We can debate this question question forever: Who is the MMA Mountrushmore? In other words, the four greatest fighters of all time.
The answer, of course, is subjective and likely depends on how you define “greatest.” Is your criteria heavy on wins and losses? Is it about championships or records? How does longevity factor in? Do you put a lot of weight on how a fighter impacted the sport in a general sense?
When it comes to answering this loaded question, perhaps nobody is more qualified than Dana White, who’s worked with, knows personally and has watched up close the best of the best during his nearly 20 years as UFC president.
White had to really give it some thought when he was asked for his MMA Mount Rushmore on “The Schmozone Podcast.”
“If you’re talking about a Mount Rushmore where the heads are carved in stone forever, you have to go Royce Gracie. No-brainer, have to do that,” White said. “Amanda Nunes. Has to be Amanda Nunes, greatest female fighter ever.”
Those two names came out of White’s mouth quickly. But the other two?
“The other two are tough,” White said, before ultimately rounding out his MMA Mount Rushmore.
“I would have to go with a Jon Jones,” he continued. “The guy’s never been beat, and what’s more amazing about him going undefeated – which is incredibly amazing because very few people do it in the sport – is the things that he’s done to himself outside of the octagon, and he still hasn’t been beat. …
“No. 4 on the Mount Rushmore, I guess you’d have to go with Chuck Liddell. At the point in time, he was as big a star as ever. It’s almost a coin flip between Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin, and they’re both from the same show, the first season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter.’ Chuck became a massive star, was the highest paid guy in the company at the time and all that stuff.”
So there you have it. Dana White’s MMA Mount Rushmore consists of [autotag]Royce Gracie[/autotag], [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag], [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag], and [autotag]Chuck Liddell[/autotag].
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For what it’s worth, White did go on to acknowledge that [autotag]Georges St-Pierre[/autotag] and [autotag]Anderson Silva[/autotag], in addition to their in-cage accolades, did huge things for the growth of MMA in Canada and Brazil, respectively.
Some thoughts:
- Anyone’s Mount Rushmore that doesn’t include GSP (the GOAT) is a crime. Sorry, but that has to be said.
- The fact that neither of White’s two biggest cash cows, [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] and [autotag]Ronda Rousey[/autotag], are included is quite shocking. Thought for sure at least one of them would make it.
- The fact that Gracie was a “no-brainer” and the first person he named is actually quite awesome.
- Nunes’ inclusion is surprising, but it’s definitely time to stop talking about her in terms of being the greatest female fighter of all time and just consider her among the all-time greats period.
- So Jones is on White’s Mount Rushmore, but he’s not worth “Deontay Wilder money.” OK …
What do you think of Dana White’s MMA Mount Rushmore? Let us know in the poll below:
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