Back before it was all mixed up, I would have liked to have seen a Top World Class Boxer (ex. anyone in the top 15-20), a world Class wrestler (ex. Mark Coleman), world class jiu jitsu (ex. Royce Gracie), world class Karate (Fred Ettish) (just to prove the point to the karate heads), world Class judo, world class kickboxer (ex. Maurice Smith), world class Muay Thai, and a street fighter the likes of Tank Abbott, Kimbo, ect. Also, you could mix and match for shoot fighters like Ken Shamrock, or Vale Tudo fighters like Marco Ruas. Would have made for the most interesting match-ups. Then again, it would have been just about impossible to get and pay for world class guys from each sport, all coming together for an organization that is going out on a limb to begin with. I think that the UFC did great with what they had to offer at the time.
Working within the budget constraints... Rickson Gracie (the Gracies wanted to do this anyway) Ken Shamrock (top shootfighter in the world at the time) Pat Smith (won the Sabaki challenge, the most legitimate Kyokushin-style tournament in America) Minoki Ichihara (#1 Daido Juku guy in the world at the time--mixed Kyokushin & Judo) Emanuel Yarbrough (amateur world Sumo champion) Maurice Smith (for reasons already mentioned; I might also shoot for a Rajadamnern/Lumpinee Thai champion) Dan Severn (legitimate wrestler) Some guy from the heavyweight boxing top 20 at the time
With 16 guys we would have a bit more room to maneuver: Karate Pat Smith (Sabaki winner) Minoki Ichihara (#1 in the world Daido Juku) Tomio Imamura (#1 in kumite in the 1992 Shotokan world cup) Jujitsu and Brazilian Jiujitsu Rickson Gracie (Gracie family champion) Remco Pardoel (European Jujitsu champion) Boxing Somebody in the heavyweight top 20 Professional (Japanese) "Shoot" Wrestling Ken Shamrock (shootfighting, technically) Bart Vale (obscure now, but rather important then) Sumo Emanuel Yarbrough (amateur Sumo champion) Gongfu Pick up a Shaolin monk...there must have been one of 'em somewhere. :yep Kickboxing/Muay Thai Lumpinee/Rajadamnern champion (Muay Thai--should come rather cheaply) Maurice Smith (various championships) Judo/SAMBO Oleg Taktarov (Sambo champ of some sort) Ninjutsu Steve Jennum (because you HAVE to have a Ninja) Mixed/Hybrid Arts Marco Ruas (Ruas Vale Tudo) Wrestling Dan Severn
