Via Armbar
Has a pretty good dick.
There are a few names in the history of the sport who will go down as legends if they haven't already. Every sport has their Jordan's, their Gretzky's and so on. Despite the sport being only a toddler in relation to other sport such as football and baseball, there is no shortage of names that personify mixed martial arts. We have seen hot prospects fall short of what was expected and we've seen underdogs triumph and hold gold. We've had innovators as well as the steady old guard holding on to a sport that so easily passes athletes by. Whatever terms you use to judge what makes a legend just that, there are agreements by most fans that can be reached regarding the all time greats of the sport. Of those legends, who would you place on the Mt. Rushmore of mma?
Fedor Emelianenko. Surprised right? Despite recent events, the man simply known as Fedor has done more in his career than most fighters could do in two careers. He beat the best at their own game despite being smaller and unfitting of what fighters are supposed to be and look like. A record like Emelianenko's has never been, and probably never will be matched. To be the best for as long as he was and arguably still is. No other fighters have had an aura about them like The Last Emperor has had. While guys like Silva and GSP are still cementing their legacies, Fedor has already set his in stone.
Royce Gracie. One of very few men who were able to completely change what people thought fighting was about. Putting money on the hulking strikers was considered the safe bet. After the Adonis-like Ken Shamrock was submitted by some wacky, crazy submission known as a rear naked choke, the fight game would never be the same. One of the first names that is brought up when talking about the youngest days of the UFC, Gracie brought a virtually unknown fighting style to the US and it's affect is still incredibly visible today.
Kazushi Sakuraba. The Gracie Hunter. With a nickname like that, the owner of his has to live up to the reputation. Sakuraba did just that. Arguably the best shoot wrestler to adapt a certain kind of style to mma, Sakuraba amounted 19 submission wins in his career. If that wasn't impressive enough, he has taken out four of the famed Gracies. You can't bring up Saku without mentioning the fact that he holds the record for the longest mixed martial arts bout of all time at an unheard of 90 minutes. His fight records hold no shortage of amazing battles with some all time greats.
Randy Couture. Usually I would be extremely hesitant to put an active athlete in any sort of hall of fame or anything like it. Randy is the exception however. To me, he is American mma. He is the quintessential fans fighter. He embodies the everyman: things are possible with hard work and never count yourself out. He doesn't have the best record. That doesn't matter. People will always want to see Randy fight and he will always be a competitor. He has defied the odds time and time again and is a true inspiration in the world of mma.
I'd like to see who everyone would place in their very own Mt. Rushmore and open things up to discussion. There are plenty of names who can be considered and it should be interesting to see who is considered legendary and who isn't.
Fedor Emelianenko. Surprised right? Despite recent events, the man simply known as Fedor has done more in his career than most fighters could do in two careers. He beat the best at their own game despite being smaller and unfitting of what fighters are supposed to be and look like. A record like Emelianenko's has never been, and probably never will be matched. To be the best for as long as he was and arguably still is. No other fighters have had an aura about them like The Last Emperor has had. While guys like Silva and GSP are still cementing their legacies, Fedor has already set his in stone.
Royce Gracie. One of very few men who were able to completely change what people thought fighting was about. Putting money on the hulking strikers was considered the safe bet. After the Adonis-like Ken Shamrock was submitted by some wacky, crazy submission known as a rear naked choke, the fight game would never be the same. One of the first names that is brought up when talking about the youngest days of the UFC, Gracie brought a virtually unknown fighting style to the US and it's affect is still incredibly visible today.
Kazushi Sakuraba. The Gracie Hunter. With a nickname like that, the owner of his has to live up to the reputation. Sakuraba did just that. Arguably the best shoot wrestler to adapt a certain kind of style to mma, Sakuraba amounted 19 submission wins in his career. If that wasn't impressive enough, he has taken out four of the famed Gracies. You can't bring up Saku without mentioning the fact that he holds the record for the longest mixed martial arts bout of all time at an unheard of 90 minutes. His fight records hold no shortage of amazing battles with some all time greats.
Randy Couture. Usually I would be extremely hesitant to put an active athlete in any sort of hall of fame or anything like it. Randy is the exception however. To me, he is American mma. He is the quintessential fans fighter. He embodies the everyman: things are possible with hard work and never count yourself out. He doesn't have the best record. That doesn't matter. People will always want to see Randy fight and he will always be a competitor. He has defied the odds time and time again and is a true inspiration in the world of mma.
I'd like to see who everyone would place in their very own Mt. Rushmore and open things up to discussion. There are plenty of names who can be considered and it should be interesting to see who is considered legendary and who isn't.