Bas Rutten: Overlooked Legend | WrestleZone Forums

Bas Rutten: Overlooked Legend

Via Armbar

Has a pretty good dick.
I was reading through a top ten pound for pound of all time list earlier this morning. The publication's name I will skip because honestly they're garbage and you shouldn't waste your time, but there was something very interesting about their top ten. While their were the familiar names of Couture, Sakuraba and others but one name was missing. Bas Rutten wasn't anywhere on the list. At first I thought maybe I was just being a little biased because he was one of my all time favorite. Then I realized he has been missing on a lot of top tens. Why is this?

If you've never seen one of Rutten's fights then you are really missing out. Truely a founder and game changer in the world of mma. He was there at the beginning stages of Pancrase and was one of the first fighters to combine many styles of martial arts and become a well rounded fighter. An extremely heavy hitter and eventually an awesome submissionist he was definitely one of the best fighters in the world in the mid to late nineties. He has only lost 4 times; 3 times to submission(Ken Shamrock both twice) and by decision once. He only lost within the first two years of his career and once he starting working on his ground game he went undefeated for the rest of his career. He has beaten the likes of Vernon White, Masakatsu Funaki, Frank Shamrock, and Kevin Randleman. Some of those names may have fallen from grace in years past but at the time all of those names were some of the best in the world.

Outside of his fighting accolades he has been one fo the only mma fighters to crossoever into other forms of media. He has hosted his own shows on television and the radio, he has had his own clothing lines and gyms and has starred in many action movies. This was all done in a time when the general public was less than accepting of mma. Before Liddell, Ortiz, and Couture did it...Rutten did it.

For whatever reasons, I think he goes somewhat forgotten when people discuss all time greats. Not just with the fans but many mma publications and news outlets disclude him from such lists in favor of maybe Frank Shamrock or Randleman, both of whom Rutten has beaten. Where do you think Bas Rutten fits in the top ten of all time greats in mma? Do you think he belongs outside of the top ten and why?
 
Bas Rutten is a top 10 fighter of all time in my book. He was a true pioneer in the sport and really dominated in the early days of the UFC. As you mentioned Armbar, he only lost in the early years of his career and dominated the rest of his career. If it wasn't for his injuries I firmly believe he would be in contention for best fighter ever, but unfortunately we will never know because the injuries he suffered cut his injury short.

In addition, he is a great trainer. He did wonders for Kimbo in the early stages of his career and even though Kimbo was fighting cans, Rutten got him prepared very well for those fights.

Bas Rutten's name should be among the legends and greats such as Randy Couture, Sakuraba, and Royce Gracie. He had a great overall game before most MMA fighters began to develop these skills. I wouldn't just put Rutten in the top 10 of all time to this point but probably in the top 5.
 
I'm a huge fan of Bas Rutten, but more so his personality then his fight career.

Bas Rutten was a very good fighter, but he didn't do anything that should have put him at legendary status. He was 2-0 in the UFC, sure, but the two opponents he beat were mediocre at best. The only really good fighters he ever beat in his career in fact were Masakatsu Funaki and Frank Shamrock (twice for Shamrock, who though was outweighed by quite a bit). However, everyone else he defeated were not names that would raise someone of his accomplishments to legendary status. Moreover, the guy was 0-2 against Ken Shamrock. Now, nothing against Ken Shamrock, but the fact that Rutten couldn't beat him hurts his career severely, since Shamrock was never really that good to begin with.

So, yeah... his fight career isn't really all that impressive, man. He perhaps retired too soon, and he didn't beat any real greats in the sport outside of two people I mentioned above, and even those two are only looked at as legend among hardcore fans who know the history of the sport. There's nothing in his career that suggests he's among the top 10 best to ever fight MMA, if you ask me.

Personality wise though, man... there's no denying that he's one of the most entertaining personalities throughout the history of the sport. He's been a great, great commentator and backstage announcer over the years (specifically in PRIDE), and recently he's done a great job as co-host on the MMA show on HD.Net.

His legacy is perfectly intact as a good fighter, but awesome personality. Nothing wrong with that.
 

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