HockeyFighter
09-04-2004, 04:09 PM
I'm talking about the big four here, Couture, Lindland, Tanner and Henderson. Obviously they are all good to great fighters but they provide various styles and different levels of entertainment. In terms of pure entertainment value I rank these four fighters as follows:
1. Henderson - The best striker of the 4 Dan used to be known for his long drawn out fights that ended in a decision. In recent years this has not occured and Dan has become a vicious striker with good wrestling skills. Many of his fights end with knockouts in the first round now.
2. Tanner - Again he has more of a tendency to strike than either Lindland or Couture. He has good knees but also provides excitement with his questionable chin. More and more lately it seems like he is either going to end the fight or get ko'ed himself.
3. Couture - Probably the best wrestler of the bunch his style is effective but not exactly eye popping. He is capable of dishing out a ton of punishment with short uppercuts from the clinch but once it gets to the ground he is really no more exciting than Matt Hughes or Matt Lindland. A good chin has also helped him hang in there against very tough opponents like Pedro Rizzo.
4. Lindland - He's really a clone of Couture minus the standup skills. Obviously a great wrestler but he is a sloppy striker with no real power and has about an average chin than has been exposed by some fighters (Bustamante, Terrell). Once on the ground however he can dominate opponents and stiffle and offense. He really gets a hard time on MMA forums for his boring style but he's not the only one that does it. However in this ranking he falls into the fourth position.
I'm also interested in knowing how you rank these guys in terms of wrestling ability. Lindland and Couture are the top two most likely (what order I am interested in seeing being that Couture was an Olympic alternate and Lindland won a silver) and I am interested in seeing how people see Hendo and Tanner matching up. I rank them like this:
1. Couture
2. Lindland
3. Tanner
4. Henderson
1. Henderson - The best striker of the 4 Dan used to be known for his long drawn out fights that ended in a decision. In recent years this has not occured and Dan has become a vicious striker with good wrestling skills. Many of his fights end with knockouts in the first round now.
2. Tanner - Again he has more of a tendency to strike than either Lindland or Couture. He has good knees but also provides excitement with his questionable chin. More and more lately it seems like he is either going to end the fight or get ko'ed himself.
3. Couture - Probably the best wrestler of the bunch his style is effective but not exactly eye popping. He is capable of dishing out a ton of punishment with short uppercuts from the clinch but once it gets to the ground he is really no more exciting than Matt Hughes or Matt Lindland. A good chin has also helped him hang in there against very tough opponents like Pedro Rizzo.
4. Lindland - He's really a clone of Couture minus the standup skills. Obviously a great wrestler but he is a sloppy striker with no real power and has about an average chin than has been exposed by some fighters (Bustamante, Terrell). Once on the ground however he can dominate opponents and stiffle and offense. He really gets a hard time on MMA forums for his boring style but he's not the only one that does it. However in this ranking he falls into the fourth position.
I'm also interested in knowing how you rank these guys in terms of wrestling ability. Lindland and Couture are the top two most likely (what order I am interested in seeing being that Couture was an Olympic alternate and Lindland won a silver) and I am interested in seeing how people see Hendo and Tanner matching up. I rank them like this:
1. Couture
2. Lindland
3. Tanner
4. Henderson