Is Rumble the third greatest LHW of all time?

Oldman1 said:
I heard the home intruder won
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The funny thing is that some 1990s fighters, like a young Tank Abbott or Gary Goodridge, might have literally killed that intruder bare handed. Their skillsets weren't as complete as modern fighters, but they had a raw, primal aggression you don't see any more. Smith was probably way overthinking the situation and wondering what the invisible ref would allow.
 
OneOfOne said:
Don't be a noob. Rumble wasnt invincible.

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Did that fight happen at 205? Isn't this thread about Rumble vs the 205 division?

Do you not remember that fight was at 195? And that was a BS stand up that led to the fight ending sequel.
 
Bend NvR Break said:
Did that fight happen at 205? Isn't this thread about Rumble vs the 205 division?

Do you not remember that fight was at 195? And that was a BS stand up that led to the fight ending sequel.
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Isnt that Vitor Belfort a perennial top 10 205er? You guys are saying Rumble beats any 205er but Jones and DC. But here is a 205er whoopin his ass.
 
No but he's probably in the top 5 most Dangerous. Him vs Jones is still the fight I wish we got (though I'm sure it would've broken my heart)
 
JustOnce said:
So it got me wondering, if you have Jones as the first, then DC for the second, for the argument's sake, the spot for the third spot is pretty wide.

Shogun
Hendo
Machida
Glover
Rampage
Wanderlei
Chuck/Tito/Couture
Bader/Davis/Anderson
Gustaffson

I'd like to think Shogun, but then against Shogun lost to Hendo twice, who in turn lost to many guys on that list.

Then, it just dawned on me, though his LHW career was short, and may he rest in peace, perhaps Rumble is the third greatest LHW of all time.

Rumble is 11-2 in LHW with only losses to Cormier. Wins over Glover, Gus, Bader, Davis and Lil Nog.

He had a pretty good wrestling, shut down wrestling of Davis and Bader, who are really great wrestlers in their own right, but just Cormier was better everywhere, and he had great power and was a great striker and he could wrestle too. The only downside is that he had questionable fight IQs at times, his submission defense wasn't the greatest, and with all due respect, he seemed to wilt if things didn't go his way.

But overall, I wonder if Rumble isn't the third best LHW that we've seen so far, even considering briefness of his LHW tenure and his relative weaknesses.

Thoughts?
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Good thread.
I would vote for Vanderlei above Rumble though but I LOVE this kind of discussion among peers!
 
Skillwise I think so, achievement wise I don't think so
 
No, not even close. Rumble was a dangerous guy but he was never the top guy
 
TIMELESS TRUTH said:
Good thread.
I would vote for Vanderlei above Rumble though but I LOVE this kind of discussion among peers!
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I think PRIDE Wanderlei was a beast, but I think Rumble hits harder with better wrestling.

Prime for prime, I think Rumble's power might be too much, but PRIDE Wanderlei was an absolute beast.
 
DestinedAussie said:
I think there are plenty. I mean I know Chuck had a bad end, but the guy had 5 title wins and aggressive striking in a way that wasn't really seen before that. To me that is greater than anything rumble achieved.

Rumble could have been great but he retired early and was clearly never making the weight again.
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I mean it's all subjective, but perhaps the better word to have used were "best", not the "greatest".
 
Good thread @JustOnce, it's something I've thought about a lot as well. I know a lot of people are taking issue with you putting DC at number two, and who should go where in the rest of the top. I think in theory I agree with DC being #2, but I'm open to having my mind changed on who should be there.

On the premise of the thread though, yeah I think you can really make that case. He might be the biggest power puncher of all time, certainly in the conversation. The biggest issue with Rumble was his mental lapses in fights, and in my opinion he's something of a frontrunner.

I really like his chances against a lot of the other all-timers, especially the ones who would have been willing to trade with him (I'm looking at you, Chuck, Wanderlei, Shogun). It would be interesting to see how his wrestling would hold up against people like Randy, Rashad, Hendo, Tito in his day. Obviously he did well against Bader and Davis, but those guys all bring something a little different to the table.

Rampage and Machida I think are tough matchups for him as well. Vitor obviously beat him, and since Rumble missed weight by so much he was technically LHW himself in that fight.

TLDR; I think the argument is a legitimate one to make in theory. I don't think it's a fair argument to make in practice, just because of the lack of a title and relatively short LHW career. I think Rumble's place in our collective memory should be as a fighter who cut too much weight early in his career, figured it out eventually, and established himself as perhaps the premiere power puncher of in the organization's history. That is a hell of an accolade to claim.

I'd give him a great shot against a lot of these guys, but the way he lost at Lightweight (Clementi), Welterweight (Koscheck) were not entirely different from how DC beat him at Light Heavyweight. It's fair to say giving up his back, was a consistent weakness he had, and I think a counterpoint here is that a lot of these other ATGs have solid grappling and the skill/tenacity to hang around in fights where he might eventually crack.
 
Substance Abuse said:
RIP 'Rumble'. Awesome person. Fun fighter. Unfortunately he isn't even top five.
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RIP indeed.

It’s weird seeing many assume he just rolls over everyone not named Jones or DC, though.

i mean, could he knock them out. Sure, without a doubt. But AJ was never was great against adversity, and he’d likely face plenty of it against the other great LHWs.

Guys like prime Shogun and Liddell were able to weather the storm against a young and powerful Overeem. How does AJ fair after a couple of those knees to the sternum?

I’ve seen him wilt too many times to assume he beats everyone else. i would not be surprised to see someone like Couture break him. I also wouldn’t be surprised to see him comatose Couture. But i dont think either happens 10/10 times.
 
linvillegorge said:
Chuck, Rampage, Wanderlei, Randy, Machida, Vitor. All those guys would be favorites over Rumble in their primes. Tito would be his best bet but folks overlook how good Tito was at his best.
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Wanderlei? really? Rumble destroy any version of Wanderlei inside 1 round
 
Bend NvR Break said:
Rumble beats all except Jon and DC.
Winning a championship doesn't negate the fact that Rumble would leave them all sleeping except Jon and DC.
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Which we would have seen him vs Jones. I always though he had the style for Jones
 
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