Dan was unquestionably the best welterweight in PRIDE. Granted he never had the kind of runs Fedor or may be Nog had but he was a very dominant Welterweight (185lbs). Likewise the same is true of Sakuraba and Hughes. Hughes was thought of once as unbeatable. Remember he's a '9 time UFC champion'.... May be im thinking more in terms of their significance at the time as opposed to their over all ability.
Yes I know, you know Im a big fan of these guys My point was the elite were capable of winning fights on both the ground and the feet. You really cant say that about Saku and Matt
I don't think that should be the criteria for elite though. Nog was never known for winning fights on his feet or knocking guys out. He was somewhat of a good boxer as was his brother who fought for Brazil but he used his striking primarily to get his opponents to the mat in his guard. For me elite fighters have to be ones that were completely dominant over significant opponents during their era. For me both Sakurab and Hughes (begrudgingly ... dam i loved it when GSP handed him his ass ) fit that category.
Well Im not going to argue with Nog not being on the Elite list because....well he's Nog Maybe because they are not in the elite section it may seem a little harsh, because they certainly are. But in terms of this thread's rankings, if you left the distinctions between ATG and Elite out of it ans just did a straight list i.e. best at the top and work down from there, it wouldnt look to dissimilar to what Popkins posted
I dont agree. Nog should be on tier 2, loss to dan henderson early in his career, two dominating losses to fedor, and two razor thin decisions with Barnett(one being a loss). he should be on tier two. despite his great resume he would not have been far and away the best hw if their was no fedor. (I could see nog losing in a rematch with cro-cop, and a rubber match with Barnett) Chuck liddell should be in tier 2. Most importantly where the **** is Gomi:yikes you would really place Gomi lower than Rampage and Couture??? Face it your a Gomi hater!!!he should be in tier three goddamnit!!! :fire:fire:fire Skillwise Shogun should be in tier 2 but in fact its probably fair to place him in #3 (considering his setbacks)
No. It is subjective. I base it on what it says on paper, even if I may disagree with it. Some guys will have longevity ala Hopkins, others a great peak, others based on H2H ala Jones. Same principles for MMA.
But there are only 4 guys in tier 1, so Dan could conceivably be 5th on my list, or at worst 9th seeing as there's 5 guys in tier 2 (same goes for Wand, Hughes and Saku).
For me, Nog's resume makes him a tier 1 fighter. Resume is the single most important factor. I disagree that Chuck should be in tier 2. Great fighter, but his obliterations to Randy (once) and Rampage (twice) stick in my mind. Nah, I don't rate Gomi's resume very highly. I do not believe he deserves to be ranked higher than Rampage or Randy. Agree on Rua though. Hopefully he makes a late career charge and takes his rightful place in tier 2 or possibly even 1, he has the ability.
Ability-wise, Penn is Tier One. Overall, I don't think he can be on the same level as guys like Fedor and GSP who did not incur so many losses through their prime years. I think it's a fair p-o-v though mate, Penn is the greatest ever in 1 of the big 5 divisions, so of course it's valid to have him in the top bracket.