# Emilenko ..not the best but one of the best



## Grotty (Jul 21, 2006)

Its an age old topic, Fedor the supposed best HW in the world currently.
I certainly agree he is a legend, however surely the title he should be given is "one of the best", i dont agree with his no.1 title as he hasnt been allowed the opportunity to fight the likes of Mir, Couture, Gonzaga, yes even Carwin.
You can only say he is better than those he has fought and that he has a high chance of winning against most of the above, i would love to see Fedor fight against UFC top HWs sadly this wont happen so Fedor can never truly prove ultimate dominance and earn in my eyes the title of 'BEST'


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## shane_fitz (Apr 8, 2007)

Lol I totally disagree with you here man... Haters like yourself were saying the same thing when Big Tim and Arlovski were the top dogs in the ufc, I agree that any of those guys stand a chance at beating him as anyone has a chance against anyone, but he is in my eyes the best heavyweight in the world throughout any organization. No one else in the world in this weight class has prooven their dominance more times than Fedor...


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## kay_o_ken (Jan 26, 2009)

hey cool, a brand new topic about something that hasn't already been discussed 938592984 times on here, awsome


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## BWoods (Apr 8, 2007)

Fedor IS the greatest. There is no question to it. He has faced and dominated the best of the best. 

Couture has an overall MMA record of 16-9. He has fought in huge battles but hasn't beaten a who's who of heavyweights. At heavyweight he has only beaten: Vitor Belfort, Maurice Smith, Kevin Randelmen, Pedro Rizzo, Tim Sylvia, and Gonzaga. Most of his "legacy" has been made off of beating Tito, Vitor, and Chuck. I think he's a good figher, but not one of the best heavyweights of all time.

Gonzaga is overrated. I've said it before that his career was made off of one headkick. His rise to stardom was based off of the irony of knocking Crocop out with his own trademark technique.

Carwin, though he has some good wins, hasn't been impressive in his wins. I haven't seen anything that makes me think "Wow, this guy is the next big thing!" He's got KO power and gets rocked in every single fight. Outside of Gonzaga, who of any worth has he beaten? I will regard him the same as Brett Rogers, not worthy of Top 10 ranking. He has beaten high-ranked guys because of his KO power.

Mir is the only person you've mentioned that I feel Fedor SHOULD face. If he beats Barnett, Frank is really the only heavyweight worth facing. I feel anyone else he would dominate without trouble. 

At this point in time, I can't really see anyone being better than Fedor or more worthwhile being called the best heavyweight.


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## Pound&Mound (Dec 10, 2007)

Says the guy with Michael Bisping in his avatar. That is all.


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## Light_Speed (Jun 3, 2009)

he is one of the best... BUT NOT THE BEST...no way.. he beat sylvia and arvolski..both got knocked out by no bodys 1 by brett rogers & 1 by ray mercer..lol kimbo beat ray mercer.. yeah fedor is pretty good..but like the first guy said.. i cant even call him the best unless he beats brock ,mir & hopefully gets through carwin, gonzaga n etc if he comes into the ufc.. cuz i defently wouldnt give him the title shot of the bat


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## Liddellianenko (Oct 8, 2006)

I agree that the UFC does have some rising HW prospects like Carwin, Lesnar and Velasquez, that could pose some very interesting problems to Fedor. Particularly Lesnar, with his unique mix of strength, explosive athleticism, and wresling. However despite that, it's fairly obvious that Fedor Emelianenko IS the best HW fighter, heck best fighter ever, in the history of MMA, period. 

No other fighter has been essentially unbeaten, not to mention absolutely dominant and in no real trouble, in his entire 30 fight career against the elites of the world which includes 4 ex-UFC heavyweight champions (Sylvia, Arlovski, Randelman, Coleman), and will be facing a fifth one (Barnett) at the top of his game next. The next closest thing we have to Fedor in terms of dominance is Machida, and he's got half as many fights and has only recently started facing the top of the heap. 

To argue that Fedor hasn't faced xyz prospect so he's not #1, is absurd. There will ALWAYS be rising prospects that ANY champ has not faced yet .. should I say that Anderson is overrated because he hasn't faced Maia and Bisping yet, or rematched and beaten Okami? Should I say GSP is not the #1 WW because he hasn't faced Alves, Swick, or Jake Shields? And even if they do beat those guys, there'll be more amazing guys rising by then. 

I wish Fedor could come fight in the UFC too, but all it's touted champs in the past have left and faced him anyway and he's destroyed them all. I'm sure it would be no different if he came over and fought the reigning champs and prospects.. he has shown no holes in his game unlike any of the names you mentioned. Mir and Gonzaga he would knock out fairly easily, both have inferior standup to Arlovski and Sylvia whom he destroyed. Even if they somehow miraculously got the fight to the ground (which is doubtful, since their takedowns are lackluster and Fedor has excellent TDD when he needs it), Fedor has shown amazing sub defence and GnP against Nogueira to prove to me that'd he'd beat them there as well. Mir himself admitted in an interview that he doesn't think he'd be able to match well against Fedor. 

Couture, Carwin, Lesnar and Velasquez on the other hand, are all wrestlers without submission creds, he would sub them fairly easily. They are the next generation Coleman and Randelman ... if anything, Barnett has as good or better wrestling, and would have a better chance of surviving on the ground. If Fedor can beat Barnett, I think he would take Couture and Velasquez even more easily. Carwin and Lesnar have a decent chance of getting a flash KO (especially Carwin), but Fedor is no Gonzaga or Herring, and I think he would be able to take it standing as well. 

Now if Carwin and Lesnar were to get a few more years of experience down their belt, and develop some serious sub-defence and sub game, I think they would pose some huge (pun intended) problems for Fedor on the ground. But until then Fedor is #1, no doubts whatsoever.


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## mihklo (Jun 18, 2008)

Liddellianenko said:


> I agree that the UFC does have some rising HW prospects like Carwin, Lesnar and Velasquez, that could pose some very interesting problems to Fedor. Particularly Lesnar, with his unique mix of strength, explosive athleticism, and wresling. However despite that, it's fairly obvious that Fedor Emelianenko IS the best HW fighter, heck best fighter ever, in the history of MMA, period.
> 
> No other fighter has been essentially unbeaten, not to mention absolutely dominant and in no real trouble, in his entire 30 fight career against the elites of the world which includes 4 ex-UFC heavyweight champions (Sylvia, Arlovski, Randelman, Coleman), and will be facing a fifth one (Barnett) at the top of his game next. The next closest thing we have to Fedor in terms of dominance is Machida, and he's got half as many fights and has only recently started facing the top of the heap.
> 
> ...




while i am not a fedor fan, i agree. some of those guys could give him a problem, but not likely. good post + rep


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## M.C (Jul 5, 2008)

I'm not exactly sure how you can go undefeated for almost a decade and beat the championship quality guys back in Pride, then when the quality, former UFC heavyweight champions step outside the UFC, you defeat them in the first round, yet still people say you are not the best?

The man has ruled his division for almost a decade, that's 10 YEARS people. Ten years of beating guys like a prime Mirko, prime Nog(twice), Arlovski, Sylvia, Coleman(twice) back when he wasn't such a bad fighter, Randleman, Herring(mid-level, but has a big name), the man has beaten the top guys, and not so top guys, for almost 10 years straight.

Seriously, how can you not call this man the greatest MMA fighter in the world?


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## Toxic (Mar 1, 2007)

Emelianenko does not fight for the UFC so it doesnt go in the UFC section.


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## Light_Speed (Jun 3, 2009)

like i said he beat sylvia who to me allways was GARBAGE..arlovski was good but he jumps to much..i think josh is a good match up and if fedor wins ..probly will.. ill give him his dues...but i still have to see him face brock , randy & carwin to consider him the best...anderson silva beat everyone in his division.. HE IS POUND FOR POUND THE BEST... fedor to has to be #3 and if gsp loses and fedor wins against josh he will jump to #2 but Anderson right now is the best fighter in the world... best HW yeah sure ill give it to fedor but i still wanna see him vs brock before i can give him the best fighter in the world crown period..infact there is a lot of LHW dat could beat fedor if he moves to 205..that is something id like to see


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## eliteroller (May 17, 2009)

Light_Speed said:


> like i said he beat sylvia who to me allways was GARBAGE..arlovski was good but he jumps to much..i think josh is a good match up and if fedor wins ..probly will.. ill give him his dues...but i still have to see him face brock , randy & carwin to consider him the best...anderson silva beat everyone in his division.. HE IS POUND FOR POUND THE BEST... fedor to has to be #3 and if gsp loses and fedor wins against josh he will jump to #2 but Anderson right now is the best fighter in the world... best HW yeah sure ill give it to fedor but i still wanna see him vs brock before i can give him the best fighter in the world crown period..infact there is a lot of LHW dat could beat fedor if he moves to 205..that is something id like to see



First off don't ever mention carwin in the same paragraph as fedor. You can do that when he actually does something or gets about 20 more wins and holds some titles ok. I would like to see him vs randy but come on randy would not stand a chance against someone as well rounded as fedor. Next brock are you joking what has he done beside make a name in wwe. He has what 4 fights that is a joke. Name one time ever in the ufc that a fighter with four fights in a career held a title. Its all about a name in that weak division. Now if he goes into his fight with mir and destroys him I will give him some cred but as of right now the only heavyweight that could possibly beat fedor in the ufc is Mir. That is the problem with some people they think mma is just ufc. The best heavyweights are not in the ufc. That is why the next tuf is all heavyweights that division is weak. Jeff Monson can beat almost all the heavyweights in the ufc. I love the ufc but its not the only mma out there.


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## Light_Speed (Jun 3, 2009)

eliteroller said:


> First off don't ever mention carwin in the same paragraph as fedor. You can do that when he actually does something or gets about 20 more wins and holds some titles ok. I would like to see him vs randy but come on randy would not stand a chance against someone as well rounded as fedor. Next brock are you joking what has he done beside make a name in wwe. He has what 4 fights that is a joke. Name one time ever in the ufc that a fighter with four fights in a career held a title. Its all about a name in that weak division. Now if he goes into his fight with mir and destroys him I will give him some cred but as of right now the only heavyweight that could possibly beat fedor in the ufc is Mir. That is the problem with some people they think mma is just ufc. The best heavyweights are not in the ufc. That is why the next tuf is all heavyweights that division is weak. Jeff Monson can beat almost all the heavyweights in the ufc. I love the ufc but its not the only mma out there.


i agree with you that ufc isnt the only mma out there..and there is fighters that could do some damage in the ufc..but all im saying is that i still cant put fedor as pound for pound the best in the world..no way.. i think brock has a good chance against him..just because he only has a few fights doesnt mean anything..hes a beast.... also id think rashad could beat fedor, rampage could beat him and alot of other lhw fighters have a chance to beat him too


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## Guy (Feb 17, 2008)

Light_Speed said:


> like i said he beat sylvia who to me allways was GARBAGE..arlovski was good but he jumps to much..i think josh is a good match up and if fedor wins ..probly will.. ill give him his dues...but i still have to see him face brock , randy & carwin to consider him the best...*anderson silva beat everyone in his division.. HE IS POUND FOR POUND THE BEST... *fedor to has to be #3 and if gsp loses and fedor wins against josh he will jump to #2 but Anderson right now is the best fighter in the world... best HW yeah sure ill give it to fedor but i still wanna see him vs brock before i can give him the best fighter in the world crown period..infact there is a lot of LHW dat could beat fedor if he moves to 205..that is something id like to see


Not quite. By your logic, he still has to beat Mousasi, Belfort, Jacare, Maia, Lindland, Manhoef, Akiyama, and Okami to be the top guy. Lets see how he does against stronger, bigger guys like Rampage and other LHW's.

Fedor's the best MMA fighter in history, I don't see how anyone could question that.


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## IronMan (May 15, 2006)

Grotty said:


> Its an age old topic, Fedor the supposed best HW in the world currently.
> I certainly agree he is a legend, however surely the title he should be given is "one of the best", i dont agree with his no.1 title as he hasnt been allowed the opportunity to fight the likes of Mir, Couture, Gonzaga, yes even Carwin.
> You can only say he is better than those he has fought and that he has a high chance of winning against most of the above, i would love to see Fedor fight against UFC top HWs sadly this wont happen so Fedor can never truly prove ultimate dominance and earn in my eyes the title of 'BEST'


Yeah, I agree. When I look at Fedor's record I think "those guys are a bunch of cans!

Are you kidding me?

No, seriously, are you kidding me?

Because, if you seriously think that beating Mir and Gonzaga and Carwin would contribute to Fedor's legacy more than beating Barnett and Overeem and Rogers (and Monson and Rizzo) will, then I'd like to ask you, please, to pass it to the left and shut your mouth.

Listen.

Fedor ran through one of the greatest heavyweight divisions of all time.

He killed Goodridge, Schilt, Herring, Nogueira, Herring and Coleman all when they were in their prime.

His performance against Randleman was one of the greatest freak acts of heart in the history of the sport.

His win over CroCop was bizarre, unexpected and incredible. The fact that he stood and held his own with a guy who was the best striker in the world was incredible. Not to mention he beat Mirko soundly, when Mirko was the second best fighter in the world.

But, if you seriously believe that Fedor isn't the best fighter in the world, you're entitled to your delusion.

He's the number, though: 30-1. This is a fighter who had one cut (which would have been ruled a no contest in the modern world) and thirty wins, fighting top ten heavyweights the whole time.

None of the guys that you've mentioned have posted that number, or will over the course of their career. Only Carwin has the potential to post that number, but he's not going to (much as I like the guy).

That number is the hard reason why he's the best. At the end of the day, who else has gone their entire career and never been stopped by a legal strike? Never been caught in a submission and forced to tap? And done it the whole time against top competition?

He's stayed, for years, in the top tier. Everybody has tape on him. Everybody knows how he's going to fight. And you know what, he's beaten them anyway.

Couture is a great fighter. But if Fedor beats him he joins the ranks of, who, Brock Lesnar? Chuck Liddell? Any of the five other guys who hold wins over Randy in his 16-9 MMA career?

If Fedor beats Mir he'll share a mark on his resume with the likes of legends including Brandon Vera and Marcio Cruz?

Fedor is the #1 heavyweight in the world. He's the #1 heavyweight in history. There's a reason for that. He fought the guys that were ranked #2 in the division and he beat them, badly. He's fighting the guy who's ranked #2 (or #3, depending on who's rankings you use) now, and if he beats Barnett, then he'll only reaffirm what he already know, he's the best.

You know why, when a rankings panel polls 14 of the most knowledgeable writers on the sport, they all agree on who the best heavyweight is? Because some of them were there when Fedor knocked out Arlovski and choked out Sylvia. Some where there when Fedor pounded Nogueira and bodyslammed Herring. This is a guy who's career is unrivaled by anyone in the UFC, and to say that he needs to prove himself by beating Frank Mir makes you look like an idiot.


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## swpthleg (Dec 31, 2006)

IronMan just told any doubters everything they need to know. 

/ thread.


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## joshua7789 (Apr 25, 2009)

I think fedor is the best heavyweight in the world, but i think the ufc has a better heavyweight division now then pride did back then. Goodridge, Schilt, Herring, Coleman, Nog, and Crocop make a quality division but the only one of these guys that has a chance to compete in the current hw division of the ufc is nog. If he beats barnett then i would say he needs to go clear out the ufc heavyweight division to make his case for the best ever. Im willing to bet he could do it.


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## All_In (Aug 23, 2007)

Until he beats Brock his skills will be like eh


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## eliteroller (May 17, 2009)

All_In_GSP said:


> Until he beats Brock his skills will be like eh


Who has brock beat herring garbage, randy washed up. You guys sweat brock like he has done something. He has a lot to prove. If he loses to mir for the second you all need to shut your mouth. I don't care how big you are or what wrestling org you worked for technique will win the fight. He has to prove it in the cage. He has not proven anything yet but that he can be submitted easy. Put him up against nog tap. Look I like brock as well but how can you say someone is great only 4 fights into a career.


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## TheNegation (Jun 11, 2007)

Light_Speed said:


> like i said he beat sylvia who to me allways was GARBAGE..arlovski was good


I wonder why Sylvia was able to beat him twice then, once by brutal KO and once by outpointing him.


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## Samborules (Jun 16, 2009)

If I were a heavyweight, the last guy I'd want to fight is Fedor. He hits like Rogers, defends like Mir, grapples like Gracie in his prime and is maybe the most intelligent fighter out there today. Enjoy him while he is in his prime.


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## LV 2 H8 U (Nov 7, 2006)

All of the actual MMA fighters list him as the best P4P fighter ever. GSP and A. Silva have both said he's the best ever. That means much more than any of our opinions.


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## M.C (Jul 5, 2008)

IronMan said:


> Yeah, I agree. When I look at Fedor's record I think "those guys are a bunch of cans!
> 
> Are you kidding me?
> 
> ...


Exactly. :thumbsup:


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## Davisty69 (May 24, 2007)

Look guy, I'm not going to flame you here, but you are setting yourself up for it. Good luck. 

Make sure we keep it civil in here folks, he's entitled to his opinion, even if he is severely in the minority.


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## judodude (Mar 27, 2009)

Anyone who disputes Fedor as number one HW is an idiot.

Its that simple.


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## CornbreadBB (Jul 31, 2008)

I'm going to have to agree here and say that Emelianenko is slightly better than Emilenko.


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## swpthleg (Dec 31, 2006)

LMAOOO! I was wondering who that was!


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## PanKrato (Mar 5, 2007)

Toxic said:


> Emelianenko does not fight for the UFC so it doesnt go in the UFC section.


I was going to write about how this topic was officially pawned by all the Fedor = #1 (B/c he is),
and then i saw the above quoted post.

PAWNED!


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## ZENKI1 (Apr 19, 2009)

Grotty said:


> Its an age old topic, Fedor the supposed best HW in the world currently.
> I certainly agree he is a legend, however surely the title he should be given is "one of the best", i dont agree with his no.1 title as he hasnt been allowed the opportunity to fight the likes of Mir, Couture, Gonzaga, yes even Carwin.
> You can only say he is better than those he has fought and that he has a high chance of winning against most of the above, i would love to see Fedor fight against UFC top HWs sadly this wont happen so Fedor can never truly prove ultimate dominance and earn in my eyes the title of 'BEST'


1000 posts join date of 2006 and u post a thread like so ......wtf


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## Drogo (Nov 19, 2006)

IronMan said:


> He's the number, though: 30-1. This is a fighter who had one cut (which would have been ruled a no contest in the modern world) and thirty wins, fighting top ten heavyweights the whole time.


I would never dispute that Fedor is the #1 HW of all time. He is and it isn't close. However, just to play Devil's advocate a little bit, he has not always fought top ten HW's. He has had some stretches where he was fighting less than stellar competition (although you could argue he had to do that because he had already beaten all the top guys).


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## All_In (Aug 23, 2007)

eliteroller said:


> Who has brock beat herring garbage, randy washed up. You guys sweat brock like he has done something. He has a lot to prove. If he loses to mir for the second you all need to shut your mouth. I don't care how big you are or what wrestling org you worked for technique will win the fight. He has to prove it in the cage. He has not proven anything yet but that he can be submitted easy. Put him up against nog tap. Look I like brock as well but how can you say someone is great only 4 fights into a career.


Apparently that one missed the mark. Well played sir.


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## Liddellianenko (Oct 8, 2006)

Drogo said:


> I would never dispute that Fedor is the #1 HW of all time. He is and it isn't close. However, just to play Devil's advocate a little bit, he has not always fought top ten HW's. He has had some stretches where he was fighting less than stellar competition (although you could argue he had to do that because he had already beaten all the top guys).


I agree, I thought that was a bit of hyperbole on IronMan's part too in an otherwise very nice writeup as usual. No way Hong Man Choi, Zuluzinho, Kohsaka, Ogawa, Nagata, Fujita or Valavicius were top 10 by any stretch. Even Hunt and Schlit might not be in there with their lack of grappling, and Lindland was a MW. But apart from that, he had all solid top fivers.


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## IronMan (May 15, 2006)

Drogo said:


> I would never dispute that Fedor is the #1 HW of all time. He is and it isn't close. However, just to play Devil's advocate a little bit, he has not always fought top ten HW's. He has had some stretches where he was fighting less than stellar competition (although you could argue he had to do that because he had already beaten all the top guys).


That's a fair point, but I'd argue that it wasn't a "stretch," but rather a handful of little moments when the top tier competition was not available.

In order to take on your devil's advocate (and because this is fun for me), lets look at his career after his Pride debut.

June 23rd, 2002: [W] Semmy Schilt (Pride Debut)
November 24th, 2002: [W] Heath Herring
*March 16th, 2003: [W] Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira*
April 5th, 2003: [W] Egidijus Valavicius (in Rings)
June 8th, 2003: [W] Kazuyuki Fujita
August 10th, 2003: [W] Gary Goodridge
December 31st, 2003: [W] Yuji Nagata (Inoki Bom Ba Ye)
*April 25th, 2004: [W] Mark Coleman*
*June 20th, 2004: [W] Kevin Randleman*
August 15th, 2004: [W] Nayao Ogawa
*August 15th, 2004: [NC] Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
December 31st, 2004: [W] Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira*
April 3rd, 2005: [W] Tsuyoshi Kohsaka
*August 28th, 2005: [W] Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic*
December 31st, 2005: [W] Zuluzinho
October 26th, 2006: [W] Mark Coleman
*December 31st, 2006: [W] Mark Hunt* (Last fight in Pride)
April 14th, 2007: [W] Matt Lindland (Bodog)
December 31st, 2007: [W] Hong Man Choi
*July 19th, 2008: [W] Tim Sylvia
January 24th, 2009: [W] Andrei Arlovski*

In bold are all of the fighters who were top ten when Fedor fought them.

As you can see, there are no substantial "stretches" in there, except that brief part at the beginning of his reign as Pride Champion, after the first fight against Nogueira, but that was while they were prepping opponents for the Pride Heavyweight Grand Prix, and where he ended up with those three top ten fights (Coleman I, Randleman and Nogueira II).

What is meant by the Devil's Advocate is that there are substantial stretches where he didn't fight anybody, and that's true.

After the collapse of Pride he wasn't fighting top tier opponents because he wasn't fighting on a regular basis.

As you can see where I listed the date, Fedor only had two fights in 2007, after the buyout, which lent to the notion that he wasn't fighting top guys, because his two fights were against guys who weren't respectable.

It's not as though there were a string of bouts that were unimpressive. It's that he didn't have a string of bouts at all. That string of not having opponents ended with Affliction, but since Affliction can only afford to put on a card a year, that's how often Fedor ends up fighting.

The spurt that people complain about is the post buyout run of Choi (who's not considered credible) and Lindland (who's too small to be credible).

Anyway, the argument is that he hasn't been fighting top tier guys because he hasn't been fighting anybody. But the truth is, of his last five fights, three have been against fighters who were considered top ten at the time, though Sylvia and Hunt have fallen off of the rankings since.

He's consistently fought top ten opponents when he's been able to consistently find fights. The later has been the problem.



Liddellianenko said:


> I agree, I thought that was a bit of hyperbole on IronMan's part too in an otherwise very nice writeup as usual. No way Hong Man Choi, Zuluzinho, Kohsaka, Ogawa, Nagata, Fujita or Valavicius were top 10 by any stretch. Even Hunt and Schlit might not be in there with their lack of grappling, and Lindland was a MW. But apart from that, he had all solid top fivers.


I wouldn't argue for Choi, Zulu, Kohsaka, Ogawa, Nagata, Fujita or Valavicius, but so what?

In between those fights, he fought Hunt, CroCop, Nogueira, Randleman and Coleman. All of whom were ranked in the top ten and considered relatively tough challenges for Fedor. (of course, not Coleman in the second bout, and Hunt was sort of ignored because he has no grappling game, though he was still ranked in the low top ten).

I could argue that Schilt was, but it's not really relevant. It's before Fedor's career had any significance in the MMA world, when he was debuting in Pride, before he was the champion and in a position to claim the #1 spot. Also, it would require leaning heavily on Schilt's K-1 background, which I'd rather not.

EDIT: In defense of my use of the term "the whole time" which was incredibly bland and not very helpful to the argument, in every championship run, there are challengers and opponents who are, lets face it, not the kind of challenge they should be. Fedor had plenty of these, but he fought more top tier opponents than any other active heavyweight in the top tier at the time (and the UFC went through three heavyweight champions between when Fedor won his title in 2003 and his last Pride fight in 2006, and the title turned over again three months after his final Pride bout when Sylvia lost to Couture).


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## vandalian (Oct 14, 2006)

Wasn't Heath top 10 when Fedor fought him, as well?


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## Drogo (Nov 19, 2006)

We're on the same page here but the only period that was questionable in my mind was this:

December 31st, 2005: [W] Zuluzinho
October 26th, 2006: [W] Mark Coleman
December 31st, 2006: [W] Mark Hunt (Last fight in Pride)
April 14th, 2007: [W] Matt Lindland (Bodog)
December 31st, 2007: [W] Hong Man Choi

Two years with only one Top 10 guy. I think it is reasonable to start to wonder at that point if he is still the number one HW. There wasn't much left for him outside of the UFC though, he can only fight Nog so many times. Since he followed that stretch up by demolishing two former UFC champs (and top 5 ranked at the time) in the first round he obviously answered any questions people had about whether or not he was still legit. He really should retire, essentially undefeated, if he beats Barnett.


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