Welcome again folks, this time to Sherdog's list of the ten greatest Pride Fighting Championships fighters ever. This was compiled as an average of many different Sherdog contributors' lists, and I will note where my own views deviated considerably. Personally though, the appeal of any such lists isn't the exact ordering, or who was included versus excluded, but the actual discussion below each entry. Anyone can come up with a list with no further commentary and it's no more “right” than another. However, the best such lists have entertaining and informative explanations, which is a goal I hope to accomplish.

Now, a word about criteria. These rankings are based solely on a fighter’s achievements in Pride, and the main measure was greatness for one’s era and how long that era lasted. Ranking historical fighters based on who would beat whom doesn’t make sense, since fighters keep improving and evolving. Nevertheless, fighters from earlier eras may be penalized for how uncompetitive their division or era was. That is even true for Pride; the talent level in the legendary promotion from its pinnacle around 2005 until its 2007 demise was far higher than in the 1990s.

By way of honorable mention, Mark Coleman, the original Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight titleholder and the winner of Pride’s 2000 Grand Prix, received several votes from the panel, leaving him just behind the three-way tie for 10th place that follows this introduction.

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