Besides gaming, one of my hobbies the last 15 years has been watching MMA. When I was a kid I loved WWF/WCW... til i accpted that it was fake. However years later I discoverd Pride Fighting Championships. A japan based MMA org that was similar to teh WWF in style but the fights were real. Since then I have been hooked.
Over the years I have watched so many brilliant fighters come and go. A few however seem immortals in my mind as they are the fighters I really liked. So here is my person top five. (not the GOATS, who I enjoyed watching fight)
1. Fedor Emelianenko - Dude was ice cold and respectful, despite being the baddest man on the planet for near a decade. Fighters like him come once in a lifetime. Seriously name another HW that has been anywhere near as dominant for that length... its not happening again any time soon. And he wasnt a Floyd Maywether fighter where he plays it safe and uses his bread and butter every fight. Fedor came in and beat opponents using their strengths against them. Some in clear dominations. Think about this, the top fighter in the world... is a medium sized and well spoken guy? That doesnt compute these days. ANd as crazy as it is, he is still fighting. The man is a fighter who will be remembered for decades.
2. Kazushi Sakuraba - The actual Pro Wrestler who came to MMA hand hin hat... and whooped some ass! This man was such a super athlete that he was able to school technicians based solely on his athleticism and reflexes. And during that success he exhibited a flare that was rarely seen in that day. Pride put the man through the grinder with matches he had no business fight, like against Cro Cop of Wandy. Despite that abuse the guy carried on and grave us such memorable fight as the embarrassing of Royce Gracie for ~ an hour. Also another super nice guy who didnt do false bravado.
3. Cro Cop - WHen this guy came on the scene it was like death himself had decided to try MMA. Cro Cop was fast, powerful, accurate and lethal. Took him a couple mixed rules matches to sort out his sprawl, but once he did he was a phenom to watch. Sure he did have that KO set back at the hands of Randleman, but beyond that his Pride run was as storied as they come. All the way up to losing (IMO) the greatest MMA fight of all time to Fedor. SO many thought Cro Cop was going to send Fedor to the cemetery with his left high kick and he couldnt do it. But its ok, he went on to win a handful more world championships. For most of his career he was an arrogant prick, but he could back up every word.
4. The Axe Muderer - Wanderlei Silva - Arguably the most entertaining fighter this side of Crazy Horse. Wand brought the pain with his powerful (and wild) hooks and his near fatal knees. He came to Pride and made it HIS home and ruled his weight class with a ruthless attitude. He nearly killed Sakuraba and fought CroCop to a draw (the first time). The man was an absolute brawler and threw with reckless abandonment and it was mesmerizing. Also his entrance music was Sand Storm! His KO to Rampage is a classic example of someone being destroyed with knees in the Thai clinch. Fucking brutal!
5. GSP - Dude was such a class act. He beat everyone they threw at him... and was a nice guy about it. The only flaw he ever displayed was that lack of killer instinct. He never tried/wanted to hurt anyone. This led to stubborn people (hardy) not tapping when locked dead to rights knowing GSP wont break anything. Probably the most dominant fighter in UFC history and maybe the nicest.
Who are yalls favorite five fighters?
Over the years I have watched so many brilliant fighters come and go. A few however seem immortals in my mind as they are the fighters I really liked. So here is my person top five. (not the GOATS, who I enjoyed watching fight)
1. Fedor Emelianenko - Dude was ice cold and respectful, despite being the baddest man on the planet for near a decade. Fighters like him come once in a lifetime. Seriously name another HW that has been anywhere near as dominant for that length... its not happening again any time soon. And he wasnt a Floyd Maywether fighter where he plays it safe and uses his bread and butter every fight. Fedor came in and beat opponents using their strengths against them. Some in clear dominations. Think about this, the top fighter in the world... is a medium sized and well spoken guy? That doesnt compute these days. ANd as crazy as it is, he is still fighting. The man is a fighter who will be remembered for decades.
2. Kazushi Sakuraba - The actual Pro Wrestler who came to MMA hand hin hat... and whooped some ass! This man was such a super athlete that he was able to school technicians based solely on his athleticism and reflexes. And during that success he exhibited a flare that was rarely seen in that day. Pride put the man through the grinder with matches he had no business fight, like against Cro Cop of Wandy. Despite that abuse the guy carried on and grave us such memorable fight as the embarrassing of Royce Gracie for ~ an hour. Also another super nice guy who didnt do false bravado.
3. Cro Cop - WHen this guy came on the scene it was like death himself had decided to try MMA. Cro Cop was fast, powerful, accurate and lethal. Took him a couple mixed rules matches to sort out his sprawl, but once he did he was a phenom to watch. Sure he did have that KO set back at the hands of Randleman, but beyond that his Pride run was as storied as they come. All the way up to losing (IMO) the greatest MMA fight of all time to Fedor. SO many thought Cro Cop was going to send Fedor to the cemetery with his left high kick and he couldnt do it. But its ok, he went on to win a handful more world championships. For most of his career he was an arrogant prick, but he could back up every word.
4. The Axe Muderer - Wanderlei Silva - Arguably the most entertaining fighter this side of Crazy Horse. Wand brought the pain with his powerful (and wild) hooks and his near fatal knees. He came to Pride and made it HIS home and ruled his weight class with a ruthless attitude. He nearly killed Sakuraba and fought CroCop to a draw (the first time). The man was an absolute brawler and threw with reckless abandonment and it was mesmerizing. Also his entrance music was Sand Storm! His KO to Rampage is a classic example of someone being destroyed with knees in the Thai clinch. Fucking brutal!
5. GSP - Dude was such a class act. He beat everyone they threw at him... and was a nice guy about it. The only flaw he ever displayed was that lack of killer instinct. He never tried/wanted to hurt anyone. This led to stubborn people (hardy) not tapping when locked dead to rights knowing GSP wont break anything. Probably the most dominant fighter in UFC history and maybe the nicest.
Who are yalls favorite five fighters?
Carlos Newton, Josh Barnett, Chuck Liddell, Igor Vovchanchyn, Don Frye
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