Constructing MMA's Mt. Rushmore

Even on a figurative level, carving Mount Rushmore is no easy task. Not because of who you include, but who you omit.

How can you narrow down an entire history to only four faces?

But I suppose if the United States can do it for the history of its presidency, we can do it for mixed martial arts. The goal is not to include every single person who ever made a contribution to the sport. It's to canonize those who are larger than life and who embody certain things that go beyond the linear narratives of their careers, as illustrious as those might be.

So here are the four people I would carve onto the Mount Rushmore of MMA. As the original sticks to presidents only, this one sticks to fighters only (sorry, Dana). These are the fighters I thought best embodied the sport, its history and its evolution. Since there are no honorable mentions etched in the South Dakota mountainside, I am including no such list here.

Have a different lineup? Fine with me. Feel free to sound off in the comments.

The "heads" are listed in no particular order.

Royce Gracie

(Bruce Buffer voice)

Introducing...

The UFC 1 tournament champion.

The UFC 2 tournament champion.

The UFC 4 tournament champion.

UFC Hall of Fame Octagon warrior....Rooooyyyce Guuuuuhraaciiiiieee!

(/Bruce Buffer voice)

What can you say? He's the man who started it all.

He's the first face of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and of the idea that the guy who hits fastest or hardest isn't always the best.

And he still holds the UFC record for most wins by submission, with 11. 

Chuck Liddell

For more than two years, Liddell held the UFC light heavyweight belt, arguably the most prestigious and competitive title in the sport.

But more importantly, Liddell, a member of the UFC Hall of Fame, was the first big star of MMA. He's more than Chuck Liddell, devastating knockout artist and possessor of superior takedown defense. He's The Iceman. The guy from Entourage and TMZ. The living action figure.

If there is anyone, anyone at all, in the history of mixed martial arts who is, by any metric, larger than the sport, it's Chuck Liddell.

Randy Couture

What Liddell was to mainstream America, Randy Couture was to the hardcore fan.

He also represents the importance of wrestling in the MMA landscape. Though The Natural is not the first or only successful MMA wrestler, he is the most famous and arguably most accomplished. He holds the UFC record for most number of title reigns with five, and was the first fighter to hold belts in different weight classes (he was a three-time beltholder at heavyweight, and twice at light heavyweight). He also won the UFC 13 heavyweight tournament.

Not only did he apply his wrestling knowledge in every fight, with Hall of Fame results, he also took a cerebral approach to the sport, with which many wrestlers and MMA fans identify.

Though he doesn't quite have Liddell's name recognition, Couture is still the Brett Favre and the Ageless Wonder of MMA, and probably its most beloved figure.

Anderson Silva

I think there's a very good chance that, if the world ended today, UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva would be remembered as the greatest MMA fighter of all time.

He is known primarily for his surgical Muay Thai attack, snake-charmer evasiveness, Black House jiu-jitsu and, well, his unadulterated dominance in the cage. He is at a point now where he is regularly in the head of his opponents before anything ever happens. 

That reality exists for good reason. Anderson Silva is now the UFC's longest-reigning champion (five years, three months and counting). He also holds the records for most consecutive wins (14) and title defenses (nine) inside the Octagon.

Beyond the records, though, he also owns some of the sport's most iconic moments. The Sonnen Choke. The Front Kick. The Griffin Knockout. And so on. When you can describe a moment in two or three words and fans instantly know the reference, it's iconic. Sometimes, it seems like Silva's victories, and Silva himself, fit that bill far more often than not.