People seem quick to forget how thin the LHW division has been, and for how long. It's not a secret that
Machida, Evans, Belfort, Sonnen = Middleweights.
Shogun, Rampage = Dominant wins over guys with incredibly high fight mileage.
Gus, Texiera, OSP = decisions.
Want to re-evaluate your case?
This is the same tactic all the Fedor haters have used for so many years. It is easy to pick apart the list of opponents all these guys have faced and make a mockery out of it. I can do it with the opponents of Gsp and Anderson too. This is my logic behind my list:
4) Anderson
The reason he is number 4, is because he had losses before joining the ufc, the guys he beat were mediocre and he was also popped for steroids. Having said that, he was one of the most savage fighters ever, a real assassin who had some really entertaining performances.
3) GSP
With only one defeat in his record there is a strong case there. That defeat though was to a very mediocre fighter, and during GSP's prime as well. I can't put him highere than 3 though, because he was boring as hell to watch and was clearly favored by ufc's ruleset. In an environment like Pride he would have had a tough time laying on his opponents and keeping them down for minutes without doing much damage.
2) Jones
He is clearly talented, there is a lot of variety in the skills he possesses and he is entertaining. He has been quite dominant in his division. However, his story is not yet written. Popping for steroids, eye pokes and fighting against people who are much shorter than him are minuses that keep him away from the number 1 spot.
1) Fedor
Not only was he the baddest man on the entire planet for 10 years, he did so while being smaller than the majority of his opponents. And in the most dangerous division there is, the heavyweight division where any punch can potentially knock you out.
- He was not only victorious, he was also an absolute savage. When he entered the ring, you always knew it was with the purpose to kill someone.
- The combination of speed and explosion for his size is still unparalleled to this day. A few days ago someone posted a gif of Weidman ground and pounding Belfort, as if it was an example of good gnp. I thought it was laughable compared to this
- He was never associated with any hostility or douchebagery outside of the ring. Always respectful, always an ideal sportsman.
- Even in the few fights where he won by decision, he mauled his opponents so much that there was no question as to whether he truly won or not.
- During his prime he was excellent in all facets of fighting, stand up, wrestling and jujitsu (or judo/combat sambo as his actual case was). His wins came by way of knock-outs, chokes and arm-bars, Anderson was never a great wrestler. GSP was not superb at stand-up. Only Jon Jones comes close to how complete of a fighter he was.
- The only thing his haters have to say is about the "level of competition". And they do so, 10 years after his reign. As if nowdays the guys gsp and anderson defeated seem like a row of killers. Not to mention that back in the day pride was the number 1 organization and ufc the number 2.
Fedor's only flaw was that he grew old and his mileage in the ring grew too damn much. That happens to all fighters. If Jon Jones manages to remain undefeated in his late 30s, I'll concede he is the goat. I really doubt that though.