Randy Couture - Tim Sylvia because it was another classic case of everyone doubting him and him proving them wrong in a big way and it was even more so special this time coming out of retirement off a KO loss in a weight class lower to win a World Championship a few months shy of 44. Nick Diaz - Had classics with Diego,Karo and Lawler but what else do I need to say besides Gomi-Diaz Feb 2007 ? Dan Henderson - Gotta love his win over Wanderlei Silva because I was one of few who predicted him to KTFO out of Silva Rich Franklin - I always enjoyed the Ken Shamrock fight because I felt like I seen the tourch passed. Ken gave Rich a tough fight nearly submitting him with the Ankle Lock but Rich rebounded and bounced Kens head all over the mat and has went on to become one the best Middleweights in MMA history. BJ Penn - Matt Hughes 1 because the rematch was won by Hughes and I cant stand him. Watching what BJ was able to do to Matt in just 1 round coming up from Lightweight was insane taking him down,rocking him with a right hand on the ground then passing and submitting him with a RNC. Jens Pulver - Although theres plenty of great Jens fights where he nearly kills his opponet with a lefthanded shot ive never seen a better Jens Pulver then his crazy standup war with Hayato Sakurai. Chris Leben - Mike Swick and I say that because its vintage Chris Leben the 1st time atleast that ive seen of many times when Leben was getting tagged and stunned only to land a brutal lefthook and KO his opponet cold Swick was just the first in a list of Mike Swick,Jorge Rivera,Terry Martin and Jorge Santiago. Vitor Belfort - Wanderlei Silva obviously it was one of the wildest and most entertaining KOs u could ever see. Tito Ortiz - 1st Ken Shamrock fight at the time it was pretty ****ing huge and there was such a energy in the fight with both guys introductions and the hectic first 2 minutes then you watch Tito just beat up Ken and show him just how different 2002 was to 1995. Renzo Gracie - The Frank Shamrock win although the illegal knees ending the fight by DQ sucked it was nice to see Renzo take Frank down at will and pass his guard easily.
Rampage - Silva II, Vovchanchyn, Arona, Liddell I, Randleman Jens Pulver - Palling, Sakurai, Gomi, Penn I and II Fedor - Nog I, Herring, Cro Cop, Goodridge, Randleman Sergei Kharitonov - Schilt, Ninja, Rizzo Cro Cop - Hunt, Fedor, Herring, Coleman, Silva II, Nogueira Coleman - Goes, Cro Cop, Frye I Sakurai - Hansen, Pulver Hunt - Nishijima, Cro Cop, Kohsaka, Silva Fujita - Thompson, Sapp, Silva Manhoef - Nishijima, Cyborg, Akiyama
Royce Gracie: Choked out the larger and well rounded fighter Ken Shamrock in the first ever UFC. Renzo Gracie: His match against Russian Sambo expert Oleg Takrarov was an early superfight of the MMA world. Renzo dispatched Oleg with a well placed up kick followed up by a laser quick knee on below allowing him to launch a vicious uppercut to bust Oleg's face open and put his lights out. Rickson Gracie: Rickson was too far ahead of the nascent world of worldwide MMA in the mid-Ninties - so he never really faced an opponent that could test him. My favorite match would have to be a jujutsu tournament match against Rigan Machado that contained more sweeps, reversals and counters than an entire set of jujutsu "how-to" videos. Only available on bootleg copies - but it floats around on Youtube from time to time. Eric Paulson: His extreme fighting 3 match against Matt Hume was a clinic on how to fight from the clinch. Both men showed how to fight with knees, elbows, uppercuts and the full range of combat from the plum. Paulson lost due to TKO by cut - but it was a strong showing that I felt like he was winning. Maurice Smith:The first kickboxing champion to make the successful transition into MMA. His KO win against the overly muscled Conan Silvera was a clinic in takedown defense, recovery, and how to pick apart an opponent from a distance. Anderson Silva: His two destructions of Rich Franklin showed that not only is this man the champion of his division - but he might be in a class by himself. Randy Couture: His signature wins came against fighters he was never supposed to beat: Belfort, Liddell, Ortiz, and Silva. Couture showed that a fighter can be well rounded - even if they are not excellent strikers or submission specialists - but instead play to their own strengths. Couture possesses possibly the most advanced ring intelligence of any MMA fighter ever. Wanderlai Silva: He dismantled Shamrock protege Guy Metzger in a classic stand up battle in his Pride debut. Rampage Jackson: Titanic struggles against Wanderlai Silva rank as all time great MMA bouts. Made every Pride highlight reel with his classic slam KO of Ricardo Arona. GSP - His wins over Matt Hughes were classic beatdowns. He showed that versatility goes a long way in the octagon. Aside from Anderson Silva, GSP is the most well rounded fighter of MMA.
1. MAURICIO "SHOGUN" RUA - fights against Rampage, Ricardo Arona and Rogerio Noguiera 2. FEDOR EMELIANENKO - fights against Hunt, Fujita and recent fight against Choi 3. BJ PENN - fights against Caol Uno, Gomi and Matt Hughes 4. WANDERLEI SILVA - fights against Sakuraba, Rampage and Mezger 5. MIRKO CRO COP - fights against Igor Vovchanchyn, Aleksander Emelianenko and Barnett 6. CHUCK LIDDELL - fights against Rattlesnake Silva, Ortiz and Trilogy with Couture 7. RAMPAGE JACKSON - fights against Randleman, Arona and Liddell 8. KAZUSHI SAKURABA - fights with Gracies, Rampage and Randleman 9. ANDERSON SILVA - fights with Rich Franklin, Leben and Newton 10. GEORGE ST. PIERRE - fights against Matt Hughes, Trigg and Sherk Noteworthies: Nick Diaz vs Takanori Gomi Don Frye vs Yoshihiro Takayama Vitor Belfort vs Tank Abbott Ryo Chonan vs Anderson Silva Dan Henderson vs Wanderlei Silva
1. Josh Koscheck - Goulet 2. Frank Trigg - Misaki, Miller 3. Jason Miller - Lawler, Trigg, St. Pierre 4. Heath Herring - ERICKSON!!, Nakao 5. Randy Couture - Liddell 1, Gonzaga, Randleman 6. Quinton Jackson - Sakuraba, Liddell 2, Minowa 7. Dan Henderson - Wanderlei 2 8. Kazuyuki Fujita - Sapp, Fedor, thompson 9. Kevin Randleman - Crocop 1, fedor 10. Vitor Belfort - Wandy, tank, hess :firedevi: honorable mention - Gardner - yoshida
Yves Edwards- Berto, Josh Thomson, Hominick Hermes Franca- Fisher, Ruediger, Uno BJ Penn- Uno, Gomi, Hughes, Machida Nick Diaz- Gomi, Lawler, Fickett, Neer