Top 5 Karate Fighters of All time

[JustOnce]

I love Karate. I never really stuck around too long with it, but I love everything about it. I was pretty stoked about Machida coming into UFC ways back, just like I was about Nelson, Horiguchi and so on. Obviously it doesn't always pan out, but here's my top 5 Karate fighters of all time. What's yours?

1. Machida
2. GSP
3. Horiguchi
4. Thompson
5. Nelson

I suppose you could go back and try to find other fighters with karate background, but I can unfortunately say aside from GSP who I started following from Frank Trigg fight, but all these guys I followed from very beginning and remember them coming to the UFC and having varied level of success.

 

[andrejxvii]

GSP
Liddell
Machida
Wonderboy
Mir

 

[mirko>anyone]

Hard to say but I feel like it's well represented in Machida and Thompson's games. There was a time when it was rare for Machida to eat a solid shot.

 

[mjfan23]

Connor and Ben Askren deserve a mention

 

[Dirge]

Connor and Ben Askren deserve a mention

I bet that sounded a lot funnier in your head before you wrote it.

 

[Pequeño Corey]

Maybe you guys can set me straight on this, but I don’t really remember GSP actually using that wide Karate stance with the hands low, despite coming from a TMA background. It’s way more evident with Machida and Wonderboy. Pettis, as well. Not sure if Conor trained TMA, but he certainly uses that stance to great effect.

And of course, Harold Howard.

 

[Pitier of Fools]

1. Michelle Waterson
2. Lyoto Machida
3. Steven Thompson
4. Keith Hackney
5. Roy Nelson

 

[wwkirk]

Sosai Mas Oyama, The Founder of Kyokushin Karate

​

 

[JustOnce]

Maybe you guys can set me straight on this, but I don’t really remember GSP actually using that wide Karate stance with the hands low, despite coming from a TMA background. It’s way more evident with Machida and Wonderboy. Pettis, as well. Not sure if Conor trained TMA, but he certainly uses that stance to great effect.

According to GSP, his take downs are all karate. He just has good single double leg finishes

But he says a lot of things like aliens.

Pettis isn't from karate.

 

[Prologue]

Cecil Peoples

 

[felmmando]

Mir

Mir is a karateka? I thought he specialised in grappling.
Also not sure why Nelson is being listed as one.

 

[Tunney]

Dennis Siver's style looked like it was based in karate, but I'm not 100% sure.

Bas Rutten had a Kyokushin background.

Ryan Jimmo.

 

[Tunney]

Mir is a karateka? I thought he specialised in grappling.
Also not sure why Nelson is being listed as one.

Gunnar Nelson, not Big Country.

 

[Pequeño Corey]

According to GSP, his take downs are all karate. He just has good single double leg finishes

But he says a lot of things like aliens.

Pettis isn't from karate.

Isn’t Pettis TKD?

 

[Typrune Goatley]

1. Lyoto Machida
2. Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson
3. Bas Rutten
4. Chuck Liddell
5. Robert Whittaker


I ranked them on how well they applied their Karate to MMA

 

[JustOnce]

Isn’t Pettis TKD?

yeah

 

[Memeojima]

1. Machida
2. WB
3. Gucci
4. Scoggins
5. Waterson

 

[Supereem]

Does kyokushin count?

 

[TheBrownGosling]

Machida
GSP
Wonderboy
Chuck
Whittaker
Mir
Mezger
Gunni

 

[Jmc]

Bruce lee