What Defines a Combat Sports Legend?
The word legend is tossed around combat sports far too much in contemporary editorial efforts. One win doesn’t make a legend, nor does a single championship reign. Daniel Cormier recently hit out at the UFC for its decision to revere Jim Miller in the promotion’s Hall of Fame, essentially calling him a legend. So, what is a combat sports legend?
Resumes with Championships and Quality Fights
MMA news websites and boxing news sites often describe fighters with great hyperbole when they’ve won a single match or because of pre-dated accomplishments. While this probably hits their SEO objectives and sells journalistic subscriptions, the term legend should be reserved for greater accomplishments.
While there’s no hard and fast rule to apply the term correctly, there are two specific criteria that cover most instances. One is that a fighter has to have won multiple championships and have fought quality opponents throughout their reign. It’s a fairly basic requirement. The greats like Mike Tyson, Mohammad Ali, Amanda Nunes, and Conor McGregor have all done so by winning multiple championships and beating opponents of equal quality during their reigns.
‘Quality fights’ are, of course, subject to conjecture and subjectivity. Tyson Fury, for all his accomplishments, struggles to get legend status, having not fought the biggest opponents in the heavyweight division during his tenure. He is trying to remedy that by fighting Oleksandr Usyk next month. If he can defeat him, then he will have probably earned the moniker legend.
Someone like Natascha Ragosina might never get the legend status despite retiring as an undefeated two-division champion. Miss Sledgehammer fought in heavier divisions where there was almost no competition for her, making it difficult to be praised for fights she should have won comfortably.
Tenured Legacy and Fanfare to the Sport
Jim Miller got into the UFC Hall of Fame on this merit. Even if a combatant hasn’t lifted a single championship or trophy above their head, they can still be deemed a legend if they’ve put the hard work in. Jim Miller has a far-from-perfect MMA record at 37-17. Yet he’s been with the UFC since 2008 and has been fighting for almost 20 years. He’s still at it now, having won his first fight of 2024. He might not have won a UFC title or even competed for one, but he’s still a fan favorite.
It’s that loyalty and hard work that everyone appreciates. In combat sports, it’s harder to come by this longevity as the nature of the sport is very demanding, as well as dangerous. It’s more common in team sports like soccer, where players like Alan Shearer, who, despite never winning any competition with Newcastle United, are considered club legends. Some anomalies, like Jim Miller, include Derek Chisora, Cecilia Brækhus, and Jéssica Andrade. These fighters are incredibly active and are at least broaching combat sports legend status down their hard work alone.
Try Different Divisions
While some traditionalists of combat sports speak out that fighters should ‘stay in their division,’ there is a credible pathway to try to conquer another additional division as well as their primary weight class. Conor McGregor did it, Naoko Fujioka did it, as did Canelo Alvarez, and Anatoly “Sladkiy” Malykhin wants to become a triple-weight MMA champion in ONE Championship. Being able to lift a title in more than one weight class shows that a fighter is at a supreme level where they can defeat opponents even after changing their body (either going up or down in weight).
There might not be a better way to show dominance of an MMA promotion than by holding multiple pieces of silverware in the competition. Of course, the fighter needs to be able to back up multiple titles with a decent resume of quality opponents. After all, that fighter who has won all eight weight division titles in Kentucky Backyard Boxing might be a good brawler but is not a combat sports legend by any stretch.
No Need to Crossover
In recent boxing news, there seems to be a trend for boxers to try MMA and MMA fighters to try boxing. Whether this is for financial gain or other reasons, is it ever successful? Does it truly define or help build legacies? In short, it’s unlikely that people will remember Conor McGregor as a better overall fighter because he once boxed Floyd Money Mayweather. He was already a certified MMA and combat sports icon from his time at UFC alone. If anything, his boxing exploits dampened his credibility.
Francis Ngannou stands at a similar axiom right now but seems hellbent on trying to make a career in boxing. He bowed out of the UFC to have a lot more freedom with his career, but if he loses to Anthony Joshua, it could chip away at how people remember his glorious MMA career.
While not many combat sports participants transition from boxing to MMA, one contemporary fighter doing so is Claressa Shields. She’s called herself the GWOAT in terms of female boxing, which could be disputed. Regardless, she’s encroaching on legend status in boxing. Therefore, does she need to embark on a PFL career? If she ends up losing fight after fight, it could do more damage than good.
In 2023, crossover or influencer boxing became incredibly popular with specific demographics. The practice has been spear-headed by internet celebrities Jake Paul and KSI. The majority of the pre-existing boxing community do not regard this as ‘real boxing’ and regard any fighter taking part to be tarnishing their status. Therefore, no combat sports legend should be seen participating in such events.
Find all the latest boxing news and MMA breaking updates on boxingnews.com.
