Plenty of hardcore fans long for the good old days. The days when Japan’s revered Pride promotion ruled the MMA landscape. And that landscape was heavily dotted by big names from the sport’s birthplace: Brazil.
The names were so big, in fact, that several fighters needed only monikers. Shogun. The Axe Murderer. Minotauro. The Phenom.
Then a new generation ascended. Anderson Silva is on everyone’s MMA Mount Rushmore. José Aldo is the best featherweight ever. Lyoto Machida, Renan Barao, Junior Dos Santos and Fabricio Werdum are former champions. But all these guys are either retired or teetering on the edge.