Ever notice that a large majority of MMA legends have just awful records?

[SirKratos]

Who isnt a legend?

Everyone after Frank Shamrock(maybe except Frye and Gomi) + Randleman and Hunt.

 

[jeff7b9]

fury, wilder, ortiz and martin
who am i missing?

Ruslan Chagaev WBA regular champ..

* Since Tyson Fury is "Superchamp" because he holds more than one major belt by beating Klitschko (how the fuck did Klitschko not have every damn belt he was champ for like 10 years?!) the WBA the has another title fight for "Regular champ", and they have an interim champ, all at the same time.

 

[Zeppeling]

So very few managed to get out of the sport clean before the doors blew off.

Ken Shamrock 28-16
Randy Couture 19-11
Tito Ortiz 18-12
BJ Penn 16-10
Mark Coleman 16-10
Frank Mir 18-10
Mark Hunt 11-10
Kazushi Sakuraba 26-17
Kevin Randleman 17-16
Dan Henderson 31-14
Wanderlei Silva 35-12
Vitor Belfort 25-11
Chuck Liddell 21-8
Shogun Rua 23-10
Rampage Jackson 36-11
Big Nog 34-10
Cro Cop 31-11
Frank Shamrock 23-10
Pedro Rizzo 20-11
Maurice Smith 13-14
Mark Kerr 15-11
Gary Goodridge 23-22
Jens Pulver 27-19
Takanori Gomi 35-11
Don Frye 20-9

Dan Henderson 31-14
Wanderlei Silva 35-12
Vitor Belfort 25-11
Chuck Liddell 21-8
Shogun Rua 23-10
Rampage Jackson 36-11
Big Nog 34-10
Cro Cop 31-11
Frank Shamrock 23-10

These are not bad records.

 

[Prutfis]

Old school fighters fought often and usually had the attitude of anyone anywhere.

 

[jeff7b9]

Doing something for a long time or being popular should not make you a legend. You have to be special from the rest otherwise the word losses all meaning. Legend should be reserved for someone who has accomplished everything they could, was instrumental in the sports growth, or had matches so far beyond everyone else you have to remember them. It's easy for us now to call all these people legends because they are fond in our memory but the ones who will stand the test of time those are legends, if you are still talking about them in 50 years those are legends.

On that list the only people that will be remembered in 50 years are

Randy Couture - will always have a foot note in history as first dual division champ
Kazushi Sakuraba - legendary rivalries with the gracies helped mould japnese mma and drive its popularity. Sakuraba was instumental in Prides growth and popularity.
Wanderlei Silva - Very high odds he will be forgotten to time but he deserves mention for his pride career.
Dan Henderson - Will always hod the foot note as the first man to hold two major divisional titles at the same time
Vitor Belfort - Very high odds of being forgotten but holds distinction of youngest title holder winning UFC tournament at 19
Chuck Liddell - Instrumental in rise of UFC popularity
Big Nog - Odds are he will be forgotten to history as well but his rivalry with Fedor and long standing as number 2 HW in the early years earn him mention
Frank Shamrock - Will be remembered as a dominant champ, one of the first true mixed martial art fighters, and the first to strike off on his own opening doors for fighters.
Jens Pulver - Will have historical foot note as first LW champ in the UFC other than that he will be forgotten

These are the only fighters on that list who have claim to being remembered in 50 years. The rest are just popular fighters. But remember when we are comparing pro athletes you are comparing a small sample size of the already best in the world for one to become legend they have to rise that much farther beyond them. Otherwise everyone is a legend

Everyone likes to throw the word legend around but it dilutes its meaning there is a vast difference between being popular and being a legend.

If the fans designate someone as a legend then that is what they are, there are no hard and steadfast rules for this honor.

If you look at various other sports, including boxing which is the closest relative, there are MANY fighters who have achieved legend status within their respective fan bases and communities. IF a fighter creates a connection with the fans for whatever reason then those fans will remember and honor that fighter and this is true now more than ever with the advent of YOUTUBE fan videos and highlights. Even with the greedy UFC taking down videos, people will find ways around that thru misspellings or pitch shifting, plus the UFC will honor "legends" they even have a "legends" tab in fight pass which currently features Big Nog.

The fighters on that list will be remembered and to varying degrees, based on how faithful their fans are, how beloved they are, how much exposure they continue to get, whether they make appearances or hold positions in MMA or run gyms, their legend status will remain for a long time.

 

[YesMySon]

Doing something for a long time or being popular should not make you a legend. You have to be special from the rest otherwise the word losses all meaning. Legend should be reserved for someone who has accomplished everything they could, was instrumental in the sports growth, or had matches so far beyond everyone else you have to remember them. It's easy for us now to call all these people legends because they are fond in our memory but the ones who will stand the test of time those are legends, if you are still talking about them in 50 years those are legends.

On that list the only people that will be remembered in 50 years are

Randy Couture - will always have a foot note in history as first dual division champ
Kazushi Sakuraba - legendary rivalries with the gracies helped mould japnese mma and drive its popularity. Sakuraba was instumental in Prides growth and popularity.
Wanderlei Silva - Very high odds he will be forgotten to time but he deserves mention for his pride career.
Dan Henderson - Will always hod the foot note as the first man to hold two major divisional titles at the same time
Vitor Belfort - Very high odds of being forgotten but holds distinction of youngest title holder winning UFC tournament at 19
Chuck Liddell - Instrumental in rise of UFC popularity
Big Nog - Odds are he will be forgotten to history as well but his rivalry with Fedor and long standing as number 2 HW in the early years earn him mention
Frank Shamrock - Will be remembered as a dominant champ, one of the first true mixed martial art fighters, and the first to strike off on his own opening doors for fighters.
Jens Pulver - Will have historical foot note as first LW champ in the UFC other than that he will be forgotten

d.

You have Pulver on your list and you dont even mention gomi?

 

[Von Trier]

A large majority of those guys were fighting in one dimension. MMA was honestly kind of a shit show until recently. I went back and rewatched Henderson-Shogun yesterday, a championship match, and both guys gas in the second round. This was UFC 123. Imagine that happening today. You really can't. We're living through the golden age of MMA.

 

[Wariowokecancel]

Everyone after Frank Shamrock(maybe except Frye and Gomi) + Randleman and Hunt.

So 5 dudes in the list of 25 aren't legends.

 

[The-AxeMurderer]

Most of them stick around way too long honestly.

 

[$uicideboy$]

Ruslan Chagaev WBA regular champ..

* Since Tyson Fury is "Superchamp" because he holds more than one major belt by beating Klitschko (how the fuck did Klitschko not have every damn belt he was champ for like 10 years?!) the WBA the has another title fight for "Regular champ", and they have an interim champ, all at the same time.

lol holy fuck thats crazy

 

[SirKratos]

So 5 dudes in the list of 25 aren't legends.

7. And possibly Frye,Gomi,Mir too.

 

[moreorless87]

Dan Henderson 31-14
Wanderlei Silva 35-12
Vitor Belfort 25-11
Chuck Liddell 21-8
Shogun Rua 23-10
Rampage Jackson 36-11
Big Nog 34-10
Cro Cop 31-11
Frank Shamrock 23-10

These are not bad records.

What I think they show though is that the way the UFC does business is often not to give legends an easy send off but rather to look to "trade them in" against up and coming talent.

There able to do this partly because they have so much power to tell people who there fighting and partly because they can can convince fans they haven't declined however honest it might be.

 

[Darwinambrosius]

well other than the whole padded record thing, which was your point, that goes out the window


fury, wilder, ortiz and martin
who am i missing?

Escalation is a difficult concept to grasp for some, I suppose.

 

[HHJ]

What I think they show though is that the way the UFC does business is often not to give legends an easy send off but rather to look to "trade them in" against up and coming talent.

Legends who dont really got it anymore have to be useful for something.One of those things is to give an up and coming fighter credibility. You will see it in boxing as well,of course.

 

[illegalnature]

I'm a legend in the streets of Gastonia. But I'm not on this list, so it doesn't matter obviously.

 

[chefa]

You have Pulver on your list and you dont even mention gomi?

That is my bad I missed Gomi when I read the list. However in the long run I don't think either will be remembered or considered legends. But this goes to the point I was making the word legend has been so badly diluted that anyone popular is now a legend. If your a legend you will be remembered in 50 years, some of these guys are already being forgotten

 

[chefa]

What? Frank Shamrock will be remembered, but Wanderlei, Vitor, and Nog won't?
Ridiculous.

you have reading comprehension problems if you don't see that all of those were on the list I made and the only reason I thought Frank will be remembered more than them in 50 years is as a contributor to overall growth. In the long run a lot of great fighters get forgotten, a guy like Frank revolutionized styles at the time he was one of the first to cross train and become proficient in more than one discipline and he was the first to have major success with it and he was one of the first that stood his ground against the big promotion ventured out on his own and set a precedent for others to follow. Things like that get have a tendency to be remembered more in the long history as an overall contribution to the sport.

 

[BigNuggetIce]

I would say pioneers instead of legends OP. & also they were still learning back then, plus most of those guys didn't give a fuck. They'd fight anyone anywhere, even if they were the smaller man. Which leads to more losses.

 

[SmilinDesperado]

you have reading comprehension problems if you don't see that all of those were on the list I made and the only reason I thought Frank will be remembered more than them in 50 years is as a contributor to overall growth. In the long run a lot of great fighters get forgotten, a guy like Frank revolutionized styles at the time he was one of the first to cross train and become proficient in more than one discipline and he was the first to have major success with it and he was one of the first that stood his ground against the big promotion ventured out on his own and set a precedent for others to follow. Things like that get have a tendency to be remembered more in the long history as an overall contribution to the sport.

I have reading comprehension problems? I listed those 3 people because of your comments on them. You said they "have high odds of being forgotten"
In comparison to Frank, I say no way. Much respect to Frank, he will be talked about by MMA academia in the future probably for exactly what you just mentioned. ..but to your general fan?? Wanderlei or Vitor for sure. I think people are far more likely to remember particular traits that a fighter had over well roundedness.

 

[Vergilius]

There are good and bad about both. In boxing's way,for instance Couture and Fedor could have fought each other no problem,they wouldnt have needed the UFC to make that fight. Gilbert Melendez would have been able to fight the top contenders much sooner,same with Eddie Alvarez...Fedor and Cain would have fought allready...GSP probably would have not have had to retire....the downside is of course that beltholders can duck each other,and truly dangerous up and comers like GGG cant get any top fighters to fight him.

Not quite true. Pacquaio and Mayweather didn't fight until 5 years after their primes because stupid Top Rank and Golden Boy couldn't agree - and the same thing happened with tons of other potential great fights right back to Riddick Bowe vs Lennox Lewis not happening. The big fights happen way too rarely in boxing and for all its faults, the UFC really delivers on that point.