Issue 076
June 2011
Part of Fedor Emilianenko’s appeal was his incredible 28-fight unbeaten run. The Last Emperor always found a way to win despite, eventually, proving he was human after all. Similarly, here are a few other fighters who made their names by putting together impressive winning streaks
In Brief
Anderson Silva
UFC middleweight champion. A contender for the pound-for-pound title.
Cain Velasquez
Undefeated UFC heavyweight champion.
Miguel Torres
BJJ black belt and former WEC bantamweight champion.
Jon Fitch
Former Purdue wrestler turned AKA fighter and vegan diet advocate.
Igor Vovchanchyn
Old-school Ukrainian heavyweight kickboxer.
Jon Jones
The new UFC light heavyweight champion. A wrestler with unorthodox striking, fighting out of Jackson’s MMA.
Rickson Gracie
Eighth degree black belt in jiu-jitsu. champion of the Gracie family.
Known for
Anderson Silva
Experimentation, innovation and the ability to take out people whenever he feels like it.
Cain Velasquez
High-level wrestler who has developed an effective stand-up game at the American Kickboxing Academy.
Miguel Torres
An all rounder with an aggressive submission game.
Jon Fitch
Controlling his opponents on the canvas and grinding out decision wins.
Igor Vovchanchyn
One of the first stand-up fighters who could cope with grapplers.
Jon Jones
Spinning back elbows, suplexes and kicks straight out of a kung fu movie.
Rickson Gracie
Revered by some as the greatest grappler of his generation.
Winning Run
Anderson Silva
Never been beaten in 13 UFC appearances, starting with his destruction of Chris Leben in June 2006.
Cain Velasquez
Nine out of nine – all but two coming in the UFC Octagon.
Miguel Torres
Once sported a 37-1 record (not counting a host of early unsanctioned bouts) including a 17-fight run that to took him to the WEC title and beyond.
Jon Fitch
After losing two fights when starting out, he has gone 21-1-1. The only blips on his 15-fight UFC record are a loss to GSP and his draw with BJ Penn.
Igor Vovchanchyn
Clocked up 32 wins in a row in the 90s. Many came in threes as he ran through the opposition in a number of tournaments.
Jon Jones
Like Fedor before him, Jones has a loss his fans won’t accept. ‘Bones’ was dominating Matt Hamill when he was DQ’d for dropping a 12 to 6 elbow.
Rickson Gracie
11-0 in MMA, but Rickson claims another 400 wins in other forms of fighting.
Highlight
Anderson Silva
His come-from-behind win over Chael Sonnen by way of spectacular triangle choke in the final round silenced the doubters.
Cain Velasquez
Cain used his wrestling to turn his title match against Brock Lesnar into a stand-up fight. On the feet, he outclassed the giant then pounded him on the ground.
Miguel Torres
Finished off Chase Beebe with a guillotine in the first at WEC 32 to take the belt.
Jon Fitch
The final round of his UFC 127 clash. Fitch buried his boring tag to batter BJ and claim a 10-8 on two scorecards. Even Penn thought Fitch won the fight.
Igor Vovchanchyn
At Pride 7, he confirmed his elite status by defeating ‘Smashing Machine’ Mark Kerr. The result was later changed to a no contest due to illegal knees.
Jon Jones
A star was born at UFC 94 when Jones showed off his full repertoire of tricks in his decision win over Stephan Bonnar.
Rickson Gracie
Choked out Masakatsu Funaki at C2K: Colosseum in front of 30 million Japanese TV viewers.
Ended or Could End
Anderson Silva
Looking beyond a beefed up GSP, only a full-time move up to 205lbs, it seems, would increase the chance of defeat.
Cain Velasquez
The complete package. Many experts predict that the Cain era may last for a long time.
Miguel Torres
Lost his title to Brian Bowles in August 2009. In the first round, Torres was knocked out.
Jon Fitch
Unbeaten in six since his decision loss to the champion, GSP is the only welterweight who would start as a betting favorite against Fitch.
Igor Vovchanchyn
The record-breaking streak came to an end in the final of the Pride 2000 Grand Prix. Mark Coleman’s crunching knees to the skull forced Igor to submit.
Jon Jones
After taking the title in typically emphatic fashion from Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua at UFC 128, the 23-year-old has a glorious future ahead of him.
Rickson Gracie
In recent years, he has hinted he would still fancy his chances against both Brock and Fedor, but a return to MMA at the age of 52 seems unlikely.
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