It's hard to say at present because MMA is still a relatively new sport, unlike boxing which has been here for generations.....At present, in my opinion:1) UFC - Anderson Silva (has convincingly beaten the best in his division)2) Fedor Emelianenko (has been undefeated the past few years, a win against Couture will cement his legacy)*I acknowledge the fact that this can change in the years or even months ahead because of the nature of the sport. MMA is still very young and it's still too early to say who is the greatest.
Firstly, "mma" evolved a few years AFTER ufc and nhb started. In the beginning it was one martial art versus another (Jujitsu v Kick Boxing, Wrestling v Kung fu etc.)Only when fighters learned the best techniques did it become MMA. Great Martial artists like Rickson Gracie would last 5 mins with a well rounded mma fighter. I would say....For UFC It is a toss up between Matt Hughes and Anderson Silva. If I had to pick one it would be Anderson Silva. To be a great mma fighter you have to be very well rounded. He is by far the best striker in mma, amazing clinch and excellent on the ground. As for people never to fight in the UFC....Fedor Emelainenko.An amazing fighter. He is dangerous standing up, devestating in the top mount, great submissions, good off this back, great recovery and is always in control. He is the Undefeated Pride HW Champion and one of the reasons current UFC hw champ Randy Couture resigned from his UFC contract. "To be the man, you must beat the man" and in MMA's heavyweight division...."the man" is Fedor.
Hard to say. For me noone showed that "eye of the tiger " more than Ken Shamrock about 15 years ago. Frank Shamrock could have the best technique to ever grace an MMA fight. Rickson had great natural ability. Fedor is beating everyone he fights. Its really hard to say.http://markschat.blogspot.com Fighting and Training Methods for Unarmed Martial Artists.
From the UFC, I'd say GSP. He's got a ways to go to build up his record, but the guy is the definition of a modern mixed-martial artist.For non-UFC I've got to go with my old standby, Rickson Gracie. I'm more bummed out than anyone that he's pretty much elected not to fight anyone noteworthy for a long, long time. But I think you have to remember that, as much as we'd like to, us fans do not have the power to tell a fighter when or when not to retire. The dude paid his dues a long time ago in fights way more brutal than the UFC, so who am I to tell him that I doubt his abilities if he won't keep it going until he loses.But that said, the man was a genius. Just go watch Choke if you haven't already. The fluidity of his technique, the lack of ego (in the sense of not feeling like you have to just stand and trade strikes with an opponent to be considered a badass), and the depth of his training (how about that yoga scene) are second to none. I honestly don't think I've seen the fighter who could have taken him in his prime.Now, I know Frank the Tank (among others) is a Fedor supporter, and that's not hard to understand. But I think Rickson was every bit as good, and he was also way more of a pioneer.Just my two cents.