The Greatest Fighters of all Time
Last Saturday Fedor Emelianenko further cemented his position as the greatest heavyweight martial artist of all time. With a record of of 31 wins and arguably no losses he has been the consensus number 1 ranked heavyweight for over 6 years. In the scope of history there is really no other heavyweight that even comes close to his accomplishments. Even if he loses every future fight he partakes in he will be remembered as the greatest heavyweight ever. I struggle to even imagine what it would take for a fighter to overcome his legacy.
These facts made me start wondering about the rest of the weight classes. MMA as a sport is so new, it is in the unique position of having several of the greats still competing at a high level. We are truly witnessing the glory ages of the sport first hand. So I thought it would be fun to breakdown each weight class and make a case for that weight class's king.
Light Heavyweight: Despite his recent decline, I really feel like this one goes to Wanderlei Silva. He went unbeaten for over three years from August of 2000 all the way until New Years Eve of 2004 where he lost to a much larger heavyweight in Mark Hunt. He was at one point the face of fighting and the baddest man on the planet. Though you can bring up his lack of success in both his stints in the UFC, his accomplishments in Pride should be enough. With wins over Rampage Jackson, Dan Henderson, and Sakuraba his reign was greater than any fighter's ever in this weight class. His main competition are Chuck Liddell, Lyoto Machida, and Shogun. I feel his streak is slightly more impressive than Chuck's due mainly to the level of competition. Lyoto and Shogun's careers have really yet to fully blossom. In five years I fully expect Shogun's name to be listed here.
Middleweight: This is probably the easiest weight class of them all to crown a champion in. It is clearly Anderson Silva. His streak in the UFC is second to no fighter ever. Not only has he beat every competitor, he hasn't even really been challenged. His losses range from flukey to bizarre. He may be the greatest fighter of any weight class ever. I am truly thankful to have lived through his career. Second place goes to Sakuraba.
Welterweight: Of all the weight classes I think this one is the trickiest to call. I can think of two fighters that deserved to be up for this award: Georges St Pierre and Matt Hughes. Matt Hughes was the most dominant champion the UFC had ever seen up to that point. He truly is a pioneer of the sport and one of its stars who will be remembered forever. However I give the edge to GSP because of his two dominating wins over Hughes despite the fact that Hughes was in his decline. Nobody in MMA has fought and beaten the same amount of quality opponents as GSP in the last 5 years. HIs resume contains a who's who of top welterweights. In a few more years I don't suspect there will be any argument as to which of these two were the greater welterweights.
Lightweight: The lightweight division is one of the newest weight classes in MMA and therefore looking back through history is difficult. However I feel BJ Penn has risen to the top. He only won the UFC lightweight strap one and a half years ago and he has already defended it as much as anybody. He looks to be almost untouchable at the top of the lightweight ladder. The top lightweight from Japanese based organizations is most likely Takanori Gomi and BJ owns a decisive stoppage victory over him.
Bantamweight/ Featherweight: I don't really think I am qualified to rank these as I have only recently started following them. Though if I were forced to pick I would pick Miguel Torres for Bantamweight. His record speaks for itself. Featherweight is a little more difficult. I would think it would be either Urijah Faber or Kid Yammamoto. Hopefully somebody more knowledgeable than me can give a much more informed ranking in the comments.
These are who I believe to be the greatest of all time. I am in no way an expert and I am curious to hear everyone else's opinions.
The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Bloody Elbow readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bloody Elbow editors or staff.
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This is my first fan post
If you guys have any suggestions as to what I could do better I’d like to hear them.
by hlebtasic on Nov 10, 2009 5:26 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
use bold for titles and italics for emphasis
it will seperate your content and make it easier to read.
The path to my fixed purpose is laid with iron rails, whereon my soul is grooved to run. Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering BROCKLESNAR; to the last I grapple with thee.
by judonerd on Nov 10, 2009 5:52 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
also, break things up with commas for easier reading.
The path to my fixed purpose is laid with iron rails, whereon my soul is grooved to run. Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering BROCKLESNAR; to the last I grapple with thee.
by judonerd on Nov 10, 2009 5:53 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
np
italics is good for emphasis like raising your voice, but fighters names could maybe be bolded or linked to their sherdog profiles
soory for being a copy editor, but its free advice if you want it.
The path to my fixed purpose is laid with iron rails, whereon my soul is grooved to run. Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering BROCKLESNAR; to the last I grapple with thee.
by judonerd on Nov 10, 2009 6:27 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
second thought, dont bold the names, just link them or leave it alone
The path to my fixed purpose is laid with iron rails, whereon my soul is grooved to run. Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering BROCKLESNAR; to the last I grapple with thee.
by judonerd on Nov 10, 2009 6:28 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
No No, I asked for the advice.
Thank you
by hlebtasic on Nov 10, 2009 10:32 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
i pretty much agree with every pick. I think the Liddell/Silva one is too hard to pick for ME though.
by asmiley420 on Nov 10, 2009 5:50 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
You’re overrating A.Silva a bit. He’s the best of the MW division, but his stretch of dominance is too short to be considered the greatest of all time.
I think GSP will almost certainly wind up with that particular title. He might have it nailed down in only a few years.
by Michaelthebox on Nov 10, 2009 6:02 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Maybe I am overrated Anderson
But I still believe he has put on the most impressive performances I have ever seen.
by hlebtasic on Nov 10, 2009 6:11 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Not everyday you can beat someone via pimp slap

Fire Bruce DeHaven.
by SSreporters on Nov 10, 2009 6:46 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
So why not pick someone else?
If you’re going to refute his selection.
"I’m sorry. I didn’t drink last night, so I’m not funny today."
-Sakuraba
by Blackout612 on Nov 11, 2009 2:56 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
It's to early in the sport to pick most of these
But it’s fun so I want to join in.
Heavyweight: Fedor (honorable mention Igor)
LHW: WAND (honorable mention Chuck) This is the hardest for me to pick
MW: Saku (honorable mention Anderson) Seriously, Saku is probably the P4P goat.
WW: Hughes (honorable mention GSP, who I am sure will one day eclipse Hughes)
LW: BJ (honorable mention Gomi) A lot of people forget how dominant Gomi was
by VegasBatman on Nov 10, 2009 9:58 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
LW: BJ (honorable mention Gomi) A lot of people forget how dominant Gomi was
Which is why BJ is that much better
"What do you want from me?..... A Slap?"
by xtremecouture on Nov 10, 2009 10:16 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Pretty much how I feel about Saku
I put him as the runner up just because I am an Anderson nuthugger. I definitely have him in the top five fighters of any weight class. He changed things major. I like that you take Igor instead of Nog. I’m putting Nog there, but Igor is a grat and unexpected pick.
by hlebtasic on Nov 10, 2009 10:31 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I love Nog and up until recently thought he had a much stronger case for being the best HW fighter than Fedor, even with his loses to him, because he had beaten so many top guys. That said, Igor had always been #1 for me. He was so scary in his day, nobody wanted to fight that guy. The big swim style punching that Fedor uses so well now we Igors bread and butter.
by VegasBatman on Nov 11, 2009 12:06 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
The best HWs up until now is a 1. 2. Punch of
Fedor
Nog
LHWs
Wand and Chuck
MW
Anderson Silva
WW
Hughes and GSP
LW
BJ Penn
Not to say others shouldnt be mentioned. Mirko, Hendo, Royce, Gomi, Coleman, Frank and Ken, etc as greatest fighters at their respective tenures in the sport
"What do you want from me?..... A Slap?"
by xtremecouture on Nov 10, 2009 10:18 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
We ran this series based on our stats..
But never posted Heavyweights due to the problems w/ the tons and tons of open weight bouts.
Heavyweight – Fedor
Light Heavy – Wanderlei
Middle – Anderson
Welter – Hughes
Lightweight – Gomi
Featherweight – Faber
Bantamweight – Torres
Flyweight – Yamaguchi
Womens – Tsuji
Creator of the FightMatrix rating system.
by JCS_FM on Nov 11, 2009 8:12 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

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