Who in your opinion are the 3 most influential fighters in mma history?

[bobby rivers]

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.

[NickB]

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.

[Eric Schuettenberg]

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?

[chronic_jiujitsu]

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.

[Louis Ho]

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.

[Jason Mallory]

#1 Jigoro Kano
#2 Bruce Lee
#3 Royce Gracie although credit for him goes to the Gracie family.

[K Madden]

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?

yuuuuup. me.