What do Mike Tyson, GSP, Shogun, Aldo, Cain, and dozens of other all time greats have in common?

[Greek777]

The thread title alone has a list of names that will be forever remembered as the best fighters of all time.

What is it that links them together you ask? What they did in the ring? What their accomplishments were?

Nope. What links this particular group of fighters together is that they all believe Fedor Emelianenko is the best fighter of all time. It's easy for people like us who have never competed at the highest level in the world to say who is or is not the best. And of course, there are plenty of other fighters out there who have differing opinions.

But here I am offering you a comprehensive list of fighters who were world champions, pound for pound greats, amongst many other accolades - all argeeing upon one thing. That Fedor is the best fighter we have seen and unlike anybody else out there.

A man that didn't need to rely on his physical gifts to win fights (like being 6'5" with a longer reach than anyone in MMA history). A pudgy but strong 5'10" guy who trained on a playground with little kids doing Sambo in the middle of nowhere. A man who would fight at middleweight if he came along in today's era of MMA.

Go ahead and argue, debate, whatever you'd like. But personally, I take the opinions of these men to heart more than most.

This video features:


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prjVrEVnZyI


GSP (UFC WW champ, all time great)
Mauricio Shogun (PRIDE LHW Grand Prix champ, UFC LHW champ)
Bas Rutten (UFC HW champ)
Kevin Randleman (UFC HW champ)
Jake Shields (multiple org champion who had an 8 year win streak and beat Dan Henderson coming off of UFC 100)
Tim Sylvia (UFC HW champ)
Frank Mir (UFC HW champ)

amongst others.


View: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2mk3oz


This video features

Mike Tyson (boxing unified world heavyweight champion)
BJ Penn (2 division UFC champ, all time great)
Cain Velasquez (2 time UFC HW champ

all chime in on Fedor's reputation and abilities. Tyson talks about what made Fedor was the greatest, with emphasis on the fact he relied on nothing but skill - not physical advantages, not freak athleticism, not height or reach, to dominate the world of MMA for a decade


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MxEHhJhrAg


Rogan speaking on Fedor in his prime before Dana put the kabosh on that and stopped the UFC's main mouth piece from consistently touting a man who would never fight for them as the best


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1N6M0motlI


UFC #1 contender and this weekend's title challenger Luke Rockhold ranks Fedor over Anderson all time

Now on to written sources.

Top 5: Renan Barao elects his best MMA fighters. - MMA Forum

Renan Barao, once regarded as a top p4p fighter who was on a near decade long win streak, puts Fedor at the top of his list (UG link provided due to translation from original Portuguese)

Morning Report: Jose Aldo says Fedor Emelianenko is the greatest fighter of all-time - MMA Fighting

Jose Aldo, the greatest fighter under 170 lbs in history, also lists Fedor as #1 all time, despite being Anderson's countryman


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjJMq21ZHJ0


Lyoto Machida, former UFC LHW champion and one of the few men to win a title in the UFC while undefeated, says Fedor is the best


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4gQSQReVXM


Rousey (UFC champ who despite what many think, was dominant and went undefeated for several years, blitzing opponents in under a minute) praises Fedor as the best and the inspiration for her fighting style

https://pp.vk.me/c623430/v623430497/4c1eb/dyJ8kEfQ9Xk.jpg

Rampage Jackson (UFC LHW champ) lists Fedor as his favorite

Sports Illustrated Top 10 MMA fighters of the last decade

Sports Illustrated lists their top 10 MMA fighters of the decade from 2000-2010

The 10 Greatest Fighters of the Decade | FIGHT! Magazine

Fight Magazine lists their top 10 MMA fighters of the decade

Jack Slack's Top 7 Strikers in MMA to Date | Bleacher Report

Jack Slack, MMA's premier striking analyst, expands on what made Fedor an AMAZING striker and fighter overall (despite the opinions of some on here claiming Fedor was "not well rounded" nor a good striker)

Brazilian MMA fans name Fedor Emelianenko 'The Greatest Of All Time' - MMAmania.com

Brazilian fans - polled by Brazil's biggest MMA media sites - from literally thousands and thousands of people - name Fedor as the MMA GOAT by a landslide, well above Anderson and Aldo

Rickson Gracie: 'It would take me longer to submit Fedor than it would [Brock Lesnar]' - Five Ounces of Pain

Rickson Gracie says Fedor would be harder to submit than Brock Lesnar

Mark Coleman defends Fedor following Rogan’s PED comments: ‘It’s not part of his resume’ - Bloody Elbow

Mark Coleman (UFC HW champ, UFC tournament winner and PRIDE 2000 OWGP champ) defends Fedor from Rogan's ridiculous PED accusations and reminds us why he is the greatest

Fighter of the Decade: Fedor Emelianenko - MMA Fighting

MMA Fighting names Fedor the "fighter of the decade"

 

[Greek777]

I've seen people on here and other websites call Fedor over rated, and even somehow claim he was "not well rounded" and had bad striking

Here are some articles from respected analysts not only proving that wrong but smashing it into the dirt.

Analyzing Fedor: The Striking Of The Emperor - Bloody Elbow

Analyzing Fedor: Revolutionizing Ground And Pound - Bloody Elbow

Judo Chop: Analyzing Fedor's Punch and Clutch - Bloody Elbow

Although I posted this above, I assume the trolls won';t take the time to actually watch or read anything, so here is another link to Jack Slack explaining just why Fedor is one of the greatest strikers in MMA history - despite claims of not being "well rounded"

Jack Slack's Top 7 Strikers in MMA to Date | Bleacher Report

 

[Priziesthorse]

 

[Greek777]

Now you tell me. Is Fedor really "over rated"?

Do you know better than the likes of Shogun, GSP, Mike Tyson, BJ Penn, Machida, Cain Velasquez, Fabcirio Werdum, Bas Rutten and countless others who have achieved the absolute pinnacle in this sport (or in the case of Tyson, their own?)

I'd love to see the armchair quarterbacks tell me that these men are uninformed, that these men don't know what they are talking about. That Fedor was never that good, was never well rounded and lacked an overall skill set.

Keep in mind, this is just a fraction of all time greats who cite Fedor as either the GOAT or one of them. If I actually wanted to find more, it'd be easy.

Yet people who have never competed in MMA in their lives and some who have only been watching 5 or so years know better?

Ask yourself.. if Fedor is over rated, are all of these men too? Do none of these men know of what they speak?

 

[Greek777]

His career is not finished yet, and you did not take time to watch a single video or read a single article. What if Jones ends up going 50-50 for the rest of his career?

One of the main arguments that Fedor is the pound for pound greatest is that Jon Jones wins nearly all of his fights because of the massive physical gifts he has.

Fedor had none of that and won everything based on skill alone

I wouldn't expect you to realize that though or understand the thought process behind it, seeing as instead of taking time to actually think about it, you just glossed over the thread and posted a stupid gif

 

[Priziesthorse]

His career is not finished yet, and you did not take time to watch a single video or read a single article. What if Jones ends up going 50-50 for the rest of his career?

One of the main arguments that Fedor is the pound for pound greatest is that Jon Jones wins nearly all of his fights because of the massive physical gifts he has.

Fedor had none of that and won everything based on skill alone

I wouldn't expect you to realize that though or understand the thought process behind it, seeing as instead of taking time to actually think about it, you just glossed over the thread and posted a stupid gif

 

[Greek777]

Fedor - 5'10", average reach, under sized and dominated HW

Jon Jones - 6'5", comes from a family of NFL players, has the longest reach in MMA history (on par with men who are seven feet tall), and fights at 205 pounds, bullying guys with his size and constantly poking their eyes in every single fight while sticking his long arms/hands in their face

Fedor dominated MMA for 10 years because of his skill set. Not because of what god gave him.

If you know the meaning of pound for pound, you'd get it.

 

[Greek777]

Wonderful contributions to this thread, what an informed and intelligent fan of MMA you are. Truly impressed with your analytical skill and ability to break down and understand how fighting works, by posting stupid gifs, like 99% of the other trolls on MMA message boards. Congratulations, you showed me.

 

[Priziesthorse]

Wonderful contributions to this thread, what an informed and intelligent fan of MMA you are. Truly impressed with your analytical skill and ability to break down and understand how fighting works, by posting stupid gifs, like 99% of the other trolls on MMA message boards. Congratulations, you showed me.

 

[Greek777]

Normally I wouldn't care but those posts are the same kind of reason that the UG and other MMA forums are unbearable

Real discussion is completely impossible, people just post gifs or memes in threads and provide no logic or legitimate discussions/contributions to the subject at hand. Or name call and insult when someone disagrees with them.

Whatever though, I took all the time to create this thread and cite these sources for people who actually want to discuss the sport and the opinions of all time great fighters when it comes to another all time great fighter.

You can go back to the cool kids club community chit chat thread and troll over there.

 

[Zeph]

Fighters often can't look objectively about fights, fighters, and respective career paths. I wouldn't say they are the definitive authority just because they say something.

 

[Left hand cemetery]

My personal preference is Anderson and then Fedor with GSP following. I think when all is said and done, if he stays on a straight-ish path Jones will be the best I've ever seen.

 

[SongExotic2]

I agree fedor is the man






I think bones will overtake him though

 

[Wild]

Prizi is just fucking with you Galanis. I truly doubt he cares enough about this discussion to get invested in it, but he is Jone's east coast fanboy, so this is an easy target for him

My list...

1) Fedor
2) GSP
3) Aldo
4) Jones
5) Mighty Mouse? Maybe...?

 

[Wild]

I agree fedor is the man






I think bones will overtake him though

I agree. If this new found dedication by Jones continues, then look out.

 

[SongExotic2]

I agree. If this new found dedication by Jones continues, then look out.

I don't think it matters. He just has to keep slaying all before him.

I think he's already the goat off of his current resume. Like Galanis mentioned though I'd like to see how he does over his next 10 fights.

If he lost all ten in a row did he still do enough to be lhw goat at this point?

 

[HEATH VON DOOM]

You guys should have just let him continue to argue with himself. That was funny shit.

 

[jason73]

it sucks that a lot of newer fans only know of fedor from dana shitting on his career and record.anyone who was following the sport during the pride heydays saw first hand what fedors hype was about.yeah there was a few zuluhino type fights on his record but he also fought a murderers row .he takes a lot of shit over 3 losses while guys like randy have 11 losses and chuck has 8

 

[BeardOfKnowledge]

Well, shoot. If GSP, the humblest man in the history of the universe doesn't crown himself the GOAT and passes the title along to the next in line, surely it must be true. Strength of schedule be damned!!!

 

[kneeblock]

There was a great article I think in GracieMag years ago where all these fighters were interviewed about Fedor and why he was so (at the time) invincible. Pride ref Yuji Shimada said one of the most interesting comments when he described Fedor's movements as animalistic. The way his body moved was like a cat or some other beast in that there was no hesitation and every muscle made the quick adjustments to effortlessly attack. It was fascinating to read that from one of the people who observed Fedor most closely.

 

[Leigh]

I don't know if Fedor is the best ever but he's obviously in the top 5 and to say he isn't well rounded is absurd

 

[tang]

Fighters often can't look objectively about fights, fighters, and respective career paths. I wouldn't say they are the definitive authority just because they say something.

I disagree. U might be right about career paths but fighters know more than anyone what goes inside of that cage or ring. Just like a musician knows what to listen for a fighter knows the fight by best reference. Actually doing the damn thing.
I tried to make this point on the UG once but Ppl are ppl and their opinion matters the most and want to believe what they want to believe.
It doesn't really matter what fans, promoters, journalists think, u have to consider what the fighters say with the highest regard cuz they know. They do the exact same thing.
And most of whom that are mentioned in this thread are some of the greats with biggest accomplishments. Do u really think they don't know what the hell they are talking about more than you????

 

[Zeph]

I disagree. U might be right about career paths but fighters know more than anyone what goes inside of that cage or ring. Just like a musician knows what to listen for a fighter knows the fight by best reference. Actually doing the damn thing.
I tried to make this point on the UG once but Ppl are ppl and their opinion matters the most and want to believe what they want to believe.
It doesn't really matter what fans, promoters, journalists think, u have to consider what the fighters say with the highest regard cuz they know. They do the exact same thing.
And most of whom that are mentioned in this thread are some of the greats with biggest accomplishments. Do u really think they don't know what the hell they are talking about more than you????

If they can back up their opinion with facts and knowledge then of course their opinion counts, more than mine, but would it be if it is just because they say it? No.

Some fighters are extremely knowledgeable about the sport, students of the game, fans themselves, and would be able to give you a indepth breakdown of why they believe Fedor is the GOAT. Others, not so much.

Personally, I don't think the sport is old enough to have a real GOAT discussion, even Fedor's career isn't over. Everyone in the discussion is still an active fighter - bar GSP, but he has been flirting with the idea of returning, and is certainly young enough - they are still adding to their overall career pictures, however, that said, the closest thing we have in MMA currently is Fedor.

 

[Priziesthorse]

 

[mmadotcomisufcdotcom]

Fedor is the greatest.

I had no idea Rogan implied Fedor was juicing on his run. I officially am of the "fuck Joe Rogan" opinion now. Guy is full of shit.