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By: Jason Amadi, MMATorch Columnist
Perhaps the greatest tragedy of mixed martial arts as a sport is that because MMA practitioners are also prizefighters, they are seldom actually appreciated as true martial artists. As sad as it is to imagine, if Bruce Lee - a man widely considered to be the greatest martial artist of all time - were to have ever competed in mixed martial arts, his legacy would likely be defined by his record and whether or not he ever captured a UFC championship as opposed to his commitment to his craft, the diversity of his techniques, and his influence on the world around him.
The fact is, if martial artists the caliber of Anderson Silva, B.J. Penn, Royce Gracie, or Georges St. Pierre existed in a different era, they would likely be mythologized along the same lines as Bruce Lee. However, as fight fans, we all narrow our view of their accomplishments as martial artists in order to rank them and arbitrarily place them on meaningless pound-for-pound lists. Instead of celebrating the career of Anderson Silva, detractors often rush to point out past losses to Ryo Chonan and Daiju Takase in order to tear him down, just so they can build up George St. Pierre. Unfortunately, this leads to St. Pierre's detractors rushing to point out GSP's losses to Matt Hughes, Matt Serra, and his inability to deliver highlight reel knockouts on command (as if those things impeach his accomplishments).
This Saturday night, one of the greatest mixed martial artists ever, Fedor Emelianenko, is competing against another one of the greatest mixed martial artists ever in Dan Henderson. A fight like this should be appreciated for its historical significance, but because of the nature of prizefighting and how it is often viewed by spectators, this fight will either serve as ammunition for Emelianenko's most ardent detractors or as a tool for his supporters to impeach the hard work and preparation of his last two opponents, who were the only two men to ever truly defeat him.
Say what you will of Georges St. Pierre's lack of candor at this point, but when he speaks about the scarcity of true martial artists in MMA, he's passionate, he's honest, and he couldn't be more right. Prizefighting is a line of work that attracts plenty of unsavory types looking to fast make money through fighting, but it also is a platform for some of the greatest martial artists of this era to ply their trade.
Dan Henderson is one of the most accomplished competitors in the history of mixed martial arts, while Fedor is unquestionably the greatest heavyweight we've ever see in MMA. The result of Saturday night's main event between Emelianenko and Henderson in and of itself isn't going to answer any questions about where either man stands as an all-time great. With both men having already secured their legacies, this is simply a fight that fight fans should feel privileged to be able to bare witness to in their lifetimes.
Feel free to follow me on Twitter. @JasonAmadi. Let’s get after it.
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STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
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