Hint – it’s a former heavyweight champion.
An MMA topic that has come up lately, and was conjured up in the minds of Joe Rogan and Mike Tyson, is who is the “scariest” fighter in MMA history. That can mean whatever you want, but to former UFC fighter turned podcaster Chael Sonnen, only one name comes to mind.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez. On his You’re Welcome podcast, The American Gangster explains his choice (transcribed by MMA Fighting):
“The scariest fighter in MMA history: I had, with a pretty sizable gap, Cain Velasquez. He had the whole bit. He had the look, he had the eyes, he had the jawline, the stoicness, the rumors and reputation, the work ethic. He had the record, he had the knockouts, the collegiate resume. But there was something scary about a big guy that had the level of conditioning. We don’t see that very often, not that level, not where they can be on you that hard, non-stop.”
He continued on, explaining his choice over another top contender for the title – Francis Ngannou:
“If we went head-to-head and I wanted to argue Cain, and you wanted to argue Francis, you could always tell me Francis knocked out Cain, right? That debate is going to go on. We’re not talking about who the best is, or who’s the most effective, or who has the most beautiful resume. Scary. It’s a unique word.
“My opinion? Velasquez.”