Top MMA Events of the Decade?

[MMA_scientist]

There are some guys that are obvious and those guys are going to take up a lot of your list (Jon Jones, Aldo). So maybe you should give us your definite guys on the list and see how many debatable spots there are.

For me, non obvious guys that I think can be sustainable fixtures in the top 10:

Daniel Cormier: They very best wrestler in the HW division, where wrestlers rule. Great camp, good hands, obvious warrior spirit (seems like he fights every other week). HW's are harder to submit from guard, and they are harder to escape from once they get on top. Cormier will the # 1 HW in the world IMO.

Askren: Again, the very best wrestling pedigree of any WW. But what makes Askren special for me is his commitment to the ground. He doesn't even try to strike. He knows that if he can get it on the ground, top or bottom, he will find a way to get on top. He was known for his funky ability to land on top from everywhere in his wrestling days. He has now caught the bjj bug, and trains and competes in bjj a lot, having just recieved his brown belt.

Joe Warren: Best wrestler in MMA period, heavy hands, good chin.

Pitbull Friere: nasty bjj, nasty kickboxing, power, takedowns and trakedown defense to match even Warren. I honestly think Pitbull could beat Cruz right now.

[Mr. IWS]

Edson Barboza

Dude is a mini wrecking machine, only 24 years old. I think he will be top knocking on the door to the top 10 this time next year.

[SPX]

There are some guys that are obvious and those guys are going to take up a lot of your list (Jon Jones, Aldo). So maybe you should give us your definite guys on the list and see how many debatable spots there are.

Okay, bear in mind that these are guys who are supposed to make significant impacts throughout the next decade.

My editor wants Overeem, GSP, and Aldo for sure. I didn't think of Jones, but he'll probably be on there as well.

Everything else is up for grabs.

[zY|]

Warren and Cormier I think are too old. Askren and Pitbull are good ones. Barboza is a possibility. Uncle Jesse left out Frodo?

Cain Velasquez for sure. Anthony Pettis for sure. dos Santos. Frank Edgar. Jon Jones. GSP. Phil Davis.

[MMA_scientist]

Yeah, i guess I was thinking more about prospects. But strictly in terms of who will be around in 2020... most of the current top guys are around 25. So it is hard to say that any of them should not be on the list. Overeem is 30. Cain is 28, and Shogun is only 29. So if Overeem is on the list, so is Shogun and Cain. Cain and Shogun have already accomplished more in MMA that Overeem anyway. So you might as well just list the top 10 PFP fighters today, because almost all of them are under 30.

Just saying, if you are including guys like Overeem who is peaking now (and will most likely be ancient history in a few years), the list is pretty pointless, because there are tons of better and already more accomplished MMA fighters (guys that are actually the #1 guy in that weight class)... I mean Cain is ahead of Overeem, is younger, and has more upside.

[zY|]

I don't think it necessarily means they have to be around in 2020. I was just stating the age (especially in Warren's case) that he'll be less likely to have a large impact. He's also talking about going back to the olympics or some nonsense.

[MMA_scientist]

Either way... Overeem is 30, and most of the top fighters are under 30. Just copy the PFP list and you're done.

[zY|]

Either way... Overeem is 30, and most of the top fighters are under 30. Just copy the PFP list and you're done.

That's shortsighted though. Surely you don't believe the p4p list will look the same in a few years, or hell, even next year. And besides, if I were SPX' editor and he handed in Sherdog's current p4p list I'd fire his black ass.

[SPX]

Well it's not entirely dependent on fighting ability. We're taking personality into account, too. So it's not only who will make the greatest waves in terms of wins, but also in terms of the public consciousness by the force of their personality.

Basically who is going to take the place of Randy, Liddell, Fedor, etc.

[SPX]

And besides, if I were SPX' editor and he handed in Sherdog's current p4p list I'd fire his black ass.

LOL. Word.

[zY|]

Well it's not entirely dependent on fighting ability. We're taking personality into account, too. So it's not only who will make the greatest waves in terms of wins, but also in terms of the public consciousness by the force of their personality.

Basically who is going to take the place of Randy, Liddell, Fedor, etc.

That's a much trickier row to hoe.

[MMA_scientist]

Whatever. I just don't understand how Overeem is going to be on the list, but you are not going to include all the guys that are younger, better, and more accomplished than him (which includes virtually everyone on the PFP list).

I will just send a letter in to the mag after it is published like "WTF was up with your ridiculous list of fighters for the next decade. How can your writer justify putting a 30 year old Overeem on the list without putting in the 6 guys that are currently ranked ahead of him in his own weightclass and are also younger than him. I am cancelling my subscription."

[MMA_scientist]

Well it's not entirely dependent on fighting ability. We're taking personality into account, too. So it's not only who will make the greatest waves in terms of wins, but also in terms of the public consciousness by the force of their personality.

Basically who is going to take the place of Randy, Liddell, Fedor, etc.

oh. nevermind then.

[SPX]

That's a much trickier row to hoe.

It is. The answers will almost certainly be inexact. I mean, it's like who was the next Jordan? Not anyone, really. But there were certainly other superstars to come along.

[zY|]

It is. The answers will almost certainly be inexact. I mean, it's like who was the next Jordan? Not anyone, really. But there were certainly other superstars to come along.

It pretty much means you can write wtfever you want.