simple
Who in your opinion are the 3 most influential fighters in mma history?
my three are fedor GSP n anderson silva i really wanna have randy and liddel up here but there's only room for three also bj penn would be up there in my top 6 to XD
simple
Who in your opinion are the 3 most influential fighters in mma history?
my three are fedor GSP n anderson silva i really wanna have randy and liddel up here but there's only room for three also bj penn would be up there in my top 6 to XD
wanderlei silva
(insert first name) gracie
sakuraba
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAVH5MBg8Qo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOAMDMsvt9I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bvggjbAoRw
You said influential not best so list goes like this,
Royce ----> proved the world that little man can beat big man using jiujitsu
Chuck ----> put MMA in every household
Coleman --> showed that at the very least %50 of MMA training has to be wrestling
Anderson
lyoto
fedor
Influential?
I got to go with...
Royce Gracie (Proved Jiu-Jitsu's effectiveness)
Dan Severn (Proved Wrestling's effectiveness )
Randy Couture (Pushed the age & physical fitness limits higher)
Come on brent..Quote:
Originally Posted by Brent Elton
It would have to be
1. Royce Gracie
2. Chuck Liddell
3. Randy Couture
royce
sakuraba
bas rutten
Royce
Coleman
Tank Abbot - tank brought the street fighters to the game and the average non martial arts fan, so don't give me shit on this one.
But I guess it may depend on who is being influenced.
Royce, Sakuraba, and my final pick is a tough one, but it has to be Militech, simply because he was one of the first gameplanners, and spawned several high level guys from his camp.
Renato Laranja
Renato Laranja
Renato Laranja
He spitch hotch fire.
This with GSP a CLOSE 4th and BJ and Anderson tied for an even CLOSER 5th :)Quote:
Originally Posted by JusLove
young Muhammad Ali / Cassius Clay: being light on your feet, speed over muscle, agility over power. Too much has been shown on his later career but it's really before he got the boot that's amazing. Watch his combo against Brian London and the full fight against Cleavland Williams. This is the shit that changed stand up.
Royce: for a lot of people he was the first to showcase bjj and changed the game
3rd place is either Fedor or Mike Tyson. In their primes they both influenced a lot of people.
FUCKING THIS ^----Quote:
Originally Posted by lates85
renato is ALWAYS relevant to ANY thread
royce gracie-proved that pure technique is more important than pure strength
minotauro nogueira-was hit by a truck and basically his whole body was destroyed as a kid but despite that became UFC champ
GSP-set a good example for mma and created at least one subgeneration of new fighters that won't grow up to be complete dooshbags
fedor should be in there. I wish it were top four
1. Royce Gracie - for reasons already stated
2. Chuck Liddell - for making the sport mainstream
3. BJ Penn - for developing one of the first all round dangerous games - obvioulsy less so in later years
4. Randy Couture - for reasons above
Segal?
Segal- For all of his kick ass movies in the 90's
Van Dam- Same as above
Billy Blanks- For giving us Tae Bo
But in all seriousness....
Royce Gracie, Randy Couture, and of course BJ Penn
+1Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert Sevigny
Nobody mentioned Rickson...
Fighters who most influenced the sport of MMA:
Royce Gracie (jiu jitsu fighter): Nulified the whole stand up game with submission grappling. Was eventually succeeded by high level wrestlers with ground and pound.
Matt Hughes (athletic wrestler): Used wrestling and athletisism to dictate the pace and location of the fight. Was able to Nuetralize not only stand up, but submission grappling as well. Was replaced by fighters who were experts in multiple disciplines.
BJ Penn (mixed martial artist): Brought the first "complete" game, possessing good stand up, great jiu jitsu, and great defensive wrestling. Used take down defense to be able to keep wrestlers at bay. Will eventually be replaced by super athletic fighters who have been training many disciplines from a very young age.
4th place will be a combination of Jon Jones type reflexes and athleticism, Fedor mentality and instincts, and GSP trainability and work ethic.
Fighters who most influenced MMA culture and exposure:
Ken Shamrock: Was in multiple super fights at key moments in MMA history. His fights with Royce lit the first spark that became the UFC. Later revitalized the UFC with fight against Tito Ortiz.
Sakuraba: Was one of the most popular and best fighters in Pride early on. Helped spread MMA across Asia.
Chuck Lidell: Really brought MMA mainstream in the western world. Had a tough stand up style that appealed to a lot of americans and boxing fans who didn't understand the ground game. Was able to transcend the sport into mainstream media and spread the word on this amazing sport.
i actually have Rickson instead of Royce 2. chuck liddell 3. GSP........................4. sean bollinger- when i see him play rubber it makes me wanna stretch more B)
Kimo Leopoldo
Kimbo Slice
Herchel Walker
lol, thomas your list should go like this,
Art Jimmerson - Cuz he was in the UFC
Royce - Cuz he beat Art
Hughes - Cuz he beat Royce
Penn - Cuz he beat Hughes
Edgar- Cuz he beat Penn
Maynard - Cuz he drew Edgar :)
Royce
Fedor
Evan Tanner
Special mentions to
Rorion Gracie & Dana White for the UFC
and of course Helio Gracie for fighting people way back when...
Royce Gracie
Mark Kerr or Igor Vovchachyn...can't decide
Randy Couture
for me its : Wanderlei Silva , Takanori Gomi & Fedor Emelianenko
1. Royce Gracie-opened the worlds eyes to ground fighting and got the sport rolling.
2. Randy Couture-Captain America successfully used his wrestling to win. Always seemed to defy odds and put on great performances.
3. Bj Penn-(my personal favorite) He fights with something else; never seen before in any other fighter. A true fighter spirit. A true natural fighter. He always leaves it all on the line.
I think it's because rickson is the most influential among fighters. as far as helping mma get into the spotlight, royce played a bigger part.Quote:
Originally Posted by John Alighieri
of course between the two of them rickson is the better fighter no question about that.
anyone other than a gracie at #1 is ridiculous, can't beat the influence of the gracie challenge on Martial arts and MMA, they changed everything even before royce and the UFC.
2 and 3 will also go to one of the gracies.
though saku, bas, and severn are way up there.
Guy Metzger was the first mixed martial artist to win in the octagon. Everyone else was really strong in one discipline. At least worth a mention.
1. Royce. He introduced most of the world to BJJ. He probably inspired more people to try bjj than any other athlete.
2. Dan Severn. First wrestler to really show what they could do in MMA.
3. Bas Rutten. This guy was the whole package. As many submissions as KO's, feared striker, competent on the ground, and decent wrestling.
If we were talking people that never fought in MMA, then guys like Judo Gene Labell, Bruce Lee, and Frank Gotch would have to be mentioned.
I think number one has to be Royce. How many of us would still be doing tae kwon do or something if not for him?
It depends to me if you mean fighters who actually fought in the cage.. or any fighters who influenced MMA.. If we are counting ALL "fighters"..
Id say #1 is a close call between Royce and Bruce Lee. Royce for obvious reasons..
and Bruce because he seemed to be the first to adopt the concept of MIXED martial arts and get the idea up and running
I cant imagine how many people got into martial arts because of that man.
#2 (technically It would be the other of the 2 mentioned above.. but for the sake of loving to hear myself talk.. I'll add another)
James Toney.. Even though he only has a couple minutes of cage time.. Id say he helped the world realize the level of skill and training that goes into top level MMA practitioners. A world heavyweight boxing champion coming to the UFC brought a LOT of spectators with him who had previously viewed MMA as a bunch of drunk bar-room brawlers. And then to be manhandled without ever being able to land a single shot, showed a lot of people the truth about MMA. And even though James wasnt the greatest boxer.. I'd still consider him in the top few percent in the world for his weight (I'd say anyone who can grab a world boxing title has the credentials good enough to prove that it isnt effective if its your only weapon in your arsenal)
#3 Kimbo slice/Jose Conseco/and any other freakshows theyve tried to make money off of. And unfortunately the massive influence theyve had on the MMA community wasnt a positive one. I feel like everytime we let people into the ring because of fame rather than ability.. we are hurting the sport more than helping it. It would be just like the Lakers signing Nicholas Cage to widen their fan base. Yes they'll bring in an audience.. but in the long run it takes away from the legitimacy of the sport. And I would even throw the early Brock into that line-up. Yes hes a freak of an athlete and a dominate force to be reckoned with in MMA.. but back when he was yelling out all those ignorant slurs and doing his WWE hype thing in the UFC.. I just couldnt help but feel like it helped a lot of people make up their mind that the UFC/MMA is just another organization thats more focused on entertainment than actually a legitimate sport. But thankfully he appears to have gotten away from that persona now.
I know that everybody hates him, but I think that Frank Shamrock was a big influence post Royce Gracie. He was arguably the first big name that took cross training and conditioning to the next level. He was the transition between old school and today.
#1 Jigoro Kano
#2 Bruce Lee
#3 Royce Gracie although credit for him goes to the Gracie family.
yuuuuup. me.Quote:
Originally Posted by Eric Schuettenberg