The #1 attribute I enjoy in a fighter is "bushido", or warrior spirit. To me this means valuing violence and spirit over and above winning. I am thinking of the type of fighter who doesn't lose spirit when takin an ass whooping (think, the opposite of say Crocop, Lesnar).
This isn't about beating your opponent; its about not losing to yourself.
My top 5 examples, in no particular order, are:
1) Sakuraba - the epitome of this was his war with Arona (wars with Wand too). He had an excellent quote about his desire to fight rather than stall which brings me to tears.
2) Nogeuria - the beatings he took from Sapp, Crocop, Fedor x 3 ... he had little regard for his health
3) Minowa - I will never forget the ass whooping Rampage put on him - and he got right back up, went cup to cup with Quentin and challenged him to fight at next years event
4) Hunto - When the man says dying in the ring would be an honor, I believe him
5) Lawlor - his wars with MacDonald and Condit serve as a template for digging deep under pressure. His fight with Manhoeff back in the day, same. The staredowns with MacDonald and the following of Hendricks after their second war, epic. As a Toronto native, I can only compare his pressure performance with Jose Bautista's bat flipping ways in the Oct'15 playoffs.
Honorable mention goes to Diego...
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I started this thread because I am sure there are even better examples and I would love to hear about them.
Who are your top 5 and why?
