5 most uplifting, genuinely motivating fighters ever

Aldo's story is pretty inspirational. Unfortunately he won't ever get the respect he deserves among the mainstream and wave of new fans Conor brought to the sport.

His fans in Brazil, who understand what kind of deadly hole most people like him end up, do understand it. I don't think he needs sympathy from people who don't even understand the depth of the social tragedy he came from.
 
Rich Franklin.

He left a stable career where he could have had a good life and a good retirement to chase a dream. At the time he left he didn't know he would become a world champion. I think that took guts
 
Not exactly most uplifting, but i think of these two names:
Matt Brown- used to be a drug addict.
Frank Mir- we thought he was done after the bike accident.
 
Conor Mcgregor- Was living in his parents attic on foodstamps and welfare just 3 years ago, and now he's the two division UFC champ that has caused so much hype and attention that floyd fucking mayweather is coming out of retirement to fight him in a 100 million+ dollar fight....

Big Nog- Got run over by a truck as a kid, had his guts splattered on the street. Doctors said he would never live past 20, and would probably never be able to move or walk the same again. And then he became the pride champion and had really emotional comeback victories over Cro Cop, Bob sapp, Tim Sylvia, and etc...

Frankie Edgar- The dude just has so much heart. he's like a 5'6 rocky.

Dominick Cruz- Came over 3 ACL tears and surgeries, and caem back to KO top 3 ranked bantamweight Mizugaki and outclass champ TJ Dillashaw. Possibly the greatest athletic achievement in sports history. And his post fight speech after losing to garbrandt was among the greatest post fight speeches I have ever seen. That man is truly an inspiration.

DC- If you hear his life story, and what he overcame its incredible. DC's father was shot to death on thanksgiving. His best friend in college was killed in a horrific plane crash. His close cousin in junior high was killed in a car accident with a drunk driver. His 3 month old daughter died in a horrific accident with a 16 wheeler, and DC said he shut down after her death for a month. His coach called him, got him back on track and he went on to represent the USA in the olympics. His wrestling career was ended by kidney failure, and opened the avenue to an MMA career. Before winning the strikeforce heavyweight grand prix he was completely broke. No money, no gas, and he was on welfare. His family members collected money to help him get through the rest of the month before his first strikeforce fights which he won them all. The dudes life is filled with so much tragedy, and he persevered to accomplish so many great things.

Jose Aldo- Overcame alot of adversity and poverty (real poverty, not american poverty where you can be labelled poor but still be overweight, have a car, and an iphone), and became one of the youngest UFC champions ever.
 
Rousey, I like the way she dominated and bullied her opponents because she was a olympic athlete and they weren't. And it's really inspirational how she completely gave up in front of adversity.
 
DC for me. The guy's life has been pretty tough and he's had to handle a lot.
 
I'm quite interested to see how Aldo's post fight trajectory goes as he struggles with the you're only as good as your last fight concept. Tons of fight critics inevitably will choose to recognize fighters for their last few fights and not much of anything before that and I don't see any way to change this. Let's hope Aldo finds a way to cope since it's gonna stay with him permanently.
I know this is nitpicking, but I swear I've never seen a single person on Sherdog who understands the tried and tested sports axiom, "You're only as good as your last game." It has nothing to do with a fighter's legacy being tarnished by late career losses. It means that how good an athlete currently is should be evaluated separately from their legacy, their reputation, and their hype. Every sports fan in the world gets this concept unless they train UFC.
 
Jon Jones.

I can't think of a better role model. Who doesn't dream of making millions, banging hoes, and doing mountains of cocaine?

Lee Murray is up there.

He had a side business that paid him more than all the fighters put together.
And I don't believe the one we read about was his only one...
 
DC-Frankie Edgar-Albini-Jose Aldo-Max Holloway
 
This last season of TUF, even though things didn't go his way, I found Joe Daddy's story pretty crazy. Hard not to love that guy.

Also Frankie just based on the way he fights. All heart.
Was joe daddy the one who selled candy tom is his real name right the season was a mess so I don't remember
 
Nog brothers (tragedy)
Diaz brothers (hardship/underdogs in life)
Vitor (tragedy)
Aldo (hardship/tragedy)
McGregor (hardship, underdog in life, belief in his team and himself)
Couture (age is just a number)
Fedor (small hw, hardship, loyalty, perseverance)

Many other aspects to each fighter and many fighters not mentioned. All are inspirational and have something for everyone at all levels of socioeconomic status and age group.
 
Uriah Faber always has a very upbeat and positive attitude, he sets a good example.

Dunno if he has faced much adversity outside mma, but he certainly came back from many title shot loses where others would have given up.

Holy crud, just looked up his wiki page, he is born the same day as me. Legend
 
Ken Shamrock
From Wiki:
At age 10, Shamrock was stabbed several times during a robbery and then placed in a juvenile hall. Shamrock, at the age of 13, was then kicked out of his home by his stepfather, and each of the brothers went their separate ways. Shamrock lived in cars as a result before being placed in a foster home. He bounced around between several group homes before being placed in Bob Shamrock's Boys' Home at age 14, in Susanville, California where he turned his life around. Bob Shamrock legally adopted Ken as his son, and Ken changed his last name from Kilpatrick to Shamrock in Bob's honor.

Inside the Lions Den is a pretty good read.
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Was joe daddy the one who selled candy tom is his real name right the season was a mess so I don't remember

Joe's Daddy is the one who lost twice in a row.. He told the story about his aunt being killed by a car trying to save him I believe. He did like a prayer circle with both teams even after he lost. I'm not into that stuff really, but the guy was just a nice dude.

Not exactly most uplifting, but i think of these two names:
Matt Brown- used to be a drug addict.
Frank Mir- we thought he was done after the bike accident.

Two of my favorites to watch also. Almost always in exciting fights win or lose.
 
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