When faced with the objective of giving an all-time lineup of your favorite sports team, I originally thought of the baseball teams and football teams (European football and American football). Then I began to think of how I could bring my true love, MMA, into the fold. Then, eureka, a fantasy IFL team.
Heavyweight: Fedor Emelianenko
Fedor may go down in history as the greatest heavyweight in history, if not as the greatest pound for pound fighter in history. There is no way that you can keep him off the list.
He is what baseball people like to call a five-tool player. He has submissions, takedowns, striking, ground and pound, and cardio. He is an almost assured win.
Alternate: Mirko Cro Cop
Yes, Mirko over Couture. I know I'll catch flak for this, but his striking and takedown defense make him a very formidable opponent. Not to mention he is arguably the greatest striker in history.
Light Heavyweight: Wanderlei Silva
Wanderlei Silva may have been one of the most intimidating and reckless fighters in history. His attack, attack, attack mentality made him downright scary to go against. His cardio is some of the best in history and with his sharp knees and wild powerful punches, his rapid pace is hard for anyone to handle.
Alternate: Rampage Jackson
I know the Chuck fans are going to go nuts here, but this man has beaten Chuck twice and has some of the most vicious slams in the business. Pair that with his solid striking and effective knees, and he is a force to be reckoned with.
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Middleweight: Anderson Silva
As the No. 1 fighter pound for pound right now, holding wins over Rich Franklin, Nate Marquardt, and Travis Lutter. Anderson may go down as the best middleweight of all-time and possibly the greatest UFC champion of all-time.
Alternate: Kazushi Sakuraba
Sakuraba single-handedly revolutionized MMA in Japan. His defeats of the Gracies brought worldwide attention to the new MMA promotion and may have just brought enough of the spotlight to attract top competitors from the UFC to battle in Japan.
Welterweight: Georges St. Pierre
I am in fact going to be bold here and go with GSP as a better fighter than both Hughes and Royce Gracie. I believe that GSP is more well-rounded and his athleticism is unparalleled in this sport. For this he gets the start.
Alternate: Royce Gracie
Royce is the man who brought the UFC to life in its very beginnings. For this the true legend of MMA gets the alternate spot.
Lightweight: BJ Penn
BJ may be the most well-rounded fighter in the UFC. He can finish fights standing with lightning quick blows and knees. However, he is most famous for limb crushing submissions. This world class Jui Jitsu practitioner is no joke and may hold the UFC lightweight title until he retires.
Alternate: Takanori Gomi
Gomi may be the greatest lightweight striker of all-time and his crisp, quick shots make anyone who steps to bang with him timid. His bricks have one-shot knockout power. For his explosive striking he gets the alternate.
Although the IFL does not actually include featherweights on its rosters, I believe the man sitting atop the featherweight ranks deserves mention.
Featherweight: Urijah Faber
Faber's slick wrestling skills and insane cardio make him a very undesirable opponent for anybody at 145. His improvisational style makes him not only a ticket seller, but a loose cannon that is unpredictable to his opponents. Talk about a deadly combination!
Alternate: Jens Pulver
Jens may have lost to Faber, but when Jens fought in his prime at 155 he was good enough to earn the UFC lightweight title. If that Jens fought at 155, watch out Urijah!
If there was an Olympic event for MMA this dream team would take the cake easily. (Yes I do realize that they are from different countries). However, if there were ever a dream team, this is it.
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about 1 month ago
Nice article, however I disagree with Light-Heavyweight. Randy Couture should be there because he was an amazing light-heavyweight and Wanderlei is a pretty good choice, although I think soon it will be Anderson Silva but as of now I think Forrest Griffin just cuz he beat Shogun AND Rampage.
from about 1 month ago
Good comment, Brian. In my opinion, the light-Heavyweight Randy Couture didn't get to fight too many top LHWs. He beat Lidell but we all know what happened in the rematch and rubber match. Randy is MMA royalty, but I wouldn't put him on this team at any weight class. I would, however, have him corner my team.
about 1 month ago
Fedor: Agree
Cro Cop: Not now
Wanderlei: Agree, but there are 2 or 3 others that could start here
Rampage: Debatable. The 2 or 3 I hinted at above would start ahead of Q
Anderson: Agree
Sakuraba: OK
GSP: Agree
Gracie: Maybe 10 years ago, but not now. I'm thinking Fitch.
Penn: Agree
Gomi: OK
Faber: Agree
Pulver: OK
about 1 month ago
Alright, I'll make a list of fighters to challenge your team. I'm not going out of the way for all-time like you did with Sakaruba and Gracie, I'm trying to pick the fighters I actually think would have the best chance of winning. For instance, if everyone around the world was making teams, I would need to take into account that I need to find someone to beat Fedor. I think Lesnar has as good a shot as anyone vs Fedor because I think that he can definitely take him down, and he'd just need to defend Fedor's slick submissions to win... easier said than done of course.
Heavyweight: Andrei Arlovski (man would I love to see this guy face Cro Cop or Fedor)
Alternate HW: Brock Lesnar
Light Heavyweight: Lyoto Machida
Alternate LHW: Forrest Griffin
Middleweight: Dan Henderson; I still say he has the best chance vs Anderson (why didn't you list him as one of Silva's victims rather than a guy like Lutter?)
Alternate MW: Demian Maia
Welterweight: Jon Fitch (definitely the #2 guy in the world and will give GSP his toughest challenge imo)
Alternate WW: Thiago Alves
Lightweight: Eddie Alvarez
Alternate LW: Shinya Aoki
Featherweight: Frankie Edgar (I know he's 155 now, but he's fought at 145 before, and needs to fight Faber eventually... what a war that would be)
Alternate FW: Leonard Garcia (the guy's just a warrior)
Just for kicks I'll add Bantumweight: KID Yamamoto
Alternate: Miguel Torres
from about 1 month ago
Kid Yamamoto is fighting at 145 now and if he wasn't hurt should be #1. I think he's better than Faber and would dismantle Jens without a problem. Agree that Edgar could handle his Biz at 145.
about 1 month ago
IF it was a all world team then i don't disagree to much with your lineup. However if we were going team USA then Heavyweight would be Randy and Josh Barnett as the alt. Lightheavy would be Chuck and Forrest as the alt. Middleweight would be Robbie Lawler and Nate Marquardt as the alt. Welterweight would a pair of AKA teammates in John Fitch and Kos as the alt. Lightweight would be BJ and either sherk or huerta as the alt. Feather would be the same.
The coaches would head coach Javier Mendez from AKA assistants would be Shawn Tompkins and Eddie Bravo for BJJ
from about 1 month ago
No...not Huerta. Florian is equally or imo more viable than Huerta, but we'll find out Saturday. I'd also put Tyson Griffin above all of those guys other than Sherk.
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