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My P4P list...
Sakuraba - and yes, IMO he belongs at the top of list.
The rest in no paticular order....Wanderlai Silva, Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, BJ Penn, Fedor Emelianko, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Matt Hughes, Royce Gracie, Frank Shamrock. There's probably more, but I can't think of them right now.
Now, as to why I put Saku at the top of the list...
Someone stated Silva beat Sak 3 times, therefore he ranks higher than Sak. I don't think so. Why? Because Silva has a huge advantage in size and strength, which greatly contributed to his wins. Sure they both fight in Prides MW division, but Sak is not a true MW. He's 190 on a good day. Silva cuts weight to make 205, and is probably 220 by the time the bell rings, maybe more. And I wouldn't be all surprised if he juiced.
I also think on the whole, Sak has fought more higher caliber opponents.
Additionally, Silva has been fed many smaller fighters by Pride - Yuki Kondo (194lbs), Ikuhisa Minowa (181lbs), Kiyoshi Tamura (195lbs), Shungo Oyama (190lbs), and Dan Hederson (190lbs) to name a few. Now, how many times has he battled it out with individuals who outweighted him by at least 20lbs? Not many. And out of those, he either drew or lost. Which goes to say, like Sak, when he's at a size disadvantage, he doesn't perform win.
Does that mean Silva isn't a great fighter? No. But when you compare his career to Sak's career, I think it shows what Sak has really accomplished as a fighter, and why, IMO, he deserves the #1 P4P spot.
Sakuraba - and yes, IMO he belongs at the top of list.
The rest in no paticular order....Wanderlai Silva, Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, BJ Penn, Fedor Emelianko, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Matt Hughes, Royce Gracie, Frank Shamrock. There's probably more, but I can't think of them right now.
Now, as to why I put Saku at the top of the list...
Someone stated Silva beat Sak 3 times, therefore he ranks higher than Sak. I don't think so. Why? Because Silva has a huge advantage in size and strength, which greatly contributed to his wins. Sure they both fight in Prides MW division, but Sak is not a true MW. He's 190 on a good day. Silva cuts weight to make 205, and is probably 220 by the time the bell rings, maybe more. And I wouldn't be all surprised if he juiced.
I also think on the whole, Sak has fought more higher caliber opponents.
Additionally, Silva has been fed many smaller fighters by Pride - Yuki Kondo (194lbs), Ikuhisa Minowa (181lbs), Kiyoshi Tamura (195lbs), Shungo Oyama (190lbs), and Dan Hederson (190lbs) to name a few. Now, how many times has he battled it out with individuals who outweighted him by at least 20lbs? Not many. And out of those, he either drew or lost. Which goes to say, like Sak, when he's at a size disadvantage, he doesn't perform win.
Does that mean Silva isn't a great fighter? No. But when you compare his career to Sak's career, I think it shows what Sak has really accomplished as a fighter, and why, IMO, he deserves the #1 P4P spot.
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