That’s not what other greats say. If Rickson isn’t the best then who is? That mexican guy someone brought up earlier?
I think the media/fans are more to blame for choosing to believe how he presented himself or simply choosing to make him into something in their own minds.
“Perfect” is something truly wonderful but it doesn’t exist.
Phil Baloni
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usually agree with u but he was about to have him arm shoulder and who knows what else torn.Im not a BJJ expert but am a purple belt That was a full blown sub sunk it was more than over
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what have u done
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I remember feeling this way at the time, so in a way I agree with you. Years later I would like to have seen a clean finish, tap or snap.
for a sport u cant allow that it would have been a career ender
Since when do refs stop the fight when damage is “about to” happen?
He had had the sub “sunk in” (or as sunk in as he could get it) for ages before the ref stopped it. IMO they were waiting for Sak to finish it but he wasn’t able to so they stopped the fight. Royler was waving his arms around in the ring after the fight so he clearly wasn’t significantly injured.
If the fight wasn’t stopped on doctor’s orders then it’s simply BS. Even if it was stopped on doctor’s instructions it’s possible BS. And I say that as someone who is totally gay for Sakuraba.
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I agree with you, yet in retrospect I would like to have seen a tap or snap so as not to hear the excuses from royler, who is a super tough SOB, and so we wouldn’t still be discussing it to this day. Sak deserved a clean win.
Remember Dan Hardy vs GSP? If anything, GSP had more leverage on that shoulder lock than Sak did with Royler. Royler has incredible flexibility and wasn’t in trouble.
I know it’s hard to believe, but a very small number of people have shoulders like that. The stoppage was BS.
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he was getting utterly destroyed and mounted no offence except sitting on his ass.Hed have been able he was being nice not breaking it .Royler would rather break arm than tap this is a sport not street fight
i never want to see a horrific injury .Royler would never have been able to fight again or had long injury just like Renzo did whose arm snapped and broke from same move
Seriously. Did royler mount any effective offense in that fight whatsoever or did he just take a beating lol? He had no business in there.
Another gross mismatch and gsp could have taken that arm home with him had he wanted. Hughes could have bent Royce’s arm in half too but chose to let it go and pound him out.
he was way too small But im sure he thought he could catch Sak in a sub which was his only chance
People that have rolled with Hardy have commented on his shoulders. Same with Royler. It’s simply not a place that can generate a submission on those two. Royce, on the otherhand, could have lost his arm against Hughes.
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I’m about three quarters through the book. Pretty good read. He talks about getting beat in his early days and being ok with it.
He could thought about it a thousand ways from Sunday but it’s not something that was in the realm of possibilities.
Royler was like a roosterweight sport bjj competitor. He was beyond outgunned vs sakuraba. It was a gross mismatch tbh and royler deserved the mercy payed out by the ref. The benevolence was necessary.
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By that same logic, pretty much all of Mayweather’s fights should have been stopped by the ref.
A sub is a sub and that wasn’t a sub. And, yes, Saku beats Royler 100 out of 100. Same for Royce, Ryan and Rickson. Maybe not for Renzo though, he could’ve/would’ve won some.