Under the Microscope: Analyzing Heavyweight Greats

Dan Severn

* Heavyweight Record: 18-7-3
* Opponent Winning Percentage: .769
* Longest Winning Streak: 11
* Record in Major Heavyweight Title Fights: 3-3
* Finish Percentage: 50
* Finished Percentage: 71
* Notable Victories: Oleg Taktarov (twice), David Abbott, Ken Shamrock, Paul Buentello, Travis Fulton (thrice), Forrest Griffin
* Career Accomplishments: UFC Hall of Fame (2005), UFC 5 tournament winner, Ultimate Ultimate1995 tournament winner, UFC super fight champion, UFC 4 tournament runner-up

CASE FOR: Few fighters are as deserving of their nicknames as “The Beast.” With an 18-year, 127-fight career, Severn is a beast of mythical proportions and by far the most tenured G.O.A.T. candidate. Though he has been active for an unbelievably long time, Severn has done much more than hang around; he dominated at the highest levels. Yes, he racked up UFC titles in the promotion’s zygotic stages of existence, but unlike most pioneering powerhouses in other divisions, “The Beast” maintained an impressively sturdy level of competition throughout his career. Across the board and by any measure, Severn has been a giant in the division and a trailblazer who evolved to keep in-step with the zeitgeist of the generations for which he paved the way. If that is not what it means to be the greatest, what is?

CASE AGAINST: Beyond the curse of 50/50 that shows up in Severn’s finish rate and title match win/loss ratio and beyond the fact that he has been finished in five of his seven losses, the reason he is not the G.O.A.T. is simple: He never really beat anybody. The biggest, most recognizable names on his fight record are almost all losses or draws. Severn has beaten a handful of good fighters and a couple near-great ones, but he lacks that signature body bag. To put it in perspective, he lost to every single fighter that was considered for this list. On top of all that, his loss to Royce Gracie at UFC 4 is a bad look, even considering the greater context of the sport at the time; it would be hard to imagine anyone else on this list tapping out to someone a fraction of his weight. Severn is arguably the greatest heavyweight of his time but not the Greatest of All-Time.

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