Potential: The Dreaded Word

Potential: The Dreaded Word

By Aidan O’Connor

In sports, there have been many instances where a sports star has been labelled as having ‘Great Potential’ this can have numerous effects on the individual and that is shown through their respective sports.

It seems to be a word that the fans use to describe a sportsperson who is not quite there yet in terms of ability, but they believe with more time and experience that they can achieve their end goal and improve their skills in the process.

In this article, we will look at 3 instances of fighters within MMA that fit into these three categories:

Still striving towards their potential
Fallen short of their potential
Reached their potential

Still striving towards their potential

For this category I am going to use current affairs and please bear in mind that I am using the perspective of a fan on this, these are not facts but more the discussions I see a lot between fans:

Alexander Volkanovski

Alexander Volkanovski was pretty much unknown to the majority of MMA fans some 12 months ago but really seems to have made his mark within the MMA community. So how exactly has he done this?

Well, his presence both in the octagon and outside has made a huge impact on the fans. Inside the octagon, he has shown great talent, his speed and agility, power and movement have been incredibly impressive getting 7 consecutive wins in the UFC.

Outside the actual fights, he has also made his mark by being incredibly respectful to each opponent praising their abilities and being a gentleman throughout. His incredible run has not been against nobody’s either, defeating the likes of Darren Elkins, Chad Mendes and the most impressive Jose’ Aldo.

He is now ranked #1 in the featherweight division and has truly earnt his title chance. This would be his chance to dethrone Max Holloway (or Frankie Edgar *UFC 240*) and achieve his ultimate potential.

Fallen short of their potential

For this category I am going to look back on a fighter that had amazing hype behind him to do well but has fallen short of achieving his potential in one way or another.

Darren Till

Darren Till, has there ever been more of hype behind a fighter than till? From the boss Dana White to the MMA community collectively, the expectations for Till reached an all-time high.

Till made a huge impact in the UFC for both his mouth and his skills inside the octagon, defeating 3 in the UFC and drawing 1 fight, earning his shot against a veteran in the sport, Cowboy Cerrone. Till went into this fight as a huge underdog but not in his head and it showed in the octagon as he won in amazing style, finishing Cowboy in the very first round with a flurry of elbows and punches.

This led on to a headline event for the first time ever in Liverpool, England that further cemented the expectations and hype behind him. This is where it gets tricky, after a very close fight with Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson that Darren won by decision, he got his title shot.

It is worth noting though that even Till himself after the Thompson fight said that he did not deserve the shot, maybe because he felt he wasn’t ready for it.

Going into the fight against Tyron Woodley it was evident that the fans heavily backed Till to get the win but this would not ring true as Woodley dominated the fight and finished Till with a D’arce choke in the 2nd round.

This was a wake-up call for Till as it was his first loss in his professional career, maybe him saying he didn’t deserve the title shot was for good reason.

Till then went on to fight Jorge Masvidal in London, England where he was the huge favourite with not many people in the MMA community giving much of a chance to Masvidal. This would again prove too much for Till as he lost the fight via KO in the 2nd round.

Reached their potential

In this category we are going to look at a fighter that had all the hype from both the MMA Community and the UFC as an organisation and achieved the goal they set out to do.

Kamaru Usman

When you think of fighters that have come out of nowhere and set a division alight, look no further than Kamaru Usman. He is currently sat at 10-0 in the UFC with incredible wins over the likes of Leon Edwards, Demian Maia, Rafael dos Anjos and most recently the former champion Tyron Woodley.

Usman shocked the world when he put on an absolute masterclass against Tyron Woodley and won the UFC welterweight title. He also won in a way of which nobody would’ve expected, by dominating Woodley’s area of expertise. Simply out-grappling and out-wrestling him in every single round.

Many commentators and media have spoken highly of Usman for several years, even before his UFC career had begun. So, what made him become the huge star he now is? In simple terms, his ability. He has always shown that he has an outstanding arsenal when it comes to fighting his opponents, he mastered many of the fighting styles that he could to enhance his chances at becoming champion.

Usman may have flown under the radar for some time with many fight fans, but nobody can deny his success and his huge achievement.

What’s next for Usman now that he has reached his potential? Only time will tell but I can only imagine that he will be the favourite in 9/10 bouts that he is involved in going forward and with good reason.