Is Shogun Rua one of the greats?

[CereserBr]

Shogun is still my fave fighter but hes been lackin the results these last years... Still, I would say hes one of the greats because of his titles and great fights he put on. And you, what do you think about him?

 

[Leopoldos]

I think he is, without a question.

Once upon a time, he was a force of nature.

 

[TheLuckiest]

He's a PRIDE legend. All time great, though, it's hard to make that argument if you look at the second half of his career.

I think a lot of the love he gets is still residuals from his absolutely mesmerizing PRIDE run. Dude was a monster.

 

[chitoortiz]

Stupid question TS.

If you watched his whole career, you would not ask such a Q.

 

[TheGumby]

I think overall the general concensus is he is a very talented individual that certainly had a bit of a "boost" in his Pride days. I think when he entered an organization where fairly strict regulation was involved he lost some of that magic but still talented none the less. He doesn't crack my top 5 which goes something along the lines of : GSP, Fedor, Bones, Anderson, Aldo

 

[Gunny]

I put him on par with someone like Rashad only with a much shorter prime

 

[ShoopNazi]

One of the great disappointments (UFC).

 

[91 seconds]

Of course.

 

[moreorless87]

I think overall the general concensus is he is a very talented individual that certainly had a bit of a "boost" in his Pride days. I think when he entered an organization where fairly strict regulation was involved he lost some of that magic but still talented none the less. He doesn't crack my top 5 which goes something along the lines of : GSP, Fedor, Bones, Anderson, Aldo

I think the UFC fanboy view that that Shogun was the product of roids in Pride and couldn't make it in the clean UFC and I think he came back and stuffed this crap down their throats beating Chuck and Machida beyond the repeated injuries finally robbed him off his best form.

Not top 5 all time I'd agree as he didn't have enough of his best form but I'd have no problem calling him a legend.

 

[KoChang]

Absolutely a fucking legend. His knees really diminished what he could have ultimately achieved. Pride GP champ. UFC champ. On top of that, name one boring fight he has been in. There are none. He tried to take fools out every time he stepped through the ropes or entered the cage. I've said it many times: if you don't like Shogun, you don't like MMA. Period

 

[bd5919]

Nope. His awful UFC record keeps him out of that conversation.

Great in Pride, though

 

[Sonny Qc]

Heatlhy Shogun was one of the best if not THE BEST.

Too bad his body prevail him for achieving greatness..

 

[Mike01010101a]

Yes. In his prime he was a beast. Future HoF

 

[TheGumby]

I think the UFC fanboy view that that Shogun was the product of roids in Pride and couldn't make it in the clean UFC and I think he came back and stuffed this crap down their throats beating Chuck and Machida beyond the repeated injuries finally robbed him off his best form.

Not top 5 all time I'd agree as he didn't have enough of his best form but I'd have no problem calling him a legend.

No doubt he was a talented fighter and he has been injury prone but I still think he was probably supplementing a little extra horse meat in his diet in Pride. I think it's pretty obvious a lot of Pride fighters enjoyed the lack of real regulations. I'm a fan of MMA in general so it's not me being a fanboy I promise. I've always thought it was interesting that Strikeforce competitors have found so much more success inside the UFC as opposed to the Pride merger. Outside of a ring and soccer kicks as the difference you would imagine they would have faired better. Not saying they did bad by any means. Just not as successful as Strikeforce merger.

 

[mbach4307]

One of the best lhws ever. One of the best single years in combat history.

 

[danny23]

Best LHW of all time behind Jon Jones,imo.

 

[toe hold]

I put him on par with someone like Rashad only with a much shorter prime

Probably about right here. Injuries/commitment certainly added to longevity. Still a great career.

Too bad bout with Evans never materialized while both were close to their prime.

 

[touchedbyjab]

In his Pride form, he was one of the greatest LHWs to ever fight. When he hurt his knee, he never really bounced back from the injury. I'd call him one of the greats still.

 

[GENERAL AZUL]

He is in my heart

 

[Deleted member 501827]

one of the best light heavyweights for sure