Griffen vs. Bonnar 1.
It was just a petty slugfest with Dana & Rogan were saying it was the best ever. No fucking way.
I can agree to that to some extent. I don't know if anyone has really claimed that it was the best ever. Just that it was a very entertaining back and forth fight. Even though it wasn't the most technical match ever, I did enjoy the fight because it was never clear who was going to win. That kind of fighting you are just expecting a KO to happen any moment. That makes it a little exciting.
Griffen vs. Bonnar 2, now that was a snoozefest.
without a doubt the early pancrase matches. worked or not.
Griffin Bonnar 1, as Draven said, was definitely not the best fight ever-- but, taking into account the circumstances, it was the best fight ever for mma on that night. Sloppy, brutal, with little technique-- but what a brawl-- and what a way to truly introduce mma to the american masses.
Severn Royce is much the same. You have to take into account the state of mma at the time of the bout. In 1994, the severn royce bout was unbelievable. I watched it-- unfucking belieavable. Now when you look back at it, its fairly simple really. A taekdown, one man laying in guard, clueless, the other really not going for subs...boring in many ways. But for its time, it is one of the all time greats.
And Frank Tito was and is a great fight. I've no idea what you mean by saying it wasnt a great fight. The best ever? No. One of the best ever? Quite likley, especially regarding its circumstances. If you don't know the circumastances then your a noob, and I'm not going to waste my wrist strength on you.
And I agree about Wand Cro Cop 2.
Just on hype alone - Severn -vs- Shamrock
some fights were so hyped that it took away from the boring aspects of the fight: ken vs frye, frank vs tito
Good recent choice with Bonner-Griffen. Not much skill displayed. But the fact that it was entertaining was crucial for TUF success.
As soon as I read the thread title, I thought "one of the recent haymaker brawls or counterpunching displays", Bonnar vs Griffin is a good example, but really it's a generally overrated style of fight rather than an individual fight.
Personally, and call me a fucking picky freak here, I like to see a display of extraordinary skill over 2 guys whaling on each other with haymakers for 15 minutes.
Re: Frank vs Tito
"I don't think I've ever actually heard anyone call this a great fight for it to be overrated... "
LOL, it was regularly cited as "best fight ever" about 5 years ago. And it wasn't - although it was a very good fight.
I actually (and I'm going to get fucking crucified for this) thought Saku-Renzo was massively overrated. It was mostly a very slow back-and-forth kickboxing display with little real action, saved by an excellent end. But I never watch anything but the last minute of the fight now.
You can't disregard the contexts of the fights. The build-up and the amount that people care about the fighters all factor into making a fight great, not just the events of the fight itself.
For their moments in time, Tito-Frank, Sak-Renzo, Forrest-Bonnar were all highly anticipated fights that had payoffs that were more than good enough to satisfy. They're not overrated.
Look at the Thrilla in Manila, Rumble in the Jungle, Hagler-Hearns, Hearns-Leonard. Would all of those fights in themselves be so great if not for the participants, the build-up, and how people were invested in who won or lost?
If the action had been exactly the same within those fights, but involving no-names that people didn't care about, maybe none of those fights would be considered classics either.
Jack, that was FCFighters fight of the year, as per the poll of their readers.....So it wasn't just Rogan and Dana saying so.
Your mama vs. my mama.
Tito/Frank was a classic, and a lot of people call it the best fight ever. I believe it was voted "Fight of the Year" for '99. It's my contention, though, that Aaron Riley vs. Shane Garrett (sp?) at HOOKnSHOOT: Horizon was actually the best fight that year...just not as high-profile. I know a lot of old-timers on this forum will agree with me, but the number of people who've seen that fight is much smaller than the number of people who've seen Frank vs. Tito.
I'm not saying Riley vs. Garrett was the best fight ever...I'm citing it as an example of Frank vs. Tito being overrated (though it was a great fight).
Personally, I think calling any fight "the best ever" is an exercise in pointless hype.
silva/cro cop 2 was a complete domination. it wasnt just a punch and a kick. the ground and pound, the knock down, the liver kick, the ko. cro cop dismantled wandy. the middle weight champ had nothing for 10 min. wheres was that aggression then? that fight kicked ass.
Take away commentary and Couture/Ortiz was a snoozer (well, probably still w/commentary).
Watching Frank vs Tito live at the Britannia Arms in San Jose was an incredible experience. That fight and the finish were beautiful.