10 UFC Prodigies Who Didn't Live Up To The Billing
8. Townsend Saunders
If you win an Olympic silver medal in wrestling, the odds are substantially in your favour for MMA to be a profitable career choice at some point. The likes of Mark Schultz, Matt Lindland and Kevin Jackson are just a few of the men who have taken a medal on the epic stage in that event and stepped into the Octagon.
Sadly, Townsend Saunders doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as those fighters.
At 29-year old, Saunders, surrounded by hype after his silver medal display at Atlanta 1996, entered UFC's inaugural 170lbs tournament at UFC 16. He wasn't quite as young as others on this list, but upon his debut, the feeling that this Olympic level star could be a serious contender was palpable.
In his first bout he would be met by Pat Miletich and the seasoned veteran of MMA taught Saunders a harsh lesson.
Even though Saunders managed to keep Miletich on his back for large portions of their fight, his lack of decisive attacks meant that Miletich would win via split decision.
At UFC 18, Saunders would return only to be snuffed out again by Mikey Burnett's standing up game and lose by unanimous decision.
The two time all American wouldn't ever step back in the Octagon, which goes to show that Olympic calibre talent doesn't guarantee you MMA victories.