leannyeager: 13 Unlucky Fighters

By MATT MOLGAARD 
MMANEWS.COM Staff Writer 

The sport of mixed martial arts is unforgiving, financially unrewarding for most, and in all honesty, extremely dangerous. Far more fighters flounder on the local circuit and destroy their bodies for embarrassing paychecks than succeed in this business. It?s a sad truth that?s been attached to combat sports for too long to track. 

Having said all that, some guys run into miracle breaks and genuinely lucky opportunities. Some even reach the summit, obtaining fortune and a fair degree of fame. This particular piece isn?t about those guys however, as it sounds so much more entertaining to focus on gentlemen who have run smack-dab into the face of wretched luck. 

Corey Hill: Corey?s had a tough go of things, especially for a man who hasn?t even competed professionally for five years. The 6?4? lightweight looked promising during his appearance on The Ultimate Fighter, and even managed to earn a contract with the UFC. 

Things still looked up for the notoriously hard worker, until he turned his leg into a silly-straw against Dale Hartt at UFC Fight for the Troops in 2008. The broken leg not only sidelined Hill for over a year, it earned him a default pink slip from promotional brass. Since the hideous leg injury Hill has competed just four times, and he?s failed to capitalize on the early career momentum he once possessed. 

A victory over Kit Cope remains Corey?s greatest accomplishment; Tough luck for a good prospect. 

Kazushi Sakuraba: ?The Gracie Hunter? kicked off his career with a 12-2-1-1 record prior to running into Wanderlei Silva at Pride 13, where Sakuraba was brutalized in just over 90 seconds. It was a career changing moment for the significantly smaller man, who never again regained the foothold he once held on MMA. 

Sakuraba has since continued to clash with bigger men, usually resulting in losing efforts. The Japanese superstar has compiled a 14-12-0-1 record since. 

Ricco Rodriguez: Rodrigues has never truly fallen off the mat, despite being embarrassed by Tim Sylvia after fighting his way to the top of the UFC?s heavyweight division in 2002. That said, he?s had some terrible luck since: he?s blown up to an obnoxious size (though he?s since lost the weight, and even gone as far as to trim down significantly), embarrassed himself on national television (check out the first season of Celebrity Rehab), lost multiple fights to inferior competition, rediscovered the passion that enabled him to excel earlier in his career, only to shunned by numerous top-tier promotions. 

While we?ll likely never see Rodriguez return to the UFC, he did recently sign a contract with Bellator Fighting Championships, which could signal a long overdue break for the still-dangerous soon-to-be 34 year old. 

Matt Hamill: Hamill?s placement on this list has nothing to do with the fact that he?s deaf; if anything, that makes him more endearing to the casual crowd. No, Matt earns a place on this list for a number of other reasons. 

It all began at UFC 75, when Matt collided with brash Brit, Michael Bisping and was (arguably) robbed by the judges. One year distanced from that fight Hamill was tapped to collide with friend and former champion Rich Franklin, who outclassed Hamill with ease. The luster was fading, but the ugliness wasn?t over yet. 

Roughly one year after the Franklin fight, Hamill was regaining his momentum. Stoppage victories over Mark Munoz and Reese Andy earned the TUF veteran a fight with fellow prospect Jon ?Bones? Jones. The fight didn?t go well for Hamill, as Jones brutalized the stellar wrestler before being disqualified for landing a series of illegal elbows. 

Two more wins followed for Hamill (including a unanimous decision over former trainer and light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz) before once again being derailed (this time) by Quinton ?Rampage? Jackson in his last outing. 

In just four years Hamill has had a victory wrongfully stolen from him by judges, been mauled by two former champions and was completely embarrassed by the soon-to-be champion. It?s not the worst run of luck in the sport?s history, but it sure as hell isn?t the best either. 

Karo Parisyan: Ah, Karo, Karo, Karo? Mr. Parisyan was once considered a top five welterweight. The outspoken UFC veteran was once poised, and promised a title shot against then-champion Matt Hughes. An injury wiped the fight off the slate, permanently. It was all downhill from there, as Karo has battled drug addiction, weight issues, training inconsistencies and, what is likely a permanent set of walking papers from the world?s largest MMA promotion. 

Andrei Arlovski: In 2005, then-champion Andrei Arlovski held the world in his hand. Fast forward just four years and Arlovski has come apart at the seams. Not only has the former champ left the ranks of the UFC, he?s been completely betrayed by his chin, and subsequently matched against notorious heavy hitters Fedor Emelianenko, Brett Rogers, Antonio Silva and Sergei Kharitonov, consecutively. Fedor, Brett and Sergei all left the brittle Belarusian unconscious inside the five minute mark. Now that?s tough luck. 

Chuck Liddell: Liddell and Arlovski?s careers share numerous similarities; both have been dominant champions, both have earned reputations as terrifying strikers, and both have seen their ability to take a punch take a vacation. 

Liddell will likely be remembered as the most famous face of the sort for many years to come. Sadly, his chin went south after Rashad Evans turned it into a pile of mush at UFC 88. 

The former top pound-for-pound considerate finished his career with five losses in his final six outings; four of those five defeats saw the fight waved off, with Chuck deep asleep on the canvas. It was indeed an unfit and unlucky twist of fate for the insanely popular Liddell. 

Matt Lindland: Not only has Matt Lindland never really been a ?company man?, he never really had the chance to reach his full potential. The standout wrestler has (been one of the very few, who) knocked himself out cold, been submitted twice in one fight (see his title bid against Murilo Bustamante), been blitzed by virtual unknown (David Terrell), seen the sport evolve beyond his personal limitations, and was on the receiving end of two of the sport?s most brutal knockouts (by Vitor Belfort at Affliction: Day of Reckoning, and Robbie Lawler at Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu 2). 

It?s been a long, unlucky ride for Lindland, who?s earned just a single victory in his last five fights. Looks like this gentleman may not even be lucky enough to end his career on a high note. 

Murilo Bustamante: Murilo has never been the luckiest guy to grace the sport. Unlike the majority of other list entrants, it?s always been about Bustamante and the judges. His fights with Chuck Liddell, Quinton ?Rampage? Jackson, Makoto Takimoto and (his second collision with) Dan Henderson are generally viewed as victories for the Brazilian by fans; it?s unfortunate the judges didn?t see what most spectators did, Murilo would probably be considered one of the greatest to compete. 

Miles Jury: I?ve got to be real with everyone here: The latest season of The Ultimate Fighter was aligned perfectly for Miles Jury. I know it, those who follow Jury know it and Dana White knows it. Unfortunately, a torn anterior cruciate ligament prevented Jury from ever even competing. 

While Miles may very well bounce back from the injury, and may even find himself fighting for the UFC one day, there?s a serious chance his knee injury will prevent Miles from living up to the enormous amount of hype bestowed upon him pre-TUF season 13. 

Chad Corvin: Chad Corvin is the supreme heavyweight who never was. Highly touted by 2010, Corvin signed a contract with the UFC after destroying six opponents in less than two years. But Chad?s luck would change drastically after singing his contract. 

Numerous injuries have kept Corvin out of commission since his last fight on February 20th, 2009. It?s been reported that a brain injury of some sort prevented medical clearance for Chad?s UFC debut, which was initially scheduled for UFC 113. Since then, Chad?s been released by the UFC, and persisting injuries have put an indefinite halt to the young prospects career. Pretty ugly luck for a man once deemed the future of the heavyweight division. 

Todd Duffee: Two years ago the only two words MMA fans seemed to know were ?Todd? and ?Duffee?. Now however, the young goliath has all but disappeared from the radar. 

After securing an impressive seven second knockout of Tim Hague, Duffee returned at UFC 114, where he met the ever-durable Mike Russow. For twelve plus minutes Duffee abused Russow, and looked to be on his way to a clear-cut unanimous decision win. Then a Russow punch from nowhere found the chin of Duffee, and all the promise that surrounded the 25 year old was dispelled along with his senses. 

Since then Duffee played a detrimental role in a frequently publicized feud with UFC president Dana White (who deemed the youngster had an ?attitude problem?), which ultimately led to Duffee?s promotional release. To make things even worse, Duffee was matched against top 10 heavyweight, Alistair Overeem in his first bout since being booted by the sports leading promotion. Duffee remained in control of his senses for all of 19 seconds before Alistair Overeem found the button and turned the lights out. 

Efrain Escudero: Escudero was one of the first TUF winners to get the axe from UFC brass. After compiling a 3-2 record for the UFC, he was abruptly released from his contract. Few saw it coming, but most considered Efrain a true commodity, and expected the lightweight to continue on in his winning ways outside of the octagon. 

It was not to be; Escudero managed to put together three victories post-UFC, but ran into a wall when he met fellow UFC castaway Fabricio Camoes in a featured bout for Tachi Palace Fights. Camoes outhustled Escudero over three rounds to upset the favorite, and possibly earn himself another chance with the UFC somewhere down the line. Good luck for Camoes, tough luck for Escudero, who has yet to fight since. 

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Jeff Big Frog Curran Dai Shuanghai Mac Danzig Karen Darabedyan Viacheslav Datsik

leannyeager

Monday, July 25, 2011

13 Unlucky Fighters

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