good vs very good vs great

[Novicegrappler]

so recently there has been a bit of a spat between Chael Sonnen and Luke Thomas about whether Chael was a good fighter or a great one.
It got me thinking how do you draw a line between a good fighter and a true great? Is it down to wins and losses? holding and defending belts? wider cultural impact? a combination of the above or some other intangible factor? Personally I think its a combination of all the above although i will say that as far as im concerned a great fighter doesnt necessarily have to have held a top level championship. Do you guys think it would be possible to come up with some objective way to sort the good from the great or is it just down to personal opinion?

[Bneterasedmynam]

Mostly it's personal opinion. There are in my personal opinion too many factors to really come up with some magic pie chart that separates good from great.

[NittyRanks]

I think it’s the understand about what they are doing and a strong work ethic. I have worked out or been to seminars with some top Judo Olympians. I have seen good martial arts for the last 40 years but people like them are on another level. Their understanding of the martial art, the amount they train, the diet and the fact they live it. When you’re talking about training 6 hours a day, burning 6000 calories a day in split workouts it’s totally different than a recreational martial Artist trains. These guys can throw right and left sided. Sparring/Randori them is like fighting water. It’s actually easy to rate some fighters that are actually doing it and not just hanging out talking in a training hall somewhere.

[Diesel_tke]

A good fighter is one who likes to fight, trains, and wins when they compete. A really good fighter is one who is all of those things but also puts more time in training. They show up before class and stay late. They practice and condition when everyone else is taking a break. They are obsessed with fighting. A great fighter is all of those things but then they have a genetic advantage over their competition. They also have talent that allows them to pick things up quicker or inherently understand things without having to be told.

Of course there are exceptions and variables that change this up. For example, the great fighter will only be a good fighter if they never train. They will also be a really good fighter just on genetics and occasional training.

So basically, I think genetics is what pushes you to the next level. I heard someone say, one time, that any of these UFC champs would have been pro athletes in any sport they would have chosen to take up. Just because they have the genetics to be really good athletes and know how to move their bodies better than the average person.

Another example of this is a kid I know that just got a scholarship to play football for Alabama. He played high school with one of my cousins. He is like 6'5 and 245lbs of muscle. He can stand flat footed and do a back flip. He's a genetic freak and always has been. No amount of training or working out will do that to you. You have it or you don't.

[Raycetpfl]

Another example of this is a kid I know that just got a scholarship to play football for Alabama. He played high school with one of my cousins. He is like 6'5 and 245lbs of muscle. He can stand flat footed and do a back flip. He's a genetic freak and always has been. No amount of training or working out will do that to you. You have it or you don't.

Exactly.
The cool thing about fighting is all the different kinds of athletic can get to the highest level.

Randy Couture and The 209- They are all super marathon runners essentially. Randy doesn't really make lactic acid from muscle use and doesn't really tire. The Diazs often hold the records for most strikes thrown/landed in MMA. They dont have the Dim Mak but the can give you the death of a 1000 cuts so to speak.

Vitor Belfort,Dan Henderson,, Bj Penn: bone crunching power and strength than lets them move up and down in weight with no real trouble. Thwy are Almost all fast twitch muscle.

Henderson: has fought from W.W to HW two division champ, Bj is a two division champ and has fought from feather weight to HW. Vitor is a HW tourney winner and LHW Champ and has fought in three weight classes for titles.


Gsp,Carlos Condit: they are a mix. They have great endurance but do tire. They have solid power complimented by good technique , but its not bone crunching. They wear down the fast twitch guys and bully the slow twitch guys.


One thing they all have is exceptional body control.

[Raycetpfl]

so recently there has been a bit of a spat between Chael Sonnen and Luke Thomas about whether Chael was a good fighter or a great one.
It got me thinking how do you draw a line between a good fighter and a true great? Is it down to wins and losses? holding and defending belts? wider cultural impact? a combination of the above or some other intangible factor? Personally I think its a combination of all the above although i will say that as far as im concerned a great fighter doesnt necessarily have to have held a top level championship. Do you guys think it would be possible to come up with some objective way to sort the good from the great or is it just down to personal opinion?

Luke Thomas is a fucking tool.

Chael was a top 10 fighter for around a decade and top 3 for a lot of that. He was/is a great fighter.