The best fighters in the world. The best fighters in the world Famous MMA fighters of the world

Next year will mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the first tournament in UFC history. This is a very important anniversary, and you need to prepare for it in advance in order to have time to sum up all the results, remember with longing the past times and look into the future with hope. To begin with, I suggest you remember the names of the twenty-five main UFC fighters over the past twenty-five years of the company’s existence from 1993 to 2016, we will divide the entire history into five “five-year plans”. One year - one representative. It will not always be the brightest year of a particular fighter, and it will not always be that particular fighter who will be the best in a particular year. Important restore the historical process of the formation of sports in persons. This is what we will do.

1993 - Royce Gracie

Few people remember now, but then, 25 years ago, the first tournament of The Ultimate Fighting Championship was held by the Gracie family and businessman Art Davey with one goal: to promote Brazilian jiu-jitsu, whose schools were then opening in the United States. For this, a hero was needed who would show by his own example the full power of his martial art. Royce Gracie became such a hero.

At his first UFC tournament, he simply did not have a chance to lose: before entering the cage, his opponents had no idea what they would have to face. Feints, attacks from below, using one's own clothes - no one was prepared to defend against the tricks of jujitsu.

Winning the tournament is not Royce's main achievement. The Brazilian showed the beauty of MMA to the American public, thanks to him a one-time PR campaign turned into a promotion, and jiu-jitsu became the most popular grappling base for mixed style fighters. If it weren't for the Gracie clan, the UFC wouldn't exist. If not for Royce, the first tournament could have been the last for the company.

The Brazilian continued to win and became a champion twice more, although each time it was more difficult. Mixed martial arts developed at a tremendous pace and, with the advent of the twenty-first century, left Royce behind. On the day Gracie suffered a devastating loss to Matt Hughes, he could rightfully say: " our sport has grown, and this is my main historical merit".

1994 - Ken Shamrock

If every Batman has his own Joker, then every Gracie has his own Shamrock. To become great, you need to beat other greats, so Royce needed Ken, and Royce needed Ken. Two of the biggest MMA stars of the '90s met at the inaugural Ultimate Fighting Championship, and the Brazilian emerged victorious. The defeat gave Shamrock an incentive to develop: he learned to defend himself against jiu-jitsu techniques and became the first all-rounder of his time, equally dangerous both on the stand and on the ground.

Ken was thirsty for revenge and was supposed to fight Royce at UFC 3, but the Brazilian withdrew due to an injury received in the quarterfinals. They will meet a few months later at UFC 5, and Shamrock will give the Brazilian such blows that he will lose the desire to fight for five whole years. For almost forty minutes the American fighter was in a dominant position, striking with his head and hands. Gracie worked his opponent's back with his heel, but visually this did not bother Shamrock much. Due to imperfections in the rules, the result of the fight was declared a draw, although the state of the opponents after the gong indicated Ken's victory.

Shamrock was called "the most dangerous man in the world" and at some point this nickname corresponded to reality: in the world of fighting he became the number one figure. Ken ended the era of Gracie dominance, proved that MMA is not limited to just jiu-jitsu, and demonstrated an example of professional preparation for fights.

And although, like his main rival, Shamrock remained a fighter exclusively of the 90s, the audience remembers and loves him to this day.

1995 - Dan Severn

Dan was the first true heavyweight to win a UFC tournament. With his wrestling skills and sheer size, Savern simply blew away his opponents in the Octagon. Whether it was the two-ton Tank Abbott or the Russian sambo master Taktarov, Dan simply threw his opponent to the floor and beat him with his huge arms and legs, and then forced him to submit.

Savern won two tournaments: UFC 5 and Ultimate Ultimate - Tournament of Champions. And then he forced Ken Shamrock to wash himself with his own blood, got caught twisting his neck in a fight with Mark Coleman and went off into the sunset to travel around regional promotions, performing 7-8 times a year for the next fifteen years.

Dan Savern is an example of a person who, while performing in a cage, did not become an MMA fighter, but remained a fighter - a follower of his style. Having refused to develop, he lost to all serious opponents who kept up with the times. Even so, Savern's performances were some of the highlights of the early UFC.

1996 - Mark Coleman

The American fighter nicknamed “The Hammer” is known in our country thanks to two fights with Fedor Emelianenko, but Coleman’s historical role is not limited to defeats to the Pride icon. Mark is considered the father of style" ground and pound": He is the first who learned not only to take opponents to the ground, but also to effectively score them there. Look at the overhand shots of Shamrock and Savern and compare them with what Coleman did.

He demonstrated to the world one of the most effective fighting styles and laid the foundations for techniques that are still used today. Mark Coleman can be called the first modern MMA fighter: he did not combine a career in the UFC with performances in professional wrestling, like Shamrock; did not use sports popularity to promote his film career, like Taktarov; did not hone any one martial art to perfection, like Gracie or Severn. "Hammer" became the first professional MMA fighter and brought the attitude towards this sport to a new level.

Colman won two tournaments and was the first to win the UFC heavyweight championship belt, forcing Dan Severn to surrender. He later became a Pride FC legend and the winner of the 2000 Grand Prix, breaking the streak thirty two fights of Igor Vovchanchyn without defeat. But perhaps his main merit will forever be changing the way fighters think.

1997 - Randy Couture

Oh, and here we are at the main person on our list. The only three-time UFC heavyweight champion, the only four-time UFC champion, the first UFC champion in two weight classes, the oldest UFC title holder and simply one of the most significant fighters in the history of the company.

His career remains the most eventful in MMA history to this day. Already in the second fight - the first title, in the third - a victory over Vitor Belfort, in the fourth - the UFC champion belt. From 2000 to 2008, he spent almost all of his fights for the title. He ended his career at the age of 47 with a fight against Lyoto Machida.

In addition to his sporting successes, Couture also became one of the main popularizers of the sport, thanks to whose performances the UFC survived the most difficult period of its history.

And the journey of the legend began in 1997.

Worthy of mention for the same period:

Oleg Taktarov - the main Russian in UFC history. He was the first to demonstrate sambo techniques in the cage, the first MMA fighter to build a successful career in cinema.

Don Fry- a huge mustachioed piece of muscle and charisma. This is how a real fighter should look.

David "Tank" Abbott- one of the most colorful fighters of the era, bench press record holder and the first person in the UFC to start wearing the gloves we are familiar with.

The UFC's first five-year plan is, of course, a realm of a very special atmosphere. Bare-handed fighting with almost no rules, a tournament system, a variety of styles from boxing to Jeet Kune Do. Mixed martial arts was just emerging as a sport, and watching their development is incredibly interesting. In the next five years, a crisis will occur in the UFC: the best fighters will leave for Japan, a campaign to ban MMA will begin in the USA, because of which the company will be on the verge of ruin and will be forced to change. We'll talk about the people thanks to whom the promotion survived at the turn of the century.

10 best MMA fighters in the world. Why is Cormier better than Khabib?

What is a p4p rating?

To put it simply, pound for pound ratings are perceived as rating fighters from different weight classes, who are compared as if they all weighed the same and were considered potential opponents. When comparing, current achievements, potential, subjective impression and anything else are taken into account - right down to charisma and integrity of the image. We studied the ratings of the top 10 fighters in the world from the sites Sherdog, Tapology, Fightmatrix, ESPN, MMAweekly and UFC (since the five previous ratings included only UFC fighters) and compiled a summary top ten.

10. Henry Cejudo (USA)

31 years old; over 56.7 kg; 13 wins, 2 losses

What did you do: freestyle wrestling

Short: the first Olympic champion to become UFC champion. Cejudo had two attempts - against one of the most dominant UFC champions, Demetrious Johnson, and on the second, Cejudo defeated Johnson, who had previously defended the title 11 times.

9. Stipe Miocic (USA)

36 years old; over 93 kg; 18 wins, 3 losses

What did you do: baseball, wrestling, boxing

Short: about everyone who comes next, by default you can write “he hits well, fights well.” Miocic gave the impression of a big, strong, smiling man who worked as a fireman, until it turned out that nature gave him such data with which he could beat perhaps the best kickboxer, grappler and boxer in the UFC in two years. Miocic became the most successful heavyweight in the history of the promotion, defending the title three times and losing only to Daniel Cormier. You will meet him on the first line.

8. Georges St. Pierre (Canada)

37 years old; up to 77.1 and up to 83.9 kg; 26 wins, 2 losses

What did you do: karate, wrestling

Short: obviously the most controversial position in the ranking. Georges St-Pierre returned to the UFC last November after a 47-month hiatus and promptly beat middleweight champion Michael Bisping. Given that St-Pierre's previous career has been outstanding - a welterweight championship and 9 title defenses - he could well be in the top 10, but at the moment St-Pierre is not saying anything about continuing his MMA career and, It’s possible that it will go away completely. It is important that he is not in three of the six rankings studied, but MMAWeekly, for example, puts the Canadian in second place, and if you consider him as an active fighter, this is very easy to accept.

7. Robert Whitaker (Australia)

27 years old; up to 83.9 kg; 20 wins, 4 losses

What did you do: karate

Short: Whitaker remains one of the UFC's most enigmatic champions, but also one of the youngest men on the list of the best fighters on the planet. Probably one balances the other. He has an aggressive striking technique, an excellent ability to endure in the cage and carry out long fights, but so far his frequency of appearances is rather alarming: two fights each in 2015 and 2016, one each in 2017 and (most likely) 2018 .

5-6. Demetrius Johnson (USA)

32 years old; up to 56.7 kg; 27 wins, 3 losses

What did you do: wrestling, pankration

Short: Johnson defended the UFC title 11 times, and no other champion has more defenses. Unfortunately, the flyweight division brought the fighter to the flyweight spotlight, and even two confrontations with Olympic champion Cejudo and a passion for computer games did not make Johnson more popular. He is now on the UFC's doorstep as part of a trade deal with One FC.

5-6. TJ Dillashaw (USA)

32 years old; up to 61.2 kg; 16 wins, 3 losses

What did you do: struggle

Short: Usually, when talking about top fighters, they cite some amazing winning streaks, but Dillashaw was the one who broke such a streak. He once beat Renan Barao, who came into the fight against Dillashaw on a 32-fight win streak. Bookmakers multiplied their bet on Dillashaw by 10 if he won.

In the last two years, TJ has focused on facing off against heavily tattooed former teammate Cody Garbrandt, winning both times. Dillashaw also sparred with boxer Lomachenko, and he communicates well with Sergey Kovalev.

4. Tyron Woodley (USA)

36 years old; up to 77.1 kg; 19 wins, 3 losses

What did you do: struggle

Short: Woodley won the title by confidently knocking out the reigning champion, but after that he began to upset him. His next three fights ended in judges' decisions. Just when it looked like the UFC could solve the problem with the help of a new champion, undefeated Liverpudlian big man Darren Till, Woodley confidently dealt with him, submitting Till in the second round. Woodley's mom personally reassured the young challenger after his defeat.

3. Khabib Nurmagomedov (Russia)

30 years old; up to 70.3 kg; 27 wins, 0 losses

What did you do: wrestling, combat sambo

Mentioned but not included

The UFC's ranking includes Conor McGregor, and this can be interpreted as a political decision: if you have a fighter who brings in the maximum amount of money from fights, it is strange not to advertise him with your own resource.

MMAweekly.com is the only site that offered two girls to consider: Chris Justino and Rose Namajunas.

Tony Ferguson was also mentioned - his fight with Khabib has already failed four times, but we would be ready to wait for a fifth attempt.

About Khabib

It is difficult to assess Khabib’s third place; in the last two fights he was initially considered the obvious favorite, and this, on the one hand, is an indicator of class, on the other hand, it will generate distrust in his achievements. His competitors in this ranking more often won battles when bookmakers doubted their choice.

But if you imagine Khabib weighing 100 kg, you can break your head about their fight with Daniel Cormier: with an equal fight, Khabib’s endurance would be traded for Daniel’s ability to knock out, and then you can start arguing. At the same time, Cormier’s candidacy does not raise any questions among any of the publications: he is first in six out of six cases.

The fight between Cormier and Derrick Lewis will be the central event of UFC 230. It will take place on November 3 in New York (in the morning of November 4, Moscow time). You can watch the live broadcast of UFC 230 on the Match TV channel. The broadcast starts at 5:00 am (Moscow time) on November 4.

Photo: Sam Wasson / Stringer / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru, Joe Scarnici / Stringer / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru, Getty Images / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru, Rey Del Rio / Stringer / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru , RIA Novosti/Said Tsarnaev, globallookpress.com, Harry How / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

There are many famous fighters. Among them one can single out the best and titled ones. In addition, you can find out who is the strongest fighter in the world and who is the highest paid.

The best fighters of fights without rules

There are many ratings that determine the best martial arts fighters. All such reports can be called correct; some agree with them, but others do not. One of the best without a doubt is Fedor Emelianenko. His career in mixed martial arts began in 2000, and in 2001, according to Rings, he was already a world champion. Two years later, Fedor was awarded the same title according to Pride. Over the years of his career, the athlete has been repeatedly called the strongest man on the planet. Numerous fans nicknamed him "The Last Emperor". He spent ten years without a single loss, which is unique for fights without rules and for MMA. This unique athlete ended his career in 2012.

Fedor's brother is also a famous fighter without rules - this is Alexander Emelianenko. His career began in 2003. Out of twenty-one fights, he has four defeats. In 2009, the athlete tried himself in professional boxing, but limited himself to only one fight, which ended in a draw.

Mike Zambidis is one of the strongest fighters, whose name appears in the Guinness Book of Records. His record is forty-eight knockouts out of sixty fights. His name was known in Europe back in 1998. According to the latest data, the athlete fought one hundred and sixty fights, of which only seventeen were lost, but eighty-four were won by knockout. Mike retired from his career in 2011.

Another strong fighter in mixed martial arts - Batu Khasikov. He has more than two hundred fights in his career. Also the best fighters are Dan Henderson, Antonio Silva and Rashad Evans. Rashad managed to win victories over Forrest Griffin, Chuck Liddell, Stefan Bonnar and Michael Bisping.

During the entire existence of the UFC championship, Jon Jones became its youngest winner. His success is dizzying; it is possible that he will occupy a leadership position in the UFC championship for a long time in the light heavyweight division.

Jeff Monson is a famous fighter who is considered one of the strongest in mixed martial arts. A fighter who competes for Russia in the heavyweight division is Sergei Kharitonov. Having started his professional career in 2002, the athlete still performs. In 2004, according to Pride, he became a bronze medalist.

Anderson Silva is a fighter who has lost only four out of thirty-five fights. The athlete is the current MMA champion. He often wins beautiful victories, which is why his fans like him.

The Greatest MMA Fighters

Among the MMA fighters there are simply huge ones. This is Emmanuel Yarborough. With a height of two meters and ten centimeters, the athlete weighs three hundred kilograms. For such dimensions he received the nickname “Man of Mountain”.

When compiling the TOP 10 best heavyweights in MMA history, Fedor Emelianenko is recognized as the leader. His weight is one hundred and six kilograms. The big one is Antonio Nogueira. The athlete's weight is one hundred and five kilograms. In third place in the ranking is heavyweight and light heavyweight fighter Randy Couture.

Other big MMA fighters are Mirko Filipovic and Josh Barnett, Frank Mir and Tim Sylvia.

The most titled fighter

Five-time champion Randy Couture is recognized as one of the most popular and at the same time the most titled in UFC history. He won victories in both the heavy and light heavyweight categories.

Randy Couture received names such as "The Natural" and "Captain America." His career and achievements are truly remarkable. It should be noted that Randy became the only fighter who managed to become a champion in two weight categories at once.

Highest paid fighter

Some fighters don't limit themselves to prize money from fights. They also make money from advertising, film roles, and some investments. The heavyweight champion at one time was a fighter named Brock Lesnar. He was recognized as the highest paid in MMA in 2010. On the list of the highest paid athletes, Lesnar took thirteenth position. His current net worth exceeds twelve and a half million dollars.

Chuck Liddell's income is estimated at thirteen million dollars, and Randy Couture managed to earn fourteen million. Tite Ortiz has a fortune of fifteen million dollars, and Bee Jane Penn has a fortune of twenty million. It must be said that most of Pena’s fortune was not earned by fighting. He co-authored several books on martial arts and also wrote his autobiography. The athlete starred in the film “Never Give Up.”

The strongest fighter in the world

Fedor Emelianenko is considered the strongest fighter in the world. He was called the “Russian Experiment”, “Terminator” and “The Last Emperor”. He has no equal in mixed martial arts. The athlete became famous for the fact that for ten years, having fought thirty-two fights, he never lost.

Defeats in his career only began to appear when he was not young enough. For ten years, while in his prime, he remained the heavyweight champion, defeating several UFC and Pride champions. No one has yet managed to defeat more champions than Emelianenko did. Most experts consider him the king of MMA.

A the strongest man in the world He does not practice boxing, but another sport...
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