Two different runs as the UFC welterweight champion. Yet, he came back two years later to knock Couture out at UFC 52, so as to avenge his previous loss and grab the Light Heavyweight belt. Basically, he submitted anyone UFC had put in front of him and no-one knew how to defend his attacks. He's not doing cameos on "Two and a HalfMen.". Everything a Beginner Needs to Know. They made the UFC possible. To be specific, with his measured and controlled rushes in and out of his rival's range, he could knock so many people unconscious. Being widely recognized with his nickname of the spider, Silva is a truly well-rounded fighter as he is extremely competent in Muay Thai, Wing Chun, Taekwondo, Wrestling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. And that's a shame, because what a prime it was. Thank you, Igor. It is set in stone. That might all be true, but it might all miss the point. Be that as it may, there is not a shadow of a doubt that he is still enlisted among one of the most influential fighters in MMA history, due to his influence on other wrestlers who joined MMA and established dominance over BJJ fighters.

He never had any issues in his BJJ game after that fight and he even won a rematch against Hughes. You don't diminish Bill Russell because he couldn't have posted up Shaq, or Walter Johnson because he couldn't strike out modern hitters, or Knute Rockne becausethat forward pass of his is just so yesterday. That is to say, all the great talents and endeavours would be futile when the exhausted fighter has not that much of endurance in his battles. When he openedMiletich Fighting Systems in 1997, Miletich once again provedthe visionary, this timein terms of MMA training. Mark Coleman is a true MMA pioneer and many consider him to be the godfather of ground and pound technique. He showed the combination of great skills and smart strategy could bring more success in MMA fights. Oh yeah, that guy who fought Jon Favreau in "Friends,"anddid allthat other showbizand sideshow stuff? Before competing in the sport of MMA, as a kickboxer he had an unbeaten record of 220. In modern MMA, most famous Karatekas are Stephen Thompson and George St. Pierre.

Whenever I get frustrated with B.J. , although he eventually underwent some terrible defeats at the closing stages of his career, he still goes down as one of The Top Ten Most Influential Fighters in History. Fighters no longer focus mainly on one skillset of fighting. Since Machida's father was a Japanese Shotokan master, he trained and acquired a diversity of movements and a style all of his own. That is to say, with a very small body frame, he succeeded to win the first UFC fight against the boxer Art Jimmerson. It was a thing to watch. The latest in the sports world, emailed daily. Quick quiz: who has beaten Dan Henderson, Kazuyuki Fujita, Michael Bisping, Rampage Jackson twice andKazushi Sakuraba threetimes? I'm talking aboutthe deepdesire not only to be a great champion, but to help grow and represent the sport in a positive and meaningful way. At the time, MFS was highly advanced and one of the first super camps. The Brett Favre of the Octagon. Inside the cage, his kicking technique was also very effective against the wrestlers who tried to take Rizzo down. He had an impact on other collegiate wrestlers to join MMA and dominate BJJ fighters in MMA fights. And ground n' pound is already losing distinctionit's just a part of grappling. You can punch and kick and staband pull out people's eyes. He was a former NCAA Division I wrestling champion (1988) and three times Pan American wrestling champion.

Thus, he has many great finishes on his record. If it wasnt for their attitude and unique fighting skills, MMA would never become what it is today. In the long run,it won't make you a household name, but your invention will become so interwoven withthe fabric of yoursport that the action will begin to lose itsdistinction. At the time, wrestlers would train with wrestlers, and the same was for every style. MMA fighters have to divide their time between training for wrestling, muay thai, and jiujitsu, resulting in not MMACHANNEL.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com, Copyright 2022 NHB Media LLC. If this list were rankingthe best or most respected fighters,Jeremy Horn or a Nogueira brother might occupy this slot. Randy was a brilliant fight strategist. But the most memorable were the ones in which he knocked his rivals out with brutal Karate front kicks. I tip my cap to you. There can be NO DEBATE! All through his entire career, a liver shot was Ruttens favorite weapon and he popularized its use in MMA. But in a way, that made them all the more compelling. To a certain degree, Coleman gave a blueprint for how wrestlers can dominate MMA. His great blend of striking and submissions is lighting the way toward anew fighting disciplinetrue mixed martial arts. The only MMA fighter to simultaneouslyhold championship belts in two different weight classes. Just kiddingdebate away. His long tenure in Pride meant he didn't make it to American soil until he was past his prime. Of course, Liddell became a poster boy for more thanhis incredible punchingpower and championship run at light heavyweight. The owner of the best quote in MMA history is also the owner of some ofits best highlights. Thereby he anchored his name to many great finishes, as the likes of his notable knockouts over Randy Couture and Vitor Belfort that were the result of brutal Karate front kicks. People were confused that such a small guy can use this grappling technique to defeat much bigger opponents. Instead, very exquisitely he illustrated how efficient it is to use a traditional art like karate, as he went on to grab the UFC championship with his unique Karate fighting style. Whats more, He never had great defensive wrestling skills. Thus, many of Rizzos rivals were victims of his hard low kicks. In his illustrious career, he popularized his favourite liver shot in MMA which causes the shutdown of the bodys autonomic nervous system and was by far the most competent standup fighter, who became the first standup fighter to dominate in the Asian Pancrase MMA promotion. Or, at least before Favre turned into Diana Ross and discovered cell phone technology. I double-dog dare you. Now, lets look at who were these fighters and why are they most influential. Instead of fighting with instincts, every modern fighter must have a game plan in order to succeed in MMA. It is fair to say that many warriors have tried to replicate his style of keeping the fights standing as much as it is possible. Fighters now realize there actually needs to be a separate training devoted to improving agility since it allows a fighter to move faster and better. After transferring to Oklahoma State,he was a teammate of Randy Couture. As a result, he came as a much better striker in the rematch against Serra and he defeated him via TKO. Sakurabaformed one half of whatwasthe longest andarguably greatest MMA fight of all time, a90-minute(!) He's notbragging abouthis conquests on Howard Stern. Now that's what I callfisticuffsmanship! Thereby, for the first time that fighters began to compete in MMA, the sport was not as it is today since there was just a single style of training in addition to some basic knowledge from other disciplines. In other words, it's not a "jump shot" anymoreit's just a shot. like Thompson and George St. Pierre are among those successful Karatekas in the sport of MMA. "Bloodsport" come to life. Some of his bestknockoutsfrom K-1 andPride (where he won the 2006 Grand Prix)have a similar effect as great music -- youcan't help butshout out loud, orstand up and cheer. In recent years, Royce Gracie's star has faded, asthe perceptionspreads that hisbrand of jiu-jitsuis outmoded. He was a very polarizing person. However, after he underwent a number of defeats, he made his mind to leave the promotion after a while. His blend of various striking styles was a pure mystery at the time. Many fighters try to mimic his style, but its very difficult to achieve Silvas type of agility and timing. One reminder: This is not a list of the "best" fighters. Thisis why it makes sense, in my opinion,to take a momenttorank the25 fighters who havethus far exerted themost influence on the sport. He showed that BJJ as a single art could work against any other style in MMA. Does it get any more old school than Dan "The Beast" Severn? Great. Actually, that second one isn't so far off. Whereas initially fighters were required to be almost pure strikers or at least a good boxer without being mastered in any other necessary skills, as time goes by this perception has changed drastically. But he knew jiu-jitsu? Thank you. He showed traditional arts like karate can be very useful in MMA. But he's more than justa cheapparlor game. Fans know him as a nearly unstoppable fighter. Royce Gracie has a special place at the heart of the most influential fighters in MMA history, in as much as he proved that being undersized doesnt mean you cant compete and be a great fighter. When you get right down to it, when you talk about standing on the shoulders of those who came before you, it's not hard to make the case that MMAreally stands on just oneset of shoulders, whichbelong to Royce Gracie. As a result, you either liked him or not. Its fair to say that Tito was one of the first fighters to bring that type of entertainment factor into MMA. The Gracie family conceived the UFC in partas a way of selling their style ofsubmission fightingto a generation of Karate Kid devotees who realized (in some cases, maybetoo late) that tae kwon do, great martial art form though it was and is,wasn'tideally suited tohelping themon the playground after school. Bas is synonymous with the famous liver shot. Throughout his entire career, he never stopped improving his game by sticking only with what he does the best. At the time, he was by far the most skilled standup fighter. Left leg: cemetery.". With holding his hands low, he used the low centre of gravity for the sake of closing the distance and escaping the dangers as quickly as possible. No pun intended. While an overwhelming majority of his battles took place during the 2000s, it seems that he was simply the only one who could blend such a diverse kind of martial arts into a winning style at the highest level. He also played a significant role in raising awareness about the importance of cardiovascular training. No, Wandycame up in the streets, street fighting. He never fought in the UFC. As boring as this may have seemed, it was a perfect game plan to defeat such a dangerous fighter like Vera. It was hisdistinctive mohawk, his mustacheand tattoos. GSP started as a Karate fighter and he never competed in amateur wrestling. These days, it seems like whenever a TV show of one stripe or another needs an MMA fighter to come in and hit a dummy so they can measurea punch'svelocity or pounds-per-square-inch, Rutten is on the short list. Some of the sport's deepestdevotees believe Igor Vovchanchyn is the most underrated MMAfighter in history.

Itsays a lot about theesteem people hold forPenn thata careerincluding UFC titlesin two different weight classes is viewed by someas disappointing. .It goes without saying that he was among the first ones who exercised impressive leglocks. As a very smart and innovative person, Miletich changed the way fighters train. Our authors merely link to the rightful owner. When Couture fought new and upcoming Brandon Vera, aging Randy wasnt supposed to win. Plus he played that villain role perfectly. He clearly lacked athletic ability to match against Vera. A heck of a lot. The inventor of ground n' pound.

This is while he was totally aware of his own strengths and deficiencies in so far as to make his game plans on the basis of his strengths with minimizing his weaknesses.

Instead, it is David "Tank" Abbott who gets the nod. But he went on to become a high-level wrestler and a true takedown artist in MMA. He would allow his rivals to step into his range and he used agility to catch them with vicious counter combinations. And the winner of the whole thingwas this guy, right, who was, like, a lot smaller than all the other guys? AndI'm talking about more than just theseamless way he is combining every phase of mixed martial arts to help createanew, hybridizedform of fighting. The sport's first superstar and modern folk hero, Chuck Liddell and his legendary battles with Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz and others helped make the UFCa viable foilto boxing in the all-important pay-per-view arena and elsewhere. Just when it seems like Penn is making the worldthe butt of some kind ofunfunny joke,he does the equivalent of beating Matt Hughes (or justliterallybeats Matt Hughes again). Likewise, he changed how people fought in the UFC since many modern MMA stars tried to acquire his skills; just, for instance. So while the Gracies of the worldswung the advantage toward grapplers for a time, Vovchanchyn helped rebalance the scales. , he is considered to be among the famous MMA fighters. So he started to train at his brothers infamous Lions Den gym, shoot fighting, jeet kune do, kickboxing, and a chunk of leglocks. At Arizona State, Frye trained under Dan Severn.

In his native Croatia, Cro Cop (a former anti-terrorist commando) is a hero and a former member of Parliament. With this game plan, he was benefitted from this ability to stay away from suffering much damage while he could manage to establish dominance in the fight by being a smarter fighter, and that is the reason why he could compete very well even in his 40s. He always tended to use his great footwork and lateral movement to stay out of the range and preferred to quickly close the distance from the outside, so as to land his strikes with high precision and power. At the time, many fighters were not familiar with how to defend against kickboxing techniques such as leg kicks.

But on the other hand, he also broughtalonghis missingteeth,his flowing goatee and his nasty demeanor. During the press conferences, Tito didnt hold back verbally attacking his rivals and showboating. Tito garnered much attention and was able to bring tons of new fans into the UFC and sell more PPV fights. But Silva has changed all of this. Back to the power, though. I wonder how many other conversations just like that one took place in classrooms and cafeterias and dorm rooms and barrooms and press roomsduring those early days of the sport alllll the way back in the mid-1990s. You can askfairly enoughabout whether Tank'srelatively high profilewas good or bad for the sport. His unique style changed how standup fights should be fought in MMA. Titos contribution to MMA is unrelated to the actual fighting inside the cage. Despite being a wrestler, Miletich saw the need to create a camp, so the fighters from various styles can train under one roof. Today, every fighter must be good in all aspects of fighting. Who could forget the knee dropsthat opened the flood gatesor, should I say, the BLOOD gateson a prone Oleg Taktarov in UFC 5? Whether kicking or punching, Bas didnt depend on one type of striking style. Following that he went on a nine-fight winning streak inside the UFC, he managed to grab the belt, until he was finished by Randy Couture at UFC 43. And this was when the family was at the height of its powers. He preferred to quickly close the distance from the outside, and land with high precision and power. There have been many influential fighters, but Royces influence runs far deeper. Without the presence of people like him, MMA would conceivably remain a fighting style with a particular skill set rather than a wide manifold set for a very long time. The waist-high trunks. I mean, his trash talk leading up to his fight against Ken Shamrock was pure gold. This three-time Olympic wrestlingalternate fought long before the martialarts started to mix, butas a precursor tomodern ground n' pound,Severn combinedmatskillswith striking sobrutal and rawthat you could barely call it striking. Georges St-Pierre is putting it all together. Suddenly, it was more aboutwhat you knew thanwhat you benched. Most American MMA fans have never heard of Kazushi Sakuraba. Sportmob does not claim ownership of any of the pictures posted on this website. He even did a turn on NBC's "The Apprentice," where he outlasted seven other B-list celebrities before being fired. Despite the obvious lack of striking skills, Royce went against all odds to fulfill his familys mission and showed the world the power of BJJ. So, most wrestlers had to fight under Andersons terms and conditions. The very same. Lewis himself, for want of a better phrase, had a life-affirming way about him, whichmade it all the more tragic when he died last year after a drunk driver struck his car.