Do you think BJ's legacy suffered from him fighting way past his prime?

[Thesnake101]

Or do you separate those results - Frankie 3, Yair, Siver - from his previous body of work?

 

[Ares Black]

To casuals maybe.

Real fans recognize his greatness.

 

[Mo8_98]

BJ is more than a fighter. he embodied the spirit of the sport.

Dr. J isn't a top 10 basketball player of all time, but he is a legend because he embodied the spirit of that sport. high flying, joyous, and freestyling.

he'll always hold a special place in the sport.

 

[BrookinsFan]

He's the Roy Jones Jr. of MMA. Immense talent that stuck around too long for love of the sport.

Still one of the all-time greats, but not as great as he could have been.

 

[truthisfreedom]

Not at all.

He'll always be remembered as one of the best to ever do it.

Had the balls to challenge himself and moving up to ww to fight GSP, in a time when GSP was afraid to move up and fight Silva.

Noone can ever question his heart.

 

[MMAProfessional]

I think BJ has a lot of problems with his mental game. I think once he was doing badly he never could come back. When he thought he was the best in the world his fights were brilliant.

 

[usernamee]

Honestly I don't think anyone can really "ruin" their legacy. The legacy is what it is and if they compete for too long and take a bunch of L's I personally don't think that changes what they've done previously. In the eyes of casuals who don't understand what certain fighters have done in the past, yes they might have a lesser view of the fighters in question but the real fans will hold them to what they did to deserve their legacy. Everyone goes down the slope, some just stay on it longer.

 

[agibmxmma]

I think those who are new to the sport.. meaning, within the last 10yrs or so, will not grasp the legend that BJ is, nor what he has meant to the sport. But fighters and those who have been around the sport since the 90s, early 2000s, grasp what BJ has done and accomplished, plus what his mentality has meant for the sport.

 

[Pain4Pain]

Motherfucker fought Lyoto.

IMO he is still the most talented fighter to ever enter the UFC, more talented than Jones.

How could someone at the lighter weight classes be so flabby and out of shape, yet kick so much ass?

His real weakness was his cardio/conditioning. He had a shitty diet and didn't take conditioning seriously.

The man had wicked BJJ, amazing TDD (when he's fresh), and superb boxing (thanks Jason P), and decent KO power.


The second man after Couture to become a 2 division champion in the UFC.



Sometimes I imagine what he would've been if he had the work ethic of guys like GSP or Frankie (no pun intended).

 

[Swarthy]

I Seperate those results but I understand if people do the opposite it really comes down to personal prefference.

 

[Oregonmma]

Or do you separate those results - Frankie 3, Yair, Siver - from his previous body of work?

BJ will always be a legend. Who else would fight a heavyweight Lyoto Machida when they were a true LW? He was very close to winning that fight as well. Just scrap.

 

[Fight Professor]

On Sherdog you are only as good as your last fight or 2.

 

[Dead Kennedy]

No, he cemented his legacy long ago. Do I think he should be fighting right now? Oh fuck no, he needs to be enjoying his family and his life. While I get the competitor in him wants to keep going, he needs to realize that the sport has passed him by. There is no shame in accepting that, it happens to them all.

WAR BABY JAY PENN!!!

 

[fractal]

BJ came to fight, where others came to win. Didn't always work for him under the ruleset and he was sometimes overmatched. But the guy was the definition of a warrior.

 

[randomg1t]

not really.

his legacy means nothing to people who weren't following the sport when he was on top, and it can't be tainted for the people who were. we know how good he was and what he's accomplished, despite his horrible record.

he's an all time great.

 

[Ozze]

Every fighters does.

Hang around too long, lose two or three in a row and that it's the inevitables "X fighter was never that great" and "X fighter only fought cans" threads.

 

[SammyG420]

He went from being considered one of the top 5 p4p goats of all time (before those 3 losses) to just a legend an pioneer. So maybe it took a hit but he's like the Roberto Duran of MMA imo.

 

[WhuffieCollector]

For me, the only thing that casts a bit of a shadow on his greatness was his inability to show up in shape and focused for all of his fights.

When he was on, he was the best.

When he was off, he was disappointing.

I'll never hold it against a great fighter for hanging around longer than they should have--that type of kill or be killed fighting spirit is what made them great and it doesn't just go away because they hit a certain age.

 

[Espresso]

How long would Khabib, Tony Ferguson and Connor last with Miocic or Ngannou in an octagon?

BJ fought undeafeated Machida who had never lost a round, and went to distance.

BJ is a goat.

 

[Bacco]

Fighters love fight, fighters love fight-money

Fans will remember him, douchebags will focus on his decline as indication of something like they ever do

BJ will have fought Khabib