Sherdog’s Top 10: Greatest Heavyweights

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Welcome one and all to Sherdog's list of the 10 greatest big men ever to compete in mixed martial arts. This list was compiled as an average of many different Sherdog contributors’ lists, and I will note where my own views deviated considerably. Personally, however, the appeal of any such list isn't the exact order, or who was included or excluded, but the actual discussion of each entry. Anyone can come up with a list with no further commentary and it's not any more “right” than another. However, the best such lists have entertaining and informative explanations, which is the goal I hope to accomplish.

A word about criteria: My main measure for this list was greatness for one’s era and how long that era lasted. I believe the majority of other contributors used a similar rubric. Ranking historical fighters based on who would beat whom doesn’t make sense, since the division as a whole keeps improving and evolving. If this was purely about who would win against the others most of the time, Francis Ngannou would be the easy No. 1 and Curtis Blaydes might crack the top 5. However, that makes little sense, even if Blaydes would crush a prime version of Randy Couture 10 out of 10 times and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira nine out of 10. However, fighters from previous eras may be penalized for how uncompetitive their division was. There was very little competition in the 90s; thus, a washed-up, roughly 40-year-old wrestler in Dan Severn with very basic submissions and submission defense beating smaller or unskilled opponents doesn't impress me.

Let us begin.

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