who are your fighting heros?

[vikingpower]

bulldog said eddie bravo was my hero and that got me thinking about who my actual ones were..

i learned the most from watching dean lister and fedor ... dean has the tighest bjj game for a somewhat big man, and fedor (while not having the best game from the bottom on side/half) has the best armbars in mma, some of the most effective striking, amazing power in both strikes and takedowns ... and the ability to callously size up his exponents and ... win

i learned more from pulling apart these guys vids(both training and fight footage) than i did training under an (amaxing) black belt instructor in bjj ...

who do you people look up to and why?

[Petrucci]

i just recently started again bjj lessons, but very recreational...i didnt do it for like 8 years...so i cant say its a 'fighting' influence, but my favorite guy was, is and always will be Vitor Belfort...When he got famous it was the 'boom' of MMA and jiu jitsu here in brazil, more or less in 97, after jiu jitsu was gaining more and more fame each year, after UFC was created by the Gracies...Vitor was the beginning of a new type of fighter, more hybrid, technical but still like an animal...very explosive. He was also young, charismatic and a disciple of the 'outside' man in the Gracie family - Carlson Gracie (wich at that time had the best MMA team here...wich some years later became Brazilian Top Team)

 On MMA, after Belfort the ones i like more-
 - Igor Vovchanchin
 - Rickson Gracie
  nowadays
 - Fedor
 - Cro Cop
 - Mark Hunt

On Jiu jitsu, the ones i always liked to watch:
 - Rickson Gracie
 - Royler Gracie
 - Saulo Ribeiro (he have a gym in USA now...this guy was unbeatable for some years)
 - Jorge Patino 'Macaco' - With Roberto Godoi, he had one of the most famous JJ gyms in Brazil in the beginning of 00´s
 - Fernando 'Margarida' Pontes...If you guys dont know Margarida, you should look for videos of him on youtube...This guy was a 'tsunami' on jiu jitsu ranks here in brazil more or less between 99 and 01...after that he had some personal problems and accidents, but he is trying to regain his fame still...His jiu jitsu was simple awesome, very technical and explosive. He could even loose a fight, it would always be a great show to watch

[americanbulldog]

For wrestling:

I like Saku
Woogie
Darrel Gholar
Kid

For Jits:

Marcelo
Saulo and Xande
Shinya Aoki
Jacare
JJ Machado

For striking:

Mike Zambidis
Rob Kaman

Judo:

Yoshida
Fedor

[vikingpower]

i really like gomi's striking for mma ... too many guys neglect the body

[Thin Lizzy]

i just recently started again bjj lessons, but very recreational...i didnt do it for like 8 years...so i cant say its a 'fighting' influence, but my favorite guy was, is and always will be Vitor Belfort...When he got famous it was the 'boom' of MMA and jiu jitsu here in brazil, more or less in 97, after jiu jitsu was gaining more and more fame each year, after UFC was created by the Gracies...Vitor was the beginning of a new type of fighter, more hybrid, technical but still like an animal...very explosive. He was also young, charismatic and a disciple of the 'outside' man in the Gracie family - Carlson Gracie (wich at that time had the best MMA team here...wich some years later became Brazilian Top Team)

While Vitor was very exciting to watch at that time because of his youth and explosiveness, IMO, the guy who is "The Godfather" of modern day mma is Marco Ruas. He was the first guy who could do it all. Today, Fedor has taken it to another level, although I agree with VP about his bottom game being less than stellar.

For tournament BJJ, here are a few of my favorites:

Sergio "Belao" Souza
Roberto "Gordo" Correa
Ricardo De La Riva
Roleta
Mario Sperry
Fabio Gurgel
Leo Vierra
Nino
Pe Da Pano
Margarida
Roger Gracie

[*ChuteBoxe*]

i really like gomi's striking for mma ... too many guys neglect the body

For that same reason I have always been a huge fan of Jens Pulver,  the dude has pretty technical boxing skills for MMA and hits pretty hard too, if only he could take a better punch.  The Gomi/Pulver fight is still one of my favorite fights to this day even though Jens lost.  

[realkarateblackbelt]

I like Hug because of his devotion to his art,

Tank because of his fearlessness,

and Cro Cop because his facial structure looks like my own.

[vikingpower]

I like Hug because of his devotion to his art,

Tank because he thought learning basic submissions and escapes is for pussies

and Cro Cop because his facial structure looks like my own.

fixed

[realkarateblackbelt]

I forgot to mention Severn and Fry for the seventies mustaches. They set a precedent.

[realkarateblackbelt]

Tank probably could have been pretty good if he bothered to keep up with the times. He should have switched to tough man or Kimbo fights. I still grit my teeth everytime I watch Tank Vs. Fry at the Ultimate Ultimate. That's the closet he ever came to being recognised as a legitimate legend. Guy never dissapointed though, always an exciting match with Tank on the card.

[legbreaker]

Jack Dempsey, Jake Lamatta, Ali, Forman, Evander, Marciano, Gatti, Ward, Delahoya, Herns, Sugar ray...and the list goes on and on of the truely GREAT fighters in history...way too many to name.

 

[lilwoday09smb]

bas rutten, jeff monson, mark kerr, mark coleman, randy, don thomas, vitor, randleman,

[americanbulldog]

For that same reason I have always been a huge fan of Jens Pulver,  the dude has pretty technical boxing skills for MMA and hits pretty hard too, if only he could take a better punch.  The Gomi/Pulver fight is still one of my favorite fights to this day even though Jens lost.  

Jens fight with Dane Agbayani is a clinic.  Dane is my boy, but heart alone does not win fights. 

[Petrucci]

Fabio Gurgel
Leo Vierra

very good remind...Leo Vieira is a 'monster' in JJ also...very technical...

as someone said , Bas Rutten was a lot of fun to watch too...he got to the top of the game pretty fast when he went for MMA, sad that he had to retire so soon

[stevenlim]

IRON MIKE TYSON FOREVER....I DUN CARE WAT U PPL THINK

[lilwoday09smb]

i hate the people that say ali would beat tyson. in there primes. come on tyson would murder ali.

[vikingpower]

a prime tyson would murder any other boxer out there

.


but thats boxing ... he would get tapped or GNP'd by many many 185lb+ mma fighters

[freespirit]

If it's about sword fighting: Myamoto musashi.

If it's about movie legends: Bruce Lee.

If it's about boxing: Muhammed Ali.

If it's about today (mma): Fedor Emalianenko (sp)

If it's about K1: difficult to make a decision. 

[big L dawg]

Yoda

[*ChuteBoxe*]

Jens fight with Dane Agbayani is a clinic.  Dane is my boy, but heart alone does not win fights. 

His fight with Naoya Uematsu in Shooto was a pretty sweet clinic as well, all hands at that.

[Earl1972]

i hate the people that say ali would beat tyson. in there primes. come on tyson would murder ali.

you hate smart people

E

[realkarateblackbelt]

Hahahaha. Tyson was overrated. He beat sub-par competition. An old Holyfield schooled him twice.

[LatsMcGee]

Fedor and Aleks, Roy Jones, James Toney(MW days), Shogun, Manny Pacquaio, Floyd Patterson.....

[big L dawg]

Hahahaha. Tyson was overrated. He beat sub-par competition. An old Holyfield schooled him twice.

I think holyfield would beat Ali.

[Earl1972]

I think holyfield would beat Ali.

um you do realize that ali knocked out Foreman IN HIS PRIME and Holyfield struggled with a 40+ Foreman while Holyfield was IN HIS PRIME right?

E