Sakuraba vs Penn: Fighting Giants, Who has the more lasting legacy to you?

MikeMcMann said:
Before entering this thread I knew the zuffa noobs would all say BJ and suggest it was not even close. But then if a new fighter wins 2 fights in a row the same group claims they are GOAT because all that matters is what happened the most recent to them.

In fact the opposite is true.

BJ's foray above LW was a disaster he should have never undertook. Other than having Hughes number (which the first win was a massive win) BJ's entire fight resume above LW is a disaster and joke. Not a single notable win but his fans cling to what he did in all those losses.

IMO Penn should have never left LW and after winning the UFC LW belt he should have went and fought in all the other org's at the time where the top LW's were spread around and cleaned them all out and built a LW legacy close to what Anderson or GSP have in their divisions. Instead BJ's LW resume is arguably no further ahead then Bendo or Edgar who both also have 3 defenses but against better comp.
Click to expand...

Apparently in your world getting the WW belt is disaster.

You're crazy.

Give BJ his dues. He fought courageously at higher weights, this is something to be honored, not deplored.
 
Here are my impressions:

Saku: ass whooped by Wanderlei 3 times; unlike many people, I don't grant him a ton of credit for that. Beat several Gracies; impressive, but, the Gracies were not the cream of the crop in MMA at the time.

BJ: Great fighter (both on the feet and on the ground). Inconsistent. I don't give him a ton of credit for losing to Lyoto at heavyweight.

Love and respect both guys; sorry if I sound disrespectful. I just feel they are a little overrated. Yes, great fighters without whom the sport would be different today.
 
Mochan said:
Apparently in your world getting the WW belt is disaster.

You're crazy.

Give BJ his dues. He fought courageously at higher weights, this is something to be honored, not deplored.
Click to expand...

Lets be real. BJ went up in weight once. He did cut different amounts of weight.

Sak had better subs, fought bigger guys always. Sak was one of the greatest ever. Catch as catch can.
 
TallGHunter said:
Lets be real. BJ went up in weight once. He did cut different amounts of weight.

Sak had better subs, fought bigger guys always. Sak was one of the greatest ever. Catch as catch can.
Click to expand...

Not sure what you're trying to say to me, read my post in the previous page.
 
Mr Wings said:
Here are my impressions:

Saku: ass whooped by Wanderlei 3 times; unlike many people, I don't grant him a ton of credit for that. Beat several Gracies; impressive, but, the Gracies were not the cream of the crop in MMA at the time.

BJ: Great fighter (both on the feet and on the ground). Inconsistent. I don't give him a ton of credit for losing to Lyoto at heavyweight.

Love and respect both guys; sorry if I sound disrespectful. I just feel they are a little overrated. Yes, great fighters without whom the sport would be different today.
Click to expand...

I think people are focusing too much on fight record, using way too much hindsight, and not taking into account context.
 
Sakuraba, and it's not even remotely close.
 
FMAxBoxing said:
Two special fighters who fought who ever that was put in front of them regardless of weight class.

Who do you feel like left a lasting legacy for you personally?


Kazushi Sakuraba: (170-265)

sakuraba-ear.jpg


Notable Wins:

Quinton Jackson
Vitor Belfort
Royce Gracie
Renzo Gracie
Guy Mezger
Carlos Newton
Kevin Randleman
Masakatsu Funaki
Ikuhisa Minowa

Notable Accomplishments:

UFC HW Japan Tournament Winner
First Japanese UFC Champion
First man to defeat Royce Gracie in MMA
2000 Pride Grand Prix Openweight Semi-finalist
Most Submissions in Pride History (Tied with BigNog)

BJ Penn: (155-220)

1CDD4FFB-C09F-2148-BDEF3FCB843CB543.jpg


Notable Wins:

Matt Hughes x2
Kenny Florian
Diego Sanchez
Caol Uno
Sean Sherk
Jens Pulver
Takanori Gomi
Matt Serra
Renzo Gracie

Notable Accomplishments:

Multi Division UFC Champion (LW, WW)
Only fighter to win both the WW and LW Belts at the same time.
All time leader in LW Defenses (3, Tie with Benson Henderson)
UFC HOF
Click to expand...

I dont think there is a real answer here.

Both of these guys are absolutely stone-cold ATGs all day.

I have both of them in that 7-12 OAT range.

Gun to my head, I say Penn.
 
Saku, he won against much larger competition, BJ beat Hughes which is great but imagine if he fought dudes with the size difference Saku did. He'd have been crushed.
 
Hilarious how some of you bring up the belt thing, how Sakuraba lacks them. The reason he doesn't have a belt is also one of the biggest reasons he is so great. Think about it. Pride didn't have a belt for his weight class or even for the one above it. That's why he fought all those monsters. AND because he (and the Japanese combat scene) didn't give a fuck about size.
 
Plus people have forgotten the second Saku-Wanderlei fight wasn't a beatdown. Saku actually got the fight where he wanted and was winning, before the slam and the fight ending injury. And a guy his size couldn't have picked and slammed him the way Wanderlei did.
 
14.09 said:
Hilarious how some of you bring up the belt thing, how Sakuraba lacks them. The reason he doesn't have a belt is also one of the biggest reasons he is so great. Think about it. Pride didn't have a belt for his weight class or even for the one above it. That's why he fought all those monsters. AND because he (and the Japanese combat scene) didn't give a fuck about size.
Click to expand...


If they had given just a little bit of fuck, Saku may be remember today as 170lb GOAT.
 
14.09 said:
Hilarious how some of you bring up the belt thing, how Sakuraba lacks them. The reason he doesn't have a belt is also one of the biggest reasons he is so great. Think about it. Pride didn't have a belt for his weight class or even for the one above it. That's why he fought all those monsters. AND because he (and the Japanese combat scene) didn't give a fuck about size.
Click to expand...

He's a freaking UFC heavyweight tournament champion. that's better than any ww belt.
 
Clearly Sakuraba. Seems like he faced bigger guys every other fight at least. He faced Crocop, Wanderlei, other PRIDE FC monsters.

BJ faced a flabby Lyoto who wasn't yet the KO master who took the UFC belt. Renzo Gracie isn't exactly the caliber of fighter Sakuraba faced in PRIDE.
 
Penn had success and was in big fights for a longer course of time, so his legacy has more lasting appeal.
 
Both guys are top 10 p4p of all time .. Honestly you could have both in the top 5 and id agree



. Flip a coin and pick one
 
FastTracker said:
BJ is the more succesfull but Saku fought way more dangerous guys
Click to expand...

Not sure what "successful" means to you, but a little glance at Saku's wins makes him far more successful than BJ ever was, IMO.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
1,236,928
Messages
55,455,498
Members
174,786
Latest member
Gladiator47

Share this page

Back
Top