10 MMA Fighters Who Never Reached Their Full Potential

One impressive performance and you can become an overnight star. Everyone knows your name and believes you could potentially go down as one of the greatest of all time.

What happens when a fighter does not achieve the level of success they are capable of? For some it can be due to a lack of motivation and training, injuries, others it can be due to addictions, some even due to their inability to stay on the right side of the law.

Combat sports are dangerous, not just for the obvious violence factor but due to the immense pressure and stress put on each fighter. To be hyped up so much by the fans and media sounds like a dream, but it also makes every fight like walking a tight rope whilst someone is throwing knives at you. One slip up can cost you your career. Not tapping to a heel hook, there you go, a shattered knee and the potential of never fighting again. Getting caught with a punch out of nowhere and getting knocked out, the hype fades and you no longer have the sponsors and following you had before. 

There is such an incredible pressure on fighters to succeed that many fighters have taken to drugs, anti-depressants and pain killers. For others the story is more a self tragedy of not training as much as they should have, mostly due to having natural talent.

"The Prodigy", perhaps comes as a surprise to some to see on this list, due to the fact he is arguably the greatest lightweight to have ever graced the Octagon. He achieved a lot more than most fighters did, but did he "reach his full potential", no.

People started calling him “The Prodigy” because of his fast rise to BJJ Stardom, winning the World BJJ Championships with 3 years and a few months of training. He really is one of the greatest fighters of all time, world class Jiu Jitsu, fantastic boxing - Freddie Roach once claimed Penn was the best striker in MMA. 

Penn held both the Lightweight and Welterweight titles in his UFC career, beating the UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes to take the Weltweight belt. Penn is fearless when it comes to fighting, even fighting former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida at 205 pounds (50 pounds heavier than normal), losing a decision. However his disregard for fighting at his natural weight class is arguably the downfall on his career. 

Often barely training for fights, ballooning up in weight between fights, leading to him taking fights at Welterweight against opponents lesser in skill but far superior in size. This ended in some one sided beatdowns.

It leaves the question, just how great could Penn have been with the right dedication and training?