The Sunday Sprawl 12.07.08: Volume 22 - MMA's Twenty Greatest Fighters (Part 2 of 4)

Posted by Alex Mattis on 12.07.2008

We continue the count down the 20 greatest fighters in the history. This week, #'s 15-11. Come on in for "The Sunday Sprawl!"

Hello all and welcome back! I'm finally back on track and back to counting down the top 20 fighters that MMA has ever seen. We've already been through #'s 20-16, and now we're going to get one step closer to the top ten. And trust me, we're going to start counting down #'s15-11 with a Rush... God that was lame, even for me... LET'S GET DOWN TO IT!!!

15. Georges St. Pierre
MMA is constantly evolving and evolving at a rapid pace and if you want to keep up with the competition you have to evolve with it. And no one has evolved right in front of out eyes more than Georges St. Pierre. Starting his career, he absolutely ran through his competition in Canada. Then came his big break. He burst onto the UFC scene as an exciting up and comer and won his UFC debut at UFC 46 in a memorable fight with Karo Parisyan. Next he obliterated Jay Hieron at UFC 48, and that was enough to earn him a crack at some gold. At UFC 50 GSP faced Matt Hughes for the first time and despite winning the round GSP was caught in an armbar and lost with only one-second left in the round. But as all great champions have done, he came back better than ever. He absolutely wrecked his next 4 opponents. Then he found himself pitted against BJ Penn. In what is still debated to this day, GSP won a split decision victory over Penn. That earned him another crack at Matt Hughes. GSP destroyed Hughes and won the welterweight gold via TKO in the 2nd. Then came the stunning, crushing loss to Matt Serra. This loss set St. Pierre off and made him, what seems to be, superhuman. In his past 4 fights GSP has absolutely dominated, no question. He is pound for pound one of the best today, and his pivotal rematch with BJ Penn has the possibility of cementing his status as one of the best of all time.


14. Maurice Smith
While the record that Maurice may hold is less than impressive at first glance, the lessons this man taught the sport are unrivaled. Conditioning and self-preservation didn't really factor into MMA until the title clash at UFC 14 between Smith and Mark Coleman. The intense, powerful, aggressive, straight-forward style of Coleman helped him run through his first opponents and helped him win the earlier part of the fight with Smith. However Smith's calm, relaxed style and demeanor helped him stay preserved for the duration of the bout and his conditioning made him able to go into deep water in the fight. Towards the end of the fight "Mo" looked relatively fresh, while Coleman couldn't even keep his hands up. The same thing happened in Smith's fight with Tank Abbott (who was still thought to be a badass at that time). Maurice just picked apart and used his superior athleticism to cut a strong pace that would eventually force Abbott to quit. This aspect of the sport hadn't played much of a factor up until this point. Just for showing the importance of conditioning in MMA alone Smith deserves some recognition, and for being a fighter that literally altered training practices around the world Maurice belongs on this list.


13. Mark Kerr
In the previous installment of the top 20 I mentioned the influence that wrestlers like Dan Severn and Mark Coleman had an MMA, but as influential as they were neither of them were as destructive and as much of a force as Mark Kerr. Though Kerr was on top only for a short period of time, he left a path of destruction that at that point was rivaled only by Royce Gracie. Going 12-0-1 in his first 13 fights, Mark ran through what the UFC threw his way and then set sail to Japan to fight in PRIDE. Mark defeated what PRIDE has for him, but just as quickly as he had risen, he would fall. After a loss-turned-no contest against Igor Vovchanchyn Mark Kerr defeated Enson Inoue, but then was upsetted in a pivotal bout against Kazuyuki Fujita. Ever since that fight Kerr's record has been very up and down, at one point Mark was on a five-loss streak. While dealing with his physical and personal demons it seemed that the sport past him by. If you haven't seen the documentary "The Smashing Machine" about the life and career of Mark Kerr, you should really check it out for a more in-depth look at what I've been discussing. While today Kerr stands as a lower-tier fighter, a shell of what he once was, the dominance and impact this fighter made will be spoke of for years and years to come.


12. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
You can practice Jiu-Jitsu until you're slick as oil, you can learn the ins-and-outs of boxing to the point where no one will stand and trade with you, you can have the conditioning of Clay Guida, but the one thing you can't teach or learn is heart. And no one in the history of MMA has exemplified heart more than Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. This man has been in the belly of defeated numerous times but finds away to claw out and walk away with a victory. The only man to be both the PRIDE heavyweight and UFC heavyweight champion. A man who has fought all around and truly only lost to the best, out of his losses he has avenged all except Fedor. Big Nog made a name for himself over in PRIDE in Japan and established himself as one of the best in the heavyweight division. He further cemented his spot when he came to the UFC and really proved that he is one of the top fighters that world has to offer. Like I mentioned before Nogueira is best known for the heart and will he posses, he has displayed this in his momentous bouts with the likes of Bob Sapp, Mirko Cro Cop, and most recently Tim Sylvia. If Nog is to get past Frank Mir the super-fight with Brock Lesnar would be he chance to prove that he is the absolute best in the heavyweight division (short of Fedor). That remains to be seen, but what we know for sure is that Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is one of the best heavyweight submission artist ever and definitely one of the greatest MMA fighters this world has seen.


11. Tito Ortiz
Now-a-days the UFC is widely known and its top fighters are regarded as true celebrities. Back at the beginning of the UFC and MMA its fighters were thought to be straight up animals, but at least they had a label. But who was at the forefront during the transition of spectacle to sport? That would've been Tito Ortiz. This guy was the star of the UFC, and MMA in America in general, from his title win in 2000 until his title lose in 2003. He was the guy that garnered the most attention for the sport at that time. His first fight with Ken Shamrock in 2002 was the biggest fight the company had had up until that point, and still is recognized for altering the course of the sport. At this point Tito was the man in the light heavy weight division, not just in the UFC but in the entire world. Over those three years as champ he put away everyone he faced with ease. After the Shamrock fight Tito hit hard times as he suffered back-to-back losses to Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, losing his title in the process. He came back with a 5-fight win streak that earned him a crack at the title, but once again Tito would fall to Chuck Liddell (this fight would turn out the be the biggest fight the UFC ever put on, still to this day). Since then Tito has gone to a draw with Rashad Evans and then was tooled by Lyoto Machida. Many argue that Tito isn't the same fighter that he once was, and that may be true, but the dominance he displayed as light heavy weight champion and the sheer importance he has had in the UFC warrants him a spot on this list. The numbers don't lie; Tito is one of the biggest stars in the history of the sport.


Well that's it for this week.

Next week we'll crack into the top ten.

Remember feedback, as always, is welcome at [e-mail] or directly below.

Take care and I'll see you back here next time.

-Alex