The Missing Puzzle Piece: Who was one attribute away from GREATNESS/GOAT status?

[Pancake Sprawl]

Added both! I'll admit, I totally spaced on Spencer Fisher but remember that finish.

Hew was gunshy in some of the worst possible times while having a rock solid chin. He's the only fighter whose corner I'd hear saying "You have to hit him!" though I can see that that might not exactly be fight IQ.

I never understood why BJ split from Marinovich. His fights against Kenflo and Diego were him at his absolute best.
As for Zabit, I think it's fair to rate what we saw instead of what we didn't see, no? It was his one glaring weakness in a relatively short career (because of the division ducking him). Good point about Hunt, but I would say his more embarassing losses like against McCorkle show his true weakness, while getting KO'd at HW just sort of happens.

Nah, Mirko's downfall was father time. The shots he got KO'd with earlier in his career like Randleman would KO anyone, later it was just a career of 150+ fights taking its toll. Mirko was just unlucky that his prime was at the same time as Fedor's.

Added! I made this account to argue with people about Shogun vs Machida 1!

see, to me Hunt's career is strange. he didn't look that bad on the ground vs Fedor and he didn't look that bad on the ground with Werdum. both guys who have elite ground games, but he looks total shit vs McCorkle and because of how he looked vs Fedor and Werdum i just chalk his loss to McCorkle as him not giving a fuck and thinking he was just going to come in and knock McCorkle out, because how else can we explain him doing decently well vs guys who are absolute machines on the ground, but shitting the bed vs a guy like McCorkle? it all comes down to his lack of discipline. he's a self admitted procrastinator and lazy ass. i remember there being an interview where he talked about all he did was play counterstrike and eat KFC during one of his runs in K-1.

i agree that Zabit's stamina was a problem, but i just don't know if that was the ONLY problem with him because we didn't get to see a lot of him and very little vs the upper echelon of the division.

 

[snotflakes]

Diego Sanchez + Sanity

 

[Ahem]

If Wonderboy had some grappling prowess (or even solid TD defense), he may have been a champ.

 

[Ahem]

Mir with better defensive skills.

Or better motorcycle driving skills. His trajectory was to be an all-time HW great prior to the accident. Yes, my personal opinion and easily debatable, but def had the best, or at least top 2-3, BJJ at HW all time. He subbed multiple blackbelts.

 

[Travis Alexander]

Rumble with improved sub defense would have been (even more of) a mother fuckin problem.


Rip Homie

 

[ThePimblettEra]

Bisping with legit 1-tap knockout power could have been a force.

 

[BangBang]

Marina Rodriguez and a speed and ability to vary the pace of attack

 

[WoozyFailGuy]

If Struve could manage distance he'd have been one of the all time greats. If that guy boxed like Nate, or Kickboxed like Jones he could have been a 7'
tall 300 lb monster by his 30s. Instead he had like a dozen concussions by his 30s.

I never understood how a man with an 84" reach couldn't manage distance. Hunt shouldn't have been able to hit him in the head.
My brother is friends with Stefan, he's a very nice guy and an MMA reporter now!

https://x.com/StefanStruve/status/1505836837503447042?s=20

I like your list TS. I would add Conor and Aldo under cardio issue and Max Holloway under Power Issue. All three were great fighters, but still were lacking those attribute. Fix that for them and they might reach GSP/Anderson/Jones level of greatness.

Added Max to power!

Shogun and Cain achieved greatness anyway

I guess it would be more appropriate to ask what kept them from being their respective divisions GOATs when it comes to the more achieved on the list. Edited title (wow you can actually do that now)

i remember there being an interview where he talked about all he did was play counterstrike and eat KFC during one of his runs in K-1.

The most HUNTO sentence of all time lmao

Mark is a huge CS nut and the nametags on his skins are as Mark Hunt as you can imagine.
His StatTrak™ M4A1-S | Golden Coil (Factory New) is called BITCHKILLA
His SSG 08 | Dragonfire (Minimal Wear) is called KILLAOFWHORES
His StatTrak™ M4A4 | Buzz Kill (Factory New) is called ifuckubitchboiii

Bisping with legit 1-tap knockout power could have been a force.

15 years of pillow fists was just him saving literally all of his power for Rockhold's chin! Added!

 

[Axe720]

This whole thing is breaking this old man's heart sir lol.

Next day, our prayers have been answered. The Lord is good!

 

[CedricBee]

GSP -- one shot KO power
Cody Garbrandt -- either a solid jab or Gaetje-like leg kicks
Khabib--father still alive
Brock Lesnar -- striking
Tony Ferguson -- peripheral vision (get it)

GSP & Khabib are GOAT candidates already. Putting them in this thread is like giving DC reach or DC & Dan Henderson youth; or hypothetically having Fedor to cut down to 205. You’re now creating a perfect fighter more so than a GOAT candidate.

 

[CedricBee]

Pettis and Ferguson could probably be in the injury prone category. Pettis beat a well rounded champion in Benson Henderson KO’d prime Cowboy Cerrone & sub’d Gilbert Melendez but he also fought once in 2012 & once in 2014. … Ferguson was on an incredible run but already blew out his knee going into his 2018 bout with Anthony Pettis. With his grueling style those injuries add up and I believe his blew out his knee another time as well.

 

[BangBang]

Bisping with legit 1-tap knockout power could have been a force.

He admitted hinself he was lacking in talent but said the one thing he did have was the utter desire to succeed by working tirelessly, day in, day out. Maybe he was being a tad harsh on himself.

 

[WoozyFailGuy]

GSP & Khabib are GOAT candidates already. Putting them in this thread is like giving DC reach or DC & Dan Henderson youth; or hypothetically having Fedor to cut down to 205. You’re now creating a perfect fighter more so than a GOAT candidate.

This is specifically why I stated "no power fantasies" as it would just pollute the list with "Fedor, but he's 6'8" and shredded" and "GSP, with a beard"
Fedor and GSP bbelong nowhere near this list.

Pettis and Ferguson could probably be in the injury prone category. Pettis beat a well rounded champion in Benson Henderson KO’d prime Cowboy Cerrone & sub’d Gilbert Melendez but he also fought once in 2012 & once in 2014. … Ferguson was on an incredible run but already blew out his knee going into his 2018 bout with Anthony Pettis. With his grueling style those injuries add up and I believe his blew out his knee another time as well.

Pettis and Ferguson going on injury prone! I will never forget the collective "Huh" on april 1st when he tripped over the cable. in 2012, Pettis was hospitalized with a staph infection in his elbow while recovering from a surgery on his shoulder.. Then in 2013, while waiting for a LW titleshot, he decided to drop to 145 to challenge Aldo, then had some freak knee injury, which was how Korean Zombie got his shot against Aldo. 2014 comes around, he beats Bendo, and injures his knee again before he can defend against...T.J. Grant. That's a whole nother "what if" right there. He had some freak concussion that caused permanent damage in training or something if I recall?
Found an article.
Worst part of the article? The UFC cancelled his free fightpass subscription lmao.
"“The UFC, they helped me out a little bit,” he said. “I basically didn’t hear from them for a good significant amount of time, and then they contacted me again to fight in Halifax, I think in 2014. I don’t think I really heard anything from them after that. It was just like when my UFC Fight Pass fucking subscription got canceled. I was like, wow, you know? It kind of put things in perspective. I don’t know if I just got lost in the shuffle, but it’s like, man, come on — you can do better than that.”

 

[blaseblase]

see, to me Hunt's career is strange. he didn't look that bad on the ground vs Fedor and he didn't look that bad on the ground with Werdum. both guys who have elite ground games, but he looks total shit vs McCorkle and because of how he looked vs Fedor and Werdum i just chalk his loss to McCorkle as him not giving a fuck and thinking he was just going to come in and knock McCorkle out, because how else can we explain him doing decently well vs guys who are absolute machines on the ground, but shitting the bed vs a guy like McCorkle? it all comes down to his lack of discipline. he's a self admitted procrastinator and lazy ass. i remember there being an interview where he talked about all he did was play counterstrike and eat KFC during one of his runs in K-1.

If he had discipline he wouldn't be pushing 300 lbs at 5'10.

 

[StonedLemur]

Next day, our prayers have been answered. The Lord is good!

I don't believe in god but I believe in you sir lol

 

[jsbx45]

19-0 Diego. Fight IQ failure.

 

[generalyum]

Rockhold with an iron chin and better defense

 

[TR1]

Overeem with a chin is the only acceptable answer. That guy had everything needed minus the chin.

Well, he was missing a lot without roiding above and beyond the norm.

 

[Gamer2k4]

Lesnar for sure. He had a great chin, but he absolutely hated getting punched. If he was able to actually stand and trade with opponents, he would have been unstoppable.

 

[Otto!]

Jones with pissing clean