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Dr.Chicago · 08-13-2007, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Separated at birth?

A guide to who's who in MMA

Posted: Monday August 13, 2007 - SportsIllustrated.com

So, you're a hardcore sports junkie, but you're new to the sport of mixed martial arts. You check it out with your friends, but don't know where all the fighters fit in the sport. Never fear: here is your guide to who's who in MMA, with easy comparisons to athletes from other sports.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is John Elway. Nogueira and Elway are among the all-time greats at their respective sports, but are best known for monumental comebacks. Elway piloted The Drive, and many other fourth-quarter comebacks. Nogueira looked to be in serious trouble against the likes of Bob Sapp and Mirko Cro Crop, but fought through great punishment and pulled off unlikely submission wins.

Randy Couture is Cal Ripken Jr. Humble, dignified ambassadors for their sports, it's hard to find anyone who has something negative to say about Couture or Ripken. Ripken was baseball's Iron Man, while Couture still continues to fight and excel at 44.

B.J. Penn is Jaromir Jagr. When Jagr is motivated, there are few players so skillful with the puck. But, as Washington Capitals' fans can attest, when he is unmotivated he is all too ordinary. This is the story of B.J. Penn. He has extraordinary natural ability, as demonstrated by victories over Matt Hughes and Takanori Gomi. But all too often he seems unmotivated and out-of-shape, and doesn't demonstrate how good he can be.

Fedor Emelianenko is Roger Federer. It's deeper than the name. Emelianenko and Federer are the unquestioned kings of their respective sports. Federer has been the world's No. 1 tennis player since February 2004, and Fedor has been the world's No. 1 heavyweight fighter since March 2003. Despite their success, both are mostly anonymous in the United States. Federer plays a sport with limited appeal, while Fedor has not yet fought for UFC.

Frank Shamrock is Robert Smith. Few athletes leave the biggest stage while still in their prime, but Shamrock and Smith are notable exceptions. Smith retired after a season in which he rushed for more than 1,500 yards, while Shamrock retired as UFC middleweight champion. Shamrock has fought five times in the ensuing nine years, but never again for UFC.

Georges St. Pierre is Reggie Bush. For pure athleticism, few in sports can match the freakish ability of Bush. In MMA, St. Pierre is a new breed of fighter with unmatched raw athleticism. Bush and St. Pierre also have something to prove. Bush only rushed for 3.6 yards per carry in his rookie season while St. Pierre is coming off the worst loss of his career.

Jon Fitch is Marc Bulger. Bulger is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, but doesn't get much recognition. That has a lot to do with playing the NFL's most glamorous position, where Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Brett Favre get the love. Fitch is in a similar rut: He is one of the best fighters in the UFC, but stuck in a deep and talented welterweight division.

Josh Koscheck is Antonio Gates. Koscheck and Gates show athletic skill can be transferred from one sport to another. Gates used the skills he developed as a hoops star at Kent State to become one of the NFL's best tight ends. Koscheck used the skills he developed as a champion wrestler in college to become one of the UFC's better fighters.

Mark Kerr is Ricky Williams. If you think Williams threw away his career with drugs, he's got nothing on Kerr. Kerr started off his career 13-1-1 before drug problems got the best of him. He is 0-5 since that promising beginning.

Matt Hughes is Roger Clemens. Clemens has been a polarizing figure for much of his career. He is loved by some fans as the greatest pitcher of his generation and vilified by others for perceived greed and arrogance. Hughes garners similar mixed responses. He is popular with many fans because of his toughness, perseverance and excellence. Others dislike him for perceived arrogance and hypocrisy.

Matt Serra is Winky Wright. Wright was a solid fighter for over a decade, but never a star. That changed when he was given an opportunity to take on Shane Mosley. A pair of wins over Mosley set up Wright for pay-per-view main events. Serra had a solid UFC career, but was never at the top of the card. He then received an opportunity to fight Georges St. Pierre. Serra won that fight decisively and will headline what could be a major pay-per-view event later this year against Matt Hughes.

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua is Albert Pujols. Rua and Pujols prove hype is overrated. Pujols was an unheralded 13th-round draft pick. Surprising everyone since the day he showed up for training, Pujols has gone on to be one of the league's leading hitters. Likewise, Shogun's first bouts in the elite Pride Fighting Championships were on the low-profile Bushido series. Shogun won impressively, and kept winning as he received increasingly high-profile opponents.

Mirko Cro Cop is Randy Johnson. Both are intimidating, no-nonsense athletes, and neither Cro Cop or Johnson is known for being warm and friendly. They also come right at their opponents: Johnson with power pitching and Cro Cop with powerful kickboxing. Cro Cop's next mission to truly make the comparison?

Tim Sylvia is Lennox Lewis. Lewis was boxing's heavyweight champion, but never was fully embraced by boxing fans in part because he utilized his size and reach advantage in often unmemorable bouts. Sylvia has had a similar career. He was UFC's heavyweight champion, but the fans never embraced him because, at 6-foot-8, he often just kept his distance and picked apart smaller opponents with his reach.

Tito Ortiz is Kobe Bryant. Southern California-based Ortiz and Bryant are two of their sports' biggest stars and most controversial figures. Both have also clashed with management. Ortiz has an even more acrimonious relationship with UFC president Dana White than Bryant does with the Lakers.

Vitor Belfort is Mike Tyson. Tyson and Belfort burst onto the scene with a lot of hype and a series of quick and spectacular knockouts. Both were expected to dominate their sports. That didn't turn out to be the case. Tyson and Belfort are head cases, and were never as good as their reputations suggested. Yet fans continue to watch, hoping to once again see their early flashes of brilliance.

Wanderlei Silva is Ray Lewis. Few defensive players in NFL history have put fear in their opponents like Lewis. Likewise, Silva is one of MMA's most feared fighters, with nasty kicks, punches and knees. The two also have their own pre-event rituals: Lewis' dance and Silva's finger roll.

Tito is Kobe Bryant???????

subgenius · 08-13-2007, 05:01 PM

That's an interesting article, LOL. I liked it.

Saskabush · 08-13-2007, 05:12 PM

Ha ha awesome article, I especially like the B.J./Jagr comparison.

I heart LNP · 08-13-2007, 05:52 PM

The Ortiz/Kobe comparison is laughable at best.

Kaledonia · 08-13-2007, 08:46 PM

tyson, lewis, wright, federer.... who the hell are these other guys?

basslogic4003 · 08-13-2007, 10:27 PM

Haha, good stuff. I just wish I watched other sports so I understood some of the less commonly heard names. I think this type of stuff is good for MMA. It gives fighters names and identities for the person who may see MMA as a heartless, savage, human cockfighting experiment.

Heatwaves · 08-13-2007, 11:27 PM

Dr. Chicago, where did you come from? You're consistently putting up great nuggets of information. Great find.

This SI piece is highly entertaining. And strangely accurate. It's funny because the only one that stood out as wildly inaccurate was the Tito/Kobe reference... then I saw you're comment. Too funny.

Even if some of you disagree with the particular athlete that the mma star is matched up with, the descriptions are dead-on.

EDIT: I'm just disappointed that he didn't compare Jason Tan to Mr. Peepers.

SFCmma · 08-13-2007, 11:31 PM

They are all good comparisons i think. I also think it was a cool article to be in SI

DJ Big M · 08-14-2007, 05:42 AM

Is it weird that i know all the MMA people but (with the exception of Roger Federer) none of the other sports stars? Maybe because it's all very US based sports stars. Interesting to read none-the-less.

Dr.Chicago · 08-14-2007, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heatwaves

Dr. Chicago, where did you come from? You're consistently putting up great nuggets of information. Great find.

Thanx man

I appreciate it!

Glad you like my posts!

marnold · 08-14-2007, 11:40 AM

Leben is Dennis Rodman.
Mayhem Miller is Prince Naseem Hamed.

My GnP is Sick · 08-16-2007, 07:54 AM

Fun to read, not sooo sure about some of the comparisons but I still like it.

Dirty Fighter · 08-16-2007, 10:08 AM

I think this article is comparing their public personas and not there accomplishments in their selected fields. Tito and Kobe do have a lot of similarities in that aspect.