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[MirJitsu]

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.

[Sakara=Excitement]

If Chuck would of beaten Rashad, he would of fought Forrest for the title which I think he would of won.

[kalebarker]

What if Anderson didn't have visa issues and was able to fight Hughes at UFC 37?

What if Bustamante won in the fights he lost controversial decisions? He would have wins over both Chuck and Rampage in 2003 when they were still in their prime. He would also have a win over Hendo in their second fight and been the man to hold a pride and ufc belt. People would be talking about where on the list of GOATs he is.

[Lazarus]

I think this one has been said before in another thread, but...
What if Stephan Bonnar had beaten Forest Griffen on the first TUF finale?

What would have happened to the sport of MMA then? (I don't remember who Forest went on to face next after that, but I'm sure things would be a lot different). Beating Shogun and then beating Rampage for the title? I don't think Bonnar would have even come close.

[MMAtt]

What if rashard hadn't gotten hurt for his title fight and Jon never got his title shot, what if they remained friends and actually never fought each other, would jon have moved up to HW

[rivethead]

I don't think a 2008-9 Cain embarrasses Fedor. I actually think zuffa holds off on having him fight Fedor till much later, as they'd have a full stable of HW's [assuming Fedor came over with the rest of the guys Affliction signed]. But if Fedor faced the Cain at the level of, say the Stojnic, Rothwell or Kongo fights, he beats Cain 8 out of 10 times.



I do not see lesnar as having anything more than a longshot against Fedor, pre-or post-sickness. Even had lesnar begun training right out of college, he'd still have to deal with the innate inability to take a punch.

Originally Posted by nbm02ss

What if Barnett didn't piss dirty and subsequently caused the folding of Affliction?

That's definitely something I've pondered over and over again. Affliction was spread thin, but I think the Barnett fight would have put them in a place where they weren't essentially paycheck-to-paycheck. The world of MMA would be much, much better with legitimate competition for zuffa, in my opinon.







Here are a couple more:

what if the ref made the correct call in the Arona/rampage bout back in the day, when 'page was out in Ricardo's guard and was allowed to recover. Both careers would be incredibly changed: when PRIDE folded, rampage would still have the win over Chuck, but he'd have lost a LOT of momentum, having dropped something like 4 out of 7 via stoppages. Conversely, Arona would have been much more marketable, even after the KO loss to Sokodjou.
There would be enough to generate interest in the UFC to bring him over, and he wouldn't have fallen off the map. With Arona busy, it may have generated more support for Filho, who may not have developed his drug addictions that took him off the table.

What if Lorenzo actually lived up to the hype of the big press-conference nonsense bust in 2008? What if you had his cooler, less-emotional guidance for the company and he exclusively handled renegotiations with Fedor and the Fink, as well as all network negotiations? What if he worked to do successful co-promotion with Japan?

What if the zuffa's business model included acquiring smaller orgs and actually setting them up for success instead of plundering their rosters? What if they'd set up WEC as a feeder-unit for the fighters under 155lbs, SF as a feeder for WW/MW/LHW and Affliction as a feeder for HWs? Realistically, zuffa could produce the same number of shows a year as it currently does, with the product dramatically increased, and a lot more variety available.

rh

[beardown98]

I love this thread. .

I actually agree with Sak on his point about Chuck beating forest.

[Repenter]

what if paulo filho hadn't gone crazy?

it's up in the air as to whether he would have beaten sonnen... but if he had won, he would have gone to the UFC instead of jobbing around in japan against melvin manhoef. at the time of the second sonnen fight, he was ranked as high as #2 in the world by some publications, (even if that heavily included hype). he makes a UFC debut against marquardt or bisping and wins, and may have to fight maia or okami before getting a title shot.

i don't see him beating anderson, but having him in the UFC would have added another huge name into the top five mix and maybe even stopped sonnen's rise through the ranks.

[Thamob]

What if Mir never got into that accident. I think although the division was weak at the time he would have probably had an amazing legazy. He would have most likely subed Arlovski. I think his game was a lot tighter than before the accident and there would not have been that loss to Vera.

[carbondioxide830]

what if b.j. was never robbed of a decision in the first edgar fight? more than likely there wouldnt had been a rematch and he would have went on to successfully defend against gray...and since there would likely be no reason for a rematch there either, he would unify the ufc and wec lightweight titles with pettis. would he had won? i think so. his next challenge would likey be bendo and there is where i begin to wonder...