ESPY's 2009 "Best Fighter" award.

I would have thought Machida due to beating the two undefeated fighters and gaining the title, as well as never losing would have been a higher achievement than Pacquaio in a true sense.

Pacquaio only beat Hatton (beaten prior) and DLH (beaten prior)

 

goes to show that undefeated doesn't mean everything

 

Undefeated in boxing doesn't

Undefeated in MMA where you're fighting the best competitors on offer due to one match maker who puts the fights together, does.

 

no, it still doesn't.

Case in point, GSP and Fedor

 

I have to say its a coinflip between GSP and Pacman, because both have crushed their opposition.

 

no surprise hes the most exiciting fighter right now

 

This includes achievements during 2008 right?

Manny has a strong case, winning at 4 weights and along the way getting belts in 3 weights and 2 lineal championships. Plus the dominant fashion of his past 3 wins bolsters his weight jumping moves.

Diaz may not have been the strongest of belt holders but he was a solid fighter. Oscar may have been a shell of himself but you have to admit, Oscar being weight drained was only part of it, and you can't ignore that Manny's performance was spectacular.

In the end, Manny pretty much made history in a span of a little more than a year in a sport that's been around long enough to make sure that making history is a very hard feat to do.

Machida's claim to fame is that he won in the 1st ever UFC championship fight between undefeated fighters. A great achievement no doubt, but UFC is a relatively young sport and there's no way what he did compares to what Manny did.

 

GSP weighs 100lbs less than Fedor.

Fedor aside, the best fighters are now in the UFC, Fedor is the only exception to that rule but I can guarantee you that he will fight someone like Lesnar within the next 2 years.

 

What does GSP weighing less than Fedor have to do with anything?

His point was that GSP and Fedor are probably the 2 best P4P MMA fighters and they don't have undefeated records. So being undefeated isn't everything because the 2 best MMA fighters are not undefeated.

 

GSP avenged his defeats, Fedor did too.

How many boxers in todays age with defeats have avenged them all?

 

Considering that MMA in general is better structured than boxing then it's much easier to get rematches. And this still doesn't prove that having an undefeated record is all that important.

Anyway, Manny only has 1 significant loss in his resume and he avenged it. Twice. If you're going to pull out his losses early in career, then you are just reaching.

 

Manny would have, but his other defeats were to nobodies

 

Exactly what I'm saying

UFC is better structured and ensures the best athletes available fight the best athletes available. Hence why GSP has faced Hughes, Alves, Penn, Fitch, Kosheck, Sherk, Trigg, Parisyan, etc.

Therefore, being undefeated through guys like Rashad Evans, Thiago Silva, Tito Ortiz, BJ Penn, Rich Franklin, etc - is damn impressive for a guy like Machida.

When you take him having beaten Ortiz, Silva and Evans, claiming the title against Evans in the time that the "Best Fighter" was judged, I think he deserved the title over Manny

Who beat a very recently beaten pair of fighters in ODLH and Hatton.

 

if it was going to be a UFC fighter then GSP deserved the nod