10 MMA Fighters Who Never Reached Their Full Potential

A true freak athlete.  An NCAA Division I Champion at 285lbs, Lesnar was destined for greatness. Lesnar found fame when we was signed to the WWE in 2002. He became the youngest ever WWE Heavyweight Champion. After his departure from the WWE, a brief stint with NJPW and a MMA debut win over Min-soo Kim, it was announced that at UFC 77 that Lesnar was signed to fight Frank Mir at UFC 81.

There was a huge buzz around the MMA community, could a WWE superstar make an inpact in the UFC? Usually the answer to that would be no, but with such a strong wrestling background and due to his freakish size and strength, some believed he could make it to the top. Lesnar formed his own gym (DeathClutch) in which catch wrestling legend Erik Paulson was his main MMA coach. Lesnar lost his debut to Frank Mir via submission but went on to dominate PRIDE veteran Heath Herring, UFC legend Randy Couture (for the UFC Heavyweight title) and demolish Frank Mir in a rematch. He then suffered a brutal beating at the hands of Shane Carwin but came from behind to submit Carwin in round 2.

Following that he lost his title to current champion Cain Velasquez in a one sided affair. Lesnar was out for a year due to diverticulitis, a stomach disease. Upon his return he faced K-1 Champion Alistair Overeem, getting hit with a huge body kick and getting finished with punches. Lesnar started MMA late in his life, never fully developed his striking and it showed when he curled up an backed away whenever he was tagged. But if Lesnar had started MMA in 2002 and trained with a diverse camp he could have still been ruling the Heavyweight division to this day.