Is Frankie Edgar top 10 all time?

[mkt]

For sure. He's also a top 3 Lightweight.
I still thought he beat Aldo the first time.

He beat Bendo in their rematch. He lost he first fight fair and square, but should've gotten his belt back afterwards.

 

[VolkHan]

Really? Where would you put Edgar on this list? I think he falls outside the top 20 p4p.

1. Fedor
2. GSP
3. Jones
4. Silva
5. Aldo
6. Mighty Mouse
7. Cruz
8. Khabib
9. Cormier
10. Hendo
11. Volkanovski
12. Matt Hughes
13. Usman
14. Izzy
15. Chuck
16. Stipe
17. Oliveira
    
18. Max Holloway
    
19. Shevchenko
20. Nunes
21. Henry Cejudo
22. Randy
23. Vitor
24. Conor
25. BJ Penn

Don’t have much time to make a list of my own, but from yours I would replace Max and Hughes with Frankie and Megumi Fujii.
Nice list tho…
Also I would put Royce and Rutten somewhere there, now that I see there are so many relevant fighters in a span of 30 years lol

 

[mkt]

He's one of those guys who fought in multiple weight classes, never dominated any of them for a long time, but had a lot of sucess and very long career. Hendo and Belfort are kind of simlar, though Hendo never won or defended a UFC belt like Frankie. It's hard to know where to rank them. It depends how much weight you put on dominating a weight class and defending a title many times.

 

[mkt]

Don’t have much time to make a list of my own, but from yours I would replace Max and Hughes with Frankie and Megumi Fujii.
Nice list tho…
Also I would put Royce and Rutten somewhere there, now that I see there are so many relevant fighters in a span of 30 years lol

Royce doesn't belong on there. He and his family had years of BJJ experience and Gracie Challenge matches (similar to MMA). His own brother helped run the show and do matchmaking (big conflict of interest), and he mostly fought guys with no clue what to do on the ground. Despite all this, his win streak in the UFC was only 13 months. After that he had a draw and left.

 

[BFoe]

Decent, fair list, these guys are all significantly ahead of Edgar. I think Usman, Vitor, Chuck, Stipe, Nunes, Shevchenko, Max Holloway, BJ Penn, Henry Cejudo, Randy, Matt Hughes, Conor are all higher on the all-time list. JDS, Reem, Bisping are debatable. Edgar is outside the top 20....maybe 25 or 26th.

I generally agree with you, but there are a couple of things that stand out to me.
— I don’t mix rankings for men’s MMA and WMMA, so I wouldn’t include Nunes and Schev in this ranking.

—I can’t support Conor being higher than Frankie, at all. Conor had a good FW run, and props to him for beating Alvarez. But he was criticized for not fighting Frankie before his FW title shot, and he never defended either belt. In fact, that Alvarez fight is the only fight at 155 he’s ever won against good competition. When you look at his resume from top-to-bottom, it’s certainly “good” but nothing to write home about. Frankie defended his title, and after he beat GOAT LW BJ Penn, Frankie rematched him and beat him again. Conor did no such thing for Aldo.

—Cejudo? Ehhhh. I mean, he’s very good, we all know that. When you compare resumes, Frankie has a better body of work overall imo. Frankie has 2 LW title defenses, and Cejudo has 2 total as well (1 x FLW, 1 x BW). I want to add that som of these guys that came up in the “Champ-Champ” era of matchmaking don’t rank so highly to me. They were gifted opportunities in order to make certain fights or sell PPVs, but they don’t have the title reigns or resumes that other champs do.

—A couple of these I’d really have to look at, such as Usman, Overreem, or Couture, but I suspect you might be right.

 

[Shaddows]

Lets see, he won the belt at 155 being severely undersized, beat prim BJ twice in title fights, should've regained the belt at 155 but got robbed against Bendo, moved down to 145 and lost a razor thin decision to Also for the belt then went on a spectacular run where he got ducked by Conor for the belt. So he should've been two division champ if politics weren't involved. So what do you guys think, is Frankie top 10 all time?

I disagree BJ was at his prime when he met Frankie, but that's besides the point.
Frankie is a fucking legend, and I support him in any top 10 conversation!

 

[Jorge Luis Borges]

Nope. Possibly top 15, I’d have to really look at it. Top 20 almost certainly.

1. Fedor
2. GSP
3. Jones
4. Silva
5. Aldo
6. Mighty Mouse
7. Cruz
8. Khabib
9. Cormier
10. Hendo

All respect to Frankie though, dude is a beast.

edit: usually rank Cruz above MM, but re-thinking that with MM’s ONE title win.

The sport has been around long enough that being top 20 means being an all time great. Back in the early 2000s, top ten was all that mattered, but now even top 50 means something.

I generally agree with you, but there are a couple of things that stand out to me.
— I don’t mix rankings for men’s MMA and WMMA, so I wouldn’t include Nunes and Schev in this ranking.

—I can’t support Conor being higher than Frankie, at all. Conor had a good FW run, and props to him for beating Alvarez. But he was criticized for not fighting Frankie before his FW title shot, and he never defended either belt. In fact, that Alvarez fight is the only fight at 155 he’s ever won against good competition. When you look at his resume from top-to-bottom, it’s certainly “good” but nothing to write home about. Frankie defended his title, and after he beat GOAT LW BJ Penn, Frankie rematched him and beat him again. Conor did no such thing for Aldo.

You are dead on about separating rankings for men and women. It's more respectful to both sexes imo, and is a more useful tool for judging relative greatness of careers. Also, while McGregor had a fascinating and exhilarating run circa 2103-2015, he doesn't belong anywhere near the top 20 all time. His overall career doesn't match up well at all with Frankie's accomplishments.

 

[Eric Silva 2.0]

Lets see, he won the belt at 155 being severely undersized, beat prim BJ twice in title fights, should've regained the belt at 155 but got robbed against Bendo, moved down to 145 and lost a razor thin decision to Also for the belt then went on a spectacular run where he got ducked by Conor for the belt. So he should've been two division champ if politics weren't involved. So what do you guys think, is Frankie top 10 all time?

I think GOAT discussions are very tough, almost meaningless but fun. Top 10 of all time is almost impossible as well. Having said that, Frankie had a great career and I wouldn't put him in top 10 but wouldn't argue with someone who did since it's so subjective. He's was a great fighter and a definite hall of famer even if Dana didn't like him so much.

 

[BFoe]

I thought it was a decent list, where is he so wrong?

Lol I know exactly what his problem is, and I wouldn’t even waste my time with that guy. He has bipolar meltdowns in every thread he posts in, and absolutely lost his shit in the past because I ranked Cruz ahead of Edgar all time. After like 3 pages of his shrieking and whining, I asked (politely, actually) for his top 10 so I could look at it.

He replied and said he didn’t have one. <Lmaoo><45>

Lol, I was like:

Wait, wait, wait…

After all this shit you’ve given me about my ranking, you don’t even have a top 10 of your own?!?

{hhh]DisgustingHHH

So whereas you had the balls to post a top 25 ranking just now—which I respect—this dude has no such balls.
I just ignore his posts when I see them.

 

[Exarch01]

He beat Bendo in their rematch. He lost he first fight fair and square, but should've gotten his belt back afterwards.

I agree with you, I think he got robbed in the second fight against Bendo.

But Edgar also robbed the shit out of Penn in their first fight too, so I consider it a case of what goes around comes around.

 

[Exarch01]

I agree with you, I think he got robbed in the second fight against Bendo.

But Edgar also robbed the shit out of Penn in their first fight too, so I consider it a case of what goes around comes around.

Also Bendo clearly outclassed Cerrone in their last fight, but corrupt as fuck judges made sure Bendo got the loss in his last fight in the UFC.

 

[BFoe]

The sport has been around long enough that being top 20 means being an all time great. Back in the early 2000s, top ten was all that mattered, but now even top 50 means something.

Absolutely. I try to rank based on fighter’s resumes and what they accomplished. If we listed the best 2 fighters in every men’s division all time, that’s 16 names and we’d only be listing the most elite of the elite. Top 5 all time from each of those divisions is 40 names. Kind of nuts how easy it is now to make a top 50 ranking with all excellent fighters. Problem for me at that point is that it gets into all kinds of weirdness like, “Is the 4th best FW all time better than the 6th best BW all time” and that gets super messy.

You are dead on about separating rankings for men and women. It's more respectful to both sexes imo, and is a more useful tool for judging relative greatness of careers. Also, while McGregor had a fascinating and exhilarating run circa 2103-2015, he doesn't belong anywhere near the top 20 all time. His overall career doesn't match up well at all with Frankie's accomplishments.

Yeah, I don’t even know how to fairly rank men and women on the same list. There are so many variables I just don’t think it can be done reliably. As for Conor, that was a nutso time in MMA. But whereas some double champs like Hendo or Cormier have great overall resumes, Conor’s is kind of lacking.

 

[fortheo]

At LW - of course. He's top 5, probably top 3.

GOAT rankings - can't put him in the top 10, but I'd say he's somewhere between 15-20.

GSP, Fedor, Jones, Silva, MM, Khabib, Cormier, Aldo, Cruz, Holloway, Volk, Usman, Hendo, Chuck, Big nog, Randy would all be above him in no particular order

Decent, fair list, these guys are all significantly ahead of Edgar. I think Usman, Vitor, Chuck, Stipe, Nunes, Shevchenko, Max Holloway, BJ Penn, Henry Cejudo, Randy, Matt Hughes, Conor are all higher on the all-time list. JDS, Reem, Bisping are debatable. Edgar is outside the top 20....maybe 25 or 26th.

Why would Holloway be above him? Because he beat an older frankie?

Both won and defended belts three times, but frankie did it at a weight class higher while being smaller, and frankie probably has more notable wins. It's close, though.

 

[MartinGibson86]

Nope. Possibly top 15, I’d have to really look at it. Top 20 almost certainly.

1. Fedor
2. GSP
3. Jones
4. Silva
5. Aldo
6. Mighty Mouse
7. Cruz
8. Khabib
9. Cormier
10. Hendo

All respect to Frankie though, dude is a beast.

edit: usually rank Cruz above MM, but re-thinking that with MM’s ONE title win.

Fedor lol...you guys...smh



DJ just re-established himself as the arguable best fighter at a weight where guys move at the speed of light.


He's 36.


Fedor was mediocre in sanctioned, drug tested fights.


Frankie>>>>Fedor.

 

[Exarch01]

Absolutely. I try to rank based on fighter’s resumes and what they accomplished. If we listed the best 2 fighters in every men’s division all time, that’s 16 names and we’d only be listing the most elite of the elite. Top 5 all time from each of those divisions is 40 names. Kind of nuts how easy it is now to make a top 50 ranking with all excellent fighters. Problem for me at that point is that it gets into all kinds of weirdness like, “Is the 4th best FW all time better than the 6th best BW all time” and that gets super messy.


Yeah, I don’t even know how to fairly rank men and women on the same list. There are so many variables I just don’t think it can be done reliably. As for Conor, that was a nutso time in MMA. But whereas some double champs like Hendo or Cormier have great overall resumes, Conor’s is kind of lacking.

I consider WMMA barely out of its pioneer stage. Rousey, Tate, Cyborg, Megumi, Carano, and a few others are more analogous to Mark Coleman, Dan Severn, Oleg Taktarov, and Ken Shamrock than modern fighters.

 

[VolkHan]

Royce doesn't belong on there. He and his family had years of BJJ experience and Gracie Challenge matches (similar to MMA). His own brother helped run the show and do matchmaking (big conflict of interest), and he mostly fought guys with no clue what to do on the ground. Despite all this, his win streak in the UFC was only 13 months. After that he had a draw and left.

Yeah agree it was the Gracie Show at the time…
But the thing of UFC fighters not knowing anything about subs it disturbed me, as in the same years in Pancrase fighters like Funaki were well aware of subs and sub defense, as well as all other aspects of MMA sans gnp

 

[mkt]

I agree with you, I think he got robbed in the second fight against Bendo.

But Edgar also robbed the shit out of Penn in their first fight too, so I consider it a case of what goes around comes around.

Yeah, when it comes to decision machines like Frankie, Bendo, Aldo, etc., it tends to wash out over time. Though Bendo seemed to get a lot of favorable decisions until he lost the title. Then he started losing a lot more close fights.

 

[SeattleFightFan]

Really? Where would you put Edgar on this list? I think he falls outside the top 20 p4p.

1. Fedor
2. GSP
3. Jones
4. Silva
5. Aldo
6. Mighty Mouse
7. Cruz
8. Khabib
9. Cormier
10. Hendo
11. Volkanovski
12. Matt Hughes
13. Usman
14. Izzy
15. Chuck
16. Stipe
17. Oliveira
    
18. Max Holloway
    
19. Shevchenko
20. Nunes
21. Henry Cejudo
22. Randy
23. Vitor
24. Conor
25. BJ Penn

Kudos for showing your work. It's rare around here.

And it's a great list. I don't 100% agree with it, but there is no list everyone 100% agrees with. I believe this list passes the one criteria that matters; most fans would agree with most of it.

 

[mkt]

Yeah agree it was the Gracie Show at the time…
But the thing of UFC fighters not knowing anything about subs it disturbed me, as in the same years in Pancrase fighters like Funaki were well aware of subs and sub defense, as well as all other aspects of MMA sans gnp

The early UFCs were more about having a "Bloodsport" or "Enter the Dragon" atmosphere with many styles involved, even street fighters. It was fun, but I don't think Royce should be compared to later fighters (even by the late 90s) when almost everyone was cross-trained to some extent. Look at Royce vs. Sakuraba #1 to see what happens when the sport catches up and gets competitive.

 

[Exarch01]

Yeah, when it comes to decision machines like Frankie, Bendo, Aldo, etc., it tends to wash out over time. Though Bendo seemed to get a lot of favorable decisions until he lost the title. Then he started losing a lot more close fights.

Bendo has a weird way of turning every fight into a close fight even if he's clearly better than his opponent, or it looks like he's getting worked.. Like he's just as capable of going to a split decision against Cody Garbrandt as he is Yoel Romero.