MMA Forum

I think its easy to say Royce Gracie who I have a huge amount of respect for but I just don't feel the competition he had back then was as strong or well-rounded as it is today. He would definitely be in my top 3 though.

My choice would be Fedor Emelianenko.

I agree, Royce Gracie is a legend without doubt but being that the sport has massively grown (and still growing) I think the quality of fighters that are around today are much higher than in his days!

Very difficult to choose.

Royce Gracie would have to be considered but then as mentioned, whether he could compete with the all round abilities of the modern generation of fighters is up for debate.

Also it should be mentioned that he was not the best of the Gracie fighters at the time of the first UFC, he was chosen as his smaller size would better display the effectiveness of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.

Fedors record speaks for itself, but like many I feel he needs to do a little bit more to justify his reputation. I would like to see him in the cage/octagon (not necessarily in the UFC, although preferred) as I believe he has been playing it safe and is not comfortable in the closed environment it provides.

BJ Penn is amongst the most talented fighters in MMA history, but his ego affects his performances and diminishes his standing.

I would say Randy Couture perhaps over-achieved so deserves a lot of recognition, but I believe he sometimes came to the octagon knowing he was beat even when history proved he was capable of winning, something Royce for example would never do.

Had Sakuraba fought everyone else with the conviction he did the Gracie's he would be a contender, however he has too many losses on his record to be considered, although most were against highly rated opponents.

There a others as well, but I need to come to some kind of decision, so here it is...

Genki Sudo, his record may not show it, but I think if he placed more emphasis on fighting and less on entertaining he would have been close to unbeatable.

...but then I probably wouldn't be such a big fan!

This is a debate that could go on for ever, with dozens of fighters worthy of consideration and this is what I love about the sport. Boxing has been prevelant for over 100 years and only half a dozen or so fighters are generally debated, MMA in such a short time has so many fighters all with compelling arguments to back up such claims.

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Tbh I don't know who to choose. Each one has their strengths and weaknesses. I'm going to hold off making a decision for now and keep thinking.

Vanderlai For Me But Back In His K1 Days Not When He Came Ufc