#3 Travis Browne
At 6'7 Travis Browne is a behemoth of a man and a fighter who knows (knew?) how to utilise his range and movement. With one of the widest stances in the Heavyweight division, Browne relies heavily on his responsive footwork and quick hands. Ironically, the two attributes that have almost vanished from Browne's battery.
In the last few years, we observed Browne's strengths turn into liabilities in the form of rigid and slow movement along with predictable striking angles. But this was not always the case. Earlier in his career, Browne was a force to be reckoned with, boasting dominant finishes over the likes of Alistair Overeem and Josh Barnett.
As he trained with fellow Heavyweight elite and future foe Andrei Arlovski, and Light Heavyweight phenom Jon Jones, Browne showed no signs of stopping, until he faced Fabricio Werdum for the first time; against whom he was the heavy betting favourite.
Despite the odds stacked against Werdum, Browne was out struck by Werdum for nearly all five rounds and could only manage one knockdown in the entire fight as a somewhat substantial moment.
This was only a one-time incident though, and no conclusive evidence regarding Browne's training could be drawn from just one performance. Incidentally, Browne's had recently joined Glendale Fight Club, training under Edmond Tarverdyan alongside girlfriend Ronda Rousey.
The next string of fights, however, was laced with Browne doubting his own abilities as a striker, showing predictable movement, low accuracy of strikes and overall being a shadow of his former self.
Against Matt Mitrione, Browne managed to win with a fairly controversial decision by exhibiting collectively innumerable illegal strikes and continuing despite Mitrione's upheaval to the referee, which is reminiscent of Aldo kicking the Korean Zombie in the same shoulder he dislocated during the fight.
While it is unwise to stop before the referee tells you to, the act didn't particularly highlight Browne's abilities inside the Octagon, much less his character.
His career took even more of a downward spiral as Browne lost to Cain Valasquez via TKO in one of the most one-sided fights of his career. Although most expected Browne to pose a few problems to Valasquez, the Mexican’s sheer dominance caused a lot of questions on the state of the Heavyweight division and the lack of true contenders.
Browne then went on to lose one of the most controversial and odd fights that we have seen in a long time in his rematch against Fabricio Werdum. A fight in which his head coach Edmond Tarverdyan lost his temper and ended up getting kicked by Fabricio Werdum. Needless to say, he set a very bad example for his fighter and his own brand.
Conceivably, it would be wise to reconsider a move back to Jackson-Wink and save whatever is left of his unrealised potential.
