If Brock Lesnar can become a UFC champion, then what LEGENDS like Alexander Karelin and Douillet would?

That is an awesome picture LOL fedor as a terminator, now THAT is scary

I think Karelin would have a better transition to MMA than Lesnar. While Lesnar is a physical freak of nature, he didn’t compete at the same level of wrestling that Karelin did.

Olympic competition > NCAA competition

While just about ANY form of wrestling is good for MMA, I think that Greco-Roman wrestling (Karelin’s style) is better suited for it. Controlling upper body tie ups and clinching are vital for success in MMA, and at one point in time (a LONG point in time, actually) Karelin was the best on the planet at it.

The man was a true beast.

Uhm…how much do you really know about wrestling, judo, and MMA? You may vote down my response but you have no idea what you are talking about. To call a National Junior College Champion and NCAA Division 1 champ, a NCAA Division 2 champ, and a 3x olympic alternate a “b, c, or d Wrestler” not only shows you don’t really have a clue what you are talking about but that you are indeed trying to insult them. How can you call Lesnar and Carwain failures at Olympic wrestling when they never even tried out?

Besides just because someone is a Gold Medalist at the Olympics means nothing in a sport that combines a number of different aspects. Olympic caliber athletes have been coming into MMA since nearly the beginning of the sport with mixed results of success.

Here is a little history lesson:
Kevin Jackson – Gold medal wrestling – 4-2 in MMA. After losing to Frank Shamrock and Jerry Bolander he was cut by the UFC and only ever had 1 more fight in his career on a regional show

Townsend Saunders – Silver medal wrestling – 0-2 in MMA. Gave up after not finding success in the new sport

Kenny Monday – Gold medal wrestling – 1-0 in MMA. Only ever had 1 fight on a regional circuit and said later the sport wasn’t for him

Mark Schultz – Gold medal wrestling – 1-1 in MMA. Tried the sport on a whim when he was cornering a fighter in the UFC and another fighter pulled out. Left the sport to coach wrestling

Rulon Gardner – Gold & Bronze medals wrestling – 1-0 in MMA. Beat Yoshida in an extremely boring fight. Lost a toe to frostbite and was forced to retire from the sport

Karam Gaber Ibrahim – Gold medal wrestling – 0-1 in MMA. An absolute beast at wrestling and a legend in the sport was KO’ed in 1 minute in 7 seconds in MMA.

Ray Mercer – Gold medal boxing – 1-1 in MMA.

Hidehiko Yoshida – Gold medal judo – 8-7-1 in MMA. A legend in Japan but a completely average MMA fighter

Makoto Takimoto – Gold medal judo. 6-5 in MMA.

Pawel Nastula – Gold medal judo. 1-4 in MMA. One of the best judaka’s ever even winning over 300 straight fights in a 3 year span but completely destroyed in MMA

Matt Lindland – Silver medal wrestling. 21-6 in MMA. Lindland is by far the most successful Olympic medal winner but even he has been unable to win a belt in MMA.

This doesn’t include the young guns pouring into the sport (Henry Cejundo, Daniel Cormier, Ben Arsken, etc) but a medal in another sport means absolutely nothing in MMA.

As for how Alexander Karelin would do in MMA…he was offered a fight and declined instead opting for a pro-wrestling match with a predetermined outcome in the Rings promotion back in 1999. That is the real truth!

edit/addition: Are you really this ignorant? First you claim that Lesnar/Carwain were “failures” because they didn’t compete in the Olympics…but they never even tried! It is like claiming John Elway was a failure at baseball because he chose the NFL instead. Secondly, your main arguement was those who are “failures” at wrestling were champions in MMA so those that are champions at wrestling should easily dominate MMA…I again proved you are full of crap. And now you want to compare the professional training of Russian Olympians to the American system for selecting athletes?