Legend or Not a Legend
I feel like the word “Legend” gets thrown around quite liberally on here. I think part of the reason this is done is because we do not have an operational definition for “Legend.” And yet there are some fighters we all unquestionably know are “Legends.” These are fighters whom I assume 90% or more of hardcore fans would agree are legends. So somehow, for some fighters, we just inherently know that Royce Gracie is a legend, that Fedor Emelianenko is a legend etc. But what I want to delineate is those that are closer to the grey line. Eg. Big Nog, Pride HW champions with some defenses, most people agree is a legend vs. Tim Sylvia, two time UFC HW champion with some defenses, few people consider him a legend. So what I plan to do is list below those I think are unquestionably legends because I imagine 90% or more agree. Those I think most people probably agree. And those that are really on the grey line.
You don’t need to get all worked up if you disagree with my choices, because I’m asking that you share your choices as well and where you would place them. Ultimately, I’m going to take a collection of all of our choices and put them in a series of polls to determine, whom does Sherdog consider to be a legend, and whom does sherdog not consider worthy of the moniker legend. When I see conclusively who is in and who is out, I may have a better sense of the variables that delineate a legend from a non – legend in sherdog’s minds:
Unquestionably Legends:
Anderson Silva
Bas Rutten
Fedor Emelianenko
Kazushi Sakuraba
Ken Shamrock
Masakatsu Funaki
Randy Couture
Royce Gracie
Rickson Gracie
Probably Legends:
BJ Penn
Chuck Liddell
Dan Henderson
Dan Severn
Don Frye
Frank Mir
Frank Shamrock
Georges St. Pierre
Gina Carano
Igor Vovchanchyn
Jens Pulver
Jose Aldo
Kazuo Takahashi
Lyoto Machida
Marco Ruas
Mark Coleman
Matt Hughes
Minotauro Nogueira
Mirko Filipovic
Pat Miletich
Quinton Jackson
Ronda Rousey
Sean Sherk
Takanori Gomi
Tim Sylvia
Tito Ortiz
Yuki Nakai
Vitor Belfort
Wanderlei Silva
Possibly Legends:
Brock Lesnar
Caol Uno
Cain Velasquez
Carlos Newton
Chael Sonnen
Conor McGregor
Cristianie "Cyborg" Justino
David Abbott
Egan Inoue
Enson Inoue
Genki Sudo
Hayato Sakurai
Hidehiko Yoshida
Ikuhisa Minowa
Jason Delucia
Josh Barnett
Jon Jones
Mark Hunt
Mark Kerr
Matt Serra
Maurice Smith
Nick Diaz
Jeremy Horn
Kazuo Misaki
Kid Yamamoto
Kimo Leopoldo
Kiyoshi Tamura
Mario Sperry
Mauricio Shogun Rua
Megumi Fuji
Murillo Bustamante
Oleg Taktarov
Pedro Rizzo
Renzo Gracie
Rich Franklin
Shinya Aoki
Travis Fulton (in his own right)
Tsuyoshi Koksaka
Yuki Kondo
I feel like the word “Legend” gets thrown around quite liberally on here. I think part of the reason this is done is because we do not have an operational definition for “Legend.” And yet there are some fighters we all unquestionably know are “Legends.” These are fighters whom I assume 90% or more of hardcore fans would agree are legends. So somehow, for some fighters, we just inherently know that Royce Gracie is a legend, that Fedor Emelianenko is a legend etc. But what I want to delineate is those that are closer to the grey line. Eg. Big Nog, Pride HW champions with some defenses, most people agree is a legend vs. Tim Sylvia, two time UFC HW champion with some defenses, few people consider him a legend. So what I plan to do is list below those I think are unquestionably legends because I imagine 90% or more agree. Those I think most people probably agree. And those that are really on the grey line.
You don’t need to get all worked up if you disagree with my choices, because I’m asking that you share your choices as well and where you would place them. Ultimately, I’m going to take a collection of all of our choices and put them in a series of polls to determine, whom does Sherdog consider to be a legend, and whom does sherdog not consider worthy of the moniker legend. When I see conclusively who is in and who is out, I may have a better sense of the variables that delineate a legend from a non – legend in sherdog’s minds:
Unquestionably Legends:
Anderson Silva
Bas Rutten
Fedor Emelianenko
Kazushi Sakuraba
Ken Shamrock
Masakatsu Funaki
Randy Couture
Royce Gracie
Rickson Gracie
Probably Legends:
BJ Penn
Chuck Liddell
Dan Henderson
Dan Severn
Don Frye
Frank Mir
Frank Shamrock
Georges St. Pierre
Gina Carano
Igor Vovchanchyn
Jens Pulver
Jose Aldo
Kazuo Takahashi
Lyoto Machida
Marco Ruas
Mark Coleman
Matt Hughes
Minotauro Nogueira
Mirko Filipovic
Pat Miletich
Quinton Jackson
Ronda Rousey
Sean Sherk
Takanori Gomi
Tim Sylvia
Tito Ortiz
Yuki Nakai
Vitor Belfort
Wanderlei Silva
Possibly Legends:
Brock Lesnar
Caol Uno
Cain Velasquez
Carlos Newton
Chael Sonnen
Conor McGregor
Cristianie "Cyborg" Justino
David Abbott
Egan Inoue
Enson Inoue
Genki Sudo
Hayato Sakurai
Hidehiko Yoshida
Ikuhisa Minowa
Jason Delucia
Josh Barnett
Jon Jones
Mark Hunt
Mark Kerr
Matt Serra
Maurice Smith
Nick Diaz
Jeremy Horn
Kazuo Misaki
Kid Yamamoto
Kimo Leopoldo
Kiyoshi Tamura
Mario Sperry
Mauricio Shogun Rua
Megumi Fuji
Murillo Bustamante
Oleg Taktarov
Pedro Rizzo
Renzo Gracie
Rich Franklin
Shinya Aoki
Travis Fulton (in his own right)
Tsuyoshi Koksaka
Yuki Kondo
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