Most underrated GOATS ever

[mirko>anyone]

I would argue that tier 2 needs to be smaller or larger. If it includes Cruz, DC, Usman, Adesanya, and Hendo, there are more guys on that level who deserve to be listed. The most egregious omission is probably BJ. Cejudo is currently > Adesanya. There are others that are on the same level as Izzy that could be considered for inclusion like Hughes and Gomi. Izzy certainly has the potential to surpass these guys.

I would say Izzy has already past most those guys tbh. Usman as well. These 2 live in the shadow of GSP an Silva though, so that’s why I think they are underrated. They both have several top 5 wins and Usman has won 15 straight. It’s incredible.

BJ is a tough one because his metric doesn’t really lie in his W/L column, so I wouldn’t mind his inclusion. Hughes definitely belongs too. Gomi? Gonna be a hard no from me there, but only relative to this tier group. He was an outstanding fighter in PRIDE and before. Cejudo has a whopping 12/13 fights? I guess. He made them count for sure.

tier 2 has plenty of room for debate. I’m sure you could have an equally completing argument for other guys but this was just my list. I’d maybe take cruz out for sheer inactivity.

edit: cejudo has 18 fights. Surprised me. Still thought Mighty Mouse beat him though.

 

[Brigfa]

1. Stylebender: Already has better resume than Khabib and he was not afraid to go up and lose his 0

 

[Dbreiden83080]

DJ did NOT fight anybody.. He went to a newly created class after failing to win in a higher class..

UFC also let him walk in his prime..

So he is rightly disregarded in the GOAT Talk.

 

[koquerelle]

Khabib?!? His fans can't shut up about him. It makes zero sense to have him on the list.

 

[BFoe]

Khabib?!? His fans can't shut up about him. It makes zero sense to have him on the list.

What do you mean? Khabib certainly isn’t *the* GOAT, but he’s certainly the LW GOAT. As such, he belongs on a list of GOATs.

 

[Gamer2k4]

Is it just me or is Bones name less relevant in the goat discussions these days? Im good with that tbh

Well, the question was about the most underrated GOATs. Not a whole lot of people underrate Jones.

 

[koquerelle]

What do you mean? Khabib certainly isn’t *the* GOAT, but he’s certainly the LW GOAT. As such, he belongs on a list of GOATs.

Did you see the title of the thread?

 

[Qays Stetkevich]

This is a very naive child like viewpoint. It's not so black and white.

I say "probably", so it's automatically not "black and white" And a lifetime of experience watching, training, and competing in the sport (and knowing its competitors) also confirms my stance. Of course people like watching MMA for various reasons. . . but the majority of naive/black-and-white views I see are from casuals or people not really that integrated or interested in the sport. Literally everyone I've personally met over the last 20 years who participates in or is passionate about the sport (spanning multiple continents and dozens of gyms as well) like the sport for more than the "it's just entertainment" value. Your calling my point naive is . . . naive, or just contrarian for the sake of it, without adding any valid point/argument of their own, other than incorrectly pointing out that I'm being black-and-white.

 

[Gamer2k4]

DC is kind of underrated in GOAT talks. I don't think he's the GOAT or even top 4, but what he did in LHW AND HW was very impressive.

DC is in that strange position where he always looked completely unbeatable, yet he just doesn't have the resume to be in the GOAT discussion. To quote myself:

He's good, but no matter what metric you use, he's not the best. He's not the LHW GOAT, he's not the HW GOAT, he wasn't the first to hold two belts simultaneously, he doesn't have the most title defenses, he doesn't have the most wins, or the most finishes, or the most fights, or the most PPV buys, or the longest career, or anything else. There are other fighters that were Olympic athletes and other fighters who actually won medals in the Olympics.

What exactly has DC done that no one else has? Heck, what has DC done that, say, Randy Couture hasn't?

 

[BFoe]

Did you see the title of the thread?

I saw the thread title, but I think I misinterpreted your post. Initially I thought your objection was that he isn’t one of the GOATs, but after re-reading it I think maybe you were objecting because you don’t think he’s underrated. That makes more sense.

 

[Hdfi]

Bas Rutten by far.

22 fight unbeaten streak
UFC Heavyweight champion,three-time King of Pancrase world champion

 

[Cowboy Kurt Angle]

Cruz

 

[Bend NvR Break]

I say "probably", so it's automatically not "black and white" And a lifetime of experience watching, training, and competing in the sport (and knowing its competitors) also confirms my stance. Of course people like watching MMA for various reasons. . . but the majority of naive/black-and-white views I see are from casuals or people not really that integrated or interested in the sport. Literally everyone I've personally met over the last 20 years who participates in or is passionate about the sport (spanning multiple continents and dozens of gyms as well) like the sport for more than the "it's just entertainment" value. Your calling my point naive is . . . naive, or just contrarian for the sake of it, without adding any valid point/argument of their own, other than incorrectly pointing out that I'm being black-and-white.

I've trained off and on for a few years and MOST competitors I've met fall on a spectrum. Some are all for PED use under a doctor's supervisor. Some just want the recovery drugs (like HGH) allowed and not enhancers like EPO. A small amount of fighters that I've personally met just say ban everything.

 

[chinarice]

My god, you adamantly tell the man he isn't going to kick you in the head with a specific leg then the guy literally kicks you in the head with that exact leg, which leads to you being finished.

Too funny.

 

[Qays Stetkevich]

I've trained off and on for a few years and MOST competitors I've met fall on a spectrum. Some are all for PED use under a doctor's supervisor. Some just want the recovery drugs (like HGH) allowed and not enhancers like EPO. A small amount of fighters that I've personally met just say ban everything.

I agree with everything you're saying, but I think we've got our wires crossed, as I was explicitly talking about "true fans of the sport" who "only watch for entertainment", as opposed to the fighters' backgrounds, personalities, a fair playing field, some sense of legitimacy to the sport, etc.,

But yes, lots of pros I know juiced (when they could), and EVERY one that is in an org that tests wants their opponents to be thoroughly tested as well (obviously). Not caring about if one guy gets to roid when his opponent doesn't.....flies against universally accepted fundamental principles of martial arts in general, to say nothing about it ethically. At any rate, just like with *literally* every other sport, yes it's for entertainment, but if you love a sport/team, you by definition like more than just "the entertainment"/the end-result of the competition. I'm not even (trying to be) offensive when I say that if you *only* care about the actual fight, and not the fighters, their backgrounds, their styles, skills, etc., then you (pl) are a casual. Nothing wrong with that, but just don't claim to love the sport or its fighters. Or, conversely, just admit that you actually do like/care about more than "just the entertainment".
(P.S. This is mostly written NOT directly at you, but English makes it hard to differentiate that stuff!)

 

[Rationality]

If we're talking underrated GOATs of a division at least you should include Sean Sherk.

 

[alex21cms]

is because neither Jhaboob or Marty have done nearly enougth to be in GOAT combersation

 

[Patman]

Big Nog will always be overshadowed by Fedor (and rightfully so) but he had a great career.

 

[Patman]

Bas Rutten by far.

22 fight unbeaten streak
UFC Heavyweight champion,three-time King of Pancrase world champion

Bas is a bad mofo and hilarious dude. But if we’re talking Pancrase era legends, Frank Shammy is number one. Dude was ahead of his time. Well rounded and one of the first elite guys to incorporate a strength and conditioning program into his training.

 

[Hatorade]

Usman is the most underrated out of those 3 guys. He’s better than GSP. He’s top10 GOAT right now and needs a couple of wins to be really considered a GOAT.

I agree
Usman is a few wins from being GSP. What he's done at this point is as impressive as what Anderson did, and more impressive than what Fedor did simply because of the competition he has faced. He's got an absolute monster coming for him though, in a way that GSP never did. It will define his legacy the way it did with Jones when DC went after him. We'll see what happens.

Khabib gets the proper amount of respect in the GOAT talk. He doesn't have the resume to hang in the top 3, but many still recognize that he's to most dominate fighter the sport has seen thus far. I feel like he really only needed a couple more blowout wins to be in the same class as Anderson, Jones, and GSP because of how dominant he was. People don't consider that he fought in a shark tank division with no cans. People forget how deep LW is. Guys like Barboza, Johnson, LaQuinta etc are more skilled than some of the former champs we've had at MW, LHW, and HW. Khabib has never really face a single bum in his entire UFC career.