Most Underrated UFC Fighters of all time

krelianx

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Chael just made a video about this, and I thought I would chip in my two cents, offering four names that often get overlooked.

1) Josh Thomson: Victim of bad decisions, and awful luck. Was on the verge of beating Yves before eating a flying head kick, and was arguably robbed against Bendo. Had top tier wins against JZ, Melendez, Noons, Ludwig, Nate, Franca, Healy. Excellent wrestler, very durable, great stamina, respectable striking, and could have easily been champion. In fact he should have been.

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2) Joseph Benavidez - Another case of a championship level fighter who never quite got the gold, but whose record and abilities speak for themselves. He is extremely well rounded, is dynamic, durable, tough as almighty Hell, and could have very easily been champion had MM not been around. His record is very impressive when you look at it closely. Great jitz, kicks, wrestling, stamina, power... the works.

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3) Jake Shields - Sort of an obvious pick. But it is amazing how much Shields is underrated these days. He was the Strikeforce Middleweight champion, was on a 15 fight winning streak when he fought St Pierre for the title, with wins over the likes of: Kampmann, Okami, Dan Henderson, Pyle, Charuto, Mayhem, Daley, Lawler, Condit, and would later amass wins against Maia, Woodley and Akiyama. He also beat Sakurai earlier on. One of the best grapplers in the sport.

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4) Dennis Bermudez - The most controversial entry, for sure. I think the sport is not only about ability, but really there is a huge component of luck. Dennis was the whole package: extremely well rounded, great explosive wrestling, beautiful kicks, great cardio, great chin, and a total warrior. Stephens and others mentioned he ruined everyone in the gym... but he was victim to a bunch of bad decisions in a row (Elkins, Fili, Glenn...) and never quite got to show how good he was against the top of the lot. Yet he beat a (admittedly green) Holloway and in my estimation had he skills to compete with anyone in the sport. Hugely underrated.

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Honorable mentions go to Grey Maynard and Tyson Griffin.
 
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Somehow GSP is now underrated. I read everyday he’s not amongst the GOATS.
 
Good Picks. I would add John Lineker. WTF UFC?
 
Thiago Silva, this guy was always underrated I feel, he was super violent, but he was actually very skilled too, he had very slick hands and great kicks too and his TDD was very good. He threw a lot of heat.

He did well in UFC and had lots of nasty finishes, but sadly he was a bit mental and had a lot of problems and his career went down the toilet. I read lots of reports that in real life he was so intense and if you stared at him for a second too long it was on. He was a massive meathead.. which is a shame because I actually think he had a lot of skill and it would have been EPIC to see him fight someone like Rumble and other big hitters in LHW
 
Interesting topic. Naturally, I will go very old-school;

1. Frank Shamrock-

Bizarrely enough, Frank, once considered the best fighter in the world, is presently underrated. When discussing the greatest of all time, no one ever mentions Frank.

And yet, he was BY FAR the best fighter of the 1990's and head and shoulders above everyone else at the time. People ping him too much for his early days in Pancrase, when he was still training at the horrendous Lion's Den. He was okay but a shadow of what he would become when he headed out on his own to create The Alliance.

A guy who was a decent wrestler for his time, one of the best submission guys in the world then, and one of the very best strikers. No one could touch him in the late 90s. He defeated Tito Ortiz despite being outweighed 15-20 pounds. Part of that was due to the different rules, allowing blows to the back of the head, but that's still an unbelievable accomplishment.

Frank is an easy lock for top 10, possibly top 5 fighter ever for me, yet he never gets the credit he deserves.

2. Mikey Burnett-

Possibly the greatest "what if" in MMA history. IF he didn't train at the awful Lion's Den and IF he didn't get a girl pregnant, how great could he have been?

At just 23, he was an absurdly strong wrestler who could also strike very well for the time. He defeated Olympic gold medalist Townsend Saunders and in many people's minds, defeated Pat Miletich for the UFC Welterweight championship.

Yet, few MMA fans even know who the guy was.

There are way, way more, but I don't want to write for pages on end.
 
Charles Olivera
Shane Carwin
Igor (Not Ufc)
 
I'll catch some pushback, but Lesnar was underrated. The guy was legit and dangerous when healthy - gets zero props.
 
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