Yes, this is the classical excuse: that none of his competitors were great. The last time I checked, all the fighters he defeated had to work to reach that level. It's not like the promotors arranged matches for him against street thugs or bar brawlers. The guys who Rickson defeated were legends in Japan.
And what has the fact that Bas Rutten challenged Rickson and he declined have to do with anything? Rutten has to prove himself before he can challenge the god of the tatame! Rickson has already said that he is willing to fight Sakuraba. How about that?! Wanderlei has sparred on the ground with Rickson and said that he would absolutely demolish anyone. And as you probably know, Wanderlei is the guy who destroyed Clinton "Rampage" Jackson with ease, and left Sakuraba half dead several times. Rickson could probably be defeated now because he's almost 50, but a prime Rickson destroys anyone, as the BBC documentary shows. Quoting myself again, 90% of these fights end on the ground, and Rickson is unmatched there. The only way I can see Rickson losing is if his opponent manages to lend a lucky punch on his chin. Face it, dude: Rickson is the greatest ever.
Legends?
Win Masakatsu Funaki Technical Submission (Rear Naked Choke) C2K - Colosseum 2000 5/26/2000 1 12:49
Win Nobuhiko Takada Submission (Armbar) PRIDE 4 - PRIDE 4 10/11/1998 1 9:30
Win Nobuhiko Takada Submission (Armbar) PRIDE 1 - PRIDE 1 10/11/1997 1 4:47
Win Yuki Nakai Submission (Rear Naked Choke) VTJ 1995 - Vale Tudo Japan 1995 4/20/1995 1 6:22
Win Koichiro Kimura Submission (Rear Naked Choke) VTJ 1995 - Vale Tudo Japan 1995 4/20/1995 1 2:07
Win Yoshihisa Yamamoto Submission (Rear Naked Choke) VTJ 1995 - Vale Tudo Japan 1995 4/20/1995 3 3:49
Win Bud Smith Submission (Punches) VTJ 1994 - Vale Tudo Japan 1994 7/29/1994 1 0:39
Win David Levicki Submission (Punches) VTJ 1994 - Vale Tudo Japan 1994 7/29/1994 1 2:40
Win Yoshinori Nishi Submission (Rear Naked Choke) VTJ 1994 - Vale Tudo Japan 1994 7/29/1994 1 2:52
Win Rei Zulu Submission (Rear Naked Choke) IE - Independent Event 1/1/1984 1
Win Rei Zulu Submission (Rear Naked Choke) IE - Independent Event 4/25/1980 1 11:55
Other than Yuki Nakai and Mas Funaki, who is a legend? Nakai is much smaller than Rickson, and had his eye permanently damaged by Gordeau before his fight with Rickson. Bud Smith had NO GROUND game. Wandy sparred with Rickson in JIUJITSU only. Who is Clinton Jackson? Rickson's wrestling isn't any where near the level of today's fighters so getting the fight to the ground wouldn't be as easy as you say. Mas Funaki, who doesn't have that good a takedown defense, left a HUGE mouse on Rickson's eye before he was taken down. Mas is 40+. If he would fight Saku, why hasn't he already? Why didn't he do it when he was offered to him by DSE? He fought Takada AGAIN and Funaki. He wanted no part of Ze Saku. I am a student of a Gracie, and have the ultimate respect for Rickson, he tooled me EASILY in BJJ, but MMA isn't BJJ. And Rickson is not a young man anymore. On the mat, he is THE GOD, but BJJ is not MMA. Otherwise Jacare, Marcelo would be undefeated. After Bas last match in Pancrease, prior to him going to the UFC, he called out Rickson, who was in the audience. Fight never happened. BTW, this is Bas record.
Win Ruben Villareal KO (Leg Kicks) WFA - King of the Streets 7/22/2006 1 3:24
Win Kevin Randleman Decision UFC 20 - Battle for the Gold 5/7/1999 1 21:00
Win Tsuyoshi Kohsaka KO UFC 18 - Road to the Heavyweight Title 1/8/1999 1 14:15
Win Kengo Watanabe TKO (Lost Points) Pancrase - 1998 Anniversary Show 9/14/1998 1 2:58
Win Keiichiro Yamamiya Submission (Rear Naked Choke) Pancrase - Alive 11 12/20/1997 1 4:58
Win Osami Shibuya Submission (Body Crunch) Pancrase - 1997 Anniversary Show 9/6/1997 1 3:15
Win Takaku Fuke Submission Pancrase - Alive 7 6/30/1997 1 4:28
Win Kiuma Kunioku Decision (Lost Points) Pancrase - Alive 4 4/27/1997 1 15:00
Draw Osami Shibuya Draw Pancrase - Alive 3 3/22/1997 1 15:00
Win Manabu Yamada Submission Pancrase - Truth 7 10/8/1996 1 0:54
Win Masakatsu Funaki TKO (Lost Points) Pancrase - 1996 Anniversary Show 9/7/1996 1 17:05
Win Jason Delucia TKO Pancrase - Truth 6 6/25/1996 1 8:48
Win Frank Shamrock TKO (Cut) Pancrase - Truth 5 5/16/1996 1 11:11
Win Katsuomi Inagaki TKO (Lost Points) Pancrase - Truth 4 4/8/1996 1 14:07
Win Guy Mezger Submission Pancrase - Truth 2 3/2/1996 1 19:36
Win Ryushi Yanagisawa Submission (Choke) Pancrase - Eyes Of Beast 7 12/14/1995 1 27:35
Win Maurice Smith Submission (Choke) Pancrase - Eyes Of Beast 6 11/4/1995 1 4:34
Win Minoru Suzuki Submission (Guillotine Choke) Pancrase - 1995 Anniversary Show 9/1/1995 1 15:35
Win Frank Shamrock Decision (Split) Pancrase - 1995 Neo-Blood Tournament, Round 2 7/23/1995 1 15:00
Win Jason Delucia Submission Pancrase - Eyes Of Beast 5 6/13/1995 1 1:32
Win Maurice Smith Submission (Kneebar) Pancrase - Eyes Of Beast 4 5/13/1995 1 2:10
Win Takaku Fuke Submission Pancrase - Eyes Of Beast 3 4/8/1995 1 1:52
Loss Ken Shamrock Submission (Kneebar) Pancrase - Eyes Of Beast 2 3/10/1995 1 1:01
Win Manabu Yamada TKO (Strikes) Pancrase - Eyes Of Beast 1 1/26/1995 1 1:05
Loss Frank Shamrock Decision (Majority) Pancrase - King of Pancrase Tournament, Round 1 12/16/1994 1 10:00
Win Jason Delucia Submission (Guillotine Choke) Pancrase - Road To The Championship 5 10/15/1994 1 1:43
Loss Ken Shamrock Submission Pancrase - Road To The Championship 3 7/26/1994 1 16:42
Win Minoru Suzuki KO Pancrase - Road To The Championship 2 7/6/1994 1 3:43
Win Yoshiki Takahashi TKO Pancrase - Road To The Championship 1 5/31/1994 1 1:37
Win Vernon White Submission Pancrase - Pancrash! 3 4/21/1994 1 1:16
Loss Masakatsu Funaki Submission (Toehold) Pancrase - Pancrash! 1 1/19/1994 1 2:58
Win Takaku Fuke KO Pancrase - Yes, We are Hybrid Wrestlers 2 10/14/1993 1 2:03
Win Ryushi Yanagisawa KO Pancrase - Yes, We are Hybrid Wrestlers 1 9/21/1993 1 0:43
With wins over Suzuki, Funaki, Vernon White, FRANK SHAMROCK, Mo Smith, TK Kohsaka (who is the only man to beat Fedor), Bas has earned the right to fight Rickson, by far. Why didn't Rickson fight Frank? Because he is too much a threat to the veil of invinciblity that Rickson created, that is why.