Author: Artem Moshkovich

MMA is, for the most part, a sport divided by distinct ranks—amateur fighters wage war through local circuits in hopes of making a professional debut. With enough perseverance and dedication, some even manage to secure a position on the exalted roster of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

But making it into the ranks of the UFC doesn’t merit the distinction of being a “world-class” fighter. 

On the contrary, competing under the Zuffa banner is much like fighting for any other premier organization—athletes pave the road to a title with rigorous training, refined skills and a wealth of pedigree. 

Some plateau as respected gatekeepers of a division, forever destined to act as stepping stones to future title contenders. An elite few surge past the competition and claim gold and glory.

Yet on the rarest of occasions, certain combatants transcend local, regional or even national boundaries—their capacity to perform at the highest level makes them world class.

 

Embodying the Ideals of a Complete Mixed Martial Artist

Olympic Games: the definitive proving ground for almost any form of sport—boxers, judo players and Greco-Roman wrestlers compete against the the very best for victory on a worldwide stage. 

But a world-class MMA fighter needs to hone the skills of more than a single discipline.

Such a fighter must have proficiency in everything from stand-up striking to submission grappling.

Take, for instance, MMA veteran Dan Henderson: a two-time Olympic team member. Unsatisfied with mere wrestling, Henderson gradually developed knockout power en route to concurrently holding championships in two separate Pride weight divisions.

Henderson is but one example of an MMA fighter who may have begun his athletic career with a single discipline but ultimately wound up with a more formidable mixed martial arts game.

 

Deep Experience and a Refined Pedigree

Former UFC kingpin Anderson Silva broke virtually every UFC record for myriad reasons—natural athleticism paired with rigorous training aided in his groundbreaking efforts.

But his distinction as a world-class fighter comes most prominently as the result of extraordinary experience and a diverse pedigree. Silva’s resolve can’t be broken because of the sheer quantity of fights he’s completed, along with the varying ways in which he’s managed to secure victory.

Any fighter striving to reach such rarified air must be willing to clock in similar time and likely endure countless hours of training in various martial arts. 

 

Mental Focus to Pair with the Physical Performance

Fedor Emelianenko, widely regarded as the greatest heavyweight fighter in MMA history, was about as soft spoken and mild mannered as a cage fighter could be. His opponents often remarked that his stone-cold demeanor added to his mystique—”The Last Emperor” threw brutal casting punches with a look of nonchalant disinterest in his face.

In that regard, his passive nature added to the attraction of watching him fight. Emelianenko was a definitive example of a fighter who allowed his skills to do the talking, and yet he had the focus to make sure his goals were almost always met. 

That sort of drive and perseverance is essential to any fighter worthy of being called world class. Put simply, an unfaltering ability to overcome adversity is a must.

 

Willingness to Evolve Alongside the Sport

Georges St-Pierre is MMA’s archetype for an ever-adapting athlete—though he started his martial arts career with an emphasis on Kyokushin karate, the French Canadian phenom gradually added efficient wrestling and tactical boxing to his fight game. 

His efforts haven’t stopped.

As of late, GSP has turned to unorthodox tactics to stay leaps and bounds ahead of the welterweight competition. Namely, he’s introduced gymnastics into his training regiment as a means to bolster overall athleticism. 

Thinking outside the box is yet another dynamic that separates the great from the world class. 

 

The road from local circuits to international superstardom is paved with treacherous obstacles and plenty of opportunities to plateau. Excellence might always feel like a win away. But win or lose, the most elite fighters continue to hone their craft in pursuit of uncharted boundaries.

The very best combatants absorb skills, training methods and rich experience from all corners—they are distinctly world class.

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At first glance, cage fighting seems like a blunt form of self-expression—physically daunting men and women exchange blows in a relentless quest to emerge with consciousness and victory intact. But make no mistake about it, personality is nearly as important as the combat itself.

Fists may fly, but words almost always precede them.

As mixed martial arts continues to evolve, we’ve seen a startling rise in the number of fighters making a name outside of the caged battleground. Competitiveness for notoriety is at an all-time high at virtually every premier fight promotion. It’s no surprise, then, that the most self-aware fighters have added depth and dimension to their public personas. 

It wasn’t always that way.

The nascent years of mixed martial arts were riddled with fighters who came and left with the wind. At UFC 4, Royce Gracie caught Keith Hackney in an armbar—we might all bestow reverence and respect to the former, but a brief web search is likely necessary to jog memory of the latter. In all fairness, Hackney was part of an entire era of fighters willing to test their mettle inside the Octagon in spite of the sport’s virtually nonexistent public image. 

Yet even in the case of the initial greats, personality was a distant second to fight performance. Gracie’s role as MMA‘s venerable forefather is surely the result of his ability to submit giants long before such skills were commonplace.

But imagine, if only for a moment, how much easier it would have been for earlier champions to build their identities with the countdown and prime-time specials that have now become all but ordinary.

The foremost female fighter on the planet, Ronda Rousey, is a case example of a talented athlete who’s managed to properly soak in the limelight. Via MMAjunkie.com, UFC President Dana White signed the Olympic judoka because he envisions her as a potential crossover superstar:

She has the whole package. … This girl is nasty. She might be beautiful on the outside, but she’s a Diaz brother on the inside. She’s a real fighter and real talented. She has the credentials and the pedigree. And she has the ‘it’ factor. I think she’s going to be a big superstar.

Rousey‘s athletic success is undoubtedly the result of her cultivated skill set; there’s little reason to doubt that. But the buzz around her Octagon debut was fueled by one of the strongest media pushes in modern MMA history—she was front and center for an unprecedented number of magazine spreads, televised countdown specials and interviews. 

And she isn’t magnetic solely because of her fighting prowess; a refusal to bite her tongue certainly helps. She learned at a swift pace that camera time is afforded to fighters with vibrant personalities, unwilling to toe the cliche line of “going in there to get the job done.”

All signs indicate that Rousey‘s willingness to be brash and bold is working in her favor.

It’s no surprise that she trains with, and is likely influenced by, the always-polarizing Nick Diaz. His name has the unusual capacity of eliciting either pure adoration or deep-seated hatred. A boxer with cardio for days, he didn’t develop that type of public image solely through fighting. 

Instead, Diaz‘s willingness to say what he wants and how he wants—even in the presence of Georges St. Pierre, MMA’s golden boy—has gained the trust of fans who identify with him as being real. The Stockton native is always embroiled in a quarrel of some sort; fans pick up on the idea that it’s constantly Diaz against the world. In that sense, he manages to turn heads with every action he takes, even if it’s not necessarily by means of a great fight. 

A discussion on MMA personalities wouldn’t be complete without mention of Chael Sonnen, perhaps the most iconic example of how far wit, humor and verbal warfare can get you.

Don’t get me wrong, he’s a tremendous fighter. Before Chris Weidman separated Anderson Silva from his senses, Sonnen shocked the world by forcing the middleweight titan through five rounds of relentless assault. After failing to win the middleweight strap, Sonnen was ushered into a title shot against Jon Jones for light heavyweight gold.

Let’s not pretend that it all happened because he’s just that good.

He wasn’t awarded back-to-back title shots because of his UFC resume—the opportunity arose because UFC brass were assured that Sonnen‘s loud mouth would draw even more impressive pay-per-view numbers. 

The self-proclaimed “American Gangster” is a perpetual entertainer, and it’s that reality that ensures his future success in the world of mixed martial arts. 

Longevity is always a concern in combat sports—in Dana White’s own words, via B/R’s Trent Reinsmith, “This is a f–king short-term gig.” The window of opportunity starts out slim and then begins to close as fighters accumulate unimaginable hours in the training gym along with sustained damage during their fights. 

Gracie snapped up limbs in an era when top-tier fighters were few and far between. In the modern world of fighting, any man or woman in the UFC roster has the skills to win consistently. The race to the top has never been more heated. Given the odds of championship success, the goal post has shifted to a place more subtle and nuanced. 

Powerful striking and slick submissions are more ubiquitous than ever before. Yet as the sport continues to flourish, the stage for self-promotion continues to expand. The current generation of fighters have the ability to communicate directly with fans via social networks and to the media via written and video interview.

When the cameras turn on and ears are opened, they had better say something memorable.

The most polarizing fighters have realized this and begun to embrace their identities as yet another tool to achieve a lasting effect. There’s a vast divide in the time line separating a fight announcement and the fight itself. Training is, for good reason, the best use of that time, though perhaps salesmanship should also come into play.

Fans need a catalyst for dishing out PPV dollars—if the skills between both fighters are truly equal, then it’s the one with bolder character who often sells the fight. With more access than ever before, MMA diehards might hang on every word their chosen fighter says.

The spotlight will continue to be reserved for competitors with both the skills and personality to keep everyone interested.

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