Rock Dog
11-27-2003, 06:42 PM
I always bring this up, but after Murilo's loss and Henderson and Hughes' wins, I'm kinda not sure how to rank.
I know I have Busta, Dan, Hughes, Randy and Pequeno in my top 5. And I guess it looks something like this:
1)Hughes (2)
2)Henderson (4)
3)Busta (1)
4)Couture (3)
5) Pequeno (5)
I don't know how much I like this. MMA is a weird competition, un like basketball and Football which give teams an a lotted time to perform or boxing where rules are set and limited MMA can be over in an instant. It was no fluke that Henderson won, yet I still feel the fight was inconclusice and am certain that it would go differently if they fought again. That's not to say Henderson wouldn't win again, but the fight wouldn't be so simple. Furthermore, does Bustamante loosing to the formerly #2 MW (especially so inconclusively) really constitute enough reason to drop him 2 spaces?
Hughes has remained my #2 for a long time because I feel WW is a thick division monopolized by the UFC. Pride actually had more top MW's during Busta's tenure at the UFC. Still Busta absolutely dominated his competition while at the UFC and did so more impressively than Hughes IMO. Hughes also probably cuts as much weight and despite being a terrific wrestler relies largely on his ability to out muscle his opponent and force them against the cage. We all know the UFC's rules favor wrestlers and dare I say they do so grossly. Busta has proven himself in the cage and in the ring. On top of that Busta can fight above his own weight against top competition in what is probably MMA's thickest division and do quite well. I don't see why I should rank Hughes over Busta when Busta dominated those put in front of him at his weight and did impressively agaisnt top LHW's. Of course Busta recently lost to Henderson another top MW who's made his career by fighting competitively against top LHW's and Hughes beat the next guy in line at WW. So i guess the question ultimately becomes, do I base my current ranking on their entire careers or their last matches?
I feel Randy is a great LHW, in fact he is the most dominant champ in the sport. Hughes has a better defense record, but probably cuts as much as Randy. Randy is terrifically well-rounded. Better boxing than Henderson (though maybe not as much power), significantly better wrestling than Henderson which has transitioned well into MMA, and although he may not have the world-class sub defense of Dan, is own is quite impressive. "The Natural" has beaten both Tito and Liddel with ease. the dexterity and handiness w/ which he's controlled his opponents will only continue. On top of his recent performances the 40 year old Couture ejoyed a strong career at HW. Unlike Hendo who has never secured a belt at LHW, Randy (who is probably a more natural LHW anyway) held the HW title. Strong arguments can even be made for his last two performances against Rodriguez and Barnett. Randy is a total package and w/ some more wins will probably move back into the top 3.
So tell me what u think guys? How do u rank them?
I know I have Busta, Dan, Hughes, Randy and Pequeno in my top 5. And I guess it looks something like this:
1)Hughes (2)
2)Henderson (4)
3)Busta (1)
4)Couture (3)
5) Pequeno (5)
I don't know how much I like this. MMA is a weird competition, un like basketball and Football which give teams an a lotted time to perform or boxing where rules are set and limited MMA can be over in an instant. It was no fluke that Henderson won, yet I still feel the fight was inconclusice and am certain that it would go differently if they fought again. That's not to say Henderson wouldn't win again, but the fight wouldn't be so simple. Furthermore, does Bustamante loosing to the formerly #2 MW (especially so inconclusively) really constitute enough reason to drop him 2 spaces?
Hughes has remained my #2 for a long time because I feel WW is a thick division monopolized by the UFC. Pride actually had more top MW's during Busta's tenure at the UFC. Still Busta absolutely dominated his competition while at the UFC and did so more impressively than Hughes IMO. Hughes also probably cuts as much weight and despite being a terrific wrestler relies largely on his ability to out muscle his opponent and force them against the cage. We all know the UFC's rules favor wrestlers and dare I say they do so grossly. Busta has proven himself in the cage and in the ring. On top of that Busta can fight above his own weight against top competition in what is probably MMA's thickest division and do quite well. I don't see why I should rank Hughes over Busta when Busta dominated those put in front of him at his weight and did impressively agaisnt top LHW's. Of course Busta recently lost to Henderson another top MW who's made his career by fighting competitively against top LHW's and Hughes beat the next guy in line at WW. So i guess the question ultimately becomes, do I base my current ranking on their entire careers or their last matches?
I feel Randy is a great LHW, in fact he is the most dominant champ in the sport. Hughes has a better defense record, but probably cuts as much as Randy. Randy is terrifically well-rounded. Better boxing than Henderson (though maybe not as much power), significantly better wrestling than Henderson which has transitioned well into MMA, and although he may not have the world-class sub defense of Dan, is own is quite impressive. "The Natural" has beaten both Tito and Liddel with ease. the dexterity and handiness w/ which he's controlled his opponents will only continue. On top of his recent performances the 40 year old Couture ejoyed a strong career at HW. Unlike Hendo who has never secured a belt at LHW, Randy (who is probably a more natural LHW anyway) held the HW title. Strong arguments can even be made for his last two performances against Rodriguez and Barnett. Randy is a total package and w/ some more wins will probably move back into the top 3.
So tell me what u think guys? How do u rank them?