Rashad or Kamaru: Who was the most talented fighter?

[DanDragon Machi]

Usman once said Rashad was his toughest sparring partner ever. Obviously this is not a parameter to say who would be the best fighter given the size difference , but I found myself wonder about who had the best arsenal of weapons and had more talent for evolution.

I think their wrestling, striking and athleticism was pretty close . I don't have idea about who has a better ground, neither both was known by submissions and I can't remember they being submitted

Despite Usman having been a much more successful and dominant champion probably Rashad faced better guys:

Rampage> Masvidal
Davis> Woodley
Hendo> Burns
Tito> Colby
Sonnen = Demian (?)
Forrest < RDA

Loss in their prime

Rashad
KO by Machida
UD by Jon Jones
UD by Lil Nog

Kamaru
KO by Edwards
UD by Edwards
UD by Chimaev (if you consider he was in his prime )

 

[Leinster Rugby]

Chimaev seems to have been born in his prime and just keeps getting primer

 

[ALAN PARTRIDGE]

i never rated Rashad ever

 

[theincognito]

Usman easily.

>Sonnen = Demian

Also how do you figure this when Maia ragdolled him?

 

[RockyLockridge]

Rashad has a better skillset and fought better fighters

 

['Suga Daddy']

Rashad fan here, note the AV. The answer is Usman, Rashad had a great career but wasn’t able to consistently string it together at the championship level

 

[Bork Neslar]

Usman. Hashad faded quickly after USADA.

 

[Luthien]

Rashad taught Usman everything he knows xx

Rashad is Yoda and Usman is Luke Skywalker

 

[Streeter]

Usman by a really wide margin

 

[DanDragon Machi]

Usman by a really wide margin

Usman is not better than Evans in no aspect

 

[MarkHuntFanboy]

They're not comparable at all. They fought in completely different divisions.

That said, Rashad Evans, before his losing streak, was 14-3 in the UFC, with wins over fighters like Dan Henderson, Tito Ortiz, Rampage, Thiago Silva, Liddell, Forest Griffin, Bisping... the list goes on.

Meanwhile, Usman rose through the ranks when the Welterweight division was at its weakest point in history, beating an old Tyron Woodley for the title (I know people hate the age excuse, but it's true most of the time, especially at Welterweight and below), then defending against journeyman Colby and Masvidal not once, but twice. TWICE against each of these low-level journeymen. And then once against Burns, which was a legit victory. His only two real title defenses are against Colby the first time, and against Burns. So he basically had two title defenses, not five.

Then when push came to shove, he got KOed by Edwards in a fight everyone thought he would win AND got dominated in their rematch (third fight overall) on top of that. And before everyone jumps the shark saying he was concussed against Edwards in their 3rd fight, GSP also got finished against Serra and manhandled him like nuttin in the rematch.

 

[Ibm]

Rashad shoul dbe one of the best of all time for the wins he has and how he did it. Also he was the size of todays Lightweights

 

[Thesnake101]

Davis> Woodley
Sonnen = Demian (?)

Really? Davis, at 9-0 no less, a better win than Woodley in his title reign? LHW Sonnen is not an equal win to WW Maia, even if Demian was old by that point. Chael peaked at MW and at LHW he was only decent at best.

Rashad was probably the more naturally talented guy, given how fluid he could be at his best but Usman is far more accomplished and maximized his potential.

 

[WokeWarrior]

God i miss the golden era ufc
Rashad was the muthfuggin Man. His only flaw was his chin was kinda sus.
but other than that, dude was ice cold.
i was actually rooting for him to beat Jon jones.
ill never forget jumping out my seat in shock when Rashad KO'd Chuck and beating
forrest griffin for the belt.

Im actually stumped OP. they both were them dudes in they prime. but rashad had way
tougher and scarier competition. he was in the prime 205 era... if only he had a solid chin and
more raw KO power, dude would of been unstoppable.

 

[josh345]

I rewatched Rashad vs chuck. Rashad was thoroughly outboxing Liddell in the second before the KO. His hands were fast!

The way he would transition into a TD after throwing strikes was really fast. Very talented fighter.

 

[Tweak896]

You can flatten the wins on paper, but they both were great fighters and champs. Usman looked better after he was champ, where Rashad started to fade after he was champ. Rashad was more complete throughout his career, Usman developed some powerful striking after being champ.

 

[GoshiShun17]

Rashad has a better skillset and fought better fighters

If we are talking skill fir skill I have to disagree. I don't even agree that he fought better fighters like some here claim.

Rashad fought bigger NAMES, but not better fighters skill wise. It isnt exactly fair because we all know the average WW is more skilled than the average LHW..

But just comparing Usman and Evans for a moment, Usman has better wrestling, better pressure, better and more disciplined jab. Better chin. Probably better kicks.

Rashad was faster for his weight class. He was more athletic and agile than Usman. But he wasn't a grinder like Usman even when he tried to be.

 

[RockyLockridge]

If we are talking skill fir skill I have to disagree. I don't even agree that he fought better fighters like some here claim.

Rashad fought bigger NAMES, but not better fighters skill wise. It isnt exactly fair because we all know the average WW is more skilled than the average LHW..

But just comparing Usman and Evans for a moment, Usman has better wrestling, better pressure, better and more disciplined jab. Better chin. Probably better kicks.

Rashad was faster for his weight class. He was more athletic and agile than Usman. But he wasn't a grinder like Usman even when he tried to be.

Rashad was a harder hitter, rashad for sure has better kicks than Usman, rashad has a way better ground game than Usman. Rashad kept Phil Davis down in a mount crucifix for a whole round. Usman was never able to hold Colby down for a single round or burns or even masvidal. Rashad has better take downs and yes on top of fighting bigger names he also fought better fighters including Jones , rampage, machida, chuck, tito, Henderson not sure how Colby is better let's be honest that's the best fighter Usman has fought either Colby or khamzat

 

[Cowboy Kurt Angle]

Rashad

 

[GoshiShun17]

Rashad was a harder hitter, rashad for sure has better kicks than Usman, rashad has a way better ground game than Usman. Rashad kept Phil Davis down in a mount crucifix for a whole round. Usman was never able to hold Colby down for a single round or burns or even masvidal. Rashad has better take downs and yes on top of fighting bigger names he also fought better fighters including Jones , rampage, machida, chuck, tito, Henderson not sure how Colby is better let's be honest that's the best fighter Usman has fought either Colby or khamzat

Phil Davis was NEVER a great or even slightly well rounded MMA fighter during his UFC tenure. People touted him because of his physique and wrestling accolades. He was lost on the feet and spammed takedowns from ill advised positions.

I knew Rashad would easily dust Davis. You can't compare him to Colby at all. Chuck, Tito, and Hendo weren't exactly in their Primes against Evans. Yet he still could not defeat the MUCH older Hendo. Machida beat him in very one sided fashion. Obviously Jon did as well. The Rampage win was solid, but he could barely do damage and was afraid to throw hands despite having a speed advantage.

Rashad at his best could have been arguably the 2nd best lhw, but he never consitently put it all together.

Usman despite having repeat opponents, beat much more well rounded fighters IMO, and finished most of them while they were in their prime. Examples like Colby, Burns, Masvidal, Dos Anjos. He has a win over Edwards and was dominating him for 80% of the fight before the life altering kick.