Is Fedor really the best Mixed Martial Artist in the world
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Is Fedor really the best Mixed Martial Artist in the world
POLL: Is Fedor really the Best Mixed Martial Artist in the World
| Yes |    |
68% | (43) |
| No |    |
32% | (20) |
Jackelope
9/17/07 9:19:01PM
Alright... let's have this discussion out. I say yes and here are the reasons why-
He's fought some of the best MMA freestyle wrestlers in the world, and won convincingly. Mark Coleman and Kevin Randleman. Both while they were in their primes.
He's fought the best grappling heavyweight in the world and won convincingly. Definitely at a time when he was at his prime considering he was the PrideFC heavyweight champ. Big Nog.
He's fought one of the best greco roman wrestlers in U.S. history and also in MMA in Matt Lindland. (People can hate on this matchup all they want, but I still think Matt Lindland is dangerous vs. a lot of heavyweights) Oh, and he won convincingly.
He's fought two of the best strikers in the world and one while he was in the prime of his prime. Mirko Filipovic and Mark Hunt.
He's fought the toughest guys in heavyweight in both Hunt and Fujita and he stopped them both in the first round.
He's got 26 wins, and only 9 of those fights have gone past the first round, of which only 7 have gone the distance for a decision. That means he's got 17 first round finishes.
I know this is totally Sherdog stats, not something I've committed to memory by watching the fights, but I've seen most of these fights and there wasn't a single one in which at some point I didn't say "Wow" to myself.
So in short my answer is - Yes. Call me a nut hugger all you want.
He's fought some of the best MMA freestyle wrestlers in the world, and won convincingly. Mark Coleman and Kevin Randleman. Both while they were in their primes.
He's fought the best grappling heavyweight in the world and won convincingly. Definitely at a time when he was at his prime considering he was the PrideFC heavyweight champ. Big Nog.
He's fought one of the best greco roman wrestlers in U.S. history and also in MMA in Matt Lindland. (People can hate on this matchup all they want, but I still think Matt Lindland is dangerous vs. a lot of heavyweights) Oh, and he won convincingly.
He's fought two of the best strikers in the world and one while he was in the prime of his prime. Mirko Filipovic and Mark Hunt.
He's fought the toughest guys in heavyweight in both Hunt and Fujita and he stopped them both in the first round.
He's got 26 wins, and only 9 of those fights have gone past the first round, of which only 7 have gone the distance for a decision. That means he's got 17 first round finishes.
I know this is totally Sherdog stats, not something I've committed to memory by watching the fights, but I've seen most of these fights and there wasn't a single one in which at some point I didn't say "Wow" to myself.
So in short my answer is - Yes. Call me a nut hugger all you want.
cmill21
9/17/07 10:03:31PM
For those of you who feel that he's not please say who you feel is. I respectfully say that randy is not, he has no where near the record or level of competition that fedor does. I get that he's been doing wonderfully his last two fights, but your talking about a guy who's been not only beaten up badly, but retired, and pushed out of a division. Just about right after Ricco beat randy up badly he fought Big Nog and lost. Randy lost to josh, some say steroids, I say look at randleman and coleman on roids, they both lost to Fedor, most steroid users use them to heal from injury, and very few of them ever have success so I don't feel thats a good excuse. I think there are only two fighters that you can say may take the best of all time belt from fedor, and they are GSP and Shogun.
MattHughesFan
9/17/07 10:18:14PM
Posted by Jackelope
Alright... let's have this discussion out. I say yes and here are the reasons why-
He's fought some of the best MMA freestyle wrestlers in the world, and won convincingly. Mark Coleman and Kevin Randleman. Both while they were in their primes.
He's fought the best grappling heavyweight in the world and won convincingly. Definitely at a time when he was at his prime considering he was the PrideFC heavyweight champ. Big Nog.
He's fought one of the best greco roman wrestlers in U.S. history and also in MMA in Matt Lindland. (People can hate on this matchup all they want, but I still think Matt Lindland is dangerous vs. a lot of heavyweights) Oh, and he won convincingly.
He's fought two of the best strikers in the world and one while he was in the prime of his prime. Mirko Filipovic and Mark Hunt.
He's fought the toughest guys in heavyweight in both Hunt and Fujita and he stopped them both in the first round.
He's got 26 wins, and only 9 of those fights have gone past the first round, of which only 7 have gone the distance for a decision. That means he's got 17 first round finishes.
I know this is totally Sherdog stats, not something I've committed to memory by watching the fights, but I've seen most of these fights and there wasn't a single one in which at some point I didn't say "Wow" to myself.
So in short my answer is - Yes. Call me a nut hugger all you want.
I wouldn't exactly call the Lindland fight convincingly as there was a lot of controversy in that fight
Jackelope
9/18/07 3:00:15AM
Posted by MattHughesFan
I wouldn't exactly call the Lindland fight convincingly as there was a lot of controversy in that fight
Mostly surrounding the rope grab, which I definitely see the merit in. However, when looking at Fedor interviews he even says himself that it was unintentional, and more of a reaction thing. He even says he has the utmost respect for Matt Lindland.
Call it what you will, but he still got the win in the 1st round, which is convincing to me. Hell, Gonzaga grabbed the cage when Randy took him down and broke his nose. Cheick Kongo kneed Crocop in the nuts 2 or 3 times blatantly, and nobody is calling him out on that. GSP kicked Hughes in the nuts. Tito Ortiz grabbed the fence vs. Rashad Evans. Pick any other number of mishaps in MMA and nobody else gets called out on it that bad.
Don't get me wrong, though... Lindland is one of my favorite fighters of all time and so is Fedor. I hate the fact that the match up wasn't taint-free, but it's the breaks. I still think if Lindland stood that much of a chance he would have taken it a hell of a lot longer than 3 minutes into the first round.
Aether
9/18/07 3:55:49AM
I can't believe I just heard someone say that Arlovski and Sylvia would beat Fedor. Honestly do you have any actual reasoning behind those statements? Is there anything that either of these fighters have shown themselves to be better at than Fedor? Arlovski is especially ridiculous since his background is Sambo and Fedor is far and away the best Sambo practitioner not only in martial arts but in the world. Neither of these fighters are better than him in any single area of the game, let alone all-around.
I honestly believe that people just don't like seeing other people be incredibly successful and begin rooting for them to lose. Other than the argument about his inactivity no one has come up with a single valid reason why he should be dropped from the #1 spot, and even that argument concedes that he must be (or recently have been) #1.
No one has come close to beating him and he's fought the best of the best while they were at their prime. CroCop was virtually unstoppable when they faced each other and he really was only able to land a handful of flurries in the first round then proceeded to get dominated. Big Nog was absolutely unquestionably the best heavyweight submission artist at the time of both of their fights and Fedor was nowhere close to being submitted at any point during those fights. I keep seeing the image of his head bouncing off of the canvas anytime I recall that fight.
He stopped Fujita and Hunt, and you can say whatever you want about Hunt, but he was at LEAST a top15 HW at the time of their bout, and I would have placed him easily in the top10 at the time. Semmy Schilt is about a foot taller than him and a multiple k-1 champion with a kickboxing pedigree rapidly approaching Hoost and Aerts.
I just don't understand how people can argue that he hasn't fought tough enough fights to be considered #1. He's not even really one of my favourite fighters, but I can't possibly deny that he is amazing, no one has come close to beating him, and I find it very hard not to rank him #1.
Seriously, Arlovski? Junior Sambo champ vs multiple World Sambo champ.... hmmmmmm...
I honestly believe that people just don't like seeing other people be incredibly successful and begin rooting for them to lose. Other than the argument about his inactivity no one has come up with a single valid reason why he should be dropped from the #1 spot, and even that argument concedes that he must be (or recently have been) #1.
No one has come close to beating him and he's fought the best of the best while they were at their prime. CroCop was virtually unstoppable when they faced each other and he really was only able to land a handful of flurries in the first round then proceeded to get dominated. Big Nog was absolutely unquestionably the best heavyweight submission artist at the time of both of their fights and Fedor was nowhere close to being submitted at any point during those fights. I keep seeing the image of his head bouncing off of the canvas anytime I recall that fight.
He stopped Fujita and Hunt, and you can say whatever you want about Hunt, but he was at LEAST a top15 HW at the time of their bout, and I would have placed him easily in the top10 at the time. Semmy Schilt is about a foot taller than him and a multiple k-1 champion with a kickboxing pedigree rapidly approaching Hoost and Aerts.
I just don't understand how people can argue that he hasn't fought tough enough fights to be considered #1. He's not even really one of my favourite fighters, but I can't possibly deny that he is amazing, no one has come close to beating him, and I find it very hard not to rank him #1.
Seriously, Arlovski? Junior Sambo champ vs multiple World Sambo champ.... hmmmmmm...
Lay_N_Pray
9/18/07 1:27:30PM
cmill, if you are looking for people to challenge his spot as the best pound for pound i think there are quite a few and most notably the two you said, in GSP and Shogun. This is why everyone wants Fedor to stay active, cause these guys are kickin ass and he is doin lord knows what.
You can also make a case for Anderson Silva, world class Muay Thai and really really good ju jitsu is a pretty deadly combination, even if he only shows it against A- fighters instead of A+ fighters.
I think you could take into consideration Rampage...especially if he beats Shogun in his next fight, presumably. And until the Page fight, Hendo held two titles at once, im not sure Fedor would be able to do that even, I would assume, but you never know.
So I think there is plenty of reasons for Fedor to defend his P4P Crown.
You can also make a case for Anderson Silva, world class Muay Thai and really really good ju jitsu is a pretty deadly combination, even if he only shows it against A- fighters instead of A+ fighters.
I think you could take into consideration Rampage...especially if he beats Shogun in his next fight, presumably. And until the Page fight, Hendo held two titles at once, im not sure Fedor would be able to do that even, I would assume, but you never know.
So I think there is plenty of reasons for Fedor to defend his P4P Crown.
enemyofmany
9/18/07 2:42:19PM
nobody forget how much hype cro cop had comin in to the ufc?who wouldve guessed.could the same happen with fedor.surely mostly will say no,but is the cage/ring,and differant venue/country a bigger factor than we realize?dana needs to sign his ass and put him on a card soon.
DJDark41
9/18/07 5:01:04PM
Posted by hathcock32
Theres no doubt that Fedor is overhyped. The man's a hell of a fighter, but he is still overhyped, i dont see what fuss is all about. He is a top heavyweight no doubt about it, but to put him on another level is wrong. I think Couture would beat him, i think Arlovski would beat him, i think Big Tim would beat him,Of course on anyday he could beat either one of them.
I stopped caring about what you had to say right there.
MattHughesFan
9/18/07 5:34:56PM
Posted by hathcock32
Theres no doubt that Fedor is overhyped. The man's a hell of a fighter, but he is still overhyped, i dont see what fuss is all about. He is a top heavyweight no doubt about it, but to put him on another level is wrong. I think Couture would beat him, i think Arlovski would beat him, i think Big Tim would beat him,Of course on anyday he could beat either one of them.
Actually i happen to agree with you. Each man u listed i think has a good chance against Fedor. Of coarse on the flip side Fedor could beat any of them but i still think they stand a chance against Fedor
cmill21
9/18/07 6:55:04PM
Posted by enemyofmany
nobody forget how much hype cro cop had comin in to the ufc?who wouldve guessed.could the same happen with fedor.surely mostly will say no,but is the cage/ring,and differant venue/country a bigger factor than we realize?dana needs to sign his ass and put him on a card soon.
This conparison is soooo dumb. You ever seen Mirko fight prior to the UFC? Does he look like he's got the same spirit? Is fedor the same fighter as Mirko? Do they even have half the same techniques? This is like saying Mirko won alot in K-1 so fedor would to.
hathcock32
9/18/07 6:57:40PM
Fedor acually has quoted that he doesen't want to fight Tim Sylvia becuase it is a bad matchup for him.
cmill21
9/18/07 7:35:27PM
Link? He's fought semmy schilt so I dunno about that.
Jackelope
9/18/07 8:14:10PM
Posted by hathcock32
Fedor acually has quoted that he doesen't want to fight Tim Sylvia becuase it is a bad matchup for him.
You can't post crap like this without a link. Sorry if I tend to take people with tito in their sig or avatar with a grain of salt.
Anyway how could he be afraid of Sylvia's stature when he already beat Semmy Schilt? Or Zuluzinho? Schilt's taller than Sylvia is, and Zuluzinho is only an inch shorter but probably twice as strong.
gravy13
9/18/07 8:58:16PM
Fedor would overwhelm Sylvia. Plain and simple.
enemyofmany
9/18/07 9:38:51PM
OK EMILL,YOUR A IDIOT.I WAS COMPARING THEIR TRANSITON INTO THE UFC,NOT THEIR STYLES OR THAT MIRKO WAS BETTER.I DONT CARE WHAT HE'S DONE,HE MIGHT COME IN AND GET KTFO BY AN "UNDERDOGG".IM NOT BUYIN ALL THE HYPE,IF HE'S SO BAD,WHERE THE F'S HE AT.ILL BELEIVE IT WHEN I SEE IT.
cmill21
9/18/07 9:58:14PM
Posted by enemyofmany
OK EMILL,YOUR A IDIOT.I WAS COMPARING THEIR TRANSITON INTO THE UFC,NOT THEIR STYLES OR THAT MIRKO WAS BETTER.I DONT CARE WHAT HE'S DONE,HE MIGHT COME IN AND GET KTFO BY AN "UNDERDOGG".IM NOT BUYIN ALL THE HYPE,IF HE'S SO BAD,WHERE THE F'S HE AT.ILL BELEIVE IT WHEN I SEE IT.
Calm down.
x_soa_x
9/18/07 10:17:54PM
Posted by DJDark41
Posted by postman
Posted by loonytnt
id say no
Thank you for your in depth look and views on this subject. I feel relived you can express your feelings so well.
Glad he's out of my camp. Guess he left just in the nick of time, eh?
Awesome, he's out of the Pit?
MattHughesFan
9/18/07 10:55:02PM
lol see bad camp member board on the camp forums
sakurabaforever
9/18/07 10:58:03PM
Posted by enemyofmany
OK EMILL,YOUR A IDIOT.I WAS COMPARING THEIR TRANSITON INTO THE UFC,NOT THEIR STYLES OR THAT MIRKO WAS BETTER.I DONT CARE WHAT HE'S DONE,HE MIGHT COME IN AND GET KTFO BY AN "UNDERDOGG".IM NOT BUYIN ALL THE HYPE,IF HE'S SO BAD,WHERE THE F'S HE AT.ILL BELEIVE IT WHEN I SEE IT.
Don't buy the hype. Get yourself some Pride DVDs and see it with your own eyes.
Was Little Nog hyped to all hell before Sok? An underdog always has a "chance". And Fedor might slip and crack his skull open on the way to the octagon. Anything's possible.
And if English is not your first language, that's cool...but if it is...
enemyofmany
9/18/07 11:03:16PM
i know he's bad,maybe the baddest.but lets just see it already.
Dynamyk
9/18/07 11:53:42PM
He's the closest champion to having a perfect record while fighting the best in his weight class. His only loss was the equivalent of someone soccer kicking someone else in the UFC and he avenged it in style (being fair, TK was past his prime).
He decimated Nog when he was considered P4P number 1 in his weight class. Beat Mirko who was the number one challenger. For a long time those were the top 3 fighters at HW and he was the only one to beat the other two.
His inactivity is hurting him, but until he is beat soundly he will be the best MMA fighter on the planet.
I think what hurt Matt the most in his road to this title was his loss to BJ. Basically its the same as Matt Lindland beating Fedor. Someone smaller coming up and beating the dominant champ. You can't say anything like that has happened to Fedor.
He decimated Nog when he was considered P4P number 1 in his weight class. Beat Mirko who was the number one challenger. For a long time those were the top 3 fighters at HW and he was the only one to beat the other two.
His inactivity is hurting him, but until he is beat soundly he will be the best MMA fighter on the planet.
I think what hurt Matt the most in his road to this title was his loss to BJ. Basically its the same as Matt Lindland beating Fedor. Someone smaller coming up and beating the dominant champ. You can't say anything like that has happened to Fedor.
Akc814ilv
9/19/07 5:18:54PM
Yes he is the best in the world. There isnt anyone else even close.
I also dont agree with those of you who are saying that you want him in the UFC. I am tired of this Monopoly that Dana has on the MMA world and I want a good #2 ogranization to pop up and be a serious threat to the UFC.
If Fedor signs somewhere else it gives that organization the #1 heavyweight in the world. If they could sign Barnett you probably get the #3 heavyweight in the world.
Look at all the fighters out there for Fedor to fight that arent UFC fighters. There are PLENTY of opponents out there for him to go through and keep his #1 pound for pound ranking.
Only other person you can legitimately say is anywhere near being close to Fedor is Shogun. And I personally think that Shogun is going to struggle in the UFC. He should be Forrest....at least he better lol. But once he gets in there with the top level guys, and when he cant stomp his opponents and when he has to deal with being pressed up against the cage and elbowed in the face.....that will create issues for him.
I also dont agree with those of you who are saying that you want him in the UFC. I am tired of this Monopoly that Dana has on the MMA world and I want a good #2 ogranization to pop up and be a serious threat to the UFC.
If Fedor signs somewhere else it gives that organization the #1 heavyweight in the world. If they could sign Barnett you probably get the #3 heavyweight in the world.
Look at all the fighters out there for Fedor to fight that arent UFC fighters. There are PLENTY of opponents out there for him to go through and keep his #1 pound for pound ranking.
Only other person you can legitimately say is anywhere near being close to Fedor is Shogun. And I personally think that Shogun is going to struggle in the UFC. He should be Forrest....at least he better lol. But once he gets in there with the top level guys, and when he cant stomp his opponents and when he has to deal with being pressed up against the cage and elbowed in the face.....that will create issues for him.
MattHughesFan
9/26/07 5:58:54PM
Well so much for shogun. Not only did he lose but he got dominated and u can't even blame it on the new rules because he was never in a position to stomp, the cage never really came into play and Shogun got the better of the elbows.
tlangley
9/27/07 1:29:56AM
there is always some one better...but yes, right noe he is the best.
i bet most people that say he isn't are either fairly new to mma or are just plain hating.
i bet most people that say he isn't are either fairly new to mma or are just plain hating.
ncordless
9/27/07 2:21:00AM
It's funny how many people on this thread have been banned.
BTW... Sakurabaforever's "banned and I have no life" is hilarious.
BTW... Sakurabaforever's "banned and I have no life" is hilarious.
NatedawgThaM
9/27/07 2:29:20AM
I say HECK YEAH!!!!
Who else can take a Randleman slam like that and just flip him over like nothing happened and submit him? Who else could out strike Cro Cop in the ride ring? Who else could make Mark Colemans spectacular wrestling look like a amaetur was doing it. Who else could out box Big Nog and beat him on the ground?
NOBODY THAT'S WHO!!!!
The UFC Octagon will only benefit him more because he loves to grapple because of his amazing Sambo/judo. Fedor will give Randy a whole lot of trouble and Randy will do the same, and that would be a GREAT BACK & FORTH FIGHT!!!
The only way he will lose is by getting caught by a lucky punch like everybody else can, or a huge gash on his face that forces TKO(cut stoppage)....
Who else can take a Randleman slam like that and just flip him over like nothing happened and submit him? Who else could out strike Cro Cop in the ride ring? Who else could make Mark Colemans spectacular wrestling look like a amaetur was doing it. Who else could out box Big Nog and beat him on the ground?
NOBODY THAT'S WHO!!!!
The UFC Octagon will only benefit him more because he loves to grapple because of his amazing Sambo/judo. Fedor will give Randy a whole lot of trouble and Randy will do the same, and that would be a GREAT BACK & FORTH FIGHT!!!
The only way he will lose is by getting caught by a lucky punch like everybody else can, or a huge gash on his face that forces TKO(cut stoppage)....
Azzkiker
9/30/07 10:44:54PM
I think he is the best heavyweight. im leanong towards him as the best pound for pound fighter if he can take out couture. i will say the transformation to the cage will be a learning curve. Against someone like couture the ring is an added weapon, he knows how to use the cage and leverage against his opponents.
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