Sherdog’s Top 10: Most Influential Fighters

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4. Randy Couture

Two-time Olympic alternate Couture did not get into MMA until the ripe old age of 33, but his skills in Greco-Roman wrestling opened up an entirely new field of battle for mixed martial artists: the clinch. Moreover, he was one of the founders of Team Quest, the venue through which Couture and his teammates helped popularize and disseminate this skill. As the founder of Xtreme Couture years later, an entirely new generation of fighters benefited from the legend’s deep knowledge of the game.

Dirty boxing is simple enough as a concept -- tie up with your opponent in the clinch and then go to town with short knees and punches -- but the grappling knowledge necessary to make it work, particularly while pressing up against the cage, should not be understated. Couture and his partners at Team Quest, Matt Lindland and Dan Henderson, had decades of experience in the technical nuances of Greco-Roman wrestling and the upper-body throws and locks it demanded. Combining those skills with punches and knees was no easy feat, but they mastered it quickly and put it to good use. As MMA developed, dirty boxing served as an effective counter to the emerging sprawl-and-brawl fighters who could defend shot takedowns well enough but lacked the full range of skills necessary to constantly break from the clinch.

Couture won the UFC heavyweight championship twice, nearly a decade apart, and took the light heavyweight title in between, mostly on the strength of his skills in the clinch. Today, the kind of dirty boxing techniques Couture pioneered are part of the standard repertoire of every fighter in every major promotion in the world. A vast array of fighters, including Benji Radach, Chris Leben, Ed Herman, Forrest Griffin and Gray Maynard, passed through Couture’s gyms and carry on his legacy.

Number 3 » He slammed his opponent to the mat, postured up and rained down vicious punches and head butts until his opponent went unconscious or tapped. He could hurt his opponent from anywhere in top position or in the scrambles, with particular skill for landing brutal knees from side control and the front headlock.