good at. . . which is "brawling". So, no surprises here.

P.S. I've hated on Tybura for pushing a decade now, thinking that he's a slow, powerless HW slug that grapples but doesn't have a sub game. . . .yet I KNEW he'd sub Tai.
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Boy you aren’t kidding.

His ONLY submission in the UFC is against Tai. And he’s had like 20 fights in the promotion.

Really makes Tai look even worse now that I think of it.
 
With his speed, tbh, I wonder if an extreme upgrade in diet/discipline could have gotten him to cut to lightheavyweight. Idk maybe he's just too big but his speed is impressive for his size.
 
He would require a completely different brain to be an elite fighter. Its simply not in his DNA to be anything other than a brawler that puts on a good show.
 
Like Mark Hunt before him, he’s an overachiever.

Had one big weapon and it took him a long way
 
LEWIS540 said:
Like Mark Hunt before him, he’s an overachiever.

Had one big weapon and it took him a long way
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Hunto is a legend. He had a few tricks up his sleeve:

Sneaky movement - the abiltiy to lull his opponents in and then quickly shuffle-step into range and land a huge bomb.

Chin made of plutonium - dude could take a horsekick to the face, no problem.

Big power - power in both hands.

Timing - Power and chin alone aren't sufficient. Hunto was also able to find the openings for his bombs, and regularly move his head out of the way, even if slightly, to avoid the full power of shots coming his way.

Hunto seems to get a lot of hate on here, which I don't understand. He's one of my favourites. He fought a pretty serious list of killers and put on entertaining fights very consistently. He showed class and respect with his walkoff KOs, knowing when his opponent was done and didn't need to eat any more big shots. He came back from being essentially forgotten about when he barely hung onto his job at the UFC after they bought Pride, then losing to McCorkle. This was a pretty low point for him, but he rallied back and was a figure of the top 10 and top 5 for many years after that. That's respectable.

Finally, in terms of Hunt's athleticism - you gotta think the dude has some talent or skill. He's 5'10 with probably 150lbs of body fat, fighting heavyweights. It wouldn't be possible to swim in that tank with his bodysize and type, without some serious skills.
 
Stump said:
Hunto is a legend. He had a few tricks up his sleeve:

Sneaky movement - the abiltiy to lull his opponents in and then quickly shuffle-step into range and land a huge bomb.

Chin made of plutonium - dude could take a horsekick to the face, no problem.

Big power - power in both hands.

Timing - Power and chin alone aren't sufficient. Hunto was also able to find the openings for his bombs, and regularly move his head out of the way, even if slightly, to avoid the full power of shots coming his way.

Hunto seems to get a lot of hate on here, which I don't understand. He's one of my favourites. He fought a pretty serious list of killers and put on entertaining fights very consistently. He showed class and respect with his walkoff KOs, knowing when his opponent was done and didn't need to eat any more big shots. He came back from being essentially forgotten about when he barely hung onto his job at the UFC after they bought Pride, then losing to McCorkle. This was a pretty low point for him, but he rallied back and was a figure of the top 10 and top 5 for many years after that. That's respectable.

Finally, in terms of Hunt's athleticism - you gotta think the dude has some talent or skill. He's 5'10 with probably 150lbs of body fat, fighting heavyweights. It wouldn't be possible to swim in that tank with his bodysize and type, without some serious skills.
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Exactly...well fuckin said sir.
 
Stump said:
Hunto is a legend. He had a few tricks up his sleeve:

Sneaky movement - the abiltiy to lull his opponents in and then quickly shuffle-step into range and land a huge bomb.

Chin made of plutonium - dude could take a horsekick to the face, no problem.

Big power - power in both hands.

Timing - Power and chin alone aren't sufficient. Hunto was also able to find the openings for his bombs, and regularly move his head out of the way, even if slightly, to avoid the full power of shots coming his way.

Hunto seems to get a lot of hate on here, which I don't understand. He's one of my favourites. He fought a pretty serious list of killers and put on entertaining fights very consistently. He showed class and respect with his walkoff KOs, knowing when his opponent was done and didn't need to eat any more big shots. He came back from being essentially forgotten about when he barely hung onto his job at the UFC after they bought Pride, then losing to McCorkle. This was a pretty low point for him, but he rallied back and was a figure of the top 10 and top 5 for many years after that. That's respectable.

Finally, in terms of Hunt's athleticism - you gotta think the dude has some talent or skill. He's 5'10 with probably 150lbs of body fat, fighting heavyweights. It wouldn't be possible to swim in that tank with his bodysize and type, without some serious skills.
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Absolutely not a criticism.

He took a relatively limited skill set in both K1 and MMA to be close to elite in both.

No mean feat at all. It is a compliment.


He’s Samoan, normal body proportions don’t apply!!!!
 
LEWIS540 said:
Like Mark Hunt before him, he’s an overachiever.

Had one (maybe 2) big weapon and it took him a long way.
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This.
Like Hunt, his upside is that he's got a decent chin (Though not on Hunt's level) and hits a ton, so his fights are rarely boring.

But the glaring holes in his game mean his ceiling will always be limited.
 
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