Filed under: Sports

Over the years, mixed martial arts has become an increasingly popular sport, with champions that have been fan favorites. From the small beginnings of the UFC, the industry has grown to become a multi-billion industry, with new organizations being born every other week.

When we look back at the history of televised mma it can be difficult to compare fighters from the past to the fighters of the present. Figuring out who the best mma fighter of all time is can be a difficult proposition. The champions of the past would no doubt have a hard time handling the champions of today, but this is true in any sport.

MMA has evolved from the era where you could get by if you were really good in one discipline, especially if that discipline happened to be wrestling or BJJ. Today mma fighters are well rounded in all the areas of the sport, ranging from ground skills, wrestling and clinch, to standup boxing and Thai.

If we were to crown the best mma fighter in history we would have to find an athlete that was, or is, dominant in his weight class, has met top competitors, and has few losses on his resume. One fighter that stand out in that regard is Fedor Emilianenko. He has only one loss on his record, and that loss was due to a stoppage by cut. He has met most of the best heavyweights in the world and beat them all, and has reigned on top of his weight class for over 7 years. This makes him the nr. 1 pound for pound fighter of all times, in many people’s book.