Phil “CM Punk” Brooks
Well Coleman had only had that pro wrestling match in PRIDE vs Takada when Igor Kerr happened. Coleman just arrived in PRIDE in 99 coming off that three skid in the UFC. Igor had been in PRIDE since 98 and just beat prime Barreto right before he beat Kerr when it became a NC. At the time of the Kerr fight Igor was on a 32 fight win steak. I think for sure if PRIDE had a world title in 98/99 that Igor would have won it. Even after Coleman arrived in PRIDE in 99, there is no guarantee he would have beat Igor if they met outside the GP setting but he beat him for sure.
Igor fought Goodridge and Saku for 25 minutes before he fought Coleman while Coleman just fought Shoji and got that bye vs Fujita essentially.
So yeah Igor would have for sure been PRIDE HW champ if they had a belt in 97-98 and gave him a shot at it. Of course Rickson, Kerr, Barreto, Wanderlei, Erikson etc… could have upset him but he would have been the favorite in my eyes. Him and Coleman and 99… well we saw how it went in a tournament setting but yeah, Coleman taking the title from Igor would not have been too shocking. Its still impressive how dangerous those 1st generation guys were when the sport was really only a handful of years old.
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How about Jacare?
From 2009 to 2016 he only dropped a UD to Rockhold and a SD to Romero. Had wins (13) over Lindland, Kennedy, Brunson (2x), Lawler, Okami, Vitor etc… in that time and was being held back from a title shot in the UFC like Romero was while guys like Vitor, Bisping and Hendo got to jump the line.
Even once past his prime Jacare went up to LHW and dropped a razor thin SD to Jan who went and won the LHW title a year later.
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How the fuck did I not think of him with my damn SN. Good fucking call. I still pick a 29-31 year old Tony to beat Khabib.
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Like it or not, a UFC interim champion wins a belt.
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This is “best fighter,” not best farter.
Nevermind, I was only thinking of the PRIDE and UFC titles… if we are counting the Strikeforce belt as a major title then Jacare is off the list.
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The point of my post was that, if all other things were equal, Coleman likely had an advantage going into the finals because he had the easier path.
How did that make Colemans win less likely?
Maybe I’m misunderstanding.
Well written and informative post; I don’t think it was rude in any way.
As far as shooto, I don’t think I said anything wrong or controversial. The shooto I remember watching I THOUGHT allowed punches to the head on the ground. I found a YouTube fight from that era (or at least involving fighters I remember from that era) and there were punches to the head on the ground.
Rules change in leagues/organizations. I could say I remember groin shots in the ufc, and I’d be right. Just ask Joe son. But they aren’t allowed anymore.
As far as what is mma? I will say this. It is a different/higher level of combat sport when punches to the head on the ground are allowed. Same with when soccer kicks are allowed.
@ArodMFingJohns put it very nicely in his post about nhb, mma, etc. They’re all combat sports, and again I’m not trying to diminish the competitors or the organizations.
I think Peter Aerts said Pedro had the hardest leg kicks in kickboxing when Pedro went to go train with him. That says a lot considering the monsters Aerts has sparred with and fought over the years.
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Probably not the best but Jim Miller early in his career a great fighter
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I’m sure it’s been said but I’m not gonna read the entire thread. Chael Sonnen technically should have been WEC champ but he got fucked over by Filho. He had all the skills to be the champ in every org he ever competed in, but his mind always got in the way.
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I’ve heard Chael self-destructed in wrestling in the same way.
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I’m sure this has already been figured out but my theory is that the “self-destruct” thing is that in your subconscious you think you don’t deserve to win. So when you’re under tremendous pressure, you “snatch defeat from the jaws of victory”, because it has become embedded into your brain. It’s a confidence issue.
My god, we forgot Rickson. 400-0 and never held a title.
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I think Chael said his sports psychologist told him this.
I know it’s a big part of Lanny Bassham’s stuff (mental coach for a lot of sports, wrote I great book I read that Firas recommended)
I’m fascinated by this idea and how people can overcome it, or if they can overcome it. I might be misremembering the dates, but I recall Chael saying his sports psychologist fixed it at some point, but that point was pre Anderson 1, so obviously it wasn’t fixed
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How could we forget?
Yeah I agree, I’m very interested in it as well. I have used various techniques for my own brain, to mixed results. I remember Firas mentioning that book on JRE, do you recall the name of it?
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[quote=“MasterofMartialArts, post:134, topic:3706338, full:true”]
Even Matt Lindland said it. Chael had the skills. He put in the work. But, he folded every time that it mattered.
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People tend to attribute Chael’s success against Anderson in the first fight to Anderson’s injury. But, they forget how badly Chael beat Anderson up in round 1 of their second fight. Total dominance. Silva turned the fight dirty – grabbing Chael’s shorts, for example – and Chael totally and utterly folded.
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