# Who is the best pound for pound fighter in MMA



## ppko (Jul 20, 2008)

I watched both events last night and of course the UFC claims that Anderson Sylva is the best pound for pound in the world but I am going to have to say Fedor is.  Most of the fights he has had he has been undersized compaired to his opponents but he always finds a way to win IMHO there isnt anyone out there right now that can beat him.


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## AceHBK (Jul 20, 2008)

I messed up and hit "other" and should have chosen Anderson Silva.
Fedor is great but the knock on him is that he hasn't had any really great opponents as of late. (not his fault)

Silva is on another planet though.  This guy is beating guys who are NO slouch.  He in all honesty could possibly carry 2 championship belts in 2 different weight classes.  Now we know that lightheavyweight division is stacked so it would be no easy feat by any means but this guy is the real deal.  It's about who he beats and then the way he beats them that impresses me the most.  Total domination.


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## ppko (Jul 20, 2008)

AceHBK said:


> I messed up and hit "other" and should have chosen Anderson Silva.
> Fedor is great but the knock on him is that he hasn't had any really great opponents as of late. (not his fault)
> 
> Silva is on another planet though.  This guy is beating guys who are NO slouch.  He in all honesty could possibly carry 2 championship belts in 2 different weight classes.  Now we know that lightheavyweight division is stacked so it would be no easy feat by any means but this guy is the real deal.  It's about who he beats and then the way he beats them that impresses me the most.  Total domination.



Fedor cleaned out the heavy weight division in 2004 beat everyone who was anyone then, and to tell you the truth there isnt anyone there that could give him a good challenge out there still.  Sylva fights in a weight class where he is much bigger than his opponents, Fedor is ussualy much smaller than his opponents, Sylva ussually stays around 215 220 when he isnt cut down to fight so it wouldnt be unrealistic for him to step up to heavy weight to fight Fedor but I honestly dont think that Sylva would stand a chance.  As for records well they speak for themselves the only fight Fedor lost was due to a cut that stopped the fight


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## terryl965 (Jul 20, 2008)

I am sorry PPKO but Sylva as of right now has to be the best. He will probaly hold coth title withen a few months. 185 and 205 the man is like unstoppable.


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## Andrew Green (Jul 21, 2008)

The problem with Fedor is he really hasn't been very active lately, He took out Tim Sylvia really quick, but apart from that it's been almost 2 years since he fought anyone that had a chance, and that was Coleman, who is arguably past his prime, another year back to Crocop... who did not do as well as expected against UFC fighters.

So to call him the best pound for pound fighter I think is a hard sell, simply because he needs to fight a few top tier heavyweights before he can take that claim.


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## DavidCC (Jul 21, 2008)

pound-for-pound I have to put Uriah Faber out there.  Have you seen this guy?  WEC champ, not sure weight class - 145 maybe?  I wasn't a big fan but his complete schooling of Jens Pulver started to convert me.


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## terryl965 (Jul 21, 2008)

DavidCC said:


> pound-for-pound I have to put Uriah Faber out there. Have you seen this guy? WEC champ, not sure weight class - 145 maybe? I wasn't a big fan but his complete schooling of Jens Pulver started to convert me.


 
Yes I have seen him, it would have been nice to see jen fight him a few years ago when he still was something.


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## sgtmac_46 (Jul 22, 2008)

Anderson Sylva is BIG for his weight class, he's taller than Fedor, he walks around at Fedor's weight, fights two weight classes smaller......and he's lost 4 fights in his career.......Fedor has lost ZERO fights, and the ref stoppage doesn't count because Fedor wasn't beat and even THAT was 8 years ago!.....Fedor has never been submitted, he's never been KO'd and he's never lost a decision.  

Sylva has lost one decision, been submitted twice and DQ'd one other time.

Fedor actually has be beaten by before ANYONE can argue that someone else is a better pound for pound fighter.

Sylva is a phenomenal fighter, don't get me wrong......but to quote Tim Sylvia ......as far as Fedor goes 'I'm not even sure he's a human being!'


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## Skpotamus (Jul 22, 2008)

Fedor beats UFc champions that outweight him by 40lbs+.  Silva cuts 20-30 lbs to fight in his weight classes.

Silva looks great on his feet, and looks great on the ground usually, but looked kind of lackluster against Lutter, and used what were considered before then to be illegal elbows.  

Fedor has played the guard game with the most dangerous guard player in mma, stood toe to toe with some of the most dangerous strikers (crocop, Sylvia) and made them all look bad at what they're best at.  

A guy Fedor pummeled twice is the UFC heavyweight champ.  He decimated the former UFC HW champ (longest running HW champ I believe) in less time than it took him to put on his shorts.  

When Silva goes up against an actual contender in the 205 weight class, then he has a shot of taking Fedors P4P spot.  Until then, Fedor is the man.


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## DavidCC (Jul 22, 2008)

Oh, I thougth the poll only include human beings.  if we are going to allow alien robot fighting machines, then Yeah I vote for Fedor


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## Skpotamus (Jul 22, 2008)

DavidCC said:


> Oh, I thougth the poll only include human beings. if we are going to allow alien robot fighting machines, then Yeah I vote for Fedor


 

It would be horribly speciest and xenophobic to exclude non-human metallic fighting machines from the list.


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## sgtmac_46 (Jul 23, 2008)

DavidCC said:


> Oh, I thougth the poll only include human beings.  if we are going to allow alien robot fighting machines, then Yeah I vote for Fedor


 Tim Sylvia seems to think so!

'I'm not even sure he's a human being!' -Tim Sylvia


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## JadeDragon3 (Jul 23, 2008)

Pound for pound I think the best fighter has to be either Forrest Griffin or Matt Hughs.  Although he has lost hs last two fights I still am a fan of Chuck Liddell


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## Shotgun Buddha (Jul 23, 2008)

New evidence has come to light that it was not in fact a stray meteorite that wiped out the dinosaurs, but instead a time-travelling Fedor.


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## DavidCC (Jul 23, 2008)

Shotgun Buddha said:


> New evidence has come to light that it was not in fact a stray meteorite that wiped out the dinosaurs, but instead a time-travelling Fedor.


 
uh oh.

I heard somebody started converting Chuck Norris jokes in Fedor jokes, until Fedor glanced in their direction and they disappeared into a cloud of red, sticky mist.


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## Makalakumu (Jul 23, 2008)

I agree with Tim Sylvia.  Fedor is probably not human.  How can anyone survive being slammed like the one that Randleman hit him with and then turn around and submit the guy?


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## MattJ (Jul 24, 2008)

DavidCC said:


> pound-for-pound I have to put Uriah Faber out there. Have you seen this guy? WEC champ, not sure weight class - 145 maybe? I wasn't a big fan but his complete schooling of Jens Pulver started to convert me.


 

Urijah FTW. That guy is incredible.


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## thetruth (Jul 30, 2008)

terryl965 said:


> Yes I have seen him, it would have been nice to see jen fight him a few years ago when he still was something.



Jens is still something.   Urijah Faber smacked him but Jens showed true grit in defeat and up until that fight was undefeated at that weight. Back in the day I would have said Jens was one of the best pound for pound fighters going around as in the UFC he was fighting well above his optimal weight and still winning regularly, even taking the lightweight title.   

Cheers
Sam:asian:


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## thetruth (Jul 30, 2008)

Silva stands out at the moment though as he is stepping up a weight division.  It will be interesting when he starts to fight some of the contenders at 205.   Silva vs Liddell now that would be a blockbuster.

Cheers
Sam:asian:


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## The Anarchist (Aug 2, 2008)

Fedor!


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## funnytiger (Aug 6, 2008)

The problem I have with people claiming Fedor is "the best pound for pound" fighter is exactly what a lot of people are saying here. He hasn't fought anyone that made you stop and go, "Damn, I don't know if Fedor can pull this one off". I mean, seriously, Tim Sylvia? In my opinion he was a lame Champion who only got there because he is such a behemoth of a human being no one really knew what to do with him (except Couture). He isn't really THAT good of a fighter, and the fact that Fedor made short work of him was absolutely NO surprise to me.

Course, Sylva is about to have a fight similar to it when he takes on Cote for the title. Cote is in WAY over his head and is going to be smashed. His last fight was a really, really, really poor showing and I just don't think he is even in the same solar system as Sylva.

My 2 cents.


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## funnytiger (Aug 6, 2008)

BJ Penn is a phenomenal fighter as well, now that I am thinking about it. He might be a close second to Sylva if you ask me.

If he was to fight GSP right now, with his conditioning, his striking, and his groundwork, I think it would be a VERY close contest. Not sure if I would call either one because I just don't think you could. If they fought it, I strongly believe that the winner would be whoever is stronger minded that day. I honestly think that if they fought and let's say BJ won, the next time they fought GSP would win.


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## tko4u (Sep 3, 2008)

Anderson silva, hands down. for many reasons:
1. Rampage couldnt finish hendo, but silva did.
2. Franklin owned the division, till silva, now silva owns franklin.
3. Silva went up to lhw, fought a natural lhw, and kod him in under a minute.

The guy is a beast and doesnt seem to be scared of anyone. going to be hard to beat.


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## JadeDragon3 (Sep 3, 2008)

At one time I would have said Royce Gracie because he was able to beat fighters much larger than him BUT now I'd have to go with Matt Hughes or Renzo Gracie because they are smaller in size than most of the other fighters but they still win thier fights either by KO or submission.


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## tko4u (Sep 3, 2008)

yes but in all fairness, matt hughes has lost to gsp twice and thiago alves. but renzo would probably be a candidate


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## JadeDragon3 (Sep 3, 2008)

Out of all the Gracie fighters though Rickson is considered by many to be the best of the Gracies so would you put Rickson in there for pound for pound best fighter?


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## Skpotamus (Sep 4, 2008)

Rickson has never fought any quality opponents in MMA.  He mainly stuck to pro wrestlers and newbs.  He also tucked his tail and hid from Sakuraba, even after Sakuraba challenged him repeatedly.  He was challenged after Sak beat Royler, then again after Renzo stepped up, then after Royce, then after Ryan.  Rickson wanted nothing to do with the Gracie Hunter.  

Anderson Silva is a great fighter, but he's got some blemishes.  He's shown he's susceptible submissions with his losses to Ryo Chonan (highlight reel flying heel hook from a 12-8 fighter who's only submission victory is over Silva), and a choke out loss to Daiju Takse (a 7-12 record fighter who's only other submission victory is over laverne Clark, a B level fighter at best).

He also showed that he can lose his composure and do rather stupid things, like when he was DQ'ed for kicking Okami in the head on the gorund while okami was gnping him.  Also, when he fought Travis Lutter, he didn't look too good on the ground until he caught the triangle, even then he used elbow spikes, which were considered illegal until that fight (Even Randy Coutore said they were illegal during the broadcast).  

He has yet to avenge any of those losses.  

Fedor only has one loss on his record, a TKO from a cut that was done with an illegal technique.  He avenged that loss by stopping Kohsaka later on.  

While Silva did go up in weight to 205 versus a good journeyman fighter at 205, he still came in at 205.  Fedor has been outweighed by up to 100lbs in some fights.  Against a former UFC champion he gave up between 30 adn 40lbs and made him look like a little kid who got caught stealing his dads wallet.  

Both are great fighters, but until Silva avenges those losses on his record or owns a title in two weight classes, i would say GSP and Fedor are both above him P4P.

YMMV


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## thetruth (Sep 4, 2008)

JadeDragon3 said:


> Out of all the Gracie fighters though Rickson is considered by many to be the best of the Gracies so would you put Rickson in there for pound for pound best fighter?



Back in the day Rickson would have been one of the best but does he even still fight?

Cheers
Sam:asian:


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## thetruth (Sep 4, 2008)

Skpotamus said:


> i would say GSP and Fedor are both above him P4P.
> 
> YMMV



I know bugger all about Fedor but GSP hasn't really dominated anyone like Silva has been doing.  I think he will have to defend his title a few more times to be considered the best pound for pound.   If Silva steps up and beats some actual contenders at 205 then hands down he would have to be the best.   

Is Fedor that good??????


Cheers
Sam:asian:


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## MattJ (Sep 4, 2008)

thetruth said:


> I know bugger all about Fedor but GSP hasn't really dominated anyone like Silva has been doing.


 
What?! Is that a joke? _Dominate_ is EXACTLY what GSP has done to Serra (rematch), Hughes, Fitch.......very good fighters.


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## Skip Cooper (Sep 4, 2008)

Fedor vs. Kimbo...can't wait to see that one!


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## TheArtofDave (Sep 4, 2008)

*Fedor vs Kimbo?*

*That would never  happen. Kimbo would get owned in the first minute.*

*When I think of the best pound for pound fighter "in the world" I don't think we've seen him yet. But as for the current state of MMA there are probably too many prospects for me to list.*

*Also the P4P thing gets tossed around alot in boxing. At least MMA fighters have to prove why they're the best at what they do.*


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## Skip Cooper (Sep 4, 2008)

TheArtofDave said:


> *Fedor vs Kimbo?*
> 
> *That would never happen. Kimbo would get owned in the first minute.*
> 
> ...


 
I still would want to see it.


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## Skpotamus (Sep 4, 2008)

thetruth said:


> I know bugger all about Fedor but GSP hasn't really dominated anyone like Silva has been doing. I think he will have to defend his title a few more times to be considered the best pound for pound. If Silva steps up and beats some actual contenders at 205 then hands down he would have to be the best.
> 
> Is Fedor that good??????
> 
> ...


 
Silva still has chinks in his armor, even his victory over lutter wasn't exactly dominant, in fact, he looked like he was taking a pounding for a bit on the ground.  

GSP has done a great job, and has beat everyone in front of him.  His two blemishes were Hughes and Serra.  He crushed both in the rematches and made them look like they didn't belong in the same ring as him.  IMHO, he had a harder run in the welterweight division than Silva had at middleweight.  Silva fought Leben, franklin, hnederson, lutter, mardquardtr and henderson.  Tough competition to be sure.  However, GSP beat karo, hieron, strasser, miller, trigg, sherk, penn, hughes (twice), koscheck, serra and fitch.  He's fought more and beaten better competition IMHO.  However, the two are pretty close in my book.  I think if Silva were to avenge his previous losses, then he'd be ranked above GSP.  

Fedor took apart Tim Sylvia, the longest running UFC heavyweight champ in 36 seconds.  He stood toe to toe with Sylvia, flattened him, then took his back and sank a rear naked choke.  It took Randy Coutore 5 rounds to get a decision over an injured Sylvia.  

He's armbarred mark coleman twice (the only other person to submit coleman legitimately is Nogueira), kevin randleman, Hong man choi (350lb giant).  He played the guard game with Nogueira when Nog was the top heavyweight in the world (after armbarring Bob Sapp and dominating the Pride heavyweight division), he stayed in Nog's guard, avoided his submissions and pounded noguera for the entire fight.  Nogueira received permanent damage to his eye from the broken bones in his face after that fight (which is why he takes so many punches and kicks now, he can't see them coming).  
He stood toe to toe with Cro Cop when cro cop was still a terror, and won the stand up exchanges with him.  

His one loss was a cut stoppage in a Rings tournament 8 years ago.  He actually won the fight he was cut in, and contined into the next round.  Kohsaka landed an unintentional illegal blow (elbow) that opened the cut Fedor got against Arona up worse, and was stopped.  Since then, Fedor has fought 26 times without losing.  I think he's been the smaller man in every single fight he's had with the exception of the catch weight bought with Matt Lindland (whom he armbarred, making him one of two people to submit lindland).  A few of his opponents have outweighed him by over 100lbs.  

He's impressive because his win column is a who's who of the heavyweight division.  He's fought standing against some of the best strikers in MMA and gotten the better of them, and he's out grappled some of the best grapplers.  His chin is ridiculous (randleman spiked him on his head with a hard slam, Fedor responded by armbarring him immediately) and he fights the same speed one minute into the fight as he does 15 minutes into the fight.  

Technique, heart, cardio, power, speed and willing to fight anyone.  The guy has it all right now.


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## sgtmac_46 (Sep 5, 2008)

Skpotamus said:


> Silva still has chinks in his armor, even his victory over lutter wasn't exactly dominant, in fact, he looked like he was taking a pounding for a bit on the ground.
> 
> GSP has done a great job, and has beat everyone in front of him. His two blemishes were Hughes and Serra. He crushed both in the rematches and made them look like they didn't belong in the same ring as him. IMHO, he had a harder run in the welterweight division than Silva had at middleweight. Silva fought Leben, franklin, hnederson, lutter, mardquardtr and henderson. Tough competition to be sure. However, GSP beat karo, hieron, strasser, miller, trigg, sherk, penn, hughes (twice), koscheck, serra and fitch. He's fought more and beaten better competition IMHO. However, the two are pretty close in my book. I think if Silva were to avenge his previous losses, then he'd be ranked above GSP.
> 
> ...



ABSOLUTELY RIGHT!  Everyone disparages the heavyweights when talking 'pound for pound' but FORGET that everyone below heavyweight is fighting guys within just a few pounds of their weight.  Guys like Fedor and Randy are fighting guys sometimes 40, 50, 60 pounds and MORE heavier and larger than them.

A small guy in the heavyweight world who has DOMINATED that world like Fedor IS the pound-for-pound best fighter.


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## sgtmac_46 (Sep 5, 2008)

thetruth said:


> I know bugger all about Fedor but GSP hasn't really dominated anyone like Silva has been doing. I think he will have to defend his title a few more times to be considered the best pound for pound. If Silva steps up and beats some actual contenders at 205 then hands down he would have to be the best.
> 
> Is Fedor that good??????
> 
> ...


 Fedor's record speaks for itself.....we don't know how good Fedor actually is because he makes all his opponents look like amatures in over their heads.  But a guy who's NEVER lost a fight despite fighting some of the top heavyweights around?  That's got to be worth something.


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## Kwanjang (Sep 5, 2008)

What about GSP??


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## Skip Cooper (Sep 5, 2008)

Kwanjang said:


> What about GSP??


 
He wasn't among the choices...


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## ProTaekwondo (Sep 7, 2008)

Hmm I would either have to say Fedor or Urijah Faber. Anyone who has seen Faber fight knows he is a beast and a force to be reckoned with and given sometime he could be the best but for now I'd still say Fedor is the best P4P fighter.


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## Bigjoemma (Sep 9, 2008)

Fedor def. is pound for pound the best and i hope he comes to the UFC just so i can see him and randy cotoure finally go at at it!


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