The fights we will never see...

With Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture pretty much done in the sport it saddens me we didnt see them in more fights against the legends of their own time... I know Age wise Couture could have fought Shamrock or Frye but I think he peaked late and was considered a more modern fighter. These are the fights we never got to see and Id love to Know what the Armbar members would see the outcome as and what superfights you would have like to see in the Modern era of MMA...

Chuck Liddell vs Dan Henderson
Chuck Liddell vs Mirko Crocop

Randy Couture vs Wanderlei Silva
Randy Couture vs Dan Henderson
Randy Couture vs Mirko Crocop

For me Id have loved to see Prime vs Prime Hendo vs Chuck and Wandy vs Randy most. Imagine Chucks unstoppable sprawl neutralising Hendo's wrestling and Hendos face made of cast Iron neutralising Chucks bricks for hands!! And Couture vs Wanderlei. Prime vs Prime its all out stomp in your face pushing 230lbs of steroided out agression vs A master of the game, a real thinking figher, could have Couture delt with the do or die assault? Shame we never saw these ones. Id love to hear what you all think of the outcomes if they all met around their Prime around 2005.

Sakuraba vs Rickson
Igor vs Wand, Fedor
Fedor vs Randy
Brock vs Kerr

randy v fedor yes.

i still think there might be a remote chance we see randy v crocop.

Brock vs Kerr?? Careers never really overlapped but love the matchmaking.

Id honestly have backed Rickson to have Beat Saku if he had of filled in for Royce. I will never rallly rate him cause he didnt compete in MMA enough but he was bigger and better BJJ and Striking than Royce who held his own with Saku Im maby in a Minority but I think he'd have got the Decision by getting more top position and using size for Kimura's etc.. who you call?

Fedor vs 05 Randy would have been good, Frye said Randy couldnt punch his way out of a wet paper bag, lack of punch power in comparison to Fedor and limited BJJ knowledge compared to now makes me think 1st round sub or KO for Fedor

Igor gets stramrolled by Fedor, no problem Beat Kerr who is old school and Saku who is a 170er but Coleman stomped him. Fedor breezes it, Sub, KO, TKO, Submission due to position he takes it in the 1st.

Wandy vs Igor is a great fight style wise Prime vs Prime, never though of it great call!!! I could see Bombs getting traded and Wandy getting KO'd, Chins in the Air swinging Wandy has great recovery, Like Calzaghe but not Lamotta Granite headed unstoppableness.. But I wouldnt back Wandy to trade punches Id back him to Thai Clintch Igor and let rip with Knees. Anyone under 6" against Prime Wandy is getting a mauling in the Clintch, nowadays wandy could be played in a computergame using the forwatd button and left and right punch. Back the the day when he used those Kicks and Knees he was violent, Wandy 2nd round KO after getting dropped in a punch for punch cowboy fight

the_king wrote:randy v fedor yes.

i still think there might be a remote chance we see randy v crocop.

Cant see it, Couture looses to Machida he retires.

Couture wins agaisnt Machida and he is top 3-5 ranked and would want to go out with a title fight or one last huge superfight...

Randy and Crocop fighting dependes on a spectacular return to form from Crocop. Said it a million times but Crocop is MMA's Mike Tyson, in a short prime he personafied the term wrecking ball but I think we are watching a Crocop comparible to the Tyson that fought Kevin McBride.

fedor would have won yes but the event at the time of pride vs ufc would have been great.

For sure. But Randy vs Wandy would have been far better Randy was a 205er in his Prime IMO and I think him vs Wandy would have been amazing. Maby a 1 Pride rules and 1 UFC rules because their styles were so differnt and there styles worked so well because of their rules.

Id say it would be 1-1 but I think Wandy would beat Couture worse his way!

be interesting to see, but what would have been the rules, cage or ring? cage would have suit randy and obviously a ring would have suit wandy. if it was 1 rnd vs 1 rnd id agree with you wandy would probs take it.

Only 1 fight that I really wanted to see that would have been competitive.

Frank Shamrock vs Sakuraba.


Fedor vs Randy would have lasted until Fedor put his fist on Randy's chin.

Fedor v Randy
Fedor v Wanderlei
Anderson Silva v Machida

All in there primes, would love to see Fedor smash Randy. Fedor v Wandy maybe one sided but in their primes, it would have been fun while it lasted. A Silva v Machida would be a clinic in MMA striking, although they may not actually get a chance to hit each other

Ging For me I think Shogun was better equiped if Chuteboxe were sending someone to take on Fedor. The night Fedor beat Crocop and Shogun won the GP was probabally a career performance for both but for me Shogun at that time was better than Crocop

2005 Shogun vs Fedor would have been great, Id give Shogun a good chance.

Wandy vs Fedor would have been amazing but I think Wandys lack of BJJ would have seen Fedor drop and Armbar him.

Machida vs Anderson id back Anderson to outstrike him in a dull decision!

Anfield Who would you back Frank Shamrock or Saku? When would the fight take place to get as near to Prime vs Prime? 2000? I like to say id back Saku but Franks sub defence was great and Saku wasnt likely to KO him... Frank Shamrock was a powerhouse back then but Saku delt with Belfort Conan and Rampages size though... I could see it going the distance and Frank outworking him... Really interesting fight, Frank being bigger Id like to seen it at 185 inted of 205.

Yeah i reckon about 2000. I'd back Frank but you can never count Saku out unless he's fighting Wandi!

I reckon Machida and Anderson could go an entire round without throwing a strike at each other. There would be some unbelievable dancing done though!

I always wanted to see Arlovski v CroCop.....And maybe Fedor against the great Michael Bisping.

I would have loved to see Frank vs Ken in a Pancrase fight back when Ken was in his prime. Frank has always been and will always be my favourite fighter, and if you ever put them against each other in an MMA fight it wouldn't have been competitive, but I think Frank could have had a little fun with Ken under pancrase rules, and Ken would have made it a decent contest.

Otherwise, Hendo vs CroCop both in their primes would have been interesting, although Hendo would have probably just used takedowns for a decision. What everyone would really want to know is could Hendo's cast iron temples survive the LHK?

Art Jimmerson vs Tim Sylvia would answer the eternal question - was Timmeh's loss to Mercer just a blip, or can the lumbering oaf just not handle the sweet science?

I don't see Frank Shamrock as a favourite against a prime version of Saku. No version of Frank Shamrock could ever be described as a really good wrestler, and nor was he as good as Saku on the ground. I think Sakuraba takes him down, maybe submits him, but probably out grapples to a decision win.

No version of Shamrock could ever be described as a really good wrestler.

One of the premier submission wrestlers in the history of MMA who dominated a number of his early fights using his wrestling.

Frank Shamrock, pre first retirement, would have beaten Saku.

Shamrock has never shown me anything suggesting he could stuff a Saku single leg, or that he'd be able to get anything going from his back against Saku. Watch the Tamura fight, Shamrock couldn't stop the takedown, spent the majority of the fight under Tamura side control, unable to regain guard. If that fight hadn't been in such an idiosyncratic organisation as Pancrase, Shamrock probably would have lost the decision.

Sakuraba was much slicker than Tamura in the transitions, and he was a way more potent finisher.

Not everyone who tags themselves a submission wrestler is actually a good wrestler in the traditional sense. Barnett is the same, his actual takedowns and takedown defence are nothing special at all. Shamrock was never able to really stuff takedowns, and Sakuraba in his prime was one of the pound for pound best wrestlers the sport has seen.

He wouldn't have needed to stuff Saku's takedowns. He'd have picked Saku up and slammed him on his head.

You don't have to have good TD defence to be a good wrestler. Shamrock's offensive wrestling was very good and Saku's defensive wrestling has more holes than a gangbang!

. saku vs shamrock would be the first to get it to the ground.