Sadyv - Saku with an American MMA mind set would have been a 170lbers for most of his career, instead he was fighting at LHW and HW. Incredible.
Lol at Sak being number 1. Maybe if it wasn't for a guy named wanderlei silva who destroyed him three times. 
Im pretty sure I heard a quote of him saying he wanted to die in battle/the ring... saku is a fucking legend one of the greats no doubt about that, what a style, really intelligent fighter that was what his skill was in my mind, fairly tough but it was his nickname "iq wrestler" i loved how he fucked the rigidity of the gracies styles spinning legs, chops and what a showman to top it off.
JimmersonzGlove - He was the greatest at one point. The Japanese MMA landscape is what made him and destroyed him. If he entered the sport under unified rules....it would've never been the same. He's the dude who saved Pride when Takada was exposed as not a good MMA fighter. Gracie feud and then the Wand feud is what made Pride into the powerhouse that it was....and losing to Wand the first time made him a bigger star. The rematch was the first sellout of the Tokyo Dome.
Had the honor and prevelege of witnessing Sakuraba's rise and fall starting from UFC Japan til his loss against Mayhem. As I was rewatching some of his old fights I noticed one feature that may have had some impact on the turning point of his career. If you notice in his ealier fights he wasn't afraid to take it to the ground and out grapple his opponent for the submission. He did this against many top brazilian BB and had lots of success. Somewhere down the road Sakuraba just decided to abandon his grappling elements and stood up everytime the fight got to the ground, often with his opponents lying on their backs and eventually getting back on their feet. Not sure why he did this but he did it numerous times against Arona, Nogueira, and several others.
Sak > Anderson
Sakuraba is a legend for what he did in his career.
I wouldn't change a thing if I was him.
competing, and often times winning against bigger, supposedily better opponents, is what cemented his legacy in my opinion.
Saku is old school and I don't condem him for fighting bigger guys, if anything, I applaud him and admire him that much more.
Anytime I see Conan Silveria speak(like on the Hector Lombard promotion vids), I always remember his bout with Sakuraba and Sak breaking the arm that had the tatoo "unbreakable".
The other reason Sak did not do even better than he did was that he never developed a great guard. On many occasions he could of saved himself by recovery guard instead of turtling.
Saku is a legend and at one point in his career he was the greatest in MMA.
They just don't make 'em like that anymore. One of a kind.
nowaydo - The other reason Sak did not do even better than he did was that he never developed a great guard. On many occasions he could of saved himself by recovery guard instead of turtling.
Only way to watch in order is to have them all on video? Or buy them?
WrestlingSucks - the guy took out the gracie family and stole ricksons aura. he also willingly fought wand back when it was a death sentence. three times
Saku fans at the worst. He was really good but was destroyed in his prime by a guy in the same weight division.
Wand is ahead on the goat list easily
People don't understand how monumental his dismantling of the Gracies was. Beating Royler was crazy, beating Royce was crazier, and tapping Renzo was ridiculous. Plus the Carlos Newton fight. Sakuraba was incredible.
Obviously MMA was still in it's youth during his day, and since then I think overall skill has developed and evolved, but for his time Sakuraba could be GOAT.
UGCTT_zackthewop - Saku fans at the worst. He was really good but was destroyed in his prime by a guy in the same weight division.
Wand is ahead on the goat list easily
Wand vs Sak was essentially a welterweight vs a light heavyweight.
minotauro11 -UGCTT_zackthewop - Saku fans at the worst. He was really good but was destroyed in his prime by a guy in the same weight division.
Wand is ahead on the goat list easilyWand vs Sak was essentially a welterweight vs a light heavyweight.
So what was royler?
Wand was more of a big middleweight and saku was a small welter weight.
It's the weight class he chose and when he fought the best he got destroyed.
UGCTT_zackthewop -minotauro11 -So what was royler?<br><br>Wand was more of a big middleweight and saku was a small welter weight.<br><br>It's the weight class he chose and when he fought the best he got destroyed. <img src="/images/phone/apple.png" alt="Phone Post" border="0" style="vertical-align:middle;"/>UGCTT_zackthewop - Saku fans at the worst. He was really good but was destroyed in his prime by a guy in the same weight division.<br><br>Wand is ahead on the goat list easily <img src="/images/phone/apple.png" alt="Phone Post" border="0" style="vertical-align:middle;"/>Wand vs Sak was essentially a welterweight vs a light heavyweight. <img src="/images/phone/apple.png" alt="Phone Post" border="0" style="vertical-align:middle;"/>
SAKUUUUUUUU
Top 5 all time without a doubt.
Balance -UGCTT_zackthewop -minotauro11 -So what was royler?<br><br>Wand was more of a big middleweight and saku was a small welter weight.<br><br>It's the weight class he chose and when he fought the best he got destroyed. <img src="/images/phone/apple.png" alt="Phone Post" border="0" style="vertical-align:middle;"/>UGCTT_zackthewop - Saku fans at the worst. He was really good but was destroyed in his prime by a guy in the same weight division.<br><br>Wand is ahead on the goat list easily <img src="/images/phone/apple.png" alt="Phone Post" border="0" style="vertical-align:middle;"/>Wand vs Sak was essentially a welterweight vs a light heavyweight. <img src="/images/phone/apple.png" alt="Phone Post" border="0" style="vertical-align:middle;"/>
Pride Wanderlei was a good size LHW. Sak would have been a small MW. When Wanderlei fought Crocop the second time, the size difference would have been comparable to the Wand/Sak matchup.
Regardless, the fact that Sak kept coming back at Wand is emblematic of what I admire about him.
Not saying he isn't admirable or even extremely awesome. Just not the greatest of all time
^It's a dumb comparison, though, because we're talking pound for pound. Sure, Wand probably takes out Royce quicker and gives just as hard of a fight to Igor, but he was bigger than Sak, and didn't have such an easy time in his first fight against Sak either.