Based on pure ability, who are your top 10 fighters all-time?

When you usually look at the best fighters all-time in any sport, era's are taken into account, accomplishments ect, but if you were to just base it on pure ability, talent, who are your top 10 fighters all-time?

Do the abilities have to be purely physical? Could they be mental as well?

Pure talent

1. Penn
2. GSP
3. Fedor
4. Anderson
5. Vitor
6. Shogun
7. Rampage
8. Wand
9. Ken
10. Big Nog

HM: Chuck, Tito, Machida, Lesnar, Lil Nog.

Great question LA.

Mental and physical factor in together right?

You simply mean, the ten best fighters of all time, regardless of era right? Guys like Tito, Coleman and Royce shouldn't be on this list then.

My list will be heavily weighted toward the modern era. Here is a list I came up with in a minute and a half of thinking.

1. Fedor
2. Anderson Silva
3. GSP
4. BJ Penn
5. Urijah Faber
6. Chuck Liddell
7. Frank Shamrock
8. Sakuraba
9. Randy Couture
10. Lyoto Machida

1. Fedor
2. BJ Penn
3. Spider
4. Royce gracie
5. GSP
6. Shogun
7. Ken Shamrock
8. Vitor
9. Cro Cop
10. Chuck

Exactly Wolf, mine would be weighted towards the modern era as well, still thinking out the bottom 10.

Ninja surprised you got Ken in there, thought u meant Frank at first.

Good lists though

1. Fedor
2. GSP
3. BJ
4. Hughes
5. Anderson Silva
6. Cung Le
7. Royce
8. Machida
9. Vitor
10. Brock

timthebim wrote:

1. Fedor
2. BJ Penn
3. Spider
4. Royce gracie
5. GSP
6. Shogun
7. Ken Shamrock
8. Vitor
9. Cro Cop
10. Chuck

Timmy, you get it's just pure talent regardless of era? Like you got Royce at 4, now that's fine, but you think he's the 4th most talented fighter ever? over GSP?

I could replace a few of mine with some you guys listed. Saku was great, Cro Cop, Randy also.

Cung Le?

tolivendiewithLA wrote:

timthebim wrote:

1. Fedor
2. BJ Penn
3. Spider
4. Royce gracie
5. GSP
6. Shogun
7. Ken Shamrock
8. Vitor
9. Cro Cop
10. Chuck

Timmy, you get it's just pure talent regardless of era? Like you got Royce at 4, now that's fine, but you think he's the 4th most talented fighter ever? over GSP?

Yeah i flip flopped on those two but Royce was 1 of the most talented guys I have ever seen. Could he beat GSP? No. Was he as talented in my opion yes.

Ya, what LA means is, who are the ten pure p4p best ever without factoring in era. Royce would unfortunately even in his prime be trashed by Tom Lawler or Wilson Gouviea.

actually, LA is this a p4p list or a list purely based on 1-1 combat ability? because in that case Brock and Timmy have major cases for this list.

tolivendiewithLA wrote:

Cung Le?

You shoulda known! I can't leave my boy off of any top 10 list.

tolivendiewithLA wrote:

Cung Le?

ahahahahha

I don't know Wolf, good question, I'd lean more towards all-time P4P

bigbeastcardinal12 wrote:

tolivendiewithLA wrote:

Cung Le?

You shoulda known! I can't leave my boy off of any top 10 list.

I was about to say, Cung Le will be on any top 10 list of BBC's.

Wolfgangsta wrote:

tolivendiewithLA wrote:

Cung Le?

ahahahahha

funny or refreshing?

I guess all time MMA is a stretch for Cung. Top ten striker he is without a doubt.

bigbeastcardinal12 wrote:

Wolfgangsta wrote:

tolivendiewithLA wrote:

Cung Le?

ahahahahha

funny or refreshing?

Insulting

Based on pure ability

1) BJ
2) Anderson
3) GSP
4) Fedor
5) Vitor
6) Sakuraba
7) Shogun
Frank Shamrock
9) Faber
10) Rampage

royce gracie (I know guys back then didnt offer much but this guy beat people three times his size and ruled shit back then)
fedor
penn
gsp
spider
shogun
hughes
machida
chuck
wand

No ones list is right or wrong, but I have a hard enough time putting Royce in the top 10, let alone at 1 based on pure talent.

So basically an all time pound for pound list. In no particular order for the top 5

Fedor Emelianenko: His Sambo, Judo, Submission, Striking, Power, Strength, Quickness, IQ, Composure would hack it in any division at any weight. If Fedor was 135. 145. 155, 170, 185, 205, 265 pounds. He would still be a complete standout style and skill wise. One of the few true GREATS that MMA has seen

BJ Penn: His boxing is on a completley different level from the average MMA fighter and most of the best guys out there. His has freakish flexibility off his back and abnormal balance. Probably the best takedown defense ever and thats funny because it's a complete fucking mystery why anybody would ever try to take BJ Penn down without the plan of getting the points and standing right back up or with grease on their backs. One of the best jiu jitsu guys in the game, the best at LW. The only reason this guy has more than 1 or 2 losses is because he's constantly testing himself outside the division against the likes of GSP, Hughes and Lyoto. BJ Penn is probably the most talented fighter ever and on his game like right now, i would put him against anybody...even another crack at GSP.

GSP: Probably the best pure athlete in the game. Top notch at every phase. Best cardio. Great wrestling. Great with his kicks and his punches. Excellent submission, GnP. He's the Fedor of 170.

Lyoto Machida: Excellent ability in striking, movement, avoiding strikes while landing at a high percentage. Pretty much IMPOSSIBLE to take down because he's one of the few fighters that has a base in SUMO.

Big Nog: Just the most well round HW ever outside of Fedor. Great stand up. Great jiu jitsu. Great cardio. The greatest chin ever. There is no flaws in Big Nog.

Anderson Silva: Best head movement in MMA, bar none. Quickest hands in MMA. Best knees in MMA. Very good on the ground but unlike most of the fighters on the list. Anderson Silva has to go out of his way to avoid going to the ground with certain fighters while guys like GSP, BJ, Fedor, Nog have proven to be effective everywhere no matter what the opponents strength is. I personally think Spider while showing a good IQ...is not a high level grappler in MMA.

Chuck Liddell: Just the ability to knock motherfuckers out and through his prime..not get hit. He had one of the best sprawls ever. He has a very strong wrestling base but was dominant for a long time without really having to use it other than to sprawl. You know a fighter is skilled when they have another lethel weapon on stand by that they never have to use because the main one gets the job done most of the time.

Andrei Arlovski: This guy is as well rounded as Fedor and Big Nog. He just perhaps lacks the fighter IQ of those guys...and no, the chin is not a problem. Getting hit by big motherfuckers who hit hard is the problem. Great base in Sambo, Boxing way beyond MMA standards. Can hold his own in any phase of the game except a Fedor overhand right. No weaknesses and he still has another run left in him.

Matt Hughes: One of the first incredibly well rounded fighters and a wrestler with a great submission game. Really no weaknesses in Matt Hughes other than he's out of his prime now.

Mirko CroCop: In his prime. Nobody swung em and kicked em like CroCop...and he was another guy who you HAD to stand with unless your name was Fedor because he was pretty much impossible to take down. Even when he did get on his back, he proved to have a very strong gaurd. Great fighter who's prime ended a little too soon.

Hughes was never well rounded. Ortiz is a significantly better boxer or striker. Hughes just never ran across his Liddell. When he wanted it to go to the ground, it went there.

I almost left him off the list because of his weak striking. Thiago Alves would have probably been a terrible match up for any Matt Hughes that ever fought in the UFC.