Cammo Counts Down The Top 100 MMA Fighters of All Time

Cammo101 · Post #81 » by **Cammo101** » Sat Mar 30, 2013 1:58 pm

#63 - Brock Lesnar

http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Brock-Lesnar-17522

It only makes sense that we follow the guy with over 90 career fights with the guy who had 8 career fights. No fighter in MMA history had so much impact in so little time as Brock Lesnar. In a career spanning just 8 fights, Lesnar became the biggest name in MMA and the UFC Heavyweight champion. His career record is 5-3, with victories over Frank Mir, Shane Carwin, Randy Couture, and Heath Herring. Sadly, Brock got into MMA too late, and health kept him from being able to give it a go at 100%. Which is a shame, because had Brock gone into MMA straight out of college, he may very well be #1 on this list.

Jasen777 · Post #82 » by **Jasen777** » Sat Mar 30, 2013 6:18 pm

He was a monster alright. Tough to place with such a short career.

Post #83 » by **CPT** » Sat Mar 30, 2013 6:37 pm

Lesnar is a really tough guy to place. Will have to look at the list as a whole.

Arlovski seems a bit too high, IMO. It's tough to balance his current form with his stint as UFC champion right at the beginning of the TUF explosion, but I just can't see him being the 65th best/most memorable/whatever combination fighter in MMA history.

Makes me wonder where Tim Sylvia is going to be on this list. I would have no problem with him not being on the list at all, but something would seem wrong about having him off the list and Arlovski at #65.

Cammo101 · Post #84 » by **Cammo101** » Sat Mar 30, 2013 7:31 pm

CPT wrote:Makes me wonder where Tim Sylvia is going to be on this list. I would have no problem with him not being on the list at all, but something would seem wrong about having him off the list and Arlovski at #65.

Sylvia is 31-8 and a two time UFC champion who has defended a title 3 times. He is definitely on the list.

REDDzone · Post #85 » by **REDDzone** » Sat Mar 30, 2013 7:48 pm

Yea of course that goofy bastard is on the list.

Cammo101 · Post #86 » by **Cammo101** » Sat Mar 30, 2013 8:05 pm

REDDzone wrote:Yea of course that goofy bastard is on the list.

Hard to believe he was a dominate Heavyweight once. Before Randy beat him, people swore he was going to keep that title forever.

Cammo101 · Post #87 » by **Cammo101** » Sat Mar 30, 2013 8:10 pm

#62 - Alistair Overeem

http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Alistair-Overeem-461

Former Strikeforce and Dream Heavyweight champion, Alistair Overeem is one of the scariest dudes in around. His raw strength and punching power is unsurpassed in MMA. Overeem has a career record of 36-12, with wins over Brock Lesnar, Fabricio Werdum, Igor Vovchanchyn, Mark Hunt, and Vitor Belfort.

Post #88 » by **CPT** » Sun Mar 31, 2013 1:24 am

Cammo101 wrote:
CPT wrote:Makes me wonder where Tim Sylvia is going to be on this list. I would have no problem with him not being on the list at all, but something would seem wrong about having him off the list and Arlovski at #65.

Sylvia is 31-8 and a two time UFC champion who has defended a title 3 times. He is definitely on the list.

True. I suppose it should be obvious that he would be on it, but we're still not past the point where I'm thinking "really, Tim Sylvia is the 60th(?) best guy to ever compete in this sport?"

So far this list is more of an indictment of the sport than a celebration of it.

Cammo101 · Post #89 » by **Cammo101** » Sun Mar 31, 2013 5:44 am

CPT wrote:So far this list is more of an indictment of the sport than a celebration of it.

I think it just speaks to and reminds you of just how young the sport really is. When guys like Jose Aldo and Jon Jones can be so high up on this list so early in their careers, it reminds you how incredibly young the sport of MMA is compared to other sports.

Cammo101 · Post #90 » by **Cammo101** » Sun Mar 31, 2013 5:50 am

#61 - Evan Tanner

http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Evan-Tanner-212

One of the stars of the UFC's early Zuffa era, Evan Tanner was the UFC Middleweight champion and one of the most popular fighters in the organization. Tanner holds a career record of 32-8, with an 11-6 record in the UFC. He holds victories over Robbie Lawler, Heath Herring, David Terrell, and Phil Baroni twice.

Cammo101 · Post #91 » by **Cammo101** » Sun Mar 31, 2013 11:01 am

#60 - Mark "The Smashing Machine" Kerr

http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Mark-Kerr-71

Don't let the career record of 15-11 fool you, Mark Kerr was once the baddest man on the planet. He was Brock Lesnar before Brock Lesnar, a giant muscle bound Heavyweight who moved like a Welterweight. Kerr burst onto the scene by winning his first 12 fights, including two UFC tournaments (UFC 14 and UFC 15). Kerr holds career wins over Paul Varelans, Dan Bobish, Hugo Duarte, and Inson Inoue. Sadly, Kerr's personal demons took him down in his prime and caused him to never get a chance to live up to his considerable potential as a fighter. If you have not seen the HBO documentary on Mark Kerr, it is called "The Smashing Machine" and it is highly recommended.

Cammo101 · Post #92 » by **Cammo101** » Sun Mar 31, 2013 10:18 pm

#59 - Yushin "Thunder" Okami

http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Yushin-Okami-5569

One of the best Middleweights in the UFC for the last handful of years, Yushin Okami is one of the very best fighters who has not held a title in the UFC. He has a career record of 29-7, including a 13-4 record in the UFC. He holds wins over Hector Lombard, Nate Marquardt, Mark Munoz, Evan Tanner, and Anderson Silva (kind of).

High 5 · Post #93 » by **High 5** » Mon Apr 1, 2013 3:53 am

Evan Tanner seems way out of place to me. I'd like to complain about some of these MMA OGs probably being too high as well, but I don't know anything about them other than their win-loss records.

REDDzone · Post #94 » by **REDDzone** » Mon Apr 1, 2013 4:02 am

That is something both you and cpt have expressed, and I think each side can be argued, but I'm fine with ranking the OGs high. I mean its all relative, the sport has evolved. It happens to all sports, hell, some of the all time greats in say tennis for example maybe wouldn't be anything today, but were some of the GOATs in their time. Same thing here imo. If Mark Kerr was the baddest dude around (I don't think he was) in say 2000, then he was still the baddest dude around, even if the skill level of the baddest dude around in 2013 is much higher.

Not to mention, the fact that some of these dudes stepped in the ring without knowing what to expect, without any rules, fighting multiple times in one night, not knowing anything about your opponents, etc is just crazy. Hell, these guys nowadays are more skilled, but a lot of times won't fight an opponent on "only" 2 months notice and they have access to tape of every fight they have ever done. Some of these dudes fought anyone, anywhere, and oftenimes multiple times a night, for very little money and far fewer rules.

Really hope I'm not coming off as a just bleeder here, but the mindset of "the fighter" is one of the most interesting aspects of mma to me. And the OGs had even crazier mindsets than the guys now imo.

High 5 · Post #95 » by **High 5** » Mon Apr 1, 2013 4:22 am

I'm with you, I respect the hell out of these early day fighters. I think I just have a different mindset when it comes to ranking fighters. I look at it more black and white. For instance, I'm not going to have Aoki ahead of Maynard, because I know Maynard would smash Aoki. But Aoki is way more important to MMA than Maynard is given that he's such a big star in Japan. I think Cammo values stuff like that more than I would if I made a list.

Did Kerr have a more impressive resume than Lesnar (or Overeem, Arlovski, Rizzo, etc.)? Would prime Kerr beat any of those guys in their primes? I don't have an informed opinion on these questions, so that's why I hesitate to mention it. And I do realize that's kind of an unfair way to look at it since the sport has evolved so much. It's tough and the reason why I'm not the one making lists like this.

REDDzone · Post #96 » by **REDDzone** » Mon Apr 1, 2013 5:00 am

Makes sense to me.

The Maynard/Aoki point is a good one and I'd rank Maynard higher for sure. I think that is more apples to apples than say Kerr vs a top heavyweight of today.

Cammo101 · Post #97 » by **Cammo101** » Mon Apr 1, 2013 12:21 pm

It is a tough juggling act. I am trying to balance the old school fighters and the new. What I am going by is win/loss record, quality of wins and opponents, titles and achievements, and just how elite they were at the time they were fighting and in their prime.

A guy like Mark Kerr had a terrible record (at least compared to this list) but he won two UFC tournaments and for a time was considered probably the best MMA fighter in the world.

As far as Maynard and Aoki goes, I kind of a gree with you guys. I do think Maynard would likely smash Aoki. But, Maynard has 3 wins against guys on this list, while Aoki has 6. Also, Aoki was a champion in a major organization. The subjective stuff can only go so far, when pretty much every metric is in the other guys favor. And I am a pretty outspoken Aoki hater.

Cammo101 · Post #98 » by **Cammo101** » Mon Apr 1, 2013 12:25 pm

#58 - Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson

http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Demetrious-Johnson-45452

The current UFC Flyweight champion, Mighty Mouse is quietly carving out his spot as one of the elite MMA fighters of all time. His career record is 17-2, and 5-1-1 in the UFC. He holds career victories over Joseph Benavidez, Ian McCall, Miguel Torres, and Kid Yamamoto.

Gibby · Post #99 » by **Gibby** » Mon Apr 1, 2013 5:47 pm

Good list Camo. These lists are so objective it's crazy, but your doing a good job of giving the lighter weight guys the respect they deserve along with the fighters that helped start the sport.

Cammo101 · Post #100 » by **Cammo101** » Tue Apr 2, 2013 4:16 am

Gibby wrote:Good list Camo. These lists are so objective it's crazy, but your doing a good job of giving the lighter weight guys the respect they deserve along with the fighters that helped start the sport.

Thanks.