A Biased Fan's Report: The Top Five Most Entertaining Fighters of All Time

In reverse order:

No. 5—James “Mega Punk” Thompson

You can say a lot about this fighter: some good, some bad. The one thing you can never say is that he’s boring to watch.

From the moment he enters the arena, he electrifies the crowd. I’ve seen it. I’ve felt it. It's like a superhero just walked into the place. Japanese fans tend to think of him as some sort of superhero. A Mega Man capable of anything. They even created a You-tube video describing him as just that: a hero of the people.

This man walks out and into the arena, shaking in anticipation as one of the five most entertaining fighters of all time. He can barley control his rage, as he steps into the ring- never taking his eyes off his victim….er opponent.

When the bell rings it's on, and he’s across the mat in seconds, eager to engage his opponent and do whatever it takes to dismantle his opposition. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

Regardless, he’s a thrill and a half.

Bas Rutten is quoted as saying he wouldn’t feel safe around this guy unless he had a baseball bat. I think that says enough right there. James Thompson, with the proper camp and promotion, could rule the world of MMA.

No. 4—Takanori “Fireball” Gomi

Well, this guy is very fun to watch. His battle with Luis Azerado was epic. This guy just plain wipes people out, and it would be a crying shame if we were never able to see him fight in the Octogon.

I don’t know many lightweights that could match up with him. At 170, he’s even more powerful.

Why doesn’t this guy come to the UFC? I don’t get it. He must be getting paid because there is no logical reason why he isn’t ruling the welterweight or lightweight divisions.

Yes, he’s that good. I pity anyone who has never seen him fight. His last loss was to Nick Diaz in the third round by a choke. The result was overturned when Nick tested positive for Mary Jane.

While I respect Gomi, I don’t see how smoking pot would give someone an advantage in an MMA battle.

Nevertheless, Gomi is a VERY dangerous man and anyone who thinks different is deluding themselves.

No. 3—Phil “The New York Badass” Baroni

Say whatever you like, Phil was "Da man." His fight against Minowa 1 was one of the greatest fights of all time. The way he entered an arena would make any NY’er proud. “Im the best, so bleep on it!”

Walking in and wearing a slick robe and a Yankee emblem on his hoo-ha, he was ready to crush heads. In Bushido he reached his peak, dismantling every ace they had.

People have pretty bad opinions of this guy, but he was damn fun to watch, and he represented and gets credit for that.

No. 2—Wanderlei Silva

Hands down, probably the greatest fighter of all time.

Wanderlie was the purest possible example of the “ultimate fighter“ that there ever was. No man on Earth, including Anderson Silva, has better knee strikes than Wanderlie.

He has fought everyone who is anyone twice, and proven himself over time to be even greater that Fedor (In this author's humble opinion).

His greatest fight was probably his battle against Kazuyuki Fujita, in which he became the first man to ever KO Fujita. Recently, he beat the nipple pincher Keith Jardine and lost a fight to Rampage.

I don’t think there can be much question that he belongs on this list.

No. 1—Charles "Crazy Horse" Bennet

This guy is simply the most entertaining fighter that ever lived. No one comes close. He does things with the camera and in the ring that I have never seen before, including sucker kicks off the ropes, vicious KO’s, and endless playing to the camera. He may not be the greatest fighter that ever lived, but he’s certainly the most fun BY FAR.

Go ahead and disagree—I dare ya.

-Marco Yanitelli “The Italian Scallion”