Rickson is widely considered to be the best BJJer on the planet. My question is this:
Who are his equals/equivalents in the other disciplines?
Put another way, who do you think is the Rickson Gracie of Judo/Sambo/Muay Thai/Kickboxing/Freestyle Wrestling, etc.
(Please feel free to add your picks for any other disciplines.)
M/M
Shut you mouth, Rickson has no equal in any discipline.
You mean equivalents
Alexander Karelin in Greco
DROC
"You mean equivalents"
You are right, droc.
Sheepishly edits original post, hopes former English professor is not a UGer
Grandmaster Flash in hip hop.
I think the better question would've been: Who is the top of their form in each of the following (then list them) disciplines?
Grandmaster flash has nothin' on Pac
Sperry would beat Rickson
Cael Sanderson in folk style wrestling.
Barry Bonds in baseball.
Michael Jordan in basketball.
Joe Montana in football.
Pele in soccer.
Wayne Gretzsky in hockey.
Me in beer pong.
Chuck Norris in internet legending
actually, BigFarmer, the claim is that RIckson at 48 is still better than today's best at 25...so none of the guys you mentioned (Sanderson is too young still) would count...as great as Gretzky was, he isn't better than today's Hart winner right now (as Gretzky is 50ish).
Kimura, legend has it, could still defeat the 1964 Japanese Olympic team even though he was an old man at the time...
so Kimura would be the one...
"the claim is that RIckson at 48 is still better than today's best at 25"
That might be true. When I'm 48 I'll still be putting the stamp on kids in beer pong and then I'll be somewhat equal to Rickson's legend.
Fedor in MMA.
sothy,
it looks like some people have some reading comprehension issues. I agree with you in that as great as Gretzky was he isn't that much better than Iginla is now so you point about Kimura seems to hold.
"the claim is that RIckson at 48 is still better than today's best at 25"
Not that it matters much, but Rickson Gracie was born Nov. 11, 1959, making him 46 years old.
There is no way a 46 year old in ANY sport can beat the best in the game. Gracie's accomplishments and technical skill are certainly impressive, but the thought of him beating Jacare or Garcia in a BJJ match is a little laughable.
There are some great names in Judo..
Yamashita, Koga, Kimura, Saito, and One day probably Innoue. Though Yamashita is definately one of the top two.
IMO
Kimura over Rickson by armbar!
Olympic Wrestling
Karelin
Boxing-
Who was the greatest self promoter? Ali I would guess.
Sambo-
No clue, maybe Fedor?
Screw all this I want to know who is the Rickson of Olympic Badmitton! Who is the Rickson of competetive scrabble, and Rickson of knitting?!
Takeru Kobayashi - the Rickson of competitive eating
Michael Schumacher - the Rickson of Formula One Racing
Kobayashi is damn amazing!
"Kobayashi is damn amazing!"
I saw him get wupped by a bear in hot dog eating contest on TV a few years ago.
Yamashita can still take it to people in training supposedly, so yeah, he may also the "the one".
None of the others are though. Inoue loses to Suzuki at times, and Suzuki was upset last weekend in the All-Japan.
(Saito was #2 in the world, which makes him Liborio or something.)
the point is just that the LEGEND of Rickson is that at 46 (sorry, not 48 crazy talk there), he can whoop Filho like no one ever has. That a few years ago when Saulo was in the middle of his 6 Mundials in a row (unequaled by others) that Rickson whipped him (so an early 40s Rickson there).
That kind of legend has only been equaled by Kimura in judo circles (and possibly Yamashita). Kimura trained a Canadian who got 2nd in the 64 Olympics and the guy said (in a documentary) that Kimura judo is just insane (ie. better than someone in their prime who got 2nd in the Olympics)...(paraphrasing, I only saw part of the doc.). Around that time, supposedly Kimura could still defeat Japan's Olympic judo team (ie. as an older man...maybe mid 40s?...damn the parallel))...
I DO find that hard to believe though. I mean, I doubt that Rickson could beat Saulo in the Mundials. Saulo could throw for 2 points and do a Takada-Royce tuck until the bell if he wants...
but in pure rolling/throwing (no points, no time limits), could Rickson/Kimura be that good? (worth noting that supposedly Kimura was the best at both, surpassing the Rickson legend in that regard) Could their skill beat the top competitors in their sports?
Karelin, when he is 46, will not be better than the current #1 (in the future, so future #1) at greco-roman...neither will Jordan, Gretzky, etc.
Kimura was special though apparently. The thing is, none of us saw it, and it wasn't in competition, just practice...
so it could all just be a hoax, this also parallels the Rickson phemonemon (sp?). Either they are both super special talents that come by once a generation, or we have been dupped.
Nobody has the same aura as Rickson. They can not flow with the go like he can.