5 Biggest What IFs Careers In UFC History
In every sport, you can find those rare talents who had everything to become the most accomplished athletes and global superstars, but whose careers were cut short due to injuries, health issues, private problems outside of the sport, and many other reasons.
MMA is no different. Over its short history, there have been many incredible fighters who never truly unleashed their full potential, and who left us with a big what IF. What if they didn’t get hurt, got arrested, or didn’t retire sooner?
In this article, we will take a look at the 5 biggest what-if UFC careers and analyze what went wrong.
TJ Grant
It’s sad how quickly the MMA community has forgotten TJ Grant. Especially considering how big of a prospect he was and that he had all it takes to become a champion.
Grant kicked off his MMA career in 2008 in the welterweight division. After putting together an impressive record of 14 wins and 2 losses, he signed with the UFC in 2009. However, he was in for a rough start as he lost 3 out of his first 6 fights.
So Grant would drop down to 155 pounds and finally manage to unleash his full potential.
Between 2011 and 2013, he would go on a six-fight winning streak and beat some of the biggest names in a division with the biggest name being Gray Maynard. Grant was demolishing everyone with his exceptional wrestling skills and his striking had also seen significant improvements.
After beating Maynard, Grant received a title shot against the lightweight champion at the time, Benson Henderson. However, he had to pull out of it due to an injury.
The UFC believed in Grant. They booked him to face Pettis at UFC on Fox 9 who in the meantime beat Henderson to become a champ. But Grant had to pull out once again as he suffered a concussion in training. To make matters worse, he had a hard time recovering.
Whatever happened, it ended his career as Grant would never fight again. He retired in 2013 with 5 straight wins in the lightweight division, leaving the MMA community with a big WHAT IF.
Gegard Mousasi
Mousasi signed with the UFC with a record of 33 wins and 3 losses. He arrived as a champion in Strikeforce, and Cage Warriors, and was also a Dream GP winner.
However, his UFC rise was not as smooth. In his first 7 UFC fights, he went 4 and 3, with two of his 3 losses coming to top-level fighters at the time Lyoto Machida and Jacare Souza.
After being finished by Uriah Hall in 2015, Mousasi would put into another gear and go on to score 5 incredible wins in the next 14 months. In this run, he beat contenders like Vitor Belfort and he avenged the Uria Hall loss.
He then beat Chris Weidman in a title elimination bout at UFC 210 in 2017 to earn a shot at the title.
He was on a 5 fight win streak with 3 post-fight bonuses in the bag, looking unstoppable, and next in line for a title shot. At that moment, no one deserved it more than him.
However, the UFC never even considered giving him a shot at Bisping. This is mainly because they were setting up a high-profile match against George St. Pierre. Realizing this, Mousasi didn’t want to waste any time and he left the company to sign with Bellator.
Conor McGregor
Mcgregor is the former UFC champion in two separate weight classes and the global superstar. Considering he is among the most accomplished fighters, it’s weird to think that he is on this list. That he somehow, didn’t unleash his full potential.
Mcgregor was at the peak of his fame after winning the second belt. He beat Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 and was bigger than the sport itself. At the time, the Irishman was 27 years old, unbeatable, and was pushing the sport to new heights.
But instead of sticking to MMA, he decided to use his negotiating power and global fame to set a boxing match against Floyd Mayweather. Although he ended up earning over $100 million, this moment also marks his downfall. Instead of focusing on his return to MMA, Mcgregor was partying and causing trouble outside the sport.
Although he tried to come back, that lifestyle he was living took a toll on his mind and body. It also took away his ability to be a great fighter again or make a successful comeback. He simply wasn’t as hungry and as motivated anymore and this was beyond obvious.
While he was partying and spending days in courtrooms, his competitors were training. The game simply caught up with him and he ended up losing a few important fights upon returning.
Lee Murray
Lee Murray is, in some way, the UFC’s biggest mystery. His resume includes it all:
- Drug distribution
- Armed robberies
- Nearly losing his life after being stabbed
- Planning, executing and nearly getting away with $90 million bank heist
- Solid wins on the MMA scene
- Exceptional talent for MMA
Lee Murray was a complete lunatic, and this isn’t like 20% of his story. Of course, let’s not forget his legendary street fight with UFC superstars. After the incident in a bar, he “allegedly” knocked out Tito Ortiz out cold in 2002 after a UFC 38 event.
But make no mistakes about Murray, he was a legitimate MMA fighter. He had all the skills needed to reach the top, and the personality to become a global star. His hand speed and boxing skills were exceptional and his ground game was getting better and better. On top of that, his bad-boy personality was attracting millions of fans.
What ended his MMA career wasn’t the bank heist. It was the stabbing incident when he suffered a punctured lung and severed artery. He never really recovered from these injuries.
Just the fact that he has only one UFC win over Jorge Rivera and we are talking about him tells you a lot about his potential.
Zabit Magomedsharipov
Zabit Magomedsharipov is probably the most talented MMA fighter the world has ever seen. Knowing that he is out there spending his prime years without fighting is just sad. If anyone had the potential to become a champion, it was him.
Zabit joined the UFC in 2017 when a lot of fighters from Dagestan started enjoying big success in the UFC. But unlike the other fighters from this region, Magomedsharipov was special. First, he wasn’t a relentless wrestler but rather an all-around fighter. He was a dynamic and unorthodox striker who also had a very dangerous submission game.
He has spent the majority of his life training in Sanda, a martial art also known as a Chinese variation of kickboxing. On top of that, Zabit also trained in Combat Sambo and this unique mix of skills from Eastern European arts is what made his style so unique.
When he arrived in the UFC, he was just another Russian name on the roster who didn’t speak any English. But his fighting style literally did the talking and he quickly became fan-favorite. Between 2017 and 2019, he went on the campaign to win 5 fights in a row and look unbeatable.
Right away, it was obvious that he was two levels above everybody else. He was fast, highly technical, and precise and his creativity and ability to perform in a flow were second to none. To entertain the crowd, he would use all types of wild spinning kicks, cartwheel kicks, and many others.
Just as he started knocking on the doors asking for a title shot, Zabit would disappear from the media. He was inactive for some time before the MMA media started getting information that he wouldn’t come back any time soon.
According to Zabit, he was suffering from health issues related to his immune system. As a result, he decided to completely retire from competition in June 2022.
The biggest what-if in MMA history, without a doubt.
