Top Ten Karate Fighters in MMA

[franz_grinder]

I recently wrote this article for my site. Give you a little history on guys like Liddell and Bas Rutten. Thought the Doggers might be interested as well.

"Karate is a traditional martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands of Japan from indigenous fighting methods and Chinese Kenpo. Primarily a striking art, Karate utilizes punching, kicking, knees and elbows to disable an opponent. Some schools will practice groundwork, joint-locks and throws. In North America, Karate is widely misunderstood as a washed up art due to western practitioners gentrifying the grading system. A lot of illegitimate black belts opened shop all over the Americas in the latter part of the 20th century.

Karate has helped groom some of the most dynamic strikers we have in combat sports today. Here is a list of the most effective karate stylists or Karateka

 

[Tim Chan]

i'd rank GSP and Bas over chuck, because they are somewhat more technical, while chuck relies more on being tough and hard to ko. but thats a fairly good list and everyone's bound to have different opinions. You can't disagree that Chuck's number 1 in terms of popularity. and it's hard to compare

 

[Island_Warrior***]

I'd put Chuck at #4 or #5. Other than that, it is a good list. I never knew Gomi's style was Karate.

 

[NinjaKilla187]

Lyoto 1st for me since he is the only guy on the scene who not just trained traditional Karate, but actually makes semi-orthodox techniques work for fighting.

I am really pulling for him to beat Tito...

 

[diceisgod]

Cung Le's not bad

 

[WatcH OuT]

Cung Le's not bad

He's a kung fu dude ...

But I personally think TMA's are a good way to get started...

Now you see mostly just good well rounded athletes but they don't stand out in anything just good allround athletes...

If you for example were a good Thai-kickboxer, Karate or kungfu dude or wathever TMA, it's actually more entertaining and it gives them a trade mark as a very good stand up or let not forget a good grappler.

I love seeing guys as Lyotto bc they use their art, that most ppl here bash here on the forums and guys like Lyotto represent it like an effective combat sport...

Just like Nog his groundgame is just wonderfull to watch just like some other great grapplers who are know to pull out things you won't see from a regular well rounded fighter, like we call the new breed fighters of today...

I do see American fighters does have mostly their Wrestling as their main style but nothing like Coleman, Randlemann, etc...

 

[Phil Lao]

Cung Le's not bad

LOL...

 

[diceisgod]

Karate...Kung Fu...whatever....same thing, punch and kick.

 

[John L Sullivan]

If Seth Petruzelli is in your top 10, it's time to pick a new TMA.

 

[franz_grinder]

If Seth Petruzelli is in your top 10, it's time to pick a new TMA.

Petruzelli, although not the best mmaist, is a great striker, It's amazing the lack of respect laymans throw out there. Pls watch other combat sports fans. These guys bleed for your sport and are willing to throw spinning back kicks in mma comp just to entertain YOU. Petruzelli himself stated that Sakuraba was his favorite fighter due to the fact that he preformed and fought at the same time. If you ask me, that's an admirable trait in a fighter. A fighter that's game to fight anyone at that.

I definately thought about moving chuck up the list. Lyoto just hasn't done enough for me to be #1. I still think GSP's wrestling is a bigger factor than the few things he still retains from kyokushin.

Check out the way Chuck drops his hands to chamber a punch. Watch him tee off on ortiz against the cage and than watch a kyokushin-kai like Midori blast somebody in comp - very similar. His snap-kicks are underestimated as well. Guys from the pit really just use a hybridized hawaiian kempo style. Glover is very similar in style as well. Chuck does retain some god given talent of course.

I think this list was more useful to actually explain karate techinique and why these schools exist than for the rankings. I was hoping to educate.

 

[NinjaKilla187]

He's a kung fu dude ...

But I personally think TMA's are a good way to get started...

Now you see mostly just good well rounded athletes but they don't stand out in anything just good allround athletes...

If you for example were a good Thai-kickboxer, Karate or kungfu dude or wathever TMA, it's actually more entertaining and it gives them a trade mark as a very good stand up or let not forget a good grappler.

I love seeing guys as Lyotto bc they use their art, that most ppl here bash here on the forums and guys like Lyotto represent it like an effective combat sport...

Just like Nog his groundgame is just wonderfull to watch just like some other great grapplers who are know to pull out things you won't see from a regular well rounded fighter, like we call the new breed fighters of today...

I do see American fighters does have mostly their Wrestling as their main style but nothing like Coleman, Randlemann, etc...

I'm not sure Cung Le ever studied Kung Fu. He started out in TKD, was a high school and collegiate wrestler, then moved on to Shidokan and ISKA. Then he showed up in San Shou doing garden variety kickboxing and everyone started calling him a Kung Fu man.

 

[Payak]

You can't call people Karate fighters when they have practiced other arts since there karate days far longer and more intensely then they did karate. That is why we say M.M.A fighters.
I'm not having a dig at you and I don't mean any offence but because Chuck done a little Karate he aint a Karate Practitioner.

 

[Marvin Covar]

Looks like a good list, if you consider the familiarity of the fighters on the list.

 

[franz_grinder]

You can't call people Karate fighters when they have practiced other arts since there karate days far longer and more intensely then they did karate. That is why we say M.M.A fighters.
I'm not having a dig at you and I don't mean any offence but because Chuck done a little Karate he aint a Karate Practitioner.

I don't want to argue this point. Look at my posts - see that what your saying is crazy redundant. No one's trying to label. The article, more than anything, was written to educate the laymens of the effectivenes off the karate techniques that alot of great fighters display. These are karate techniques. I'm not saying these are 'karate fighters'. Hopefully you'll find a chance to read the article objectively in the future without languid presumptions.

 

[MMAftfw**]

Yea that guy is a tool. waikru101 is probably one of the idiots that looks at MMA as boxing plus wrestling with an occasional high kick or knee. It seems from the people I know that MMA might be getting watered down. Every guy locally that can do an arm bar and a triangle and can throw a decent punch now thinks they are MMA fighters. Its kind of sad.

 

[Paedde]

I'm not having a dig at you and I don't mean any offence but because Chuck done a little Karate he aint a Karate Practitioner.

Maybe not, but if you watch closely he even chambers his punches (Hikite).
I believe that doesn't come from MMA training (without judging if it's right or wrong to chamber)

 

[SlowlyWeRot**]

Fred Ettish

 

[franz_grinder]

Fred Ettish

hahah Kieth Hackney as well.

 

[Payak]

MMAFTFW. Harsh words, why call someone a tool who you don't even no.
only a coward insults over the safety of the net.
don't assume you know me or what i'm about as far as Martial Arts is concerned.
To Franz grinder,my apology I misread the article as I was without sleep for 18 hours.

 

[Vector_X]

yup all of those guys studied karate, but in all honesty I can't really see Chuck as the #1 fighter that uses karate because he is so one dimensional at times it hurts. Lets face it MMA blends quite a few MA's and just because a lot of these guys took some karate does not really make them Karate practitioners.