...would be Fabricio Werdum I guess. His BJJ would be a bigger asset in the old rule set. On the other Hand: guys like Overeem or Cain could footstomp him if he pulls guard. Who is your favourite for an UFC 1 tournament with today's fighters?
Explain what you mean. Are you asking who, of the current UFC roster, would win an open weight one night-3-fight- "no-holds-barred" tournament? Or are you asking what would happen if UFC 1 had been held in 2013 instead of 1993? If you are asking the latter, that would be very difficult to answer because without the UFC, MMA would not be nearly as developed as it is today, and the number of quality fighters would likely be drastically different. That being said, Anderson Silva would win.
You're right. My Question was ambiguous. I meant: "who, of the current UFC roster, would win an open weight one night-3-fight- "no-holds-barred" tournament?"
Id take Cain or Jones, depending on the bracket. 3 fights in a night would be tough for most hws, but I think anyone below lhw would have a tough time winning that first match against a hw when they're fresh.
machida vs cormier actually could happen in lhw if dc beats jones. anderson: a tournament without the guy who many people, excluding you, see as p4p king would be weird.
That's my pick too. He has the cardio, size, training and willpower to take a Grand Prix style MMA event, plus open weight favours bigger guys if their skill sets are equivalent.