Who is/was the most dominant athlete across all sports?

[MrFeeny]

As far as team sport goes, Wayne Gretzky is the obvious answer.

 

[Edmond's Accountant]

Juan Manuel Fangio.

Seven full seasons in Formula One, where he won five titles and was runner up twice, as well as a 51% winning ratio in all of his races.
And he did this in his mid-fourties in an era where one mistake meant almost certain death.

 

[HomeCheese]

Sergey Bubka. He was a pole vaulter for the Ruskies/Ukraine. Homeboy broke the world record for pole vaulting 35 times.

Bubka won six consecutive IAAF World Championships, an Olympic gold medal and broke the world record for men's pole vault 35 times.[5] He was the first pole vaulter to clear 6.0 metres and 6.10 metres.[6][7]

He held the indoor world record of 6.15 meters, set on 21 February 1993 in Donetsk, Ukraine[8] for almost 21 years until France's Renaud Lavillenie cleared 6.16 metres on 15 February 2014 at the same meet in the same arena.[9] He is the current outdoor world record holder at 6.14 meters, a record he has held since 31 July 1994,[10] though since adopting rule 260.18a in 2000 the IAAF regards Lavillenie's record as the official "world record."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergey_Bubka

Yeah he had a good run but I'm not too impressed with the number of times he broke the record. That was by design and he wanted to break the record at each meet. He could have broke it by a large amount but instead broke the record by very small amounts a bunch of times. IfI am not mistaken this was in a time when they technology for the poles was really improving.

Certainly Bubka was dominate but the number of times he broke the record is misleading.

 

[TheOneAboveAll3]

Gretzky.

As much as I love Jordan I would have to say Gretzky dominated his sport more. Still hockey sucks lol. Dont think I've ever watched a game while I have watched plenty of years of baseball and basketball.

 

[Philo-Publius]

IMO its Alexander Karelin. He annihilated everybody until he was old and America found somebody fat enough that he couldn't get his arms around.

Who you think?

Too complex to select just one, but some names that come to mind:

Basketball - Michael Jordan
Football - Joe Montana
Hockey - Wayne Gretzky
Baseball - Babe Ruth
MMA - Chuck Lidell
Boxing - Muhammad Ali

 

[Drain Bamage]

MMA - Chuck Lidell

LOL

 

[Philo-Publius]

LOL

In his prime, Chuck had a lot of very quick knock outs, hands that were hard to beat, and an uncanny ability to get up off of the mat after being taken down by some of the best wrestlers. Chuck was the first really big UFC star for good reason.

 

[Drain Bamage]

In his prime, Chuck had a lot of very quick knock outs, hands that were hard to beat, and an uncanny ability to get up off of the mat after being taken down by some of the best wrestlers. Chuck was the first really big UFC star for good reason.

Big star but not most dominant imo

Nobody in MMA has been as dominant as somebody like Wayne Gretzky in hockey

GSP is the closest one

 

[Iron Nick]

Lionel Messi is basically the best in the worlds biggest and arguably most difficult sport for the last 12-15 years in a row.

 

[therealdope]

Lionel Messi is basically the best in the worlds biggest and arguably most difficult sport for the last 12-15 years in a row.

Hasn't done shit in the WC while the GOATs all have.

 

[Azlan82]

Phil The Power Taylor, obviously.

 

[Iron Nick]

Hasn't done shit in the WC while the GOATs all have.

Done nothing? His team wouldn't have been at the last WC without him and the WC before he was the best player.

It's also a teamsport and judging a player for not having one trophy does not exactly make sense, especially in a tournament like the WC, where tons of luck are involved.

He's still better than all the guys above, especially Zidane.

 

[therealdope]

He's still better than all the guys above, especially Zidane.

he sure as fuck isn't even close to the 3 GOATs in leading his national team to a WC title.

 

[Iron Nick]

he sure as fuck isn't even close to the 3 GOATs in leading his national team to a WC title.

Whatever you are saying, by the vast majority of knowledgeable people Lionel Messi is considered to be the best footballer of all time.

Not having a world cup doesn't change that in the slightest.

 

[My Spot]

Whatever you are saying, by the vast majority of knowledgeable people Lionel Messi is considered to be the best footballer of all time.

Not having a world cup doesn't change that in the slightest.

He can't cut the mustard on the biggest stage and under the brightest lights though. That's not GOAT.

 

[therealdope]

He can't cut the mustard on the biggest stage and under the brightest lights though. That's not GOAT.

The most basic measuring stick in the history of soccer. You don't have to win it, you just need to lead like Puskas.

 

[therealdope]

Whatever you are saying, by the vast majority of knowledgeable people Lionel Messi is considered to be the best footballer of all time.

Not having a world cup doesn't change that in the slightest.

You're probably one of those guys that thinks CR7 is better than fat Ronoldo as well.

 

[Iron Nick]

He can't cut the mustard on the biggest stage and under the brightest lights though. That's not GOAT.

No, that's not true.

Football is too much luck to judge a player by one game (in this case the WC final).

Argentina could have easily won against germany without Messi doing anything meaningful in the final and you and @therealdope wouldn't criticize him at all here, despite possibly having had a worse performance.

(I'm german, btw)

You're probably one of those guys that thinks CR7 is better than fat Ronoldo as well.

You couldn't be more wrong.

Cristiano Ronaldo surpasses Ronaldo Nazario in longevity and matches the prime version of the latter in positional play and finishing ability inside the box, but that's it really.

Nazario is the better technician everywhere, he's got better ball control, (way) better dribbling and better passing, plus he's arguably just as good with his weak foot (although that's one of the most overrated abilities to have in terms of overall effect on the game).

Besides the technical edge, the brazilian Ronaldo also has a far better understanding of the game outside of the box, which makes him a way better passer and target player, not to mention his vastly better ability to set up attacks and assist his team mates.


As for Messi, i will list quotes from some greats as well as some articles soon on how good he is.

 

[My Spot]

No, that's not true.

Football is too much luck to judge a player by one game (in this case the WC final).

Argentina could have easily won against germany without Messi doing anything meaningful in the final and you and @therealdope wouldn't criticize him at all here, despite possibly having had a worse performance.

(I'm german, btw)

You couldn't be more wrong.

Cristiano Ronaldo surpasses Ronaldo Nazario in longevity and matches the prime version of the latter in positional play and finishing ability inside the box, but that's it really.

Nazario is the better technician everywhere, he's got better ball control, (way) better dribbling and better passing, plus he's arguably just as good with his weak foot (although that's one of the most overrated abilities to have in terms of overall effect on the game).

Besides the technical edge, the brazilian Ronaldo also has a far better understanding of the game outside of the box, which makes him a way better passer and target player, not to mention his vastly better ability to set up attacks and assist his team mates.


As for Messi, i will list quotes from some greats as well as some articles soon on how good he is.

Quotes don’t change the fact that he hasn’t cut the mustard when it mattered most.

 

[Iron Nick]

Quotes don’t change the fact that he hasn’t cut the mustard when it mattered most.

This flawed argument of you doesn't change the fact that he's the best ever