What are some big wins in MMA history that were essential in cementing a fighter’s legacy? That is, without this win, a fighter’s legacy would be demonstrably worse.
For example, I do not think that Jon Jones, Fedor, GSP, Mighty Mouse, Max Holloway, or Aldo have any. There is no single fight that, if you remove from their resume, relegates them to some lower status in MMA history. (I guess you could say GSP’s win over Bisping. But, to me, his legacy was already cemented).
The one that always comes to mind for me is Anderson Silva v. Dan Henderson. This is the one time that Anderson beat a prime all-time great. Moreover, that all-time great was a very good wrestler (who tried to use it in that fight) and Anderson destroyed him. The knock on Anderson (justifiably) was that a guy like Weidman was always going to be a nightmare matchup for him (good wrestler with good submission defense). The win against Henderson, while different, quiets that criticism a bit. (Although Hendo wasn’t known for his offensive wrestling).
I think Charles Olivera’s win over Dustin Porrier cemented his legacy as an all-time great. Porrier was the uncrowned champion of the division. Olivera had beat very good LWs. But, many of us – me included – did not view him as an all-time great LW, let alone the best LW on Earth. The win over Porrier did no much to quiet that.
Werdum over Fedor. Take away that and hes a top tier hw but no legendary win.
Holly v Ronda. Without Ronda her resume is not good. She isnt that good in mma. Ronda blew that fight more than Holly won it.
Dominic Cruz over TJ. While Dom was already considered a great, the question of can he hang with modern bad ass finishers was answered right then and there. If Dom didnt have so many injuries hed probably have had 15 title defenses.
I see your point somewhat but if you don’t think Fedor running through Prime Big Nog x 2 and Prime Cro Cop x 1 wasnt more impressive then beating 40 yr old Hendo i don’t know what to tell ya.
Coleman’s Pride GP win saved his legacy. His comeback story is great. Of course there were some promoter shenanigans in Pride but you can’t blame Coleman.
I don’t think you see my point! My point is that if you remove only one of those wins, Fedor’s legacy is largely the same. If you remove the Hendo win, Anderson’s status (IMO) is much worse.
Anderson - Henderson is a great example. I always root for the wrestler. I thought Dan might expose Anderson.
I remember feeling ashamed of myself a couple of days after the fight because during the fight, I made excuses to explain why Dan’s wrestling didn’t work. I kept saying he got touched up on the feet, which exhausted him, which made his wrestling ineffective. All of that may have been true, but I knew I was really arguing that if Dan would have done X, Y, or Z, it would’ve been different.
Meant to include that one. You’re right. The Machida win is good, but the Silva wins are absolutely huge to his legacy. I think the second win is probably the right one – even though it had the freak accident, Weidman was beating that ass.
Good ones! I actually think Werdum over Cain is even bigger. You can chalk up the Fedor loss to him being past his prime. Werdum beat up Cain V., and that was just huge.
Cody over Dom is another one. Without that fight, I think he’d be considered a talented guy who couldn’t put it all together.
Khazmat Chimaev over Gerald Meerschaert. From what I read everywhere, the guy is the best who has ever lived because of this fight.*
*I post this arrogantly, so that if he starts getting beaten by relevant competition I look smart, but post this disclaimer in the event that the hype train is real and he really is the new goat.