Kazushi Sakuraba
When one thinks of the attributes a stereotypical MMA fighter embodies, warrior spirit, respect and fearlessness come to mind. Those qualities were possessed in spades by Kazushi Sakuraba.
Sakuraba lost his MMA debut against the much larger and more experienced Kimo Leopoldo, but bounced back to become one of the best and most entertaining fighters at the turn of the millennium and a mainstay of both the PRIDE and DREAM organizations.
His one and a half hour long fight against Royce Gracie is considered to be amongst the most epic in MMA history, while bouts against Wanderlei Silva, Igor Vovchanchyn and Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic – all of whom were at least 20 pounds heavier than Sakuraba – were losing efforts, but showed a bygone quality of fighting whomever, whenever, wherever that won him the respect of fans worldwide.
