Always hard, to compare eras. MMA a little different. The "MMA" in the 90's (quotations because it really wasn't MMA) was more of a single style vs another style. It was a bit of a joke too. You had guys with a record of 250-0 getting submitted a minute into their first match! Other guys wearing a single boxing glove. I mean the only thing missing was Frank Dux. In short totally different sport in the 90's. By the 2000's a majority of fighters were multidisciplinary thus true MMA. So the sport is comparable then as it is now. Fedor dominated his era like no other, so I think he deserves to be in the GOAT discussion. Remember an over the hill Hunt beat Lewis who then went on to beat, the very next year Ngannou.
Late reply but good points.
My main thing is the point I made that Fedor has become this litmus test to prove you're a real fan. People feel compelled to throw him in there to prove they know the history of the sport.
But closer examination, his North American record just isn't up to par and he wasn't even that old at the time.
I don't doubt his greatness but HW's have a lot of longevity in MMA and he was done being a top tier fighter pretty quickly.
I dont follow UFC that much but i have never heard of him. Now i'm reading that some consider him the GOAT or 1 of the best.
Just reading post 21. I never heard of Fedor either (but heard of the other 3)
Again, i dont know much about UFC (fun to bet on) and i only know names based on main event cards
Just reading post 21. I never heard of Fedor either (but heard of the other 3)
Again, i dont know much about UFC (fun to bet on) and i only know names based on main event cards
Yeah some probably have not seen Fedor fight and do add him in the mix, but I still think he dominated his era like no other clean fighter. Longevity for HW's in terms of age not in fights IMO. A lot of great HW's once they reach mid 20's to 30 fights they appear for lack of a better term punch drunk. Fighters such as Big Nog, Werdum, Dos Santos, Cro Cop, seem to get KO'd easier than before, seem a tad slower than before, when they had fewer fights under their belts. DC and Stipe, I think they only have 2 or 3 top fights left in them. Of course there are exceptions. If Ngannou keeps destroying guys like he does, he'll be able to fight at his peak in excess 25 to 30 fights. He takes very little damage in most of his fights.
1 and 3 cheated! But man was there ever a better fighter than Spider. He's probably still my favourite. It was like watching a Bruce Lee movie. Still pissed at the way his reign came to an end, and that he cheated. Khabib and GSP are two guys that everyone should try and emulate. Just true class, and honourable human beings.
Still too early to tell, with CTE study and research being in it's infancy. Tim Hague, Jordan Parsons, each had CTE and were very young. Cat Zingano struggles with brain damage. I don't know. It just seems when HW's reach a certain number of fights, their ability drops. Dos Santos is still young, and he can't take the punishment anymore. Remember his beat down in the Cain fight, or with Stipe? One judge had the score 50-44 or 43. It was super human that he lasted five rounds. Now he's getting KO'd much easier.
