Sherdog’s Top 10: Biggest Underachievers

9. Cole Konrad

This is a great example of the different criteria that can be used for such lists. By my criteria, Konrad isn't an underachiever. He won all nine of his MMA fights in dominant fashion, including capturing the Bellator MMA heavyweight championship and defending it. He could hardly have improved on that. And yet, if one considers what he could have been had he not retired at age 28, he is a no-brainer inclusion. The common comparison of Konrad to training partner Brock Lesnar, a fellow University of Minnesota NCAA wrestling champion, likely underestimated Konrad's talent. Konrad was a significantly better amateur wrestler, winning two NCAA championships to Lesnar’s one, decisively defeating an all-time great wrestler in Steve Mocco (who would also go on to be significant in MMA, though mostly as American Top Team's head wrestling coach) multiple times, and enjoying significant international success. He was also taller than Lesnar at 6 feet, 5 inches, and much younger when he entered MMA, all without the wear and tear on his body from years of pro wrestling. Even Lesnar himself and their mutual coaches admit that Konrad was the strongest guy in the room during their practice sessions. Though Konrad's heart was clearly never into MMA, he still showed solid improvement over his two-and-a-half-year pro career, developing a nice submission game, some respectable striking, and showing good energy management and cardio, not gassing out in the second or third round like so many other large wrestlers.

If Konrad had been passionate about MMA, he likely wouldn't have retired, and would have an excellent chance of going down as one of the greatest heavyweights ever. In that sense, he can certainly be seen as an underachiever, and frankly, a far bigger one—in both senses of the word—than many of the names ahead of him. All that being said, retiring young may have been the correct choice for Konrad from a life perspective, as he appears very happy and fulfilled with no regrets.

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