Best striking defense in MMA history?

[pookiyama]

Apparently, CroCop only landed 10 strikes (20% accuracy) when he fought Emelianenko...for some reason I don't recall it looking like that when I saw the fight.
http://www.fightmetric.com/fight-details/4c23c2a8ca4d9700

Even when Cro-cop is blocked, its essentially a landed stike in terms of damage.

Fedor had, by far, the best balance & footwork in this sports history.

 

[acannxr]

Even when Cro-cop is blocked, its essentially a landed stike in terms of damage.

Fedor had, by far, the best balance & footwork in this sports history.

Emelianenko was very flat footed, he's not even in the top ten for footwork in MMA.

Edit: My above statement does not describe a prime Emelianenko. I stand corrected <45>.

 

[tasticles]

Robbie lawler and rampage. People forget that blocking is a huge part of defense and their boxing is good.

 

[pookiyama]

Emelianenko was very flat footed, he's not even in the top ten for footwork in MMA.

Ha. You should revisit the tape.

 

[I WILL CUT YOU]

Yoel Romero is evolving the MMA guard right in front of our eyes​

Except he shells wrong, which doesn't allow him to roll and counter.

Yoel's D isn't evolving the sport; it isn't good.

 

[I WILL CUT YOU]

Emelianenko was very flat footed, he's not even in the top ten for footwork in MMA.

Incorrect. His footwork was excellent during is best years.

 

[Goon Dog]

My heart says Anderson, because he was beautiful to watch in his prime. But realistically it’s probably GSP. Wonderboy moves great but had taken a lot of power shots in a relatively small number of fights.

 

[ice9]

as boring as they are cant forget the karate guys machinda and wonderboy

 

[Rationality]

Great striking defense means you can make great strikers miss on the feet routinely, and neutralize their striking on the ground as well. Beyond that other attributes make a great fighter, but they aren't the same thing as striking defense.

 

[mkt]

I'm surprised that no one mentioned Fedor.

Before his first loss, he had the lowest percentage of absorbed shots per minute in high level MMA, closely followed by Machida if I remember correctly.

When you compare their styles it makes Fedor even more impressive since he has an all out style, while Machida was backpeddaling most of his fights.

Of course Machida didn't get to fight a lot of guys like Zulu, an ancient Goodridge, 2-weight classes smaller Lindland, etc.

 

[Mr WorldWide]

Mousasi and Masvidal
Look at Mousasi vs Mike Kyle and Masvidal vs Larkin

 

[spacetime]

Lyoto Machida was nr 1 even passed his prime, so he's gotta be up there

 

[acannxr]

@pookiyama

Incorrect. His footwork was excellent during is best years.

I stand corrected, it's been a long time since I watched a prime Emelianenko fight and forgot how light he could be on his feet (for a Heavyweight):

 

[Kowboy Karl]

Anderson until Weidman

 

[Smok3r]

Yoel Romero's unorthodox defence always impressed me. He got busted up by Whittaker but that's one of the best strikers we're talking about.

+1 for Yoel Romero.

 

[Vil7]

I think Rampage was 1 of the first guys to consistently block punches & look good doing it.

 

[Just Creed]

Moose

 

[daltonames]

Conor has average defense at best. His distance control is excellent, but his defense is not that great against good strikers. Mendes tagged him clean multiple times, any good striker at LW would tag him as well. He might win because his striking is better, but he's pretty hittable.

 

[HHJ]

Rampage,Fedor,Bj penn,Anderson,GSP,Machida

 

[daltonames]

People always make Lawler out to be this aggressive banger, but his in pocket defense is among the best in the UFC. I'd argue he's one of the most defensively minded fighters today.

Yeah, he rarely gets hit clean (except vs Twood). He parries and slips alot and rolls with shots in the pocket. Very underrated defensive skills.