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1
- Fedor Emelianenko
- "The Last Emperor"
- 40-7-0, 1 NC
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2
- Ken Shamrock
- "The World's Most Dangerous Man"
- 28-17-3
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3
- Brock Lesnar
- 5-3-0, 1 NC
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4
- Tony Ferguson
- "El Cucuy"
- 25-10-0
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5
- Sean Strickland
- "Tarzan"
- 28-6-0
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6
- José Aldo
- "Junior"
- 32-8-0
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7
- Don Frye
- "The Predator"
- 20-9-1, 1 NC
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8
- Clay Guida
- "The Carpenter"
- 38-24-0
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9
- Dustin Poirier
- "The Diamond"
- 30-8-0, 1 NC
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10
- Justin Gaethje
- "The Highlight"
- 25-5-0
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11
- Wanderlei Silva
- "The Axe Murderer" | 35-14-1, 1 NC
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12
- Chuck Liddell
- "The Iceman" | 21-9-0
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13
- Frank Shamrock
- "The Legend" | 23-10-2
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A fellow Pancrase and early UFC legend! Frank was unique, an anomaly if you will, in the early to mid 90s in MMA, He was well rounded, well condicioned, very quick learner and supremmelly talented and it showed right away in his first fight when he gave Bas Rutten all he could handle! He was just as much ahead of the times as Rutten and would go on to have a very, very impressive and storied career in the sport! He was very aware of what to do when he was in trouble in the cage/ring and even more so of the times changing and how fast the sport was evolving at the time, whcih eventually led to the creation of what would eventually become one of the top gyms in MMA history; the AKA! Therefore i think his best attributes were actually his ability to adapt and think on his feet as evidenced by this great feat! Much like his brother, he was a terrific grappler, especially leg locks, outstanding cardio,as seen in his fight against prime Tito ortiz in one of the best fights and dislays of endurance to this day in the UFC! Good striking and an impressive ammount of confidence to go along with it, Frank was quite an unique find in his day! Yet another legend i feel who's skills would indeed translate rather well to modern day, much
like the previous entry, who was quite familiar with both Shamrock's for that matter!
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14
- Bas Rutten
- "El Guapo" | 28-4-1
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Another legend that has stood the test of time and is still well beloved by the masses! Rutten was quite ahead of his times, an extremmelly fast learner and a great striker and evolved into and equally threatning grappler! one only has to go and check out his narrated Pancrase bouts in his own youtube channell to understand how great of a mind he has for the game as well as how good he was, especially for the time and given where he came from, supreme confidence on himself and his abilities! Plus his hillarious personality, charisma and charm, he is very hard not to love! I dare say he is one of the few legends who would translate well even to this day! All hail El Guapo!
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15
- Edson Barboza
- "Junior" | 24-12-0
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What can i say about this one? Have you seen even a minute of his fights? That's right, super dynamic, powerfull and simply put, extremmelly enetrtaining!
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16
- Nick Diaz
- 26-10-0, 2 NC
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How can you not like this guy or his fights? His gritty, ugly, pressure boxing style did not seem aestheticly pleasing, but it works! His cardio was unhuman, his chin was made of adamantine and his submission game was like stepping into moving sand! A true legend of the sport! Gave us many fight to remember and dedicated his life to the game! Despite his brother having more fame and recognition post-2016, i maintain that Nick is undoubtedly the better of the two and its great to see, he has not been forgotten by the fan base like many legends of his time! In fact, he is missed and there are actually some that still want him to return have a few more fights, despite his last outing!
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17
- Jorge Masvidal
- "Gamebred" | 35-17-0
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His 2019 run impressed and surprised the heckk outta me, man! Even now going back and looking back at it, it is still such a aw-strucking experience! beutifully executed in all aspects! In the cage, out of the cage, on the mic, everything was on point for gamebred that year! I had heard his name pop up quite a few times before, but he just never seemed to be able to get it together and impress the masses, but if you go back, there were quite a lot of hidden gems in his rise, namely his ufc debut vs means, his lightweight title shot vs benson, his fights in pride and bellator and even bodog!!! For those who remember, you know who you are, and his backyard fights! That run he had woke me up to all this and before i knew it, i was a fan! Sporting a near 50/50 record, his fights didn't always go his way but he always put it all out there and made a fight!
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18
- Daniel Cormier
- "DC" | 22-3-0, 1 NC
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Despite me ranking DC over Bisping, in reality they are interchangeable for me, for totally different reasons; despite being a wrestler, he had great hand speed and accuracy anvid his fights were usually gritty but still very tactical! His 2 wars with JJ stick out in my and many other's minds im sure, but his war with gustaffson has to be one of the better fights i have ever seen! Rewatch that in order to fully apreciate the machine DC was and how entertaining he could be when he pushed the envelope! His cardio was seemingly endless and his pace and pressure were insane! A true goat that does not get the credit he deserves indeed!
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19
- Michael Bisping
- "The Count" | 30-9-0
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Michael grew on me over time like i assume most people did, those who remeber him prior to his later career renaisance and his fights can be hit or miss, depending on who he might be fighting and his strategy but they are incredibly technichal chess matches especially striking! Those who train for a while will likely agree with this and also apreciate his submission and overall grappling defense as his career and skills progressed, not to mention his natural charisma and mind for the sport, as evidenced by his commentary, yt channel and his great coaching on tuf and 14!
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20
- Cris Cyborg
- 27-2-0, 1 NC
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Easily my fav female fighter ever, insane punching power and agression and this translates quite well over to her fights! Sure, it often resembled a slaughter of a lamb, but man, were they fun to watch!