Tag: Rankings/List

Plenty of people appreciate the heavyweights. For decades immemorial, these behemoths have buttered the bread that is combat sports. 

But I wish there was more love for the rank and file: the lumbering heavyweights. You know, the guys who look and move like, you know, guys. UFC Fight Night 50, happening Friday, is a necessary celebration of these individuals, with Ben Rothwell taking on Alistair Overeem and Matt Mitrione and Derrick Lewis doing battle. Now that is what I am talking about.

To further honor these men, here is a ranking of the 10 biggest, lumberingest lugs the MMA heavyweight division has ever produced.

By the way, “lumbering” is not a euphemism for “fat.” It’s more than that. Let’s go to the dictionary, why don’t we, which defines “lumbering” as “moving clumsily or heavily, especially from great and ponderous bulk.” OK, so it does mean fat, kind of. But also, it means clumsy.

One more thing: no novelty fighters here. No converted boxers (cough RayMercer cough), Emmanuel Yarboroughs or Double Rainbow Guys. Only real competitors with real MMA careers. Thank you.

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When one thinks about the hottest fighters in MMA right now, Myles Jury probably doesn’t come to mind. However, The Ultimate Fighter veteran has quietly won five in a row, landing him in the Top 15 lightweight rankings and giving him one of the longer winning streaks in the world’s top MMA promotion.

On September 20, Jury will attempt to keep his roll going against former Pride FC champion Takenori Gomi. With a convincing win over Gomi, Jury would probably be due a matchup with a Top 10 lightweight, which would give him an opportunity to prove he should be taken seriously as a threat to the 155-pound championship.

Including Jury, the following slides list the 12 active fighters with the longest UFC winning streaks. It should be noted that, due to inactivity, Georges St-Pierre has been excluded. However, with 12 wins in a row, he would top the list upon his return.

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The sport of mixed martial arts has a plethora of tough guys. Very few participants in MMA are viewed as anything other than tough. Some fighters stick out as being especially tough and can give and take what seems like immeasurable amounts of punishment. Other fighters may not be the very best but are willing to fight anyone, anytime.

If we were to assemble a team of the toughest fighters in MMA today, what would it look like?

The definition of a tough guy is “a menacing man.” One of the criteria for our All-Tough-Guy Team will be that fighters need to be active. So Kazushi Sakuraba, Fedor Emelianenko, Randy Couture and Rickson Gracie won’t be on the team.

A certain amount of the toughness requisite to making the team needs to be exhibited outside of the cage. Mean-muggin’, ice-grillin’ and keeping it real 24/7 are all things that might earn a fighter a spot on the team.  

But not shoving.

Most of what makes someone tough enough for the All-Tough-Guy Team happens in the cage. Epic comebacks, ability to take punishment and finishing instinct will carry the most weight in deciding who makes the top of the list, but everyone on the All-Tough-Guy-Team could make at least a serviceable Avenger or Expendable.

Special consideration will be given to guys who are generally pretty nice when they aren’t fighting but are just that tough when they get in the cage.

Here is MMA’s All-Tough-Guy Team.

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The sport of mixed martial arts has a plethora of tough guys. Very few participants in MMA are viewed as anything other than tough. Some fighters stick out as being especially tough and can give and take what seems like immeasurable amounts of punishment. Other fighters may not be the very best but are willing to fight anyone, anytime.

If we were to assemble a team of the toughest fighters in MMA today, what would it look like?

The definition of a tough guy is “a menacing man.” One of the criteria for our All-Tough-Guy Team will be that fighters need to be active. So Kazushi Sakuraba, Fedor Emelianenko, Randy Couture and Rickson Gracie won’t be on the team.

A certain amount of the toughness requisite to making the team needs to be exhibited outside of the cage. Mean-muggin’, ice-grillin’ and keeping it real 24/7 are all things that might earn a fighter a spot on the team.  

But not shoving.

Most of what makes someone tough enough for the All-Tough-Guy Team happens in the cage. Epic comebacks, ability to take punishment and finishing instinct will carry the most weight in deciding who makes the top of the list, but everyone on the All-Tough-Guy-Team could make at least a serviceable Avenger or Expendable.

Special consideration will be given to guys who are generally pretty nice when they aren’t fighting but are just that tough when they get in the cage.

Here is MMA’s All-Tough-Guy Team.

Begin Slideshow

The sport of mixed martial arts has a plethora of tough guys. Very few participants in MMA are viewed as anything other than tough. Some fighters stick out as being especially tough and can give and take what seems like immeasurable amounts of punishment. Other fighters may not be the very best but are willing to fight anyone, anytime.

If we were to assemble a team of the toughest fighters in MMA today, what would it look like?

The definition of a tough guy is “a menacing man.” One of the criteria for our All-Tough-Guy Team will be that fighters need to be active. So Kazushi Sakuraba, Fedor Emelianenko, Randy Couture and Rickson Gracie won’t be on the team.

A certain amount of the toughness requisite to making the team needs to be exhibited outside of the cage. Mean-muggin’, ice-grillin’ and keeping it real 24/7 are all things that might earn a fighter a spot on the team.  

But not shoving.

Most of what makes someone tough enough for the All-Tough-Guy Team happens in the cage. Epic comebacks, ability to take punishment and finishing instinct will carry the most weight in deciding who makes the top of the list, but everyone on the All-Tough-Guy-Team could make at least a serviceable Avenger or Expendable.

Special consideration will be given to guys who are generally pretty nice when they aren’t fighting but are just that tough when they get in the cage.

Here is MMA’s All-Tough-Guy Team.

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Over the years, 304 MMA fighters have circulated through The Ultimate Fighter.* A few handfuls at a time, 19 seasons’ worth of would-be professionals lived together, trained, bro-hugged, cried, played pool, pulled pranks, cut weight, hung out by the pool, missed their kids, bared their souls, performed unspeakable acts on each other’s snacks and blended approximately seven cubic miles of smoothie.

In search of that six-figure UFC contract, these men and women left their homes and families for weeks at a time, foregoing contact with the outside world and surrendering their lives to the daily boom-and-bust cycle of world-class vocational instruction and a desert mansion full of medium-grade bourbon.

Of all those 304 who were skilled and lucky enough to make it to the house, 28 hoisted the glass winner’s plaque at the season finale. But even that doesn’t guarantee—or disqualify—real success on the sport’s biggest stage.

Here are the 10 (and a few honorable mentions) who went through the show (all contestants, not just winners, were considered) and had the most success. Rankings based on overall success, record and level of competition. 

*Domestic version only

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