Sherdog’s Top 10: Biggest Underachievers

Welcome again folks, this time to Sherdog's list of the 10 biggest underachievers in mixed martial arts history. This was compiled as an average of many different Sherdog contributors' lists, and I will note where my own views deviated considerably. Personally though, the appeal of any such lists isn't the exact ordering, or who was included versus excluded, but the actual discussion below each entry. Anyone can come up with a list with no further commentary and it's no more “right” than another. However, the best such lists have entertaining and informative explanations, which is a goal I hope to accomplish.

Now, a word about criteria, which is especially relevant for this list. Respondents had very different definitions for a term as broad and subjective as “underachiever.” Personally, I considered a fighter’s potential level of accomplishment if he or she trained optimally, fought smart, and was tough and focused during battle, compared to what they actually achieved. Thus, it is a measure of not living up to one's physical gifts for mental reasons, including lack of work ethic, distractions outside the sport, etc. It doesn't penalize fighters for injuries and medical issues, which I consider part of their natural physical abilities, nor for retiring early. Nor does it penalize fighters for being overhyped, which is outside of their control. This wasn't the case for other contributors, who considered one or all of those criteria. As a result, this list saw the greatest variance of any Sherdog Top 10 list yet; there were ballots turned in that didn't have a single fighter in common.

There were literally dozens of fighters named in the staff poll, too many to list here, but by way of honorable mention—even if the honor is dubious in this case—onetime Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight phenom Todd Duffee and former Pride Fighting Championships standout Denis Kang were the top two vote-getters not to crack the Top 10.

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