In order to understand how great Prime Fedor was, you have to realize how great big Nog was

[90three]

at the time.

before Nog fought Fedor, he was 19-1 with one 1 decision loss, that he eventually avenged.
imagine if there was a 19-1 heavyweight in the UFC today. you'd all be gassing him up like hes the next GOAT. hell people are so quick to toss fanboyism around to heavyweights these days that you people thought that 11-1 Ngannou was the greatest thing to bless the HW division. and that Stipe is a legend for beating dudes that Nog beat 10 years ago, when they were in their prime.


now look at prime 19-1 big nog

and realize that Fedor DEMOLISHED him.

after which Nog goes on to keep winning and improves his record to 24-2, Fedor fights him again
and demolishes him again

 

[Jimmy Jazz]

at the time.

before Nog fought Fedor, he was 19-1 with one 1 decision loss, that he eventually avenged.
imagine if there was a 19-1 heavyweight in the UFC today. you'd all be gassing him up like hes the next GOAT. hell people are so quick to toss fanboyism around to heavyweights these days that you people thought that 11-1 Ngannou was the greatest thing to bless the HW division. and that Stipe is a legend for beating dudes that Nog beat 10 years ago, when they were in their prime.


now look at prime 19-1 big nog

and realize that Fedor DEMOLISHED him.

after which Nog goes on to keep winning and improves his record to 24-2, Fedor fights him again
and demolishes him again

good point ,bro.

 

[Pakman]

said it before, will say it again, Fedor's win(s) over Big Nog are better than any win that anyone else has had in MMA.

 

[Tyrannosaurus rex]

Which one of Stipe's wins did Nog beat 10 years ago? Werdum, (who wasn't close to his prime) but who else?

Not that I disagree with Fedor and Nog being great though.

 

[JRY82]

There no doubt 1 and 2 hws of all time, though Stipe is making his way up if he keeps winning , I'd say he's definitely top 5 if not 3

 

[Summoning]

HW GOAT:

1# Fedor
2#Nog
3# Werdum/Cro Cop (Can´t decide)
.
.
.The others...

 

[Pierced7681]

Big Nog was losing every important fight until he won them.

Respect his heart and toughness but he’s similar to Saku in that regard.

 

[90three]

Big Nog was losing every important fight until he won them.

Respect his heart and toughness but he’s similar to Saku in that regard.

So are you implying that he got lucky 19 times in a row? That was just his style. He could take punishment and win by submission

 

[Bubblun]

That loss was a 190 pounds, no H-bomb Dan Henderson, so you also need to put that in perspective.

And you need to realize that most of the guys Nogueira beat in the early 2000 never saw a triangle from the guard in their life and couldn't hip escape, because there was pretty much no jiu jitsu outside of Brasil and some cities in the USA.

Apples and oranges.

 

[kenetics]

Which one of Stipe's wins did Nog beat 10 years ago? Werdum, (who wasn't close to his prime) but who else?

Not that I disagree with Fedor and Nog being great though.

Cro cop was pretty scary too. He could've easily ko stipe.

 

[Pierced7681]

So are you implying that he got lucky 19 times in a row?

I can’t recall a dominant victory in pride where he whooped ass from start to finish like Fedor, his greatest win is a comeback against Crocop after getting beat down.

 

[90three]

That loss was a 190 pounds, no H-bomb Dan Henderson, so you also need to put that in perspective.

And you need to realize that most of the guys Nogueira beat in the early 2000 never saw a triangle from the guard in their life and couldn't hip escape, because there was pretty much no jiu jitsu outside of Brasil and some cities in the USA.

Apples and oranges.

Hendo is arguably better at LHW and HW than 185

 

[chinarice]

Fedor is the best HW ever, at least for now. It's hard to compare the generation now to his because of how fucked his career was in who he fought. Cans mixed in with legit contenders.... it's all fucky.

 

[RoyJonesJr]

Big Nog beat alot of cans too, with a few notable wins

Guys like Stipe could have impressive 25-0 records fighting against japanese dudes and middleweights

Its just hard to compare eras.


But I feel like Prime Cro Cop would find more success than Nog in todays UFC hw division for some odd reason.

 

[Typrune Goatley]

That loss was a 190 pounds, no H-bomb Dan Henderson, so you also need to put that in perspective.

And you need to realize that most of the guys Nogueira beat in the early 2000 never saw a triangle from the guard in their life and couldn't hip escape, because there was pretty much no jiu jitsu outside of Brasil and some cities in the USA.

Apples and oranges.

Have you watched that fight vs Hendo in RINGS? Nog was robbed.

And guys like Sergei, Volk Han, Ricco, Werdum, Herring, Barnett and plenty others had all obviously seen fucking triangles before.

 

[CroGunShoCop]

Put Stipe in there instead of Cro Cop and he gets the job done.

 

[Typrune Goatley]

Big Nog beat alot of cans too, with a few notable wins

Guys like Stipe could have impressive 25-0 records fighting against japanese dudes and middleweights

Its just hard to compare eras.


But I feel like Prime Cro Cop would find more success than Nog in todays UFC hw division for some odd reason.

A few? Big Nog has more ranked wins than any other Heavyweight in MMA history. Nog, Werdum and Fedor have the best resumes by far

 

[ANIM4L]

Truth. All the baddest Martial Artists were fighting in Japan at the time. Nog ruled that division and it took a while for PRIDE to realise how great Emelianenko Fedor was.

The idea that old fighters were cans is wrong. Old lions drop off and new ones take over.

 

[B0mbSquad]

Big Nog was versatile and tough in a division that was neither. HW has long been one of the most talent-deprived divisions in MMA because talented big dudes opt for sports that can pay in a year what they'd make in their entire MMA career.

Stipe, for example, would starch both of these fellas. Crisp boxing, good submission defense, and the ability to dictate where the fight plays out are all standout qualities for heavyweights. It's why Fedor was dominant, but he's smaller and while he was very explosive in his prime, he was always prone to getting that chin checked by a good counter due to his pressure-based, in-and-out, looping-hook style of striking.

 

[djason1988]

That loss was a 190 pounds, no H-bomb Dan Henderson, so you also need to put that in perspective.

And you need to realize that most of the guys Nogueira beat in the early 2000 never saw a triangle from the guard in their life and couldn't hip escape, because there was pretty much no jiu jitsu outside of Brasil and some cities in the USA.

Apples and oranges.

Pretty much this. Claiming Nog as a top 3 HW is in many ways similar to claiming Royce as a top 3 WW. Both men benefitted from having a solid BJJ game before anybody else was practicing it. Nog had developed solid boxing skills to help contend with the evolution of the sport, but he was neither a fantastic boxer nor a BJJ world champion. He just happened to have tools that nobody else was really training at the time, and the durability to allow them to work for him.