Does Big Nog have a strong case for #2 p4p of all-time?

The Sapp win was huge at the time, especially considering how the fight went.

 

Negative. At the time it was a VERY significant win as Sapp was the favourite. He was also coming off the back of a win in the K-1 over legend Ernesto Hoost.

 

Well no the K-1 stuff happened after but no doubt Sapp was an absolute monster at that point and those fights prove it. What he lacked in skill he made up for in size and strength. He outweighed Nog by 100 pounds when they fought! Nog was a huge underdog going into that fight as well. To act like Sapp isn't one of Nog's most significant wins is ignorant.

 

Hmm you may be right. Although i do recall them being around the same time frame.
Anyway Sapp pile drived Nog onto his head. At that point i thought the fight was over! The difference in size and strength at that time was alarming.

 

As Seanbaby from cracked said "this was not so much a matchup between top contenders as it was a field test of jiu jitsu against wild animals".

 

Based on his resume yes definitely. But he's way past his prime. But he had a very impressive career for sure

 

Couture is nowhere near that level. He has accomplished great things, and has some great victories, but he also has had alot of losses and losses have come throughout his career. You can argue when his true prime is, being his physical prime or his mental prime (later in his career) but the truth is he lost during both.

He is very overrated because he has a huge heart and is determined and he's likeable and respectable, but he has been placed on levels he never deserved. when he beat Sylvia and Gonzaga it was viewed upon by some to be GREAT wins! Really? Tim Syvia and Gab Gonzaga??? He got knocked out twice by Liddel, lost to Nog, Lesnar, Barnett and Ricco. His loss to Vitor is obviously forgotten because it was a cut and he avenged it asap. But #2 p4p all time? That is a joke. #2 Heavyweight? As big of a joke to think!

 

Couture and overrated don't belong in the same sentence. You overrate your own opinion if you think that's true. Couture makes a strong case for third greatest heavyweight of all time and second greatest P4P fighter for the very way he has gone up and down the scale facing and beating top competition.

Don't downplay history and rewrite facts. Randy Couture's wins at heavyweight were significant because he was the one to dethrone Tim Sylvia and take the title from him when no one else could and he then crushed Gonzaga who had just demolished Crocop who was entering the UFC riding high after just winning an open weight grand prix tournament in Pride that boasted a better lineup than the one Strikeforce is putting on this year.

Crocop lost to Gonzaga who lost to Couture who then left the UFC to challenge Fedor! Fedor never left M1 to challenge Couture. At that point in their careers, Fedor lost his number one ranking by refusing to fight Couture and consigned himself to fighting lower tiered heavyweights for the rest of his career whereas Couture went back to the UFC to face the cream of the rising crop of heavyweights which is something Fedor hadn't even attempted since his fight with Crocop in 2005.

If Fedor and Couture had fought and Couture had beaten him which I know he would have- then we wouldn't even be having this conversation. But Fedor chose the easy road.

There you go. #2 p4p of all time. Randy Couture. Now run and tell that. bbb

 

At the time it was seen as very significant because Sapp was crushing people and as stated this was around teh same time he had beaten Ernesto Hoost who is roundly considered the greatest K1 champion of all time. IN hindsight we've seen how Sapp's career has panned out and the event loses it's significance not unlike Marvelous Marvin hagler's destruction of at the time unbeaten John The Beast Mugabi. Mugabi was never the same after the Hagler fight but going into it he was unbeaten having knocked out every one of his opponents. Like Hagler, Nogueira was the first to defeat and deflate Bob Sapp in a titanic encounter.

 

Nog's best victory is against Crocop imo...One of the best come back in mma history.

 

Serious question. How long have you been watching MMA?