8. Mauricio Rua
“Shogun” may not be your typical ground-and-pound artist because he has so many memorable finishes on the feet, but make no mistake, he can shred an opponent on the mat when the situation calls for it. Rua has felled foes many times with punches before pouncing and clubbing away until the lights went out. Murderous hammerfists, punches and whatever else he unfurled made him one of the most terrifying men in the sport in top position. When you added soccer kicks and stomps to the mix during his Pride Fighting Championships glory days, he was truly frightening.

Rua’s list of victims includes a who’s who of MMA greats, even though his career sputtered after knee injuries took their toll. Impressive wins over Mark Coleman, Lyoto Machida, Ricardo Arona, Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin, Quinton Jackson and Alistair Overeem (twice) highlight his hall of fame-worthy resume.

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