Randy Couture, Brock Lesnar and Fedor Emelianenko's Legacy

But someone needs to fight the good fight. Pun somewhat intended

“I r smart, listen to me.”

I fear for our world.

Look at Ali, he’s a legend for what he did outside the ring just as much as for what he did in the ring, trash talk, self promotion, speaking out against vietnam etc… Am I trying to compare Couture’s record to Ali’s record or Couture as a fighter to Ali as a fighter? No, I’m saying a record in and of itself is not the measure of a legend. And if I was to just take the word legend and look up the definition, there’s only 2-3 things described there that could apply to a person.

“2. One that inspires legends or achieves legendary fame.”

“4. a person whose fame or notoriety makes him a source of exaggerated or romanticized tales or exploits”

I don’t know if you were watching any of his big underdog fights live but those were some legendary moments in MMA. People at the time couldn’t believe what the guy was doing, it was inspirational stuff, it was absolutley crazy, he was supposed to be done, finished, over so many times but he kept coming back.

And age is a factor, how you can suggest that age doesn’t matter or play a part in his legacy at all is beyond me. Time is relevant to all of us, we all have that in common, we all succumb to it, we all get old, we all slow down, we all have to give up things we love to do due to age. The guy was beating the odds every fight just by getting in there and being competitive. Again, that type of thing moves people, it touches people on an emotional level, it’s motivational, watching this guy defy time and age itself and continue to compete all the way up to 48 moved not just fans but other fighters as well. 48 yrs old, still fighting, still in great shape, that’s amazing.

Randy was just a perfect example of someone that worked hard, never gave up, always gave training and fighting everything he had and the impression he left with the fans that admired him and the fighters that admired him is much more powerful and worthwhile IMO than some stats on a piece of paper. I don’t think there’s really anyway to deny that his contribution to the sport and just as a human being in general was legendary.

You’re not introducing any of the human element into your calcs there. We’re not robots, we shouldn’t try to think like robots.

I think the “damage received/ damage put out” ratio is more important to durability. Also genetics and diet. That is the whole nature vs nurture argument.

The way a fighter approaches a fight is very varied. If you discount wresting completely, I think that is unwise. I don’t enough taking wrestling to the max though like AJ vs Dan Hardy. If you want to win at any cost, that is fine, but at least be honest. Using a jedi mind trick/deception is a decent strategy, but it seems like a co-opt to me sometimes….

“if a a horse has an arrow through it’s head, is it unicorn or a said injured, it’s whatever the most people believe it is”.