In preparation for UFC 146 on Saturday, MMA fans should take a glance at just how far the heavyweight division has come in MMA.
As the sport continues to grow, these names will likely fade from fans’ minds, but they should never fade from the history books they helped write. Names like Emelianenko, Nogueira and “Cro Cop” will forever be etched into our minds as some of the best heavyweights to grace the sport of MMA.
There’s also a litany of other fighters that should have their place in history remembered as well. Some have had controversial pasts or are going through current struggles that make their place on this list laughable, but a glance at their track record would make any fan think twice about discrediting these fighters’ history.
Whether they made history overseas or in North America, all of these fighters deserve to be remembered as some of the best to compete in the heavyweight division.