Are Today's HWs Really Better than Yesteryear's?

[TripLikeIDo]

Going straight down the 2003 list and pairing them off with the 2013 list, I came up with:

1) 2003 Fedor > 2013 Cain
2) 2003 Big Nog > 2013 Big Nog
3) 2003 Barnett < 2013 Barnett
4) 2003 Cro Cop = 2013 JDS
5) 2003 Sylvia > 2013 Travis Browne
6) 2003 Arlovski = 2013 Bigfoot
7) 2003 Herring > 2013 Mir
8) 2003 Coleman < 2013 Cormier
9) 2003 Wesley Correira < 2013 Werdum
10) 2003 Travis Wiuff < 2013 Overeem

I think it's pretty even overall.

 

[Peregrine01]

What do you mean by "greater athletes"? Couture was an alternate olympian, Coleman was 7th in the Olympics in 1992. I would even says that the Pride 10 minutes first round (+ 2 x 5 minutes) needed way more cardio than the 5 x 5 minutes rounds today in the UFC. 10 minutes of constant war brings you to the point of exhaustion.

Pride had the 10 minute first rounds because they valued finishing above all else. Having more time in a round allows for more opportunities to finish. But it was also way more dangerous for fighters.

 

[Blazeblack]

PRime Fedor Cro Cop and Big Nog would do fine. Fedor could be champ, but the rest of the pride hw's would get tooled.

This-
I'd say Fedor, Cain, JDS, Big Nog, and Cro Cop all in their primes would make up the top five. Most every one else in both eras would just be card fillers.

 

[Kanster]

I personally don't think so.

 

[frandie2b]

Well for example according to the fact that a guy like Big Nog is still in the Top 10 (and is not the same fighter that he was in Pride) I'd say that last decade's HW division was better.

You had Fedor, Nog, Crocop, Sergei, Barnett, Coleman, Arlovski all in their prime. I think they would have destroyed todays Travis Brownes, Bigfoot, Nelson..

And hell even Mark Hunt has been able to fight for a title eliminator...

 

[ninjacake]

theyre worse. prime cro cop wouldve mopped the floor with jds, as would have fedor with cain.

 

[Karp]

I don't think they are.

 

[bingowings123]

HW is kinda weak bar Cain and JDS so I'd say old school HW take it just by there being more depth at the time.

 

[Jodocus_Quak]

Well for example according to the fact that a guy like Big Nog is still in the Top 10 (and is not the same fighter that he was in Pride) I'd say that last decade's HW division was better.

You had Fedor, Nog, Crocop, Sergei, Barnett, Coleman, Arlovski all in their prime. I think they would have destroyed todays Travis Brownes, Bigfoot, Nelson..

Don't forget Igor. Most people tend to forget the predecessor to Fedors dominance.

 

[mlund**]

I'd say that the golden age of MMA HW is not today and that the Pride elite would kick ass today.

 

[SpiderNxno]

MMA is at a stage in which we are just now seeing fighters that have had the sport since they were kids. Not only in heavyweight should we see more talent now and in years to come, but the same can be said of all divisions. I don't think we have seen anything yet.

 

[ali2013champ]

This-
I'd say Fedor, Cain, JDS, Big Nog, and Cro Cop all in their primes would make up the top five. Most every one else in both eras would just be card fillers.

nope he's completly wrong, Barnett/Werdum both in TOP 5 range ,Herring beaten Kongo who was decent gatekeeper and 2006 Kharitonov would do great(even today i have him beating most of HW divisions expect teh wrestlers Barnett,Cormier and Cain,JDS and maybe Hunt, Igor would easliy KO Barry's and Schaub's.

 

[jlazer]

MMA is at a stage in which we are just now seeing fighters that have had the sport since they were kids. Not only in heavyweight should we see more talent now and in years to come, but the same can be said of all divisions. I don't think we have seen anything yet.

You don't need to train in something Since childhood to be the best in it.

One guy could train mma since he was 5 and still not be as good as someone who was just a wrestler til 3 years ago. It's all about natural talent

 

[VB MMA]

Honest question. I don't really see a gap at all. Actually, in terms of skill, I have the top HWs of the 2000s above the top HWs of the 2010s.

It's really interesting to see how Rogan has really toned down the "new breed HW" line after Brock and Carwin stopped fighting.

CroCop, Mir, and Nog came into the UFC right when they were hitting their prime. Cain and JDS beat them both without breaking a sweat. Fedor fought Hendo and was KOd, while still in his prime. I would bet the house on JDS and Cain any day.
Plus, most of the best HWs in Pride came from the UFC after being defeated by lesser talent.

 

[OmegaRugal]

LOL Prime Crop Cop ... he magically lost his prime less than ONE YEAR removed from winning the Pride Grand Prix.

Fedor magically lost his mojo when the started facing tougher competition in Strikeforce while completely avoiding the UFC. FEdor was not old ... and there is a stat that he had taken even less punishment than Anderson Silva. So ... what's your excuse as to why he was all the sudden out of his prime?

You guys need to stop living in la la land ...

 

[beastman]

The "New breed" was ridiculously stupid.

And no, they are not better than HWs from like 8 years ago.

Yeah, especially when you have guys like Werdum, Overeem, Barnett, Nog, Mir, Nelson, ect that were all around 8 years ago.

I remember 6-7 years ago when everyone who was going to come up would train everything from a young age, yada, yada, yada. Jon Jones, Cain Velasquez, Michael Chandler, Cormier, Ben Henderson all were wrestlers who transitioned. It's probably better that they weren't taking live shots to the face at 14 years old.

 

[ninjacake]

LOL Prime Crop Cop ... he magically lost his prime less than ONE YEAR removed from winning the Pride Grand Prix.

Fedor magically lost his mojo when the started facing tougher competition in Strikeforce while completely avoiding the UFC. FEdor was not old ... and there is a stat that he had taken even less punishment than Anderson Silva. So ... what's your excuse as to why he was all the sudden out of his prime?

You guys need to stop living in la la land ...

im not a cro cop nuthugger, but if you followed his career, you would know that he was burned out even before winning the gp. he even said it before, that he would retire, if he wouldnt win it.

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

No, I don't think there is much of a difference if any between HWs now and back when Pride had the best HW roster. Werdum, Big Nog, Sergei, Aleks E, Fedor, Igor, Coleman, Barnett, Hunt, Overeem and Randleman would all be able to compete with the top HWs now if we could bring them to the future from 2002-2004 and a decent chunk of them are still top 10 HWs right now.

 

[Peregrine01]

im not a cro cop nuthugger, but if you followed his career, you would know that he was burned out even before winning the gp. he even said it before, that he would retire, if he wouldnt win it.

People who think CC was at his all-time best after he won the GP thoroughly miss the context of that time. He basically beat Wand (whom he matches up extremely well with) and an exhausted Barnett to get the GP title. A lot like Overeem winning the K-1 championship in 2010...not very meaningful.

CC's best was closer to 2004.

 

[Jodocus_Quak]

People who think CC was at his all-time best after he won the GP thoroughly miss the context of that time. He basically beat Wand (whom he matches up extremely well with) and an exhausted Barnett to get the GP title. A lot like Overeem winning the K-1 championship in 2010...not very meaningful.

CC's best was closer to 2004.

Crocop even said after winning the GP that he had achieved anything he wanted. Crocops best time was when he transitioned from K1 to Pride until is Fedor fight in 2005