The official Bleacher Report MMA middleweight rankings for March 2012 are in and there are some interesting changes from what we saw last month.The peak of the rankings remained the same, but the spots below saw some shifting as we saw a consensus top-…
The official Bleacher Report MMA middleweight rankings for March 2012 are in and there are some interesting changes from what we saw last month.
The peak of the rankings remained the same, but the spots below saw some shifting as we saw a consensus top-three middleweight knocked off by someone who wasn’t even in the top-10 previously.
The top two fighters in the division are tentatively set to meet sometime later this year, but nothing has been officially announced, and at least one of the competitors is still under the impression that the fight won’t happen.
They aren’t the only top fighters in the division, though, and in this list we’ll be counting down the top-10 fighters currently competing at 185 pounds.
Inside the Octagon, Ian McCall is a force to be reckoned with. For anyone who tuned in on Friday night to see the debut of the flyweight division, you can clearly see that McCall is not just a fighter, but an entertainer as well. Between his in-cage an…
Inside the Octagon, Ian McCall is a force to be reckoned with. For anyone who tuned in on Friday night to see the debut of the flyweight division, you can clearly see that McCall is not just a fighter, but an entertainer as well.
Between his in-cage antics and his own personal brand of humor, McCall will always stand out from the pack. One of the tools that McCall uses in order to be remembered is his unusual, but undeniably memorable, choice of nickname: Uncle Creepy.
This is a look at some of the best nicknames in MMA. Some of the monikers on this list qualified because they are tremendously fitting. Some make the list due to pure badassery. That’s a word, right? If not, it should be.
While Jose Aldo reigns as king, many suitable contenders are looking to dethrone the UFC featherweight champion.Hatsu Hioki has long been recognized as one of the best at 145 pounds, though the Japanese star’s initial foray inside the Octagon was not i…
While Jose Aldo reigns as king, many suitable contenders are looking to dethrone the UFC featherweight champion.
Hatsu Hioki has long been recognized as one of the best at 145 pounds, though the Japanese star’s initial foray inside the Octagon was not indicative of his skills.
Now, Hioki has turned in a noteworthy performance, a decision victory over the always tough Bart Palaszewski at UFC 144.
The impressive win has now put Hioki on the short list of would-be contenders for Aldo’s belt. Here, we will take a look at the best of the rest and depict all of the top-10 opposition that exists in the MMA world today.
*These rankings are the combined efforts of some of Bleacher Report MMA’s best writers, as we continue to try and provide you with the best content on the web.*
If you want to be a professional MMA fighter, what is the quality that you should possess first and foremost? Athletic ability? No. Childhood karate classes? No. The answer is toughness.All great fighters have the ability to take a punch and fight thro…
If you want to be a professional MMA fighter, what is the quality that you should possess first and foremost? Athletic ability? No. Childhood karate classes? No. The answer is toughness.
All great fighters have the ability to take a punch and fight through it.
Some fighters, however, have a seemingly inhuman ability to receive punishment. Whether over the course of a single fight or over several years, they inspire us with their durability. Many have built reputations off of being able to take a beating. They are indestructible.
In some cases, we see a fighter victimized by a particularly vicious looking strike or technique and we have to take a step back and just say, “Wow, how did he survive that?”
Throughout MMA’s history, there have always been indestructible fighters, but these are the ones that stand out. Even if their durability may have started falling off at some point, their reputations precede them.
These are the 15 most indestructible fighters in MMA history.
Miesha Tate is a tough fighter. That can’t be disputed.But she’s also dumb. And I’m not picking specifically on Tate, though I know it may sound that way. She’s just the latest in a long line of fighters who decided that it was better to look toug…
Miesha Tate is a tough fighter. That can’t be disputed.
But she’s also dumb.
And I’m not picking specifically on Tate, though I know it may sound that way. She’s just the latest in a long line of fighters who decided that it was better to look tough during the course of a fight rather than accept fate and tap out when caught in what was obviously a fight-ending submission.
This kind of thing drives me into a rage. It was one thing when the Gracies did it in the early days of the sport because, well, they’re the Gracies and not tapping out was their thing. And besides, they were fighting in Japan, where showing your toughness endeared you to the PRIDE fighting crowds even more than winning a fight.
But there’s no reason for it in 2012. If Ronda Rousey gets you in an armbar, and you know without a shadow of a doubt that you’re not getting out—much like Tate did when Rousey got the armbar on her for a second time during Saturday’s Strikeforce main event—please just tap out. Save us the trouble of seeing your arm bend in directions it’s not supposed to.
Luckily for Tate (and the viewers at home), her arms are made of rubber. But that’s not the point.
The point here is that there’s no shame in submitting to a superior opponent. The fans won’t think any less of you because they’ve been watching this sport long enough to understand that submissions are part of the game.
When you’re caught, the fight is over. It’s better to give up and live to fight another day rather than risk an injury that will put you on the shelf for months on end. It’s disrespectful to your opponent and it’s disrespectful to your employer who should be able to rely on booking you for a new fight every three or four months.
Don’t try to prove your resilience. We already know you’re tough. After all, you step in the cage to trade punches with another human for a living. You don’t need to prove anything else.
It would come as a revelation to no one if I said Wanderlei Silva’s best days are behind him. It would warrant no gasps if I wrote that Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is fighting past his prime. And it would come as no shock if you heard that Matt Hughes is …
It would come as a revelation to no one if I said Wanderlei Silva’s best days are behind him. It would warrant no gasps if I wrote that Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is fighting past his prime. And it would come as no shock if you heard that Matt Hughes is on his last legs.
It is not my intention to construct a list full of fighters so obviously shells of their former selves that it makes MMA fans tear up recalling the glory days of heroes and legends passed.
Instead, this list will be populated by fighters that still rank as contenders; fighters still putting in competitive bouts with ranked opponents; fighters that may not so obviously be entering the twilight of their career.
As a note on the criteria for this list, no fighter with a lengthy losing streak, a la Kid Yamamoto or Yoshihiro Akiyama, will be included. Their recent records speak for themselves.
This list will only concern itself with fighters that may reasonably be considered threats within their respective divisions.
It is also necessary to explicate that this list is not meant to label fighters as “overrated.” Many of the inclusions are exceptional combatants that will continue to put on competitive and exciting fights for years to come.
More than anything else, this list is comprised of fighters that are currently, or were recently, considered title threats, but have seen their opportunities pass them by.
These fighters have risen to the zenith of their careers and will go no further.
Miesha Tate is a tough fighter. That can’t be disputed.