The biggest one for me will always be...
What if Frank Shamrock hadn't announced his first retirement (whether it was play for money or other things) during his prime? I don't think Tito becomes champ, not for awhile, and I have no doubt that Frank would own the record for most title defenses.
Bas Rutten dropped down to what was middleweight then (LHW now) around that exact same time. And it was during training that he suffered so many injuries that forced him to retire. But let's say Frank doesn't retire and they immediately make that fight.
Maybe Bas doesn't suffer as many injuries? Impossible to say, but we get another fight in their series, one not under pancrase rules...and Shamrock's stock had never been higher, talk about a SUPER FIGHT.
It might have also led to getting to see Liddell vs Frank Shamrock. It just boggles my mind how different the history of the UFC would have been had Frank not decided to retire. Tito wouldn't have been the one carrying the UFC through the 'dark ages'...Shamrock already had a big name.
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"To be truly walking on the warrior's path, we have to bring our minds back to the time when we were not ashamed of our dreams; when reality had not yet frustrated our ambitions; when our desire was still too strong to be repressed, and our spirit refused to surrender in resignation; when we were not yet doctors, businessmen, or lawyers, but still wanted to be heroes, leaders, bodhisattvas. The first step on the way to being warriors is to get back in touch with our dreams."
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