The Sprawl 12.23.08: Volume 23 - MMA's Twenty Greatest Fighters (Part 3 of 4)

Posted by Alex Mattis on 12.24.2008

We continue the count down the 20 greatest fighters in the history. This week it is 10-6!

Hello all and welcome back to "The Sunday Sprawl!" Hope all is well with everyone and I hope you've already got your X-Mas shopping out of the way, I don't and believe me it sucks. Well we are less than a week away from arguably the biggest MMA show of the year, but for now I have a list to continue... This week we crack the top ten in the list of the Twenty Greatest Fighters. We're getting one step closer to the number one so... LET'S GET DOWN TO IT!!!

10. Anderson Silva
Joe Rogan hit the nail right on the head at UFC 90 when, in reference to Anderson Silva, he said "This man will be talked about for years to come." Anderson Silva is a human wrecking machine, the likes of which have not been seen in the sport of MMA since its inception. His pin-point accuracy has pretty much re-written what the supreme striker in MMA is thought to be. Anderson has been on a tear and has not lost a fight since January of 2006. The loss to Yushin Okami which would more than likely be avenged if they met today. Anderson's victims list is a who's who of the MMA world and he only seems to be getting better. He has defended his middleweight crown to any and all challengers. His potential future at 205 could just further validate his legend. While the legacy that Anderson has established may not be relatively new, the destructiveness and revolutionary striking he has shown has already put him in the list of one of the all time greats.


9. Randy Couture
I've always felt that Randy Couture has had a rather over-romanticized career, but still he's Captain f'n America and has had one hell of a run. He has been a UFC guy for literally his entire career. That's where he started it all and I assume that is where he is going to end it. It all started at UFC 13 and it has carried on straight up 'til UFC 91. Randy Couture experienced some up's and down's in the early stages of his career. His first huge win coming when he dismantled Vitor Belfort then he outdid himself when he beat Maurice Smith for the UFC heavyweight title. After sometime away from the UFC Randy came back to regain the UFC heavyweight title when he TKO'd Kevin Randleman at UFC 28. After defending the title twice Randy dropped back-to-back losses to Josh Barnett and Ricco Rodriguez. So it was all over for Couture right? Hell no, that's not the Natural way. Randy came in to challenge for the light heavy weight title and destroyed Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz in his quest to win the gold. After some back and forth action with familiar opponent Vitor Belfort, Randy was dethroned by Chuck Liddell. Randy worked his way back to another title shot but was beat again by "The Iceman." So retirement? Well a little but then Randy said 'Fuck it!' He returned, destroyed Tim Sylvia, and regained the heavyweight title. Then (in what I feel was the most impressive performance of his career) Randy defeated Gabriel Gonzaga. Just recently Randy lost his huge fight with Brock Lesnar and many are wondering what is next for Captain America. Well if we've learned anything from this all time great is that you should expect the unexpected with Randy Couture.


8. Bas Rutten
You don't tug on Superman's cape, you don't pee into the wind, and you don't mess with El Guapo. At least that's what I've learned in life. The King of Pancrase, UFC heavyweight champion, one of MMA's greatest commentators, and one of the most entertaining men to ever grace the sport had his first fight all the way back in 1993. He was able to secure a KO in under a minute in his debut. Bas would remain fighting in Pancrase for the next five years racking up 25 victories, 4 losses, and one draw. He gained notable wins over the likes of Maurice Smith, Minoru Suzuki, Frank Shamrock, and Guy Mezger. Following his lengthy, successful reign in Pancrase Bas moved to the UFC and came in with a bang. In his UFC debut, at UFC 18, Bas KO'd Tsuyoshi Kohsaka in a very memorable UFC knock out. This earned Bas a shot at the UFC's heavyweight gold, and in what was a controversial decision Bas defeated Kevin Randleman for the strap. After that Bas has to vacate the title due to numerous injuries among other things. Bas wouldn't return to active competition for 7 years, but upon his return Rutten TKO'd Ruben "Warpath" Villareal with a series of brutal leg kicks. While I doubt we'll see "El Guapo" returning to action anytime soon the legacy he left for himself should go unquestioned. He is one of the most decorated, and well-rounded fighters the sport has ever seen.


7. Chuck Liddell
The star MMA has had. Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell is easily the most recognizable figure in the short history of the sport. While it looks like Chuck may be on his way out of the sport and that he is fading, when all is said and done he may go down as the greatest light heavyweight of all time in MMA. Long before his title win at UFC 52, Chuck made his octagon debut in his first professional fight at UFC 17 when he defeated Noe Hernandez. However his next trip to the UFC wouldn't be as successful; at UFC 19 Liddell was put to sleep by Jeremy Horn. After the set-back Chuck started stringing some wins together and really made his first statement with his back-to-back KO's of Kevin Randleman and Guy Mezger. The message was sent; Chuck Liddell was someone in the division to be feared. Chuck finally earned himself a crack at LHW gold but was demolished by Randy Couture. Chuck then competed in the PRIDE 2003 Middleweight GP. In the first round Liddell KO'd Alistair Overeem and things were looking up for "The Iceman" and the UFC. However, in the semi-finals Chuck was beaten down by Rampage Jackson. This was a huge loss for Liddell. Chuck rebounded in a huge way though; in the biggest fight of his career Chuck Liddell knocked out Tito Ortiz. It was one of the biggest fights the company has ever had and Chuck used it to make another statement. Following this win, and a KO of Vernon White, Liddell found himself in the cage with Randy Couture once again. It took only 2 minutes for Liddell to KO Couture; avenging his previous loss and capturing the light heavyweight title. Chuck's first title defense also helped him avenge a previous loss as he beat down Jeremy Horn and stopped him in the 4th. Chuck defended his strap 3 more times until falling victim, again, to Rampage. Since the title loss Chuck's career has been rather on-again off-again and coming of the heels of his KO loss to Rashad Evans many are left asking "What's left for Chuck?" Well one question that can never be raised is the importance that Liddell has had to the sport and the dominance his displayed as champion.


6. Royce Gracie
This man literally changed the sport forever. He demonstrated that size doesn't mean everything in the realm of fighting. He showed that technique and skill can always succeed over power and strength. Royce stormed through the UFC 1, 2, and 4 tourneys with slight ease. Along the way he gave us memorable battles with the likes of Kimo and Dan Severn. He was a part of one of the first MMA superfight with Ken Shamrock. After 5 years away from MMA he returned to compete in the PRIDE 2000 GP. In the quarter-finals of the GP Royce was part of one of the greatest fights in the history of the sport when he dropped an hour and a half long war to Kazushi Sakuraba. His return to action was had its ups and downs. The ultimate down came at the hands of Matt Hughes. Royce was absolute dominated by Hughes in a fight that forever changed both men. After this loss Royce avenged a previous one when he defeated Sakuraba. He has since stepped away from the sport and his future is questionable, but what doesn't go without question is the impact this man, and his family, made on MMA. Like I said, he changed the sport forever.

Well that's all for me this week.

The top 5 won't come until after the New Year cause next week on the SS I'll have my 2008 MMA Awards. Until then take care.

Happy Holidays.

-Alex