Issue 054

September 2009

Few things are as maddening for MMA fans as fighters with abundant natural talent who somehow fail to capitalize on their skills, throwing their careers away. Few subjects are more exhaustedly discussed than exactly which fighters really epitomize the term ‘wasted talent’. Andrew Garvey offers up five of the most glaring examples.

1 Bob Sapp

Ludicrous as it may seem now, there was a time when ‘the Beast’ seemed poised for a dominating MMA career. After a failed NFL stint, K-1 spotted Sapp in a Tough Man show and turned him into a legitimate Japanese pop-culture icon. Attacking with almost cartoonish ferocity, Sapp was a fearsome, overwhelming opponent in the ring, if only for his sheer size and strength. His MMA career started in 2002 when he pushed Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira to the absolute limit before gassing out and losing by armbar. Afterwards, Nogueira predicted Sapp would be “unbeatable” with time and training. Unfortunately, Sapp’s stardom left little time for training amid all his media appearances, he failed to improve his skills, proved to have a very suspect chin and got himself involved in numerous bizarre contractual disputes. That his fighting career has become such a joke is a real shame for such an entertaining fighter.

2 Mark Hunt

The iron-chinned 2001 K-1 Grand Prix champion made his MMA debut in 2004. Hidehiko Yoshida exploited the Samoan New Zealander’s weakness in defending submissions but Hunt clearly showed plenty of talent when wearing the four-ounce gloves. Hunt then peaked early, scoring a split decision win over the much smaller Wanderlei Silva later that year and clearly out-pointing Mirko Cro Cop in December 2005. A strong, heavy-handed brawler, Hunt was succeeding despite his lack of grappling, scoring five successive wins. But everything changed with feeble showings against Josh Barnett, Fedor Emelianenko, Alistair Overeem and most recently Gegard Mousasi (who submitted him in just 80 seconds). Hunt’s stubbornly Luddite approach has caught up with him. His visceral hatred of training and conditioning doesn’t help either. And after a truly shocking 18-second KO loss to Melvin Manhoef, even his legendary chin can no longer be relied on. The crowd pleasing 35-year-old could (and should) have achieved so much more.  

3 Kevin Jackson

The 1992 Olympic freestyle wrestling gold medalist was an active MMA fighter for just 14 months. Bursting onto the scene with a frightful beating of hard-as-nails John Lober in March 1997, Jackson’s performance was genuinely exhilarating. Four months later, he won the UFC 14 middleweight tournament, with both fights combined lasting a mere 131 seconds. Challenging Frank Shamrock for UFC gold in December ‘07, Jackson took Shamrock down immediately but left himself open for an armbar. He lost by armbar again to Jerry Bohlander in a cracking fight in March ’98. A quick learner as well as a fantastic wrestler and an incredible athlete, Jackson bounced back with an armbar victory in May of that year. Sadly, Jackson was then forced to choose between his day job (and first love) of coaching amateur wrestling and a then-fledgling pseudo-sport with a toxic public image. He chose wrestling, leaving longtime MMA fans with some intriguing ‘what if?’ questions. 

4 Phillip Miller

The subject of about a million ‘whatever happened to…’ discussions, Miller sports a perfect 16-0 MMA record. Statistically one of the best records in the entire sport, Miller hasn’t fought since 2003. A tenacious wrestler boasting some raggedly effective ground ‘n pound and plenty of energy, middleweight Miller was recently tracked down by Sherdog.com. Only 29 years old and currently working for the LAPD, Miller still trains but apparently has no intention of fighting again. Holding victories over current star Jake Shields and UK pioneers James Zikic and Mark Weir, Miller also has a 2-0 UFC record. However, his apparent queasiness about the sport’s brutality (and his still-bitter complaints about the financial rewards) helped ease him into a sadly premature retirement.

5 War Machine

The fighter formerly known as Jon Koppenhaver (he changed his name because he was annoyed a pro wrestler was also nicknamed ‘War Machine’) is currently competing, and winning, on minor league events in the US. After enjoying mainstream exposure on The Ultimate Fighter 6 and a truly epic December 2007 UFC fight with Jared Rollins, this is entirely his own fault. An entertaining fighter, Machine was shown his marching orders by the UFC in 2008 after quickly losing a fight and making some downright idiotic (and utterly classless) comments about the recently deceased Evan Tanner and a troubled (at the time) Quinton Jackson. War Machine has also shown an alarming habit of beating up civilians, and has continued his streak of brainless public statements, posting a MySpace blog advocating the assassination of Barack Obama. Talented and entertaining as he is, the 27-year-old welterweight may simply be too stupid to ever carve out the kind of career his physical gifts suggest he could have in this sport.