Let's narrow the race down to two people right off the bat: GSP and Fedor. Anderoid and Boner pills Jones are disqualified due to being caught cheating, MULTIPLE TIMES. I know some of you MIGHT want to throw Mighty Mouse in there, but I find that laughable. He is king in a Bellator tier division, the Hector Lombard of 2017. IF he faces ANY of the top 3 at 135 he is sure to get son'd, which is why he wants nothing to do with those Superfights. He is comfortable being the paper p4p champ, and the UFC is comfortable agreeing with that narrative to keep promoting a weak division they put a lot of time and money into, and don't want to scrap for financial reasons.
But I digress...Why is GSP GOAT? Aside from being the most overall consistently talented and athletic competitor of all time, aside from dominating the 2 guys that beat him in spectacular fashion, showing BOTH the loses were flukes, aside from beating the active champs in 3 divisions, his longevity factors kill any hopes of Fedor being GOAT. This is coming from someone who was Fedor's biggest fanboy in his prime. GSP moved up a weight class and took the belt, after having 3 years off, at roughly the same age that Fedor was losing to a 205 catch weight Dan Henderson and a Werdum whose standup skills were still very rudimentary. If we were to be honest here, BECAUSE of longevity, Werdum is pretty close to Fedor in GOAT status. doesn't beat him, but is in the top ten.
So there you have it, simple and as observable as the sky: GSP is taking belts from bigger guys in the UFC after 35, Fedor is losing to the UFC's bench warmers in Bellator and Strikeforce. I hate to say it, but some things need to be said. As fans of Fedor in his prime, we can't start being as delusional as Anderson fans, we need to accept observable reality. Fedor WAS GOAT, but GSP caught up.
I'm going to go back to this delicious, Columbia roast. If you're wondering, I like my coffee like the GOAT likes his...
legacy. Sweet full of flavor. Cheers.