Sherdog’s Top 10: Greatest Fighters of the 2000s

10. Randy Couture

The legendary Couture opens the list. He is the only fighter on this list to also receive votes for our top fighters of the 1990s, an indication of his astounding longevity. However, Couture achieved his prime in the 2000s as an excellent grappler who could beat up opponents against the fence, take them down and inflict ground-and-pound, and had shockingly good cardio for a man who turned 40 in 2003. Furthermore, Couture had solid boxing, able to successfully throw punches for periods of time. However, his greatest weapon was his mind, finding paths to victory where seemingly none existed. Couture went 13-8 during the 2000s, but when one considers that an incredible 14 of these were for a UFC championship, it's nothing to be ashamed of. Early in the decade, Couture faced UFC heavyweight champion Kevin Randleman, a younger, stronger, faster and more naturally talented foe with better wrestling, yet managed to stop him in Round 3 of their fight—which, by the way, is an unsung classic.

Couture then defended twice against an excellent challenger in Pedro Rizzo, and while the first is a hotly debated decision to this day—I had it for Rizzo—the rematch was a one-sided stoppage by “The Natural.” After that, Couture was stopped in two rounds by Josh Barnett and then again by less impressive challenger Ricco Rodriguez, whom he dominated for two rounds before gassing and getting beaten up. This prompted talks of retirement, but instead Couture simply dropped down to light heavyweight and reinvented himself. Twice he prevailed as an underdog, finishing Chuck Liddell in Round 3 for an interim title, and then dominating Tito Ortiz with his wrestling for five rounds to become the undisputed king. He briefly lost the title to Vitor Belfort by a stoppage due to a cut, but once again removed any doubt in the rematch, mauling Belfort until the bout was stopped at the end of the third round. Liddell would have his revenge, knocking out Couture in the second round to win the title and then in the third in their rubber match.

After the losses to Liddell, retirement was once again brought up, but Couture instead won one of the most amazing, inspirational victories in MMA history, as the utterly washed-up 43 year-old man standing just 6-foot-1 and 225 pounds defeated 6-foot-8 goliath champion Tim Sylvia, who was a decade younger and walked around well above the 265-pound heavyweight limit. After a successful defense against Gabriel Gonzaga, yet another third-round stoppage, Couture was stopped by the much younger and stronger Brock Lesnar. He ended the decade losing clearly to another legend in Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, then winning a decision that was widely considered a robbery against Brandon Vera. Nevertheless, for being an incredible two-time light heavyweight UFC champion and two-time heavyweight UFC champion in the same decade, Couture was certainly one of the greats of the 2000s.

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