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[Repenter]

okay, this may end up being a complete bust... but one of my favorite games to play about mma is to look back at where a fighter took a specific path or was dealt a certain hand that dictated the next several years of their career.

let's say that because of a random win or injury, they were either skyrocketed to the top of the world, or dropped damn near off the map. the best example is matt serra. he was in TUF because he had fallen into prelim obscurity, and won the tournament with a controversial split decision over chris lytle due mostly to foot stomps. because of that, he challenged the unbeatable champion, won by flash KO, became a UFC champion and raised his stock substantially, leading to a coaching gig on TUF and a rivalry with matt hughes. had he not won against lytle in the way that he did, none of what followed would have happened, and mostly likely, he would have continued to age on the undercard until being cut or retired.

other examples:

3-4 years ago, when fedor became a free agent, and dana was courting him to come to the UFC for an automatic title shot against brock lesnar. for reasons simultaneously unknown and named vladimir, fedor never took the offer... which led to him joining strikeforce for a career-crippling run of losses, which, while they were to top-tier talent, still tainted his legacy because they didn't occur in the UFC octagon, and according to the widely accepted word according to dana, showed his inability to hang even in the b-leagues.

if fedor had signed to the UFC, i have little doubt that he would have blitzed lesnar within 3 minutes, in the 'biggest win' of his career. the next step is where it gets a bit harder. JDS was nearing the end of his 'contender streak', having just beaten roy nelson. the two biggest challengers to the belt at the time were carwin and velasquez. i see fedor beating carwin, but being overpowered by velasquez for losing by UD. i don't see him being the JDS of 2010 either. after losing the title, winning big money fights against couture, big nog, or mir would have driven him to another losing title shot against JDS.



anyone have one to offer? also, let's keep this to alternate history, without extending to revisionist history. do your best to keep the dates, records, and abilities at the time in reference.

[KevoOnTheRadio]

Karo's title shot. What if he had fought Matt Hughes?

[Thamob]

What if Hughes lost to Newton after being choked out?

[Repenter]

try to expand a bit. remember who the contenders were and what would have happened in the year following.

[goodtimes]

I don't think it would have changed that much with Fedor; he probably would have creamed Lesnar but would have been humiliated by Velasquez. I think White would have reacted much more kindly to his losses, but fans are pretty unforgiving and just as many people would be calling him a can now (most people consider Lesnar a can).

So I'll take a shot at it. I read somewhere that Silva was considering retiring early in his career because there wasn't enough money in it. So what if Silva retired before going to the UFC?

I think we would have a Franklin/Hendo trilogy. The first fight was damn close, and I think Franklin could have won it if it was 5 rounds. Also, there would be an up and coming challenger in Marquardt who could have beaten either guy. Then you have Okami, Maia and Sonnen making waves.

I think riding the momentum of wins over guys like Okami and Marquardt, Sonnen would have won the title. He had the best performance of his career against Silva, and if it was against anyone else imo he wins. Sonnen would be the PPV king right now, and potentially even a main stream celebrity. The fight with Bisping would have been a title fight, and it would kick off a crazy UK/US feud in MMA, and probably a trilogy where the belt changes hands once or twice.

I think if it wasn't for Silva, the MW division would be as crazy and competitive as it was during the Ortiz/Liddell/Couture days.

[Sakara=Excitement]

How about Lesnar training MMA after he got out of college?

FUCKING...SCARY.

[Y2JUBAE]

Fedor had 2 doors after facing Brock at that time IMO.
1. Wins - Fights CV and gets destroyed
2. Loses - Dana sets up Fedor vs. Kimbo

[goodtimes]

Originally Posted by Sakara=Excitement

How about Lesnar training MMA after he got out of college?

FUCKING...SCARY.

He's a front runner who was unable to commit to anything. And as he got more experience, he actually became a worse fighter since he was scared of getting his face re-arranged.

[Sakara=Excitement]

Yeah his illness didn't have anything to do with his fighting. lol

It's called alternate histories for a reason.

[Kimbo> Rampage]

Im not sold at all that Fedor would have beaten Brock... Pre illness Brock I would favor, Fedor would destroy post illness Brock though...

Watch the Bigfoot fight and watch Lesnar/Mir 2... Brock could replicate that...

Bigfoot is very strong and has very underrated takedowns, but Lesnar is a beast with a national championship...

Fedor has never had great TDD... He just did so well off his back if he were to get taken down... He was taken down by Coleman and Randallman and even Linland(rope grab aside)....

I do agree that Brock learning MMA actually made him more cautious and tentative, as he hated getting hit. But one thing he really began to bring up was his control and sub defense...

Im a big Fedor fan, but prime Fedor gets murked by prime JDS imo... Cain would be a good fight as well.