Which five current UFC fighters do you respect most and why?

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Sherdog these days seems full of fighter hate/bashing. Sad for what is supposed to be a forum frequented by MMA "fans". And when I first joined (and lurked for a couple of years before), it was different.

So, I'd like to know, who you all respect and why (and preferably without bashing other fighters to make your point)?
 
Arlovski. Everyone told him to retire because of his glass chin but he refocused, made his way back to the UFC and eventually one win from a title shot. Five years ago, people were laughing at the notion of him ever being in the UFC again.

Hendo. The guy went off TRT and has been fighting with the natural hormones of an old man ever since. Still putting in a pretty good showing and has always been willing to fight anyone.

Holm. Had to stand up to the UFC brass to defend her own belt instead of sitting on it and waiting as long as possible like some people (the shoes are caiman and the chair is python). Wanted to fight and took risks to do it.

Travis Browne. I don't know how he gets through the day under the circumstances but somehow he finds a way.

Mighty Mouse. Guy just does his thing and keeps on winning. No BS, just fighting.
 
Cerrone: Dude doesn't give a fuck about rankings or titles. He just wants to fight as much as possible.

Cruz: How many people could not only overcome those injuries but come back and win the title?

Hendo: The guy has done everything short of win a UFC title in his career. He's been one of the best fighters in the world for almost 20 years.

Lytle: He's retired but he always came to fight and was never knocked out or submitted in close to 50 fights.

GSP: Always humble and went out on top. I hope he can do it again.
 
Arlovski. Everyone told him to retire because of his glass chin but he refocused, made his way back to the UFC and eventually one win from a title shot. Five years ago, people were laughing at the notion of him ever being in the UFC again.

Hendo. The guy went off TRT and has been fighting with the natural hormones of an old man ever since. Still putting in a pretty good showing and has always been willing to fight anyone.

Holm. Had to stand up to the UFC brass to defend her own belt instead of sitting on it and waiting as long as possible like some people (the shoes are caiman and the chair is python). Wanted to fight and took risks to do it.

Travis Browne. I don't know how he gets through the day under the circumstances but somehow he finds a way.

Mighty Mouse. Guy just does his thing and keeps on winning. No BS, just fighting.

Haha, good post, except couldn't avoid that little bit of bashing...
 
Cerrone: Dude doesn't give a fuck about rankings or titles. He just wants to fight as much as possible.

Cruz: How many people could not only overcome those injuries but come back and win the title?

Hendo: The guy has done everything short of win a UFC title in his career. He's been one of the best fighters in the world for almost 20 years.

Lytle: He's retired but he always came to fight and was never knocked out or submitted in close to 50 fights.

GSP: Always humble and went out on top. I hope he can do it again.

Good picks all. Yeah, you really have to admire the mental strength and willpower of Cruz, not to mention his skills. Cerrone is a genuine warrior, as are Hendo/Lytle. And as is evident from my av, I'm a huge GSP fan. He may come back now in Toronto in 4 months - hope he can start a new winning streak (not that his old one ended).
 
Frankie Edgar: Elite in both the lightweight and featherweight divisions despite imo being a natural bantamweight. Working man's fighter. Endless heart and grit in the cage.

Robbie Lawler: No excuses or complaining after losing to Hendricks, he just went back to work beating up other contenders, worked his way back to the belt and put a stamp on the end of his career with a well deserved title reign.

Stipe Miocic: No excuses made (despite being readily available) after taking a nasty eyepoke and being subsequently finished by Struve. Fought his way to the title and seized it by beating a HW GOAT contender. Another 'blue collar' type fighter.

Dan Henderson: Capable of knocking out anyone on Earth even into his sixties. Hendo is legend, Hendo is eternal.

Donald Cerrone: Fights eleven times per year, never in a boring scrap. Consistently defying my expectations. Has now added a few elite welterweights to his collection of scalps.
 
Conor - for setting up the standard for fighters how to get paid
Lawler - fought everyone in front of him without cherry picking opponents like a lot of champs and made the fights competitive and exciting
Joanna Champion - for showing that there could be female fighters that are tough mentally and physically
Cerrone - for being that active
Lando Vannata - for embarassing Ferguson while being a big underdog
 
1 Cruz and Joanna. They both seem to have an iron will, focus, and are as mentally strong as it gets.

3 JDS. Just seems like one of the all around nicest guys in the sport. His finger point challenge is one of my favorite MMA moments.

4 Yair. Spinning shit done right and a classy humble guy but is coming to take your head off.

5 Holly. I don't care if she lost the belt or people think she's boring. Like the way she conducts herself always with class and poise.
 
Very interesting posts all...and I mean that.

Pity there is only 5 responses and hundreds in any thread v Conor n Nate full of fighter bashing. Shows what most people on these forums are really here to do, but its cool to see responses from the real fans.

Hendo, Cerrone, Joanna and Cruz have repeat mentions so far...
 
Conor because he doesn't give a shit and he is a amazing fighter. Will take a fight with Cain or Miocic if the money is there. Doesn't care about fighting in short notice when most of the fighters don't take fights like that.

Cain because he is a great fighter, the best HW and is a dude that everyone does respect.

Rumble because he is nice in his own way.

Cerrone because he likes to fight more than anyone.

Weidman because he beat Anderson.
 
Great thread I actually have to think about this one. I am way to tired to name five but I will post one and the rest tomorrow. I doubt many people would agree but respect Bisping greatly. The guy is criminally underrated, generates interest in fights and has took the hard road to be champ. I don't agree with him not giving Jacare the tittle shot but the guy is a warrior otherwise.
 
Maia, win loss or draw if he feels like he gave it all he had and improved he's happy. He's extremely respectful of his opponents, acknowledges his flaws, and imo gives insanely high level (and highly entertaining) grappling clinics. That's a real martial artist right there and no one can deny it.
 
1.gsp : pure class, made the sport a better place
2. Frankie edgar: true warrior, spend most of his career fighting guy bigger then him and didn't cry about it compare to some other notorious fighter
3. cruz : came back twice from nasty injury, one of the smartest fighter out there
4. Mighty mouse : 1 of the 2 most well rounded fighter out there, humbled and stay himself even if it doesn't sell ppv
5. Joanna champion: just a pure hurricane of beautiful violence, didn't like how she acted with Claudia but still she's my favorite wmma
 
1. Cerrone: insane fight frequency, plus huge strides in his fight game since his days in the WEC

2. Cruz: comes back from multiple year layoff, looks as good as ever

3. MM: must under-appreciated fighter on the roster relative to his accomplishments. Like Cerrone and Holloway, has continued to improve his game

4. Cormier: was an unknown until the SF HW tourney, been dominant in 2 weight classes

5. Holloway: awesome streak since losing to Conor, great all-around skills, plus a good kid
 
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Cool idea for a thread, a welcome change from all the Conor-Nate hate thats been thrown around for the last few weeks -
My picks, in no particular order:
- Cowboy: No fucks given attitude, willingness to take short notice fights, fights so damn often and has an exciting style. How can you not love the guy. Also moved up in weight and is knocking dudes out left and right known for their iron chins.
- Machida: always conducts himself so well, and is always respectful towards his opponents. Also, the fact that he willingly declared accidental use of banned substance, when he was not even tested (might be remembering wronf here) speaks a lot about his character. And one of the very few unique style/ martial art fighters remaining today
- Conor: say what you want, he is a stong willed person, was hell bent on getting that win against nate, and at the same weight no less. Was very apparent the changes he had made in his style (good use of energy, hardly any flashy kicks, leg kicks etc). Was also all business inside the cage, and not his usual taunting and cocky self, which showed how serious he was. Plus the way he markets himself, makes me respect him as a businessman.
- Edgar: because he is the personification of heart and grit inside the octagon.
- Maia: humble, skilled, and always respectful to his opponents. True embodiment of a mixed martial artist.

Honorable mentions - JDS, Joe-B, Holly
 
Great thread I actually have to think about this one. I am way to tired to name five but I will post one and the rest tomorrow. I doubt many people would agree but respect Bisping greatly. The guy is criminally underrated, generates interest in fights and has took the hard road to be champ. I don't agree with him not giving Jacare the tittle shot but the guy is a warrior otherwise.
Oh yes, totally forgot about Bisping. There are obviously moments where he is a dick to his opponents, but one aspect of his career/persona i respect the most is the fact that he never gave up on himself. Weak chin (popular opinion, in my opinion has got a pretty decent chin), lost 3-4 title eliminators, half blind, on the wrong side of 30, i mean, so many things going against him. Add to all this the fact that he was going up against the champion on really short notice, against a guy who already destroyed him, and yet he always believed he would win.

I remember a lot of the fights where he lost, in the post fight interview, he would give props to his opponent, and then say some thing along the lines of 'believe you me guys, i am going nowhere, this is just a little setback, i will be back and i will be champion someday'. And i always used to feel sad as a fan as i used to think that all this confidence is of no use, as he is never going to capture that title. Goddamn did left-hook larry prove everyone wrong.
 
1. Bisping - I Never particularly liked him but he fought a lot of jacked up fighters, worked extremely hard and finally won the belf in which was an amazing feat.
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2. Cowboy - He just seems like a cool down to earth natural dude.
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3. Rich Franklin(ex UFC) - Humble guy, well mannered and educated.
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4. GSP - Pretty much a role model/ambassador for the sport and perfectionist/very hard worker.
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5. Mirko Crocop(ex UFC) - MMA legend, humble, hardworking, patriotic
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