ROUNDTABLE: Who is the most underrated MMA fighter of all time?

Who is the most underrated MMA fighter of all time?

JOHN HARRIS, MMATorch Contributor

My top 3 in no particular order:

Sean Sherk- With a 36-4 career record and a former UFC Lightweight championship on his resume people always seem to forget about Sherk.  His only four career losses came to current or future UFC Hall of Famers; Matt Hughes, Georges St. Pierre, B.J. Penn and Frankie Edgar. He was not always the most exciting fighter but his resume speaks for itself

Rich Franklin- The former UFC middleweight champion had  a great career with a 29-7 record but seems to be only remembered as the guy Anderson Silva knocked out to win the title. Franklin dominated the UFC Middleweight division before Silva arrived and that seems to be forgotten. While he was never the same fighter after the second brutal KO loss to Silva, Franklin did manage to go 5-5 against some tough competition including legends such as Dan Henderson, Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva.

Igor Vovchanchyn-  Forgotten by many, Vovchanchyn is considered by many to be the creator of modern MMA standup. Vovchanchyn finished his career with a 55-10 record with 29 victories by KO/TKO. At only 5’8” Vovchanchyn was often undersized while competing at heavweight against the likes of Mark Coleman and Gary Goodridge. He still holds the record for most consecutive victories in  MMA history with 37.  He was far ahead of his time. I would have loved to see what he could have done with a modern day MMA training camp.

FRANK HYDEN, MMATorch Columnist

I would go with either Demetrious Johnson or Jose Aldo. Johnson is just now starting to get his due, and that’s largely from hardcore fans. And Aldo never really got his due. The UFC really dropped the ball with both of these guys. Having somebody call one of them the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world isn’t promoting, especially when you have those same people saying that about whoever is fighting that month. It’s the John Madden syndrome, where whichever game he was calling, that running back was the best in the league, that quarterback was the best in the league, etc. Every month the UFC has someone else being called “one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world” so that moniker becomes meaningless in their hands.

Another few guys who I would call underrated are Tony Ferguson and Max Holloway. Neither of those guys gets the credit they deserve. They’re both fantastic fighters that I hope to see become more popular over time.

ZACK HEYDORN, MMATorch Contributor

Demetrious Johnson and it’s not even close. Johnson isn’t the greatest fighter of all time because of his weight division. That said his overall success is often overlooked because of that division. It shouldn’t be. Johnson has an incredible overall record and THE record for title defenses. He finishes opponents and his fights are entertaining. DJ will be a part of UFC history and not enough people care enough about it. My hope is that before his career is over, DJ can have a signature fight outside of his division in order to prove just how good he is.

COLE HENRY, MMATorch Contributor

Rich Franklin

Yves Edwards

Josh Thomson

NOW CHECK OUT THE PREVIOUS ROUNDTABLE: Is Demetrius Johnson the greatest UFC fighter of all-time? Why or why not?