Current fighters that will stand the test of time?

[IrishStomp]

I was thinking today about who are the real legends of MMA and since it's so new, the only REAL legends of the sport are ken shamrock and royce gracie. I was thinking, though, who are the fighters that are fighting currently and holding titles presently that will eventually be referred to and thought of as legends? Be it UFC or Pride, what fighters do you think will stand the test of time and they'll still be talked about in 10 or 20 years?

[Seagalfan231]

Matt Hughes & Rich "Ace" Franklin definately, excellent fighters, cant wait for UFC 60 Hughes Vs Gracie. BJ Penn is another possability. Dont forget Dan Severn :D another legend :D

[Satori81]

I have a feeling Sakuraba and Sudo will always be remembered for their entertaining style of fighting.

[sky]

diego sanchez will one day be a legend

[Sever]

diego sanchez will one day be a legendNo, no, no, no, NO! :bang:
Sakuraba deserves to go down in history as a legend for the heart he's shown over the years, the great fights he's given us and the humour and respect for his opponents he's always displayed in his fights. I also reckon Franklin, Fedor, Crocop, Penn, St Pierre and Hughes will be fighters who are remembered fondly for many years to come, forever tormenting forums with "Would they beat X fighter when they were in their prime"

[Faminedynasty]

Hughes is a great champion, but his legacy will be diminished a bit in the coming years by being run out of the sport by St. Pierre and Penn. I would imagine that Penn will be remembered for his incomparable talent and probably for his coming accomplishments as well. I certainly won't forget him.

[Andrew Green]

Randy Couture IMO would fit in there, although he just retired. I'd bet he gets inducted into the UFC fall of fame soon.

Dan Severn is another legend, and is still fighting.

Frank Shamrock is iffy, he had the skill, but left the sport early. Could still make it if he gets back.

Vanderlei Silva maybe?

Sakuraba and Yoshida maybe? (in Japan at least)

Joe Son will always be a legend, for entirely different reasons...

Tank too, for his own reasons...

Sanchez? Maybe, but far to early to tell, He's not a Champion yet.

Hughes? Depends on how long he keeps that belt. Personally I think St. Pierre will win next time.

[brainuse]

No disrespect to Ken Shamrock, but his legend is more based far more on hype and name recognition than anything he did in the ring.

While it's hard to argue with Royce being a legend, and what he did was extemely impressive, it's necessary to temper that with a dose of reality. Royce's run really only lasted from UFC 1 - UFC 4, a period of just over a year. His accomplishments, winning 3 out of 4 UFCs during that year, are undeniable, but remember that he wasn't even the best fighter in his family, and that there were any number of guys in the world, especially in Brazillian Vale Tudo, who might have dominated those UFCs.

As far as other names, Fedor and Hughes are good possibilities, and Sakuraba would certainly garner a huge popular vote, but only time will tell.

[sky]

cung le is now in the mma world, i would like to see him go far, any of yous think he could stand the test of time??? i know its very early days but.. who knows

[brainuse]

cung le is now in the mma world, i would like to see him go far, any of yous think he could stand the test of time??? i know its very early days but.. who knows

There is no way to even begin to speculate on this considering that Cung Le has had one MMA fight, and that he never seemed to face particularly good competition in his orginal sport.

[BRECKDOG]

I agree with Brainuse comments

[Andrew Green]

No disrespect to Ken Shamrock, but his legend is more based far more on hype and name recognition than anything he did in the ring.

Ken did a lot, from his career in Japan, to his UFC fights.

Not only that, he was the first to really have good, well rounded skills. He had submissions, wrestling, KO power strikes in the days of one dimensional fighters.

He was also one of the leaders in MMA coaching, founding the Lion's Den, the first of the MMA "camps" which turned out a whole series of top fighters.

He is also one of the few that helped make MMA a popular event, In the ring he was the first guy to fight Royce and NOT lose.

In Japan he was practically a legend in the ring before the UFC debuted.

[brainuse]

Ken did a lot, from his career in Japan, to his UFC fights.
I'm not debating that. So did a lot of guys. Ken seems to get more credit than most of them because he got a HUGE push from both Pancrase and UFC management, because he was an athletic looking all american type, and because he went on to WWF fame which got some crossover appeal.

Not only that, he was the first to really have good, well rounded skills. He had submissions, wrestling, KO power strikes in the days of one dimensional fighters.
This is extremely debatable. First, while Ken did posses skills in all of those areas, the quality of those skills was far from dominating. Second, while he may have been one of the first multi-skilled guys to appear in the UFC, there were plenty of guys he was competing against in japan, and worldwide, who were also multifaceted at that time. The early UFC competition was selected on a style vs style basis, so obviously, almost no one was well rounded in the early UFCs.

As far as KO power... in 38 fights, Shamrock has 3 wins that I know of by striking. One came via GNP against judoka Christopher Leninger, who never had any idea how to deal with stiking, at UFC 3. One came in 2000 in Pride via TKO against a Alexsander Otsuka, who has a 3-12 record. One came on a clinch knee against Kimo in 2004. Not exactly Igor Vovchanchyn stats.

He was also one of the leaders in MMA coaching, founding the Lion's Den, the first of the MMA "camps" which turned out a whole series of top fighters.
Fair point, but 1)This has nothing to do with what he did in the ring and 2)I don't really want to get into ripping anyone's camp, but the Lion's Den is thought by many to be one of the most overrated teams of all time.

He is also one of the few that helped make MMA a popular event
Again, this has nothing to do with his in ring performances.

In the ring he was the first guy to fight Royce and NOT lose.
The first time he met Royce, his level of submission was exposed when he went for his standard leglock, which Royce immediately countered, and then got choked. The second time he met Royce, he laid on top of him, not doing a whole lot of anything for a half hour, earning a draw in one of the most boring and disappointing fights of all time, and then went on to brag about the event in his book. This is not something I would point to as particularly impressive.

In Japan he was practically a legend in the ring before the UFC debuted.
Ken had been a pro wrestler in Japan, and had only 3 matches in Pancrase before his UFC debut at UFC 1.

Secondly, plenty of guys were popular in Japan previous to the UFC debuting, as Shooto kicked off in 1989, and Pancrase shortly before the UFC, but I don't see you listing them here as legends.


I have no problem with Shamrock. A lot of people associate him with the early growth in the sport in America, and look at him as an icon, which is fine by me. He certainly did his share for the sport. I just think it's only fair to point out that the in ring resume does not seem to match the massive hype.

[BRECKDOG]

Ken is definetly a UFC Legend- but more for being in the right place at the right time than for fighting excellence (In this regard he is a sham).

IMO one of his best legacies was getting rules changed for shorter time periods!!! etc because he was responsible for at least 3 of the most boring fights in UFC history eg. Royce 2, Tactarov, and Severn 2.

[MaxG]

Secondly, plenty of guys were popular in Japan previous to the UFC debuting, as Shooto kicked off in 1989, and Pancrase shortly before the UFC, but I don't see you listing them here as legends.


Seriously. Where's the Bas love man?

Let's compare fight records.
Ken Shamrock 26-10-2
Royce Gracie 13-2-3

Bas Rutten 27-4-1 (his last 21 fights undefeated)

Releases Big Books of Combat 1 and 2, Pancrase DVD/Tape series and Big DVD's of Combat

as well as being the funniest mma guy in existance. Whenever there's a topic about who's a legend of MMA hardly anyone mentions Bas even though he was right up there with the UFC icons.

Respect El Guapo!

[Andrew Green]

Timing is everything, Bas is a awsome fighter, one of my favorites, but in terms of putting MMA where it is today he can't hold up against those two.

Bas is a guy fans know, Royce and Ken everyone knows.