Top 5 favorite UFC fighters hardmode

[Hellowhosthat]

Wow with your top 3, I think you beat me in points! Dont recognize those three. Reccomend your favorite fights by them?

Well for Mason I would watch his UFC debut Vs Mike Davis, then to see him maul people watch his fights with Adam Proctor and Joe McColgan in Cage Warriors (all on Fight Pass)

Ilia Topuria you can see his grappling ability against Youssef Zalal and then his striking ability against Damon Jackson

Gamrot I'd suggest watching his fight from the weekend against Scott Holtzman, his very close first UFC fight with Guram Kutateladze and if you can find it his recent fight with Norman Parke in KSW.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

Rob hasn’t been champion since October 6 2019 #neverforget.

I automatically consider anyone who's ever been a champion a champion when it comes to stuff like this.

 

[bleeder]

Yknow, I must be a casual because I missed whatever made people love Glover... im just mad he beat my boy Cannonier.

I despise Colby and Masvidal personally but I will never deny they are super exciting to watch. And Admittedly my hatred for em makes me tune into their fights so I guess they won xD

Which mitchell?

Every Glover fan I know just is infatuated with how the guy has a tendency to win in the most dire situations, plus he's a badass, friendly old man with a horrifying top game. Bryce Mitchell, the twister guy

 

[Volador]

Not favorites, but some non top 10 guys I always look forward to watching:

Arman Tsarukyan - Future LW GOAT.
Giga Chikadze - Cool striking style, plus you can pun his name into Giga Chad.
Rafael Fiziev - Crazy mofo who bends backwards at the waist like Neo.
Bryce Mitchell - Fun fighter and a crazy dude, school shooter vibes, but in a good way.
Merab Dvalishvili - Infectious energy, screams and gets wild, exciting top control and GnP.
Juan Espino - Talented HW with good subs, beat Maurice Greene who was a complete douchebag on TUF and still acted cool about it, seems intelligent. Strange career, only 1 loss ever to Minakov, but he never fights. I think he's supposed to fight next week. Edit: Ah shit, just saw he's supposed to fight some undefeated monstrous grappler. Ah well.

 

[RustyShacleford]

1. Brian Ortega - Noticed him in his great fight with Tavares where he got the third round finish after a crazy back-and-forth fight, so I kept watching and was like "holy shit he does that every time?" Obviously he's put his game together a little better since then, but that progress has also been fun to watch.

2. Robert Whitaker - I was happy to realize how fucking good he was before most others. His tdd and great fundamental striking matched up really well against the mw elite at that time, and I helped my brother win big money by giving him the heads-up on whitaker in his fights against Jacare and Romero. Wish I'd been gambling back then cause I haven't seen any bet as good as him as a 2:1 dog against Jacare since I started.

3. Holloway - He's always been super likable and super fun to watch, but it was his last fight that put him on this list for me. Just a combo clinic like none other. The # of strike records he set in that fight are so far ahead of the others on those lists that it just really proved how special he is. Like who is going to top 746 strikes landed in 25 minutes? That's one strike landed every two seconds.

4. Wonderboy - Karate.

5. Cory Sandhagen - Followed up a spinning heel kick ko with a flying knee ko (a beautiful one at that). Pretty much the two coolest finishes you can get, aside from maybe some super-rare subs.

Honorable mention: Machida - one of my all time favs and he's not retired yet, so I guess he should be on the list...but to me he's retired.

 

[Joseph Alfano]

1. Marvin Vettori - hes Italian, im Italian and I enjoy the MW division. Been following his career since he was Venator so its been awsome seeing his progression

2. TKZ - love the evolution in his game between now and when he was first coming up. Also best walk out in the game imo

3. Lyoto Machida - my favorite fighter as a teenager when i didnt know shit about mma but would watch reruns with my dad after school

4. (WMMA) JJ - wouldve been Valentina but shes champ. Can leave the boogeywoman thing behind, but man shes a killer

5. (Prospect) Ludovit Klein - might be another hype train but the dude is a savage and i could see hitting the rankings within his next few fights

Honorary mentions: Rory Macdonald, Jack Hermansson, LHW Gus, The polish power, Valentina, Alessio Di Chirico and the Dutch dude that fights in ONE

 

[whileswimming.idrink]

That's a really cool fact. Wow!

I think Uros is the better striker but Khamzat is the stronger grappler.

Id like to see both go far. They are super entertaining.

Yeah, I hope UFC lead them on nicely. Allowing them to grow. Knowing this I compiled list of all fighters with all finishes in this thread:
https://forums.sherdog.com/threads/...featured-khamzat-romanov-shavkat-etc.4176524/

 

[lyndon955]

=
Cant wait to see everyone's confusion over my #1 ! <3

Why would people be confused about your number 1 when you've explicitly explained why he's your number one.

Nevertheless this a wholesome thread, mine:

Darren Till - I'm biased as I'm from Liverpool but he is a great lad, seems like he wouldn't be a prick to you as long as you were sound to him and he's naturally very funny.

Francis - Melts people in the cage, then out of it seems like an easy going, nice guy. Hard not to be a fan.

Maia - I love his style and as a person he seems like he'd be impossible to dislike.

Thiago Santos - been a fan since his fight with Uriah Hall (very underrated striking battle imo) even though he lost he started destroying fools after that and became must see TV for me. Seems like a nice enough fellow too.

RDA - probably one of my all time favourite fighters, I can't think of a fight where I've rooted against him in the past 8 years.

retired/non UFC fighters honourable mentions: Werdum, Fedor, Mir, Anderson, Vitor, Machida, Shogun. Rampage, GSP, BJ, Gomi

 

[MechMA]

1. Darren Till
Proof that you dont have to be prick to draw attention to yourself.

2. Stiopcic
Geniuinly nice guy, one of the few very well rounded HW. GOAT guy, GOAT HW

3. Whittaker
Funny and tough guy, genuine person, distant from all that MMA shit yet interesting and his fights draw a lot of attention

4. Gaethje
M'fing highlight, how can you not like that.

5. The Sandman
Lanky mf, not a typical BW fighter, and also has all the characteristics mentioned above.

Notable mentions Gustafsson, Bektic, Bryce Mitchell and I probbably forgot someone

Glad to see so much Whitakker love.

I like Till and Stipe a lot too! Wish more people gave Stipe his deserved respect.

 

[MechMA]

Bryce Mitchell, the twister guy

Oh yeah. He's fun to watch.

2. Robert Whitaker

3. Holloway -

Wonderboy

Honorable mention: Machida - one of my all time favs and he's not retired yet, so I guess he should be on the list...but to me he's retired.

Hell yeah dude. Machida was my guy. Really cool to see how much we share in terms of favorites!

3. Lyoto Machida - my favorite fighter as a teenager when i didnt know shit about mma but would watch reruns with my dad after school

Honorary mentions: Rory Macdonald, Jack Hermansson, LHW Gus, The polish power, Valentina, Alessio Di Chirico and the Dutch dude that fights in ONE

Lyoto was also my first favorite. Coming from Karate, i was happy to see a guy billed as a karateka knock out the champion. Was hooked since.

Why would people be confused about your number 1 when you've explicitly explained why he's your number one.

Nevertheless this a wholesome thread, mine:...

retired/non UFC fighters honourable mentions: Werdum, Fedor, Mir, Anderson, Vitor, Machida, Shogun. Rampage, GSP, BJ, Gomi

Sometimes when I praise unknown guys, everyone just assumes *I'm* that person. Or call them a can.

Hyped to see Machida and GSP on your list!

 

[The Rivv]

I automatically consider anyone who's ever been a champion a champion when it comes to stuff like this.

I don’t appreciate you using my personal 9/11 so flippantly. But I genuinely like your post and your Sherdog personality so I’ll let it slide.

 

[MotorCityManiac]

1. Makwan Amirkhani, he´s from Finland like me. I remember the debut against Ogle with the crazy 8 second finish, also went against Barboza short notice. Grown up too from his earlier days when he was cockier.

2. Alexander Gustafsson, from the neighbouring country, a really nice and likeable guy. The first Jones fight is in my top5 of all time.

3. Demian Maia, he actually visited my gym in Finland back in 2014 and his grappling is so damn nice to watch. A couple snoozefests but rooting for him always.

4. José Aldo, his fights were, and still are very entertaining. Became a fan during his reign, and was heartbroken after the Conor- fight. Too bad that he can´t throw leg kicks like old times.

5. Wonderboy, the guy is so nice, can´t think anything bad about him. His kickboxing is unreal and I hope he can make one last run for the gold.

 

[atxmmafan]

Mayhem with red hair

Korean zombie

jacare

Justin g

dilllasnake

 

[MechMA]

1. Makwan Amirkhani, he´s from Finland like me. I remember the debut against Ogle with the crazy 8 second finish, also went against Barboza short notice. Grown up too from his earlier days when he was cockier.

2. Alexander Gustafsson, from the neighbouring country, a really nice and likeable guy. The first Jones fight is in my top5 of all time.

3. Demian Maia, he actually visited my gym in Finland back in 2014 and his grappling is so damn nice to watch. A couple snoozefests but rooting for him always.

4. José Aldo, his fights were, and still are very entertaining. Became a fan during his reign, and was heartbroken after the Conor- fight. Too bad that he can´t throw leg kicks like old times.

5. Wonderboy, the guy is so nice, can´t think anything bad about him. His kickboxing is unreal and I hope he can make one last run for the gold.

Thats really cool, on all 5!

I hope Wonderboy gets to stick around getting top 10 wins for awhile longer too.

 

[Deleted member 583968]

So here is the rules.
You must give me your 5 favorite fighters with no Champions or fully retired fighters allowed. 1 being your personal favorite and 5 being the last place of your top picks, respectively.
Bonus points if you give reasons. Bonus points if fighter isn't in top 10.

Here is mine.

1) Uros Medic - really down to earth funny guy I have trained with many times and plan to again after I get my vaccine. Both his contender series fight and UFC debut were striking destruction and a ton of fun to watch... He trains at a primarily BJJ place with legit black belts so I am hopeful he wont be drowned on the ground.

2) Jared Cannonier - I have trained with him several times and he is a funny, respectful guy. He is a lot of fun to spar and seeing him take out big names had me feelin surreal.

3) Robert Whittaker - He is just an absolute delight. He plays the same MMO as me (ESO) and I love his attitude. His fighting style is wonderful to watch.

4) Dustin Poirier - He's a real dude, charitable, exciting to watch, good at both boxing and BJJ, he is the fighting style I'd most wish to replicate.

5) Wonderboy - His attitude is infectious and I grew up a Karate guy. He has probablyD been the most successful UFC fighter in the modern era using his Karate, as Lyoto seemed to abandon 90% of his karate for Muay Thai.

Ex favorite fighters for you to freely judge me... Anthony Pettis, Conor McGregor, GSP (still love him but I am not counting retired for myself), Lyoto Machida.

Cant wait to see everyone's confusion over my #1 ! <3

1. Stipe Miocic - He looked indestructible when he first won his title. He reminded me of a KGB agent that you'd see in a James Bond movie. With his square haircut, he would just continue to march forward, eating shots while delivering his one-two punch combo until his opponents cracked. As tacky as this sounds, I always end up rooting for the toughest guy that I was first exposed to. I started watching UFC back when Brock arrived but I didn't follow it religiously until about 5 years ago.

2. Robert Whittaker- Whenever I watch his fights, instead of just watching the fight, I get excited over how Whittaker will attack next. I love his quick jabs and a kick that follows.

3. Dan Hooker - He is probably the most entertaining fighter to watch right now. I'd watch his fights over any other championship fights. He's had a tough time in his last few fights but I'm very much looking forward to see his next one.

4. Paulo Costa - Something about him I find funny. He has that Brazilian Johnny Bravo vibe about him. I love his ruthless style even though he wasn't able to fight like that against the current champion. In some ways, I'm glad Costa vs Whittaker didn't happen but I think if it did, it would have been a fight of the year candidate. That is the biggest match in MW in my opinion.

5. Michael Chandler - He does remind me of that smart-mouthed douchey guy. But, I don't know if there's any other fighter today whose more aware of what the fans say online than Michael Chandler. Anyways, Michael Chandler's knockouts are so beautiful. Not a UFC fight but his right hand against Patricky was so quick and just perfect. I'm looking forward to his run in the UFC.

Btw, even if you told me I could include current champions in this list, the list would remain unchanged.

 

[SeaChad]

1. Woodley, best WW ever.
2. Conor, the name of the game
3. Whitaker, beast
4. Gaethje, so exciting
5. Poirier

 

[Vincentsky]

1 Gaethje
2 TJ
3 Max
4 Tony
5 Aldo

 

[HatKick]

Wonderboy - Virtuoso karateka and a completely unique personality in the often very toxic MMA culture.

Petr Yan - Came in from boxing and managed to build the most insane MMA skillset I've ever seen. Also best mental game in the biz.

Tony Ferguson - Just total must see in his prime. The pace, intensity, diversity and creativity of his offense is unmatched. Just melted people in front of him. And for all his character flaws I don't think he's a bad person at all.

Alexander Gustafsson - Representative of Scandinavia and a joy to watch in his prime with his beautiful boxing and footwork. People like to take jabs at him now that he hasn't looked the same in a while but they forget how legit he was and what a dog he used to be.

Ciryl Gane - I think this guy is just getting started and is the next great HW.

HM: Holloway, Whittaker, Luque, Miocic, Chimaev

 

[MechMA]

1. Stipe Miocic - He looked indestructible when he first won his title. He reminded me of a KGB agent that you'd see in a James Bond movie. With his square haircut, he would just continue to march forward, eating shots while delivering his one-two punch combo until his opponents cracked. As tacky as this sounds, I always end up rooting for the toughest guy that I was first exposed to. I started watching UFC back when Brock arrived but I didn't follow it religiously until about 5 years ago.

2. Robert Whittaker- Whenever I watch his fights, instead of just watching the fight, I get excited over how Whittaker will attack next. I love his quick jabs and a kick that follows.

3. Dan Hooker - He is probably the most entertaining fighter to watch right now. I'd watch his fights over any other championship fights. He's had a tough time in his last few fights but I'm very much looking forward to see his next one.

4. Paulo Costa - Something about him I find funny. He has that Brazilian Johnny Bravo vibe about him. I love his ruthless style even though he wasn't able to fight like that against the current champion. In some ways, I'm glad Costa vs Whittaker didn't happen but I think if it did, it would have been a fight of the year candidate. That is the biggest match in MW in my opinion.

5. Michael Chandler - He does remind me of that smart-mouthed douchey guy. But, I don't know if there's any other fighter today whose more aware of what the fans say online than Michael Chandler. Anyways, Michael Chandler's knockouts are so beautiful. Not a UFC fight but his right hand against Patricky was so quick and just perfect. I'm looking forward to his run in the UFC.

Btw, even if you told me I could include current champions in this list, the list would remain unchanged.

1. Woodley, best WW ever.
2. Conor, the name of the game
3. Whitaker, beast
4. Gaethje, so exciting
5. Poirier

1 Gaethje
2 TJ
3 Max
4 Tony
5 Aldo

Wonderboy - Virtuoso karateka and a completely unique personality in the often very toxic MMA culture.

Petr Yan - Came in from boxing and managed to build the most insane MMA skillset I've ever seen. Also best mental game in the biz.

Tony Ferguson - Just total must see in his prime. The pace, intensity, diversity and creativity of his offense is unmatched. Just melted people in front of him. And for all his character flaws I don't think he's a bad person at all.

Alexander Gustafsson - Representative of Scandinavia and a joy to watch in his prime with his beautiful boxing and footwork. People like to take jabs at him now that he hasn't looked the same in a while but they forget how legit he was and what a dog he used to be.

Ciryl Gane - I think this guy is just getting started and is the next great HW.

HM: Max Holloway, Vicente Luque, Stipe Miocic, KhamGOAT Chimaev

You all have fantastic lists.

Whittaker and Max may very well be the best liked and least divisive fighters on Sherdog xD

 

[FEDORFAN44]

1. Justin gaethje- possible the most exciting fighter in the sport.
2. Robert Whittaker-this guy has been through the ringer.from wars with yoel to being koed by izzy.an absolute warrior who always comes to fight.hope he makes another push for the title.
3. Jeremy stephens-been around forever.will fight anyone and has produced some of my favorite knockouts.
4.jiri prochazka-super exciting.cant wait to see him run through reyes.
5. Jorge madvidal-Been watching this dude since bodog.hope he finds a way to beat usman but wouldn't bet on it.has been shifted in so many decisions its not even funny.also the only times he has been finished were a bs tko and been choked unconscious twice.he has no quit in him and is almost always in good fights