Is Fedor the least impressive out of all the GOAT contenders?

[I WILL CUT YOU]

There's some confusion. Fedor was the best of HIS TIME, not the best of ALL TIME. The sport has evolved far past where it was 15 or even 10 years ago and the fighting game is just on a totally different level. Fedor failed to adapt and grow with the game and others caught up to his skills.

Fedor even at his best wouldn't be close to being the best fighter in the world today. But he deserves the credit of being an important part of the history of MMA and being good in his own time.

The heavyweight division hasn't evolved at all. It's the same guys that were active 10 years ago.

 

[I WILL CUT YOU]

A common mistake among haters is to take this era and apply it to the era that Fedor fought. Instead, put Fedor in this area.

At 24, Fedor trains at Jackson's MMA with modern training methods. If you don't think he'd be champ you're silly. He was far more skilled everywhere than Cain, JDS, Stipe, or any other heavyweight of today.

 

[george14]

You mean except for

- Randy
- Mir
- Brock
- JDS
- Cain
- Overeem
- Werdum
- Barnett
- Sergei
- Igor

Other than all those guys, sure he beat the best HWs during his run.

First off, many of those guys weren't even in the same organization and their prime was clearly after Fedor's. That's like saying why hasn't Anderson fought Rockhold?

- Barnett: why would you even list him? the guy ruined the fight by taking roids and getting it cancelled.
- Werdum: he fought and lost.
- Overeem: he was a LHW for a large chunk of Fedor's prime
- Randy: didn't Randy turn down a fight with Fedor?
- Mir: he is fighting next year
- Igor: weren't Fedor and Igor buddies?

in 2007, 8 of the top 10 Heavyweights (pursuant to rankings) were in PRIDE. Stop with the UFC fanboy nonense.

 

[markg171]

As soon he lost 3 in a row he was "out of his prime" all a sudden. Nah son, fedor was still in his prime but fighting decent fighters for the first time in his career.

Talking about prime is rather meaningless because people will just conveniently say it ends or was still ongoing depending on their preference.

What I think Fedor's biggest issue is that his style simply didn't translate as well once he was fighting opponents who were always prepared, with game plans specifically for Fedor. Opponents who have time to look at his fights, analyze them, see his tendencies, and be prepared for them come fight night. Pride was notorious for throwing together last minute matchups, not telling one opponent who they were fighting while telling the other, and obviously, their tournaments. All of which led to the fact that Fedor was quite frequently fighting guys who weren't as prepared specifically for him as you would see in other organizations where they've had 1 opponent in mind for months.

Hence the biggest thing for me why he "suddenly" started struggling is more so that he was facing more prepared opponents. It's one thing to KO a guy on 2 weeks notice, it's another thing to do it on 4 months notice after that guy has been training specifically to avoid your best moves.

That in no way diminishes that it's incredibly hard to win a fight where you haven't prepared specifically for the opponent in front of you either, but it does mean that an opponent who is specifically prepared for what you do, and what you do wrong, is more likely IMO to give you the harder fight. Fedor started having trouble more frequently once he was always fighting guys who had known for months they were fighting Fedor.

 

[bigeastgi43]

His standout wins include Arlovski, Sylvia, Nog, CroCop, and Brett Rogers. He then proceeds to get choked out by werdum (someone with a better heavyweight resume anyways) Completely dissmantled by BigFoor (lul) and then knocked out by someone wayyyy smaller in Dan Henderson. After being completely trashed by current, relevant fighters at the time, he goes back to can crushing so he can have more contract leverage. Fedor is by far the least impressive fighter i have seen out of all the potential GOATS. Aldo, DJ, GSP, Jones, and even Anderson Silva have a better claim than this pudgy, mediocre can crusher Kkona. Feel free to try t convinve me that Fedor wasnt just some can crusher that excelled almost everywhere but the U.S

Before I would have said no. But after reading this, I have to agree. You aren't wrong about anything you said.

 

[george14]

Talking about prime is rather meaningless because people will just conveniently say it ends or was still ongoing depending on their preference.

What I think Fedor's biggest issue is that his style simply didn't translate as well once he was fighting opponents who were always prepared, with game plans specifically for Fedor. Opponents who have time to look at his fights, analyze them, see his tendencies, and be prepared for them come fight night. Pride was notorious for throwing together last minute matchups, not telling one opponent who they were fighting while telling the other, and obviously, their tournaments. All of which led to the fact that Fedor was quite frequently fighting guys who weren't as prepared specifically for him as you would see in other organizations where they've had 1 opponent in mind for months.

Hence the biggest thing for me why he "suddenly" started struggling is more so that he was facing more prepared opponents. It's one thing to KO a guy on 2 weeks notice, it's another thing to do it on 4 months notice after that guy has been training specifically to avoid your best moves.

That in no way diminishes that it's incredibly hard to win a fight where you haven't prepared specifically for the opponent in front of you either, but it does mean that an opponent who is specifically prepared for what you do, and what you do wrong, is more likely IMO to give you the harder fight. Fedor started having trouble more frequently once he was always fighting guys who had known for months they were fighting Fedor.

I've never head that argument before and maybe there is some validity to it. However in my opinion, Fedor visibly has lost his athleticism. In PRIDE you would see him bouncing around and lighting quick. Since around the Arlovski fight, he hasn't had that same tenacity.

 

[MontrealMauler]

GSP only slightly edges out Fedor for GOAT.

Jon and Anderson are cheaters so they're not even in the conversation anymore.

 

[Repsac]

JDS has the best Heavyweight resume ever, easily.
Beat Werdum, Cain, Mir, Carwin, Rothwell, Stipe, Hunt, Nelson, Cro Cop.

Not really. The CroCop he beat was way past his prime and JDS didn't even beat him as well as many others around that time. He got destroyed twice by Cain, not like Fedor who dominated Nog twice 2-0. And Werdum was in the worst shape of his entire career and had no idea who JDS was at that point.

 

[Fight Professor]

The heavyweight division hasn't evolved at all. It's the same guys that were active 10 years ago.

And yet Fedor seems to have one of the biggest downfalls.

 

[I WILL CUT YOU]

And yet Fedor seems to have one of the biggest downfalls.

Everyone ages differently, and let's not forget that Fedor was also concurrently the best combat Sambist on the planet as well.

Some guys' longevity is due to steroids, and some guys' lack of longevity is due to injuries or damage from competing in other combat sports prior to MMA or during MMA.

Look at Cain. At age 33 he was 13-2, career marred with injury. JDS is two years younger, and at 33 his chin is shot and 3-4 in last 7.

At 33 Fedor was 31-1, and had a 10 year stranglehold on combat Sambo as well.

 

[MacGregor]

Is this thread the least impressive out of all the GOAT thread contenders?

 

[I WILL CUT YOU]

I do agree that Fedor fell off hard. At some point it happens to everyone I suspect.

I mean, Mark Hunt got ko'd cold by a bjj grappler

 

[bambammccoy]

Do you have any criticisms about his prime? Other than that he didn't fight in your home country.

Sylvia was the last time we watched the real Fedor in action. After that he was a punching bag that got a few lucky punches ala AA, Rogers, etc.

 

[bambammccoy]

I do agree that Fedor fell off hard. At some point it happens to everyone I suspect.

I mean, Mark Hunt got ko'd cold by a bjj grappler

Werdum definitely did not knock him out cold.

 

[Ol'Ironhead]

He's great, but even that is debatable. He very well could be, but unfortunately we never got to see him against Stipe, JDS, Cain, Reem, etc.

I wish we could have seen he and Werdum fight when they were both in their primes.

Seen him against reem? When reem was getting smashed basically every other fight during pride when fedor was the absolute goat? What would have happened had Alastair fought fedor back then? Lol...

 

[Mike]

Nope. Jones and Silva are out because of peds. Penn ruined his career turning himself into Tito.


At the top its guys like gsp, aldo, and fedor. Guys with good resumes that never popped or went on huge slumps.

 

[rantajuoppo]

The heavyweight division hasn't evolved at all. It's the same guys that were active 10 years ago.

"The smart phone technology hasn't evolved in the last 10 years. It's the same companies and largely the same engineers that design them."

People are actually capable of adapting to change, and as the general understanding and level of MMA evolved, the top fighters either evolved with it or or fell like Fedor did. Now Fedor's decline probably is combination of the game evolving and him not adapting, and him declining physically.

 

[Hrvman]

Mileage counts.

Fedor already was the established GOAT and already had an amazing undefeated streak when JDS and Cain had a 0-0 MMA record, Jones was a teenager, Tim Sylvia the UFC HW champ, Overeem a LHW, Mir in hospital.

The only fighters from his own era he didn't face are Couture who lost to an old Big Nog and roided Barnett.

All the rest were inexistant in the MMA scene ar that time.

 

[Dirge]

GSP is certainly up there for GOAT, got the best resume imo.

But don't you dare say he was more skilled. Let me know when he can set up a takedowns with strikes like this:

Lol... Great example. Big Nog has horrible TDD, in fact it sits at 36%...

 

[rapha1985]

Fedors recent run and string of losses in strikeforce seem to evershadow his entire career

This happened with Anderson Silva and his last few years.

People are fast to forget how these guys were amazing.

Anyway "Arlovski, Sylvia, Nog, CroCop" if this isn't legendary stuff, I don't know what is.