# Alexander Karelin.. what if?



## Sterl (Jul 26, 2009)

K so I know I could get neg repped for this, but I decided to have a what if thread anyway. Alexander Karelin, probably the best wrestler of all time. He's a big mean russian and has won tons of gold medals in greco roman wrestling against top wrestling competition all over the world. If this guy ever decided to get into MMA how good could he do? He is probably one of the strongest guys around to, stronger than most if not all UFC heavyweights besides maybe Lesnar or Carwin. He is old now I think early 40's and retired from wrestling since 2000 but If he started training again I think this guy could really be a legit fighter. Thoughts?


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## Guy (Feb 17, 2008)

Neg rep? Hell, I'm gonna pos rep you.

Karelin was the perfect athlete. He was big, extremely strong, agile as a cat, had great conditioning, and was always calm and collected. He was throwing Olympic-calibour wrestlers around like they were teddy bears. The "Karelin lift" made him one of the most feared athletes in Olympic history.

If he took up MMA he would be a Fedor type of fighter. He performed ***** and Judo and was already a fabulous wrestler to begin with. He was also flexible and could do the splits. He was a fast learner and his striking could've been up there with the greats. This man had it all.


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## Fedornumber1! (Jun 18, 2008)

I would have a differnt screenname


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## joshua7789 (Apr 25, 2009)

Whatever happened to Rulon Gardners mma career? Anyway, i agree that the dude could have been a beast in mma. The insane level of wrestling with his insane dedication and athleticism, the dude would have been unstoppable once he gained some mma knowlege. How old is he now?


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## Fedornumber1! (Jun 18, 2008)

like42


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## TERMINATOR (Jul 6, 2008)

All I can say is the dudes a fricken beast


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## Satori (Sep 18, 2008)

He did try MMA back in 1999 vs Akira Maeda




> When asked about himself returning to MMA Karelin said: “One time is enough” (vs. Akira Maeda in 1999).



Source:

http://nightmareofbattle.wordpress.com/2009/01/30/karelin-to-send-assassins-to-sengoku/


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## Chileandude (Jan 17, 2008)

Satori said:


> He did try MMA back in 1999 vs Akira Maeda
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Wiki says the fight was worked though.


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## Couchwarrior (Jul 13, 2007)

I don't know how he has been aging lately, but it would probably be too late for him to take up MMA now. But if he had started training MMA back in his prime, it's possible that he could have been one of the best.


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## Terror Kovenant (Nov 16, 2008)

If Fedor is the Last Emperor, then Karelin would definitely be the First Emperor. If Karelin had dedicated his time to learning MMA he would have absolutely dominated.


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## mtt_c (Jun 15, 2008)

It would be the 2nd coming of the Cold War and...

he would [email protected]#$ dudes up.


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## DJ Syko (Jan 6, 2008)

no question this guy would of been one of the best and even now could make an impression on the HW division.


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