Why is Fedor STILL the greatest heavyweight after how many years of not fighting the best guys?

fedor has stepped up to challenges, but he hasn't stepped up to the challenges that count towards being the best. the best heavy weights right now are in the UFC. fedor is a beast. no doubt about it. but his rep is at a standstill no matter how many guys in strikeforce he knocks out or submits.

Say whatever you want about Fedor, you can still make a great argument that he is the best in the world...he has beat Babalu, Herring, Nog (twice), Cro Cop (in his prime), Randleman, Sylvia, and Arlovski. I don't think he is unbeatable, but I do believe he is the best heavyweight in the world at the moment. Also, Matt Hughes submitted a younger, less talented GSP. He isn't avoiding anyone...Fedors camp has told Dana that Fedor will fight Lesnar for free in a gym. Dana said, "Okay!"...and of course, nothing happened. Fedor isn't ducking anyone...hopefully when his contract runs out, he will come to the UFC and destroy whoever is holding the belt.

Tim Sylvia's last match before fighting Fedor was against Nogueira for the Interim HW title. And he was getting the better of the exchanges for two and a half rounds. He lasted less than a minute against Fedor.

Andrei Arlovski is an athletic 240lbs. He's got the best boxing in the HW division, plus a solid sprawl and an under-appreciated submission game. Fedor KO'd him in the first round.

Brett Rogers was undefeated at the time he fought Fedor, and had just knocked out Arlovski. Despite bloodying Fedor's nose with the first punch, he never had The Last Emperor in trouble, and was beaten at his own game (striking).

When Fedor fought Mirko Crocop, the Croation was Anderson Silva-level scary as a striker. Fedor beat him in the stand-up.

Semmy Schilt, Mark Hunt, and Hong Man Choi are not only all K-1 champs, but all much larger than Fedor. He beat all three of them, subbing Hunt and Choi.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira has arguably the best BJJ of any heavyweight fighter. Fedor sat in his guard for twenty minutes and dribbled his head off the ground. If Fedor didn't exist, Nogueira would have been the #1 HW in the world for the better part of a decade; he's 0-2 (1NC) against the Russian.

Naoya Ogawa was a silver medalist in Judo at the Olympics; Fedor out-Judo'd him by throwing him, then finishing him with an arm bar.

Mark Coleman is an Olympic wrestler known as "The Godfather of Ground and Pound"; Fedor's two victories against him have been from underneath, where Coleman should have theoretically stood the best chance of winning.

Fedor's the #1 HW because he beats his opponents where they're strongest. He's the most well-rounded HW in the world. He's virtually undefeated, and the single loss on his record is generally acknowledged to be BS. He's held three different MMA titles and never lost. He's considered by many of his peers to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

Look at who else might be considered the #1 HW. Brock Lesnar has a legit loss and roughly a handful of fights, and of his opponents only Mir is in his prime. Mir himself runs hot and cold. Carwin and Velasquez are undefeated, but don't have the top-notch opponents on their list, or any titles. Josh Barnett has some significant losses on his record, maybe one major win (Nogueira), and has never held a major title, Pancrase not withstanding. Nogueira's recent performances have left question marks about his health, and he lost decisively to Fedor on two occasions. Basically, nobody else has the track record, the dominance, or the totality of skills that Fedor has. That's why he's #1.

The difference in your scenario is Fedor doesn't fight "lesser ranked fighters" in Strikeforce or Pride. The fighting ability amongst most of his opponents is rite up their with elite top of the food chain fighters. Some are just lesser known fighters to the US main stream. He takes a very big risk every time he fights a guy who's up and coming and not very well known. Do you think Anderson Silva would ever accept a bout with an opponent without a big name. Hell no, it's too risky for him. Anderson always plays it "safe" that sounds kind of cowardly to me. That way if he loses it won't look so bad because it was to a big name. Big name doesn't necessarily = gr8 fighter.

Unlike your "comparison" Matt Hughes, Fedor continues to win and has ever since the beginning. The fact remains that NO1 ELSE IN MMA HAS A WINNING RECORD LIKE HIS PERIOD. He's fought the BIG names he's fought the BIG behemoth opponents who's got a HUGE size advantage on him, and the not so well known fighters that that are equally as gr8 as the best out there. So my question to you is...What more do you want from him

I don't understand the mentality that Fedor has to earn the right to fight Brock. Lesnar has all of 4 fights and all of a sudden he's the greatest heavyweight ever? Fedor has fought the top heavyweights while they were in their prime. The reason Fedor isn't in UFC has been discussed and it has to do with him wanting the rights to co-promote. The UFC doesn't need Fedor but Fedor doesn't need the UFC either. People who follow and know MMA know Fedor is one of the top fighters in the world because he's proven it. Can't think of many other guys in that weight class with the quality wins Fedor has.

Flashing lights and Pay-per-view does not mean Mir is an awesome heavy weight.

Brock has not earned the right to fight Fedor. His record is weak at best.

People need to realize that Fedor sucks monkey dick and the only reason he didnt sign with ufc is cuz he is too big of a pussy to fight guys like Frank Mir, Brock Lesnar, Shane Carwin, Cain Velasquez, etc

i agree you cant be the best til you beat the best and all the best heavyweights are in ufc i wouldnt even put fedor in the top five heavyweights right now he is overated

He isn't.