Top fighter picks, both old and current

[Rulk]

My top of old
Mark Kerr, Vitor Belfort, Bas Rutten, Ken Shamrock
Top of current
Lyto Machida, Rousimar Palhares, Josh Barnett, Dan Henderson

My picks based on the fact that, these athletes have something worth watching. Whether it's pure brute strength and putting on a show, or a different technique and style from the mma herd, these guys are fun to watch.

[Rodja]

What criteria are you using for this? Palhares and Barnett lost their most recent fights.

[Rulk]

What criteria are you using for this? Palhares and Barnett lost their most recent fights.

Eh... Whatever top pick list of your choosing. I guess mine is based on watching factor. I look forward to watching these guys fight more than other fighters. They may not be the best, but they have something cool to look for. Barnett is catch wrestler ( awesome ) and I know him, Machida's style is just so cool for me to watch, since he comes from a karate background and you can really see the techniques. Back in the ufc's begining, it seemed like black belts would forget everything they learned and just brawl, but Machida employs his karate skills through the whole fight, for the most part.

Palhares is just a leg and foot subbin beast, something I would've liked to see the orignal russian bear do/be.

[Rodja]

Ahh...gotcha.

There are a few people that I always enjoy watching:
Machida
Pat Barry
Wand
Shogun
Hendo
Bendo

Old/retired fighters:
Lytle
Fedor
Couture

[Rulk]

Ahh...gotcha.

There are a few people that I always enjoy watching:
Machida
Pat Barry - I really dig his heart, he's got heart like a motherfucker.
Wand - Just a cool looking character in general. Reminds me of Wolverine, smaller but still buff and just goes ape shit- but in a controlled fashion kind of.
Shogun - I thought he was more fun to watch in Pride. Still entertaining to watch though.
Hendo
Bendo -liked him before, that last fight he really looked like a champion.

Old/retired fighters:
Lytle - Oh yeah! Highly underated when it came to entertainment factor. I think he could have been marketed better.
Fedor- Definetly fun to watch, especially with kind of an un-assuming physique, because he was so damn strong, quick and explosive.
Couture

Great picks.

[VayneZ]

Bas Rutten... Now that's a name I haven't heard for AWHILE! This guy used to be one of my rolemodels back in the days! Amazing teacher and coach. Now I feel like youtube-ing some stuff from Bas...

[Rulk]

I wish Bas would've kept fighting for another year or two. Bas is definetly a role model of mine as well.

[Rodja]

I guess I'm in the minority of people that severely dislike Bas Rutten. Great at marketing himself, but I find him very annoying and overrated.

[Rulk]

Wow, the 1st person i've heard that didn't like Bas^. To each his own though. I used to like BJ, but after a while I started liking him less, especially after all the shit he talked about gsp and then lost to him. Some of the fighters who I grew to like are Chael Sonnen and the Diaz brothers.

[DJM]

art jimmerson
keith hackney
tony halme

[Rulk]

art jimmerson
keith hackney
tony halme

Lol! Nice picks DJ.

[Scope75]

Matt Hughes!!
I've always liked the guy and the 2 times I've talked with him he's been more than cool.
At this years Olympia.
http://i1050.photobucket.com/albums/s408/scope75/C24E5A29-01EF-46F2-93FD-8F1141018475-3518-000001F93323616A_zpsfde7ba2b.jpg

[longBallLima]

I guess I'm in the minority of people that severely dislike Bas Rutten. Great at marketing himself, but I find him very annoying and overrated.


Wow, the 1st person i've heard that didn't like Bas^. To each his own though. I used to like BJ, but after a while I started liking him less, especially after all the shit he talked about gsp and then lost to him. Some of the fighters who I grew to like are Chael Sonnen and the Diaz brothers.

i actually don't mind his personality, but i find Bas extremely overrated as far as his fighting career goes.


Matt Hughes!!
I've always liked the guy and the 2 times I've talked with him he's been more than cool.
At this years Olympia.
http://i1050.photobucket.com/albums/s408/scope75/C24E5A29-01EF-46F2-93FD-8F1141018475-3518-000001F93323616A_zpsfde7ba2b.jpg

did you ever read anything from his book? I kid you not, Matt Hughes might be one of the worst individuals I've heard of, aside, of course, from the extremely violent criminal, pedos and such.

He's a sociopath. Or just a plain asshole, i dont know. I'm probably just trying to sound fancy LOL


EDIT - And I offer: Summary of Matt Hughes' Book - Sherdog Mixed Martial Arts Forums (http://www.sherdog.net/forums/f44/summary-matt-hughes-book-made-america-965216/)

good read if you've got nothing to do :)

[DJM]

^^^^hughes came across as a cocksucker, very talented and big time star there, but always wanted to see someone light him the fuck up..........the fight with trigg is legendary tho

i read past the ridiculous summary of his book, its obviously BS.......i still cant stand him, but lies are lies

[Scope75]

Never read his book but ill check out that link.

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^^^^hughes came across as a cocksucker, very talented and big time star there, but always wanted to see someone light him the fuck up..........the fight with trigg is legendary tho

That's the reason I like Hughes is when he was on top he put on a good show and fought often.

[longBallLima]

^^^^hughes came across as a cocksucker, very talented and big time star there, but always wanted to see someone light him the fuck up..........the fight with trigg is legendary tho

I truly dislike the man. on TUF, when he had his fighters pray, i was cringing the whole time. he's pretty obnoxious


Never read his book but ill check out that link.

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That's the reason I like Hughes is when he was on top he put on a good show and fought often.

The link is somewhat humorous, don't expect it to match the book perfectly. But what I read from it did get me pretty nauseated with the fellow.

[Scope75]

Yeah from the way it sound he's a doucher!! Lol
Oh well at least he was cool while I was there.

[Rodja]

He seems to have been knocked doen a few pegs after recent KOs.

[Scope75]

He seems to have been knocked doen a few pegs after recent KOs.

He's far from relevant but he was fun to watch when he was champ or fighting for the belt.

[Rulk]

Matt Hughes is okay. He may not have the best personality in the world, but he was the champ for awhile. He seemed to get outdated pretty quick though, or he lost a step or both.

Igor Vovchanchin (sp?) was another fighter worth watching.

[longBallLima]

my all time favorites:
Fedor
A. Silva - personality annoys the shit out of me, but GOAT
Frank Shamrock - one of the only old school guys that i liked.
Big Nog
Penn
GSP

[BR99TAL]

Igor Vovchanchin (sp?) was another fighter worth watching.

i love you for mentioning igor vovchanchyn. hes the prototype of fedor. wouldnt want to meet this guy pissed off......

what about alistair overeem?

[DJM]

http://cdn2.sbnation.com/imported_assets/914381/1.gif

dennis hallman

[Rulk]

i love you for mentioning igor vovchanchyn. hes the prototype of fedor. wouldnt want to meet this guy pissed off......

what about alistair overeem?

Hell yeah. The Reem is a beast, definetly worth watching. He has a ton of fights on youtube to watch, both mma and k-1.

[longBallLima]

i love you for mentioning igor vovchanchyn. hes the prototype of fedor. wouldnt want to meet this guy pissed off......

what about alistair overeem?

this is how i like my overeem

http://www.gifsoup.com/view/630631/shogun-owns-overeem-o.gif


:D

[BR99TAL]

this is how i like my overeem

http://www.gifsoup.com/view/630631/shogun-owns-overeem-o.gif


:D


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hL1rVPzbM0

how can you dislike him?
that knee to the liver near the end perhaps did more damage than ippys superdrol habits

[longBallLima]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hL1rVPzbM0

how can you dislike him?
that knee to the liver near the end perhaps did more damage than ippys superdrol habits
LOLOLOL

but i cant wait to see JDS expose that fraudulent chin!!! :D

[Scope75]

JDS is going to be hard to beat and he's throws bombs!!!!

[Rodja]

i love you for mentioning igor vovchanchyn. hes the prototype of fedor. wouldnt want to meet this guy pissed off......

what about alistair overeem?

Igor and Fedor do not have any similarities. Igor was a pure kickboxer while Fedor came from a very illustrious Sambo background. Igor was a KO guy while Fedor had the best GnP and great submissions.

Overeem has some of the biggest hype for someone that's been KO'd multiple times by LHWs and has spent most of his HW career beating cans.

[longBallLima]

Igor and Fedor do not have any similarities. Igor was a pure kickboxer while Fedor came from a very illustrious Sambo background. Igor was a KO guy while Fedor had the best GnP and great submissions.

Overeem has some of the biggest hype for someone that's been KO'd multiple times by LHWs and has spent most of his HW career beating cans.


I'll say, striking wise they have some similarities, specifically in the way they throw hooks, which is very particular. They rotate the wrist in a really funky way, making it seem like a hay maker, when it's not.

that being said, i think fedor is 10x the fighter

and agreed on overeem. can't wait for him to be exposed against the HW top 5

[Rodja]

They both threw the Russian hooks with the thumb flipped over, but that's where the comparison ends between them.

[BR99TAL]

Igor and Fedor do not have any similarities. Igor was a pure kickboxer while Fedor came from a very illustrious Sambo background. Igor was a KO guy while Fedor had the best GnP and great submissions.

Overeem has some of the biggest hype for someone that's been KO'd multiple times by LHWs and has spent most of his HW career beating cans.
cant argue in any way as im not in that scene, but as far as i remember, igor did sambo too but performed only kickboxing.
anyways, i just was refering to punching as both seem to be fearless and just want to get in your face pretty hard.

cant argue on overeem either, just was impressed how he wrecked in those highlights.

[longBallLima]

They both threw the Russian hooks with the thumb flipped over, but that's where the comparison ends between them.

hah, here i was thinking that russian hooks was a term no one would really know here :P

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cant argue in any way as im not in that scene, but as far as i remember, igor did sambo too but performed only kickboxing.
anyways, i just was refering to punching as both seem to be fearless and just want to get in your face pretty hard.

cant argue on overeem either, just was impressed how he wrecked in those highlights.



u wanna see some badasses from your homeland, check Peter Aerts and Ernesto Hoost on K-1. fkn Overeem beat aerts by literally pushing him around in the ring. im not a purist when it comes to roids in MMA, but i'll say, the only reason AO has a relevant career is because of roids.

[BR99TAL]

u wanna see some badasses from your homeland, check Peter Aerts and Ernesto Hoost on K-1. fkn Overeem beat aerts by literally pushing him around in the ring. im not a purist when it comes to roids in MMA, but i'll say, the only reason AO has a relevant career is because of roids.

looking some vids now, really impressive... but im not from the netherlands :D

[longBallLima]

looking some vids now, really impressive... but im not from the netherlands :D

hah why tha fuck did i assume that? lol looked up ur location. stephan leko was a bit of a badass lol

[BR99TAL]

hah why tha fuck did i assume that? lol looked up ur location. stephan leko was a bit of a badass lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_W9L8uEozkQ
maybe besim kabashi?

[Rodja]

cant argue in any way as im not in that scene, but as far as i remember, igor did sambo too but performed only kickboxing.
anyways, i just was refering to punching as both seem to be fearless and just want to get in your face pretty hard.

cant argue on overeem either, just was impressed how he wrecked in those highlights.

I've never heard anything regarding Igor having a Sambo background and his lack of takedowns and submissions shows that. His standup style was also more refined compared to the striking that is prevalent in Sambo.

Fun fact: Igor and Vitali Klitschko once trained at the same kickboxing gym.

[BR99TAL]

I've never heard anything regarding Igor having a Sambo background and his lack of takedowns and submissions shows that. His standup style was also more refined compared to the striking that is prevalent in Sambo.

Fun fact: Igor and Vitali Klitschko once trained at the same kickboxing gym.
Sherdog.com Preview: PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Critical Countdown - Igor Vovchanchyn vs. Alistair Overeem (http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/4/Sherdogcom-Preview-PRIDE-Middleweight-Grand-Prix-Critical-Countdown-3015)
"VOVCHANCHYN: Ukrainian kickboxer and sambo stylist Igor Vovchanchyn trains with Igor Kovalev, Gennadiy Matsigora, Yuri Gudymahas and the rest of Team Vovchanchyn and carries an amazing 50-8-1-1 record in MMA."

[DJM]

Overeem has some of the biggest hype for someone that's been KO'd multiple times by LHWs and has spent most of his HW career beating cans.

overeem oh man, whos he beaten? undersized belfort, then what?........ufc hyped him up for their HW division even tho he looked average in strikeforce against guys who havent even been added to the ufc roster......he debuts against brock who had no desire to even be in there and had both feet out the door already....wins but gets busted for peds before the dos santos fight, when we all fkn knew anyway

[Rodja]

Sherdog.com Preview: PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Critical Countdown - Igor Vovchanchyn vs. Alistair Overeem (http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/4/Sherdogcom-Preview-PRIDE-Middleweight-Grand-Prix-Critical-Countdown-3015)
"VOVCHANCHYN: Ukrainian kickboxer and sambo stylist Igor Vovchanchyn trains with Igor Kovalev, Gennadiy Matsigora, Yuri Gudymahas and the rest of Team Vovchanchyn and carries an amazing 50-8-1-1 record in MMA."

I've scoured looking for any footage or documentation of Igor and Sambo. If you look at it from a timeline perspective, he was already very active in MMA/NHB by the time he was 22 and had over 60 pro kickboxing fights by the time he started MMA/NHB. That leaves very little time for him to have picked up Sambo training.

That, and if you watch some of his early fights, it's very obvious that he had very little, if any, background in grappling. He eventually evolved to include some leglocks that are common to a Sambo fighter, but that would not make him a Sambo guy.

[BR99TAL]

I've scoured looking for any footage or documentation of Igor and Sambo. If you look at it from a timeline perspective, he was already very active in MMA/NHB by the time he was 22 and had over 60 pro kickboxing fights by the time he started MMA/NHB. That leaves very little time for him to have picked up Sambo training.

That, and if you watch some of his early fights, it's very obvious that he had very little, if any, background in grappling. He eventually evolved to include some leglocks that are common to a Sambo fighter, but that would not make him a Sambo guy.

I always thought igor did both, but was an strict standup fighter, as you can see in older matches he wanted his opponents to stand up again and avoid ground game.
however, your explanation looks plausible.

[Rulk]

Even though the heavyweight division is the best it's ever been, it still needs more talent badly. I'll take Overeem in the division. He's a freak and a problem for most heavyweights.

Sometimes I would see a similarity in fedor and igor, but just in that looping punch they throw. Igor had a better chin.

[Rodja]

Noa, will you explain to me why you think Overeem is the best HW out there? I always come back to his chin and heart, which were lacking at LHW.

[Scope75]

AO will get his Ass lit the Fuck up as soon as he steps into the cage with a real HW!!
JDS would knock his head right off, and Cain would probably do major damage on him as well

[longBallLima]

AO will get his Ass lit the Fuck up as soon as he steps into the cage with a real HW!!
JDS would knock his head right off, and Cain would probably do major damage on him as well

my name is long ball lima and i approve this message

[Rulk]

Even though the heavyweight division is the best it's ever been, it still needs more talent badly. I'll take Overeem in the division. He's a freak and a problem for most heavyweights.

Sometimes I would see a similarity in fedor and igor, but just in that looping punch they throw. Igor had a better chin.


Noa, will you explain to me why you think Overeem is the best HW out there? I always come back to his chin and heart, which were lacking at LHW.

I should clarify^. I definetly don't think Overeem is number one, but I do welcome his presence gladly in the heavyweight division. From an entertainment value stand point, he should be in the ufc. He fights well, he's very physical and powerfull. To rank him?.... I would at least put him under #1 JDS and #2 Velasquez, if not lower in the heavyweight division. There are a couple of HW's that would probably knock him down to #4, or #5. Josh Barnett should be considered imo, for top 5.

The match I want to see in the UFC is Mir vs. Barnett.

[Rodja]

I remember a couple of years back when Bas ranked Overeem as the #1 HW in the world. The entire time, all I could think about was the hypocrisy of this ranking as Bas has flung so much shit at anyone using AAS, yet puts AO as the #1 guy!? Seriously!?

Now, I don't give a shit one way or another if someone chooses to use AAS recreationally, but there are rules in place regarding PEDs, opiates, etc. While I was fighting, I chose not to use AAS simply from an ethics perspective even though I could have easily done so since I competed in TX where there isn't any testing done by the AC. I'm trying to find a better way to articulate this, but it more or less comes down to the fact that there are a set of rules in place regarding PEDs just like there are regarding legal/illegal strikes. I'm all in favor of knees to a downed opponent, but it's against the rules. Same goes with my philosophy on AAS; I personally am in favor, but I don't get to make the rules.

[Scope75]

Wasn't it AO that said his jump in size was from eating horse meat?? Lol
Shit must of been laced with dbol.

[BR99TAL]

Wasn't it AO that said his jump in size was from eating horse meat?? Lol
Shit must of been laced with dbol.
Nevada State Athletic Commission denies Alistair Overeem license - Loretta Hunt - SI.com (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/loretta_hunt/04/25/alistair.overeem/index.html)
14/1 T/E ratio

[Rulk]

Wasn't it AO that said his jump in size was from eating horse meat?? Lol
Shit must of been laced with dbol.
Yeah he said that for sure. I think it's kind of gross, but hey, I eat cows and other animals.

I remember a couple of years back when Bas ranked Overeem as the #1 HW in the world. The entire time, all I could think about was the hypocrisy of this ranking as Bas has flung so much shit at anyone using AAS, yet puts AO as the #1 guy!? Seriously!?
I had no idea he said that^. Funny shit right there. I wonder what Bas has to say now about Overeem.

Now, I don't give a shit one way or another if someone chooses to use AAS recreationally, but there are rules in place regarding PEDs, opiates, etc. While I was fighting, I chose not to use AAS simply from an ethics perspective even though I could have easily done so since I competed in TX where there isn't any testing done by the AC. I'm trying to find a better way to articulate this, but it more or less comes down to the fact that there are a set of rules in place regarding PEDs just like there are regarding legal/illegal strikes. I'm all in favor of knees to a downed opponent, but it's against the rules. Same goes with my philosophy on AAS; I personally am in favor, but I don't get to make the rules.

I think at the level of the UFC, steroids are pretty common. I hear ya though, against the rules, but I say let em juice if they want.

[Scope75]

Wow 14:1 T/E is pretty high for just a few shots of test!!lol

[Rodja]

Wow 14:1 T/E is pretty high for just a few shots of test!!lol

That could be for a single shot of test.

[Scope75]

That could be for a single shot of test.

What I meant is the doc said it was only there as a catalyst so a few of those shots shouldn't raise it that much, but maybe it was a whole lot more than he made it out to be.
That's can't be the case could it. Lol

[Rodja]

What I meant is the doc said it was only there as a catalyst so a few of those shots shouldn't raise it that much, but maybe it was a whole lot more than he made it out to be.
That's can't be the case could it. Lol

I don' buy either part of the story and Overeem was trying to pull some BS with his licensing for the Lesnar fight and feigning ignorance even though he'd previously fought not only in the US, but also Nevada.

[DJM]

he tested at 14:1, legal amount is 6:1....he finally was busted after what id assume is years of beating the tests and/or bs'ing

[Scope75]

I don' buy either part of the story and Overeem was trying to pull some BS with his licensing for the Lesnar fight and feigning ignorance even though he'd previously fought not only in the US, but also Nevada.

I don't buy any of it either!!
Its only obvious he was on the juice!! Lol

[Rodja]

he tested at 14:1, legal amount is 6:1....he finally was busted after what id assume is years of beating the tests and/or bs'ing

Mainly fighting in Japan. One of his SF fights was in TX, which has no testing procedure, and the other was in MO, which he looked smaller.

[tallstraw]

Of the current:
Rory McDonald-I think he's going to dominate in future years. Seeing his first UFC fight, and the way he mandhandles Carlos Condit was really exciting.
Jon Jones
Joe Lauson(spelling?)
Pat Berry
Damien Mia
God I hate saying it, but Nick Diaz. Nate can go suck a chode.