MMA: Fedor Emelianeko and the Top 7 Heavyweights of All Time

We are one month away from Strikeforce Fedor vs. Henderson, and it got me thinking about the top heavyweights of all time.

This is not necessarily a list of who the best fighters are right now, but it is a list of those who have been in the fight game for years and who have made the heavyweight division what it is today.

Since this list can be extremely subjective, I am going to list some requirements fighters need to meet in order to qualify. The qualifications are as followed:

-         Must have held a major world title in the heavyweight division

-         Must have at least 20 fights

-         Must have at least 10 years of pro experience.

With that, let’s see who made the cut.

7) Hammer Time

“The Godfather of Ground and Pound” kicks off our list.

Coleman is credited as the very first UFC heavyweight champion and won the 2000 PRIDE Open Weight Tournament.

With success in the top two organizations in MMA, Coleman had to make the list. When the world was still in awe of Royce Gracie and his Brazilian jiu jitsu, Coleman  revolutionized the way wrestlers fought.

Not only did Coleman take his opponents down, he beat the holy hell out of them. No one had ever seen a fighter do such damage on the ground before.

And thus, we were given ground and pound. Not only was it effective back in MMA’s dark ages, it has also stood the test of time.

Fighters like Tito Ortiz, Shane Carwin, Brock Lesnar, and a host of others still use ground and pound as their primary weapon.

It is easy to write off Coleman now given his recent decline. But no one can deny how dominant he was in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Had he been more dedicated, there is no telling how much more successful he could have been. As it stands, he is a legend, a pioneer, a UFC Hall of Famer, and the seventh-best heavyweight of all time.

"I'd like to think I've had some influence on some guys," Coleman told The Columbus Dispatch upon being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.

6) Cro Cop

It’s hard to see how far Mirko Cro Cop has fallen in recent years.

In 2006, he had just blasted his way through the PRIDE Open Weight Grand Prix and was the most feared striker in MMA.

He held brutal knockout victories over Wanderlei Silva, Josh Barnett (three times), Alexander Emelianko, Heath Herring, Mark Coleman, and a slew of others.

Cro Cop was the first to successfully transition from high-level kickboxing (K-1) to MMA. His trademark “right leg, hospital; left leg, cemetery” quote was not just a catchphrase. It was a promise.

He was one of the most high-profile fighters to transfer to the UFC from PRIDE.

Fans clamored for Cro Cop to punt Tim Sylvia’s head into the nosebleeds, go toe-to-toe with dynamic striker Andre Arlovski, or battle the iconic Randy Couture.

Sadly, we never got to see any of those fights. After a gimmee fight against Eddie Sanchez, Mirko got Cro Cop’d by Gabriel Gonzaga and dropped a decision to Cheik Kongo.

Following a short stint in Japan, Cro Cop came back in the UFC and continued to beat lower-tier heavyweights, but lost to the elite talent such as dos Santos, Mir, and surging conternder Schaub. 

Although his UFC career has been lackluster, nobody can discredit what he accomplished in PRIDE.

"Right leg, hospital; left leg, cemetery” is the name of Cro Cop’s head-kick highlight tape.

5) Speaking of Tim Sylvia…..

“The Maine-iac” snags the No. 5 spot on my list.

Perhaps the most hated heavyweight to ever compete in the octagon, Tim Sylvia is one of only three men to hold the UFC heavyweight title more than once.

Whether it is his doughy appearance, inconsistent outings, getting busted for steroids, or his downright awkward personality, Sylvia has alienated a good portion of fans all over the world.

One thing that cannot be denied, though, was his stranglehold over the UFC heavyweight division during the early Zuffa days.

With stumbles only to Mir, Arlovski, Couture, and Big Nog, Sylvia has one of the most impressive octagon resumes in the heavyweight division.

After getting manhandled by Randy Couture and losing his heavyweight title, Sylvia’s career began a violent downward spiral.

He won a dull decision over an undersized Brandon Vera, but proceeded to get choked out by Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, blasted in 30 seconds by Fedor, and humiliated by over-the-hill boxer Ray Mercer.

Like the previous fighters on this list, Sylvia’s best days are long behind him. But Tim Sylvia is still one of the most accomplished heavyweights ever, no matter how we may feel about him.

Sylvia’s words of wisdom: “90 percent of this game is half mental.”

4) Frank Mir

Frank Mir is also a two-time UFC heavyweight champ.

He also has more wins in the UFC than any other heavyweight ever.

Mir has an astonishing 13 wins in the octagon. Outside of Brock Lesnar, he is by far the most marketable heavyweight in the UFC.

Other impressive feats include breaking Tim Sylvia’s arm to win his first title, being the only fighter to submit Brock Lesnar, and being the first fighter to stop Antonio Minotauro Nogueira.

Mir made his debut in 2001 and is still relevant today.

He is currently on a two-fight win streak, knocking out Cro Cop last September and battering Roy Nelson last month. Another win would surely put Mir within striking distance at a chance to become a three-time UFC heavyweight champion.

He is only 32 so he still has a few years left to join Randy Couture atop of the UFC title reigns mountain.

Mir on a third meeting with Lesnar: "The long-term goal for me and my own satisfaction is to take off Brock Lesnar's arm. At the end of the day, that's what my goal is when I go to the gym and train. But being an interim champion would get me one step closer to doing so."

3) Captain America

Randy “The Natural” Couture is the only three-time UFC heavyweight champion.

He has been involved in some of the biggest fights in heavyweight history. Whether it was how he bullied Tim Sylvia at UFC 68, battling Brock Lesnar at UFC 91 despite being outweighed by over 60 pounds, or his war with Minotauro Nogueira, Couture had faced the best of the big men.

The only regret is that he never got to face former No. 1 heavyweight Fedor Emelianko.

The reason Randy isn’t higher on this list is because he has spent a large part of his career at 205.

If he had strictly fought at heavyweight like everyone else on this list, he could have claimed the top spot.

The fact that he has faced and beaten the best in heavyweights in the world as a light heavyweight is a testament to how great he once was.

Couture was also the first (recognized) fighter to develop game plans to exploit his opponent’s weaknesses.

Randy Couture more than deserves his spot in the Hall of Fame and to be recognized as one of best to ever grace the cage.

“Not bad for an old man," said Couture after coming out of retirement to beat Tim Sylvia for his third UFC Heavyweight title.

2) Minotauro Nogueira

No fighter is known for snatching victory from the jaws of defeat quite like Antonio Minotauro Nogueira.

From getting pile-driven by Bob Sapp, headkicked twice by Cro Cop, or picked apart by Tim Sylvia, Big Nog would take it on the chin and come back to earn a submission victory.

His iron chin was absolutely legen…. wait for it….dary.

As PRIDE’s first heavyweight champion, there was a time when Nogueira was considered the very best heavyweight in the world. He is also the only person to hold both the PRIDE and UFC heavyweight titles.

All of those beatings eventually took their toll on him as he has been knocked out in two of his last three fights.

He returns this August to take on the young Brandon Schaub in his backyard in Brazil.

If Big Nog can beat the fast-rising Schaub, he will be right back “in the mix” for another shot at the UFC title.  

Whether he goes on to win another UFC belt or retires after his next fight, Minotauro has already registered his place as an all-time great.

“To be a legend, you have to beat a legend.” Big Nog on his fight against Randy Couture.

1) Fedor

The man simply known as Fedor will go down as not only the greatest heavyweight of all time, but one of the best pound-for-pound fighters ever.

People point to his recent two fight losing streak and his lack of competition as proof that he was overrated.

While there is some validity in those statements, you can’t overlook what he accomplished from 2000-2005.

Heath Herring, Mirko Cro Cop, Minotauro Nogueira, Mark Coleman, Kevin Randleman were all in or near their primes when Fedor beat them.

Despite their recent declines, Tim Sylvia and Andre Arlovski were also top 10 fighters when Fedor stopped them in the first round.

Fedor had this aura around him, similar to Mike Tyson.

Fighters were beat before they ever stepped into the cage with him. Tyson combined brutal knockouts with ridiculous trash talk to intimidate his opponents: Fedor said or did nothing.

He would enter the ring/cage with a blank stare, showing zero emotion whatsoever. It was as if he was programmed to decimate highly skilled fighters like it was no big deal.

The fact he is a soft 230 and could be fighting as low as middleweight is just astounding.

Not only did Fedor dominate some of the best heavyweights of his era, he managed to transform into a living legend to fans worldwide.

It is a shame his management never let him sign with the UFC because his resume would have been even more impressive had he had names like Randy Couture, Brock Lesnar, Frank Mir, Junior dos Santos, or Cain Velasquez.

Still, his past accomplishments have left him as undoubtedly the best heavyweight of all time.

“The one who doesn’t fall, doesn’t stand up.” Fedor after his loss to Fabricio Werdum.