By Raul Rangel
One day I was having a discussion with my friend and wrestling coach Dave Vasquez about who would have been a great mixed martial artist in a different world. Of course there are a lot of names that come up in these types of “what if” scenarios, some serious and some just out right ridiculous. After thinking about it, I decided to bring up some people that I feel really deserve to be included in this discussion.
Without question the first name that I came up with was Kurt Angle. After he had won the Olympics and before his pro-wrestling career had started, my understanding is that Angle was offered a contract with the UFC before it was owned by Zuffa. In the end, he chose the then World Wresting Federation (WWE), but what would have happened if he had gone to the UFC instead? In many people’s opinions (namely mine), he would have easily been a Hall of Famer. As Dave was telling me, “Angle has a work ethic like no one else; he wrestled in the Olympics with a broken neck and even in his forties was considering another run in MMA and the Olympics.” It’s apparent that Angle always aims to be number 1 no matter what he does. In MMA, it would have been the same thing. It would have been fantastic to see him against Couture, Liddell, Ortiz, Wanderlei, and even Shamrock.
The next name on my list is “Iron” Mike Tyson. Now in my opinion, people have forgotten just who the hell he is. Take away “The Hangover”, the ear biting incident, the drugs, the domestic violence, etc…and Tyson was a man you as a fighter just did not want to see on the other side of the ring while he was in his prime. If you thought the Wanderlei Silva stare down was intimidating back in his Pride FC days, Tyson’s stare downs literally put fear into the hearts and souls of his opponents. When the action started, Tyson would smother his opponents; with no place to move they would have to try to go toe-to-toe and usually they would wind up with their back on the mat and their eyes looking into the sky. As it stands now, he is still the youngest boxing heavyweight champion in boxing’s history, a record that has yet to be broken. If BJ Penn is “the prodigy” in MMA, then Tyson certainly was the prodigy in the late 80’s era of boxing.
The next one should be a no brainer as he works in law enforcement and is a 7th degree black belt in Aikido… and his name is Steven Seagal. Now, whether you wanna to believe it or not, the man has mad skills. He has laid claim to teaching Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida their most devastating knockout kicks. That can’t be discounted. Aikido is the art of defending yourself while protecting your attacker from injury. This can be one of the most difficult practices in all of martial arts and it takes someone that strong in the mind and body to learn. Seagal is a master of it.
My final choice is Ed O’Neill… yes, that guy – the man formerly known as Al Bundy and currently funny as hell on TV as Jay Pritchett on the hit sitcom, Modern Family. O’Neill has studied Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Rorian Gracie, founder/creator of the UFC, for the past 17 years. He was also a star college football player and just missed being a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers during their heydays of the 70’s. And for a guy in his sixties Ed O’Neill looks better than most other people in their forties. Imagine what he could have done if he applied himself in his younger days instead of making us laugh daily on television. He would have killed it.
Of course there are other obvious choices I would also like to have seen… Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Chuck Zito, Jean Claude Van Damme,and of course Bruce Lee Roy. Like my conversations with my buddy Dave, we will only have our imagination and discussions with friends as the only way to wonder how much MMA might have been different if individuals like these were to have made the decision to fight instead of do what we know them for instead. I guess the only thing we can do is create them on UFC: Undisputed 3 and see what they can do there. Now who do YOU think would have been great in MMA? And what do you think of my choices here?
You can follow Raul Rangel on twitter @rrangel81 and you can also listen to his weekly podcast Undefeated Radio on iTunes. LIKE TXMMA on Facebook for more in-depth news and coverage of the MMA & grappling scene along with fan contests to win great prizes courtesy of TXMMA.com and much more. Also feel free to check us out on Twitter and Google+ for even more in the world combat sports!
