Jonathan Snowden over at Heavy.com put together an interesting list of the top 10 MMA Fighters of the decade, and it has brought about some debate as to who truly deserves to be on the list that encompasses such a lengthy time period. Snowden’s picks are as follows:
1. Chuck Liddell
2. Brock Lesnar
3. Matt Hughes
4. Bob Sapp
5. Fedor Emelianenko
6. Tito Ortiz
7. Georges St. Pierre
8. Anderson Silva
9. B.J. Penn
10. Kimbo Slice
The list was created on the basis that these ten fighters are the most responsible for the sport’s success pertaining to where it stands today. Obviously a number of these names are legitimate contributors to the where the sport has ascended to from 2000 to 2010, but there are some obvious names missing from the list.
Zach Arnold over at FightOpinion.com makes the case for Kazushi Sakuraba, Mirko “CroCop” Filipovic, Randy Couture, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and Wanderlei Silva, and I’d have to agree with some of his assessments. It’s simply astounding that Kazushi Sakuraba isn’t high on the list as his 90 minute bout with Royce Gracie took place in 2000.
His case for Nogueira is also very convincing as he was tied to both Sapp and Fedor, and he was a key fighter who was involved in the New Year’s Eve rating wars in the television industry in Japan. And both Nogueira and Sakuraba fit heavily into the context of fighters who have helped the sport succeed immensely. Sakuraba is one of the sole fighters responsible for bringing in huge droves of fans in Japan back in 2000.
Check out Snowden’s piece at Heavy.com for his explanations on his picks as well as Zach Arnold’s additions at FightOpinion.com. Let us know your picks for the fighters of the decade. Would you drop any of these fighters in the context of helping the sport succeed over the last ten years? It’s a very interesting question that should bring about a lot of debate among fans.