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Martial Arts Question of the Month
by Sachet, Team IronLife.com Staff Writer & Mod @ www.IntenseMuscle.com
Who are your all time favorite fighters in any of the MA fields?
(You are welcome to list up to 5 fighters)
What do you think is special about each of them?
My favorite fighter is Muay Thai Guy because he has a dynamite smile!
Quote:
Hody - Mod @ www.Ironlife.com
The following is a list of my top 5 MMA fighters, listed in no particular order. Basic requirements were their fighting ability and their contribution to MMA.
The Gracie Family. It’s difficult to single out any one particular Gracie. Each Gracie has made an impact and contribution to the world of MMA. Whether or not they are the best or still dominate in MMA, I’ll let the keyboard warriors debate that one.
Even the anti-Gracie haters have to agree that Gracie Jiu-Jitsu/BJJ had/has a major contribution to the world of MMA. Many people today are incorporating some form of submission based grappling because they witnessed the effectiveness of BJJ.
Bruce Lee. Again, I’ll let the keyboard warriors debate whether he was simply an actor or if he actually had any martial arts skills. However, Bruce Less was ahead of his time. He advocated full contact sparring during a time when controlled point sparring was the norm. He went against the grain of traditional martial arts and took the “whatever it takes and whatever is useful” ideology and applied it to martial arts, which included grappling.
It goes without saying, many people got into marital arts after seeing one of his movies – perhaps even you. Talk to any professional MMA fighter and many will at least give some credit to Bruce Lee for getting them into martial arts.
Vanderlai Silva. Current Middleweight Pride Champ, undefeated in over 4 years. Vanderlai is a fighting machine that truly loves to KO his opponents. Regardless of whom he is fighting, you know that you’re going to see plenty of action. It’s refreshing to see a fighter that consistently tries to end the fight decisively, in his case VIA KO, rather than win on points and ride out the clock. Some critics might complain about the quality of his opponents, but Vanderlai will fight anyone that Pride puts in front of him. Not only that, he entered the Pride MW Grand Prix and won. A very risky move on his part, considering a loss would have tarnished his claim to the belt and only fueled the fire of the critics.
At a time when BJJ was thought to be the sole answer to effective MMA, Vanderlai has shown that effective strikers, who cross train in BJJ or some other form of submission grappling, can be very effective and deadly too.
As a side note, Vanderlai also does a lot of charity work, especially with children. Fighters of his caliber are quite famous in Brazil and he’s putting his fame to good use. It’s refreshing to see MMA getting positive publicity with the general public.
Randy Couture. Current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. How can you not like this guy? He’s soft spoken yet is a true ambassador of MMA. At an age when most fighters have long retired from the fight game – he’s still going strong, he has the body and conditioning of a man half his age, and he’s like the Energizer Bunny that just keeps on going and going and going and going and………
While Randy sports some tough losses on his record (if you have as many quality opponents as he does, it’s bound to happen), his wins are even more impressive. His list of opponents are like a whose who of MMA.
Randy is a world class wrestler that has a background in boxing and cross trains in the art of submissions. He’s living proof of the effectiveness and need for a strong wrestling background, if you want to be a good MMA fighter.
BJ Penn. In less than 4 years BJ Penn not only became a Black Belt in BJJ but also a world champion. He’s part of the new generation of young and exciting fighters. Some people have grown tired of watching fighters when they hit the mat. More often than not, it either involves the same old ground and pound or some form of lifeless guard. BJ however is part of a new generation of BJJ fighters that is always moving and looking for the finish, either by submission or KO. He has incorporated striking and takedowns, as well as conditioning techniques he learned from Frank Shamrock, to his arsenal to become a complete fighter.
Recently BJ added Rodrigo Gracie to his win column and also previously dethroned Matt Hughes. Many critics assumed Rodrigo had too many years of experience for BJ to handle and Matt too much power but he proved the critics wrong. I believe he will continue to prove the critics wrong in the future.
Unfortunately for the fans, BJ Penn has a well paying job outside of MMA. This allows him to be more selective about the events that he fights in and how often he fights. It should be clarified that he is always seeking tough opponents but he simply wants to get paid what he deserves. As many of you know, MMA fighters are underpaid. Give it time though, our sport has come a long way and so has some of the pay, at least for the top fighters.
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92Stangman - Valued Member @ www.BeyondMass.com
As far as my all time favorites go, I can only pick two that I would consider to be my favorites. There are some that I like to watch, but only two really inspired me -- Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock.
In the very first UFC, a skinny Royce Gracie showed up and shocked the America with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He never threw one punch, just shoot in on his opponent and use is ground techniques to tap his opponet out. The matches did not last long at all and he brought a new style of fighting to America.
Ken Shamrock is another one of my favorites. The look in his eye when he's across the ring is pretty scary. He's not in there to look good, he's in there to win the fight at all cost. Other than his first loss to Royce Gracie and Dan Severn in the later UFCs, Ken Shamrock was unstopable. His tough fighting abilities is what gave him the title, "The World's Most Dangerous Man."
Both fighters have gained so much respect over the years, shown their capabilites and both are pioneers of the UFC.
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Churuscan - Valued Member @ www.Nokaut.com
I can only think of three:
Mirko Crocop: for showing the world how effective kicks can be in MMA.
Kazushi Sakuraba: for being able to beat up 3 Gracies and for consistently fighting and beating guys who were alot bigger than him.
Vanderlei Silva: for his psychotic stare, aggression, and brutal style, how can you not love him?
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Kaps - Admin @ www.GlobalMMA.com
Sakuraba - He's great, the man has took on and defeated many high calibre opponents, he is almost always entertaining, and pulls submissions out of nowhere....
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Danabolic - Mod @ www.ChemicalFitness.com
Muhamed Ali - brought style & brains to boxing.
Helio Gracie - Pioneered the essential ground game.
Bruce Lee - invented Mixed martial arts-like it or not, he did.
Alex Gong - bridged the gap between Thailand fighters and American fighters.
Roy Jones Jr. - because in his day, he was a bad mother f'er.
Mike Tyson - same as above.
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Turboturist - Valued Member @ www.Ironlife.com
Rampage - true warrior. Love his sense of humor and aggressive style.
2. Wand - As above, always comes ready to fight.
3. Toss up between Fedor/Nog. Obvious reasons.
4. Tito Ortiz - always comes back stronger. Personally I like his attitude.
5. Georges St. Pierre - Amazing skill set for his age. Will be one of the best - Fellow Canadian.
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The Punk - Valued Member @ www.Ironlife.com
Wanderlei Silva for his relentless aggression and killer instinct.
Rodrigo Nogueira for his heart and constant submission attempts.
Kazushi Sakuraba... do you really need a reason why?
Kevin Randleman for his ability to beat any fighter at any time.
Jens Pulver for his love of fighting and his perseverance.
A couple more favorites who seem to be hated by almost all are Bob Sapp and Wes Sims. They both go out balls to the wall and keep coming back no matter how badly the get knocked out by their opponents or trash talked by MMA fans. And they almost always fight the best and sometimes even beat them.
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Dwizzie Luddie - Valued Member @ www.Ironlife.com
VITOR BELFORT: Such Quick hands and is really strong. Just has some personal issues lately but will hopefully show hes back aginst Tito.
DUANE LUDWIG: Talk about a great stand up fighter. Great kicks and great combinations. Good attitude also.
RICH FRANKLIN: Beatin some of the best and deserves alot more shots. What happened after he beat Evan Tanner... Nothing. Love to see more of him and loved his last fight with Rivera, didnt see the armbar coming.
QUINTON JACKSON: Dont think he has the experience, but whats brought him this far is his heart and determination. Keeps going and has been very well trained. Loved his first fight in KOTC aginst Marvin Eastman... Showed alot of guts.
CHUCK LIDELL: Great fighter. Such a good looping left hook... WATCH OUT! Loved seeing him knock out Vernon White. Great Attitude.
Man I left out Yves Edwards, Mirko Cro cop, Fedor, Nogueria. Man but these are all great fighters.
---
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Nachow - Valued Member @ www.Ironlife.com
Sakuraba: I´m begining to believe that he is an alien.
Wanderlei: The most dangerous fighter, unbeatable and a true champion.
Fedor: He is a like a samurai, un-f'ing-beatable, very strong and talented.
Crocop: Another striking machine. I like to learn from his kicks.
Takayama: Just kidding , I´d put Jens Pulver here.
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ThouArtAVillain - Valued Member @ www.Ironlife.com
I'll just list MMA since its the MMA forum and I can't be troubled to name all of them from every combat sport. Also if I was asked next week, it could be a completely different list. I like almost every fighter out there.
No order, accept probably the first one:
Hayato Sakurai is pretty much the reason why I got interested in MMA again. A prime Sakurai fighting was an insane sight to behold, cartwheel guard passes, flipping guard passes, speed, knees...before I got back into mma, I assumed it was still called NHB and the only good fighters that dominated this sport, were pure grapplers. Then my uncle brought back some mma DVD’s from his trip to Japan, mistaking them for pro-wrestling which is what I asked for. I saw a fighter who ground and pounded, subbed and struck his opponents, he was the complete fighter to me and I wanted to see if there were other fighters like him. Will probably be my favorite fighter for life, even if he loses his next 20 fights.
Igor Vovchanchyn. He's the fighter that showed me toughness and heart were just as important as skill in modern MMA. I already knew these were good qualities of a fighter, but the little guy has an abundance of it. Constantly out-weighed, shorter than most others but 50 times as tough. I'd never witnessed more punching power in MMA when I first saw Vov. If violence is to be admired at any time, its when Vov fights.
Fedor Emelianenko. I don't think he's unbeatable, but he's the closest thing to it that I've seen so far. Another fighter who can do it all and seems to always be full of surprises. Just when you think you've seen it all from him skillwise, he does something new(like his recent sub wins). He's calm, humble and always seems to have the perfect gameplan for any situation. He's a good example of the evolution of an MMA fighter.
Pedro Rizzo. I don't think there's a more accurate counter striker in MMA today, nor one who has harder leg kicks. He can be boring at times, but when he's on he's easily one of the most exciting fighters in any combat sport . His KO's are all highlight reel material and simply beautiful. His fights with Barnett, Telligman and to a little bit lesser extent, Arlovski are all classic striking wars. I think he won the first fight with Couture, and its a shame that he hasn't worn a belt in any of the big shows yet. Hopefully that will change some day.
Jens Pulver. Probably the reason why I prefer to watch the lower weight classes now(regardless of the 3 heavyweights mentioned already). He can end a fight any time with that left hook of his. He does it all, from MMA, to boxing, to shootboxing, to grappling. He's a good example of a little guy who lives to fight and has overcome a lot of personal issues, I admire that a lot. I personally think he's the MVP of Miletich's fighters, not Hughes.
Quote:
Muay Thai Guy - Admin @ www.Ironlife.com
Ole Buaggio Laursen - The Danish/Filipno Superleague fighter and Kings Birthday winner has been a personal friend of mine since meeting up with him in Thailand. He has provided me with alot of inspiration and advice when I have needed it. He's proved to me it's not about being at the best gym but being with people you can work with
Jens Pulver - After reading Jens Pulver's autobiography, Little evil, I was inspired. Here was a man that had everything taken from him by his father and had to make it on his own. His drive and ambition and desire to prove his father wrong, that he could make something out of his life, really made me see that anything is possible if you set your mind to it
Ramon Dekkers - Quite Simply, he was the best non Thai, Thai boxer. He brought to the table everything. Boxing, Kicking, Aggression, Heart, Dedication, Amazing Stamina. He was amazing to watch and never ever was scared of stepping forward and going all out for a brutal onslaught. Absolutely cracking fighter to wath.
Barinder Singh - Personal friend of mine and Stable mate. He fights Full Contact Kickboxing but his heart and passion for the sport are admirable. I have seen this guy train hard day after day and showing that you reap what you sow. Barinder has been the source of much inspiration for me and has always got time for me to make me feel that it's worth training as hard as I do even though I don't seem to be getting anywhere for now
Bruce Lee - Inevitable really right? As boring and cliched as my response is, without watching his films as a Kid, I'd never have sparked the love and passion I have for martial arts. After studying his life, his attitude and philosophy has got me through to where I am now, and I may only be at the first step on the stairway to getting to the top, but I've made one step more than most people do.
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RdRookie - - Valued Member @ www.Extreme-Athlete.com
Vitor Belfort - his combination of Muay Thai and BJJ, as well as his amazing hand speed. Also, I love his humbleness.
Randy Couture - Captain America, and I love his humble attitude as well. And his ability to take ANYONE to the ground.
Frank Mir - represents for the out-of-shape white guy, and uses small man Jiu Jitsu at the height of 6'4" and 250lbs and makes it look beautiful. Plus, again, very humble.
Rickson Gracie - the beat down artist of the Gracies. I like how he's more of a striker on the ground than the other Gracies are.
Ken Shamrock - whether he's old and washed up or not, as we all know, in his prime he was near unstoppable, and along with Royce, responsible for making MMA what it is today.
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bigpapapump - Valued Member @ www.Extreme-Athlete.com
Ken Shamrock! that's it for me.
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The_Medic - Mod @ www.Extreme-Athlete.com
Ken Shamrock has to be my all time favorite , he was no doubt a true champion of the sport .
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soonerfanatic - Valued Member @ www.Extreme-Athlete.com
Frank Shamrock the meanest MF'er the was put on this earth.
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samihale - Valued Member @ www.Ironlife.com
Ian Freeman - outstanding against Mir.
Tim Sylvia - top fighter.
Matt Hughes - all round good guy.
Wand - concentrated evil...but I still love him.
Vitor Belfort - love the speedy power .
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RushTime - Valued Member @ www.Ironlife.com
St-pierre .. A phenom.. next champ
Fedor ... Brutal cyborg
Vanderlei silva .. Killer instinc
Andrei Arloski ..
Ivan Menjivar !
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Machiavelli - Valued Member @ www.Ironlife.com
Wanderlei Silva - perfect fighter imo.
Antonio Nogueira - best grappler imo.
Fedor Emelianenko - always cool and determined.
Mirko Filipovic - no mercy and powerful striker.
Mark Coleman - has the head on the right place.
As you guys can see, my favorite fighters are only Pride FC fighters.
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KO Slam Artist - Valued Member @ www.Ironlife.com
Takanori Gomi - aggressive boxing, good wrestling, good ground n pound.
Fedor - powerful boxing, fine wrestling, amazing ground n pound.
Quinton Jackson - nice slams.
I inadvertently left nidan out last month. I'm sure he doesn't really care, but after reading his reply, I had to add it~
Which Martial Art{s} do you practice?
Many people involved with Martial Arts do not weight train~
Do you think people who lift weights in addition to their MA training, have the edge over those who don't? Why or why not.
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nidan - Valued Member @ www.Extreme-Athlete.com
My 2 cents ..Weight training certainly benefits your overall muscle strength and power . The type that is most beneficial would depend on the martial art you practice . The more grappling oriented the more biased towards heavier training . For speed oriented forms , high rep/lighter weight is more beneficial.
I also agree strongly , that technique will win over brute strength in most instances . Many of the grand masters were not big , or exceptionally strong , but their skills were awesome.
My sensei is a Nana Dan (7th) from Shizouka , he's only about 5'5" and 150 , he trains daily , in his mid 50's , never has done weight work and is incredibly competent . His son is 27 and does K1 works out with weights and is much bigger and more muscular, but can in no way touch his father , despite being in the top ranks and a Yan Dan (4th).with over 20 years under his belt.
Thank you to everyone who responded. Your replies are great and I always get such fantastic feedback from these question and answer articles!
Special thank you to Muay Thai Guy for allowing me to use his picture.
Please keep all our men and women in uniform in your prayers or thoughts this holiday season!
~*Happy New Year!*~
Til next month, stay safe!
~lacey
* Article by Sachet, Team IronLife.com Staff Writer & Mod @ www.IntenseMuscle.com.
* Back to This Issue's Frontpage
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