Neither GSP and B.J. Penn is the Best Fighter at UFC 94: Machida is...

[MindSpin]

One of the best ways to measure effective defense and dominance is to look at the number of strikes a fighter absorbs. Because of variable fight lengths, the easiest way to consistently calculate this is to figure the number of strikes absorbed divided by the number of minutes fought. That gives you the number of strikes absorbed per minute of fighting, which we abbreviate as SApM. Here are some SApM figures for the five current UFC champions:

Anderson Silva: 0.71 SApM
Georges St. Pierre: 1.01 SApM
BJ Penn: 1.23 SApM
Rashad Evans: 1.39 SApM
Frank Mir: 2.7 SApM

Let's wrap things up with two more fighters' numbers:

Fedor Emelianenko: 0.59 SApM
Lyoto Machida: 0.64 SApM

Both Fedor and Machida have proven harder to hit than all of the UFC's champions. And it's not like there is a shortage of data on any of these guys. These numbers are from their entire careers. Does it mean Fedor and Machida are better than the other fighters? Not necessarily...this is just one subset of their entire fighting profile. But it is interesting to note that Fedor and Machida come in #1 and #2 in terms of the hardest guys to hit in MMA history.

[Captain Equipoise]

You have to lay off the crack pipe, seriously.

go hate on Fedor some more.

[zimanu]

But it is interesting to note that Fedor and Machida come in #1 and #2 in terms of the hardest guys to hit in MMA history.

It's a solid and interesting fact/statistic!

[Dball]

Dude, where did you get these numbers?  An article? I find it difficult to believe that you actually looked at every fight these guys ever had and calculated this.  And what counts as a shot absorbed?  Just power punches or do jabs, leg kicks, etc count?

[MindSpin]

Dude, where did you get these numbers?  An article? I find it difficult to believe that you actually looked at every fight these guys ever had and calculated this.  And what counts as a shot absorbed?  Just power punches or do jabs, leg kicks, etc count?

I didn't write that.  It's from bloodyelbow.com

[George Whorewell]

Theres no way you can base a fighters skill based on those numbers- though it is an interesting statistic. Think about a pitcher throwing a baseball to a batter. Some throw heat, some throw junk balls- Some get ground balls some get fly balls, some get strikeouts. To say Machida is the best fighter because he avoids getting hit is a false assertion because it doesnt take into account his style; He never engages any of his opponents directly and is a strict counter striker. I mean his fighting style is Karate if im not mistaken.  It is way more impressive for someone like Fedor and Anderson to have such low numbers because they dont shy away from contact.

[zimanu]

Theres no way you can base a fighters skill based on those numbers- though it is an interesting statistic. Think about a pitcher throwing a baseball to a batter. Some throw heat, some throw junk balls- Some get ground balls some get fly balls, some get strikeouts. To say Machida is the best fighter because he avoids getting hit is a false assertion because it doesnt take into account his style; He never engages any of his opponents directly and is a strict counter striker. I mean his fighting style is Karate if im not mistaken.  It is way more impressive for someone like Fedor and Anderson to have such low numbers because they dont shy away from contact.

I guess those numbers would speak louder with the strike they deliver per minutes as well as those they receive per minutes.