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

tolivendiewithLA wrote:

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.

I just think he had major talent. he used to beat 3 guys a night and not to mention they were way bigger, stronger, and in some cases faster than him but the guy found a way to win with his talent. he also made the sport change to compete with him. Guys realized they had to be well rounded to compete with Royce or they would never have a shot against him. Thats why I put him on there LA.

1. BJ Penn ( nobody has the same kind of pure skill and natural athleticism this guy has)

2.Fedor ( he is undersized at HW and even though he seems like he has holes he manages to always win and most of the time in spectacular fashion)

3. GSP ( Best athlete in MMA ever, has beat the the last three champs of his division and the known top guys in the division)

4. Anderson ( his tear on the MW division alone is impressive but I also feel all the guys above him are just better overall in every aspect of MMA or athleticism)

5. M. Hughes (He was the man for the longest time and for good reason if he wanted to put you on your ass thats where you were going. Not a fan but i respect what he has done)

6. Big Nog ( yeah he has all my respect for toughness and being a master at making BJJ work in the modern MMA game)

7. Shogun (yeah he is the actual champ and if you have machida above him on your list your wrong)

8.AA (his only weakness was his chin poor guy i feel for him because he has all the skills with that horrible glass chin)

9. Vitor ( He is in on the fact that this is based on pure ability and with his hands fighting the best in the world for as many years as he has done this.)

10.M. Torres (This is based on pure ability yes call me crazy but yeah he is small but damn skilled)

Notables
- Machida(we shall see he has unique skills but like chuck once someone figures him out i think he is done for)
-Aldo ( doesnt have the history but if he beats faber i really think based on his great ability on his feet and what seemed like a decent ground game against MTB he is rising.
-Chuck ( This was based on pure ability and not on legacy so his hands and takedown defense were great but he had holes in both)
-Wand (If you don't like Wand you should punch yourself in the face)
-Kenflo ( I honestly think he would be on this list if it wasn't for BJ. I wanted to put him at 10 but I went with vitor due to his athleticism)

Nice with the Aldo HM

1. Anderson - The best striker, standing or on the ground, simply the best.
2. GSP - Simply the best pure athlete in the sport and works to improve constantly.
3. Fedor - Tough, smart, KO power and an excellent skill set on the ground.
4. Penn - More raw natural talent than anybody on this list, he is just now learning to use it.
5. Big Nog - A pure talent that may have been considered the best were it not for Fedor.
6. Machida - A well rounded fighter, who has a lot of upside.
7. Randy - Great talent, with a complete mind for the game and no one is better in the clinch.
8. Brock - Great power, great drive, great grappling and the quickest HW of all time.
9. Torres - Until recently, he looked unbeatable and could scrap like no ones biz.
10. Bas Rutten - I have never seen more accurate striking coupled with power, to be feared.

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4. M. Torres (This is based on pure ability yes call me crazy but yeah he is small but damn skilled)

He doesn't have the real wins to be on any alltime list. Unless we're talking all-time most cans defeated.

Yeah Aldo just seems like there is no stopping him and he is soo young. Im excited for that faber vs aldo fight.

well i based it on pure ability and the BW class has not been prominent in the USA untill recently I think he has the right skills to be on this but hey, that is my opinion.

Personally I was never really impressed with Torres. The guy's standup is way to sloppy and he gets hit way to often. To me his fight with Bowles wasn't really an upset.

Damn now thinking of it he may be at the least to high on my list.

He doesn't even that the right skills to be the champion in his own weightclass.

Miguel Torres, while I do think is very talented, is one of the most overrated of all times. He actually has less top ten and quality wins than Bowles and hasn't been in the WEC as as Bowles either.

He just resembled a lightweight marketable boxer and had a super huge padded record, but he probably wasn't even the best FW in the WEC during his whole run.


All that said, he could redeem himself, beat Bowles and win some more fights and make all those criticisms go away. I think he might have the tools to do it.

Ninja\Rua/Fan wrote:

Personally I was never really impressed with Torres. The guy's standup is way to sloppy and he gets hit way to often. To me his fight with Bowles wasn't really an upset.

Ninja's the man here for a reason.

Bowles has the better real top ten resume.

OK i put him at 10 LOL I can admit i was biased on a fellow mexican.

Yo if you wanna rank Mexicans protected from better fighters during their title reign by being fed favorable matchups, Ortiz has more legacy wins than Torres.

LOL while i am still barely a fan of tito ( man he makes it hard to be his fan) I know better but since this list was based on abilities I could not put him on. Unless it is the abtility to really irritate people.

Im surprised to see all the Shamrock votes since this is based on pure ability. Frank is the guy that is decent at everything but great at none. I really wished he stayed in the UFC and fought better competition to see where he really stands.

frank was elite at everything in his day.

Yeah but this isnt about in his day this is an all-time list. Simple as this mma, has evolved into a legitimate sport now and guys train and fight all the time as a living now so they are just better fighters now. But I have no doubt in my mind if many of the fighters of the old days had the same opportunities fighters now have they may have been that much greater. But for the sake of this list I am trying to just go with the best talent ever.

Frank would still be elite today, I should have said. His fight with Le proves he had upper level striking. And no one questions Shamrock submission fighting skill. He also had great wrestling.

GSP is just the new Frank Shamrock.

I'll defend Torres for a second, dude got caught(just moments after hurting Bowles), it happens all the time. He became too used to getting into brawls(which he proved pretty good at) and a guy with pop caught him on the chin. But he has tons of talent. But I wouldn't put him on the list.

Nor would I put Aldo on the list. Still too early to put him on a GOAT list.

I'll also argue against Chuck. He proved himself quite vulnerable in his venture into Pride. A bit protected here in the states.

1. BJ
2. GSP
3. Fedor
4. Anderson
5. Shogun
6. Vitor
7. Big Nog
8. Liddell
9. Wandy
10. Couture

Outside looking in... Hughes, Cro Cop, Royce, Machida, Rampage

Torres is talented, but Bowles is just plain better IMO, I'd expect Bowles to catch him again in a rematch. Bowles striking is cleaner, he has way more power, great wrestling, solid jj, all this with Torres taking way to much damage in fights.

And if Aldo beats Faber, he'll be very close IMO, this is pure ability/talent, if it was simply a goat list, Vitor or others wouldn't be in the top 10.

Like ur list LTFG, until Randy.

Well torres been training with cotto so I am curious to see how his striking develops. But his ground game is way above Bowles who is a heavy handed wrestler.

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Like ur list LTFG, until Randy.

Freak of nature athlete album to outfox guys half his age. I think he is appropriate.