2. Luke Rockhold
While there is no shame in being second on this list ahead of so many legendary fighters, I had Rockhold first. He was a perfect 9-0 in the Strikeforce and was a middleweight champion with two big title defenses. He defeated all-time great opponents. Lastly, I believe he was the best middleweight fighter in the world at the time. Think about it; the two UFC middleweight champions prior to Rockhold were Chris Weidman and Anderson Silva. Of course, Rockhold destroyed Weidman in December 2015 to win the UFC crown, and I believe he would have defeated him even worse in 2011 or 2012, when Weidman was less developed and Rockhold was in his absolute prime. The other champion was of course Silva. However, if Chael Sonnen very nearly defeated Silva with his wrestling, surely Rockhold's even better grappling would do the trick? Moreover, Rockhold had much better BJJ than Sonnen and wouldn't get tapped from the bottom, and was a better striker to boot. Rockhold had many amazing and unique skills, like his lethal left kicks, among the best in the sport's history, his unique judo-based grappling game, and an incredible top game blending ground-and-pound and submissions seamlessly. However, he was plagued with a relatively weak chin and spotty defense. However, in Strikeforce, his chin was the best it would ever be, and his athleticism, later sapped by injury, was at its best, making him harder to hit. He was an amazing force then, tapping Jesse Taylor in the first round with a rear-naked choke and stopping Paul Bradley with brutal knees to the body in the first to set up a title shot against the amazing Ronaldo Souza, whom we have covered already. Despite being a massive underdog, Rockhold took a razor-thin decision over the Brazilian legend which almost everyone scored 48-47 for one fighter or the other...with the exception of cageside judge Bruce Snell, naturally. After that, Rockhold knocked out Keith Jardine in the first stanza and largely dominated elite contender Tim Kennedy for five full rounds. He then went on to further greatness in the UFC, but for what was in many ways the perfect Strikeforce career, Rockhold is first on my list.
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