Crocop by a distance for me. I never saw anything special against Rampage. His personality definite exceeds his MMA skills and problem with that is I think his gimmick is a bit tired and corny.
crocops striking was lightyears ahead of jacksons.. you could see crocop developing his mma as he went along following the transition from pride,i rate him as a better mma fighter full stop.
Considering their prime it has to be Crocop. The competition Crocop dominated was much more impressive than Rampage. It is because Fedor hold top spot that no one else have a chance to be the best in HW. Longevity-wise then it probably goes to Rampage, since Crocop made a huge dive in his run in the UFC and Rampage had some success in the transition. Overall Crocop has a more impressive career imo.
impressive wins over prime barnett,coleman and wandy... jackson's pretty much peaked post pride and struggled with jardine lost to forrest griffin,gift decision against lindland beat henderson and lidell,its all subjective but the way in which crocop despatched guys like the above mentioned sways it for me..
The fact remains though, Rampage was the undisputed linear champion at 205 and was the first to consolidate the Pride and UFC belts.
There was another reason besides Fedor that Cro Cop wasn't ranked #1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant%C3%B4nio_Rodrigo_Nogueira
I missed too much of PRIDE's heyday to have a solid firsthand opinion here. They seem tough to split. I'd also LOVE to see the two mix it up head to head. :think
Cro Cop striking is world class, he is probablly the WH best boxer and Muay Thai fighter ever. The guy has some serious skills. Rampage is very good but Cro Cop at his peak was a nightmare and at 1 time truly the most feared fighter.
CC. When all is said and done CC's name will be mentioned up there with Fedor and Big Nog. When talking about the greatest fighters at 205 Rampage will postively get an honourable mention but i dont think he was as clinical as a prime CC despite having more longevity and consistency since leaving PRIDE.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjHxQl-KwEs"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjHxQl-KwEs[/ame] Cro cops high kick highlight vids are enough to make anyone cringe. He was a powerhouse in his prime...
Cro-Cop overall as fighting competively in the K-1 is extremely prestigious. He had mixed results in MMA, but had he gotten into it earlier....
Cro-Cop because he was scary at his peak when he just brutalized really good fighters and showed no emotion while doing it.
Depends on how you weight criteria.. We can say a lot about Rampage having a longer career, but really it seems he peaked late in his career. Less Panache in his game in the recent years, where early he would take some risk and go for more crazy slams. He evolved very well. Crocop just seemed to lose fire. He used to show up and seriously be in there to fight.. Remember the first time him and Wand went at it? Remember that staredown? Crocops left leg, the single most dangerous thing MMA has ever seen, or will see for a long, long time. Crocop, just had a violent and sudden style. Nothing quite like it since. Probably the most exciting fighter to watch in the history of MMA. Rampage really is dangeorus as well, more durable and a more sustained career.. Impossible to really say who is better imo. They are both great in their own right.