View Full Version : Who's your favorite fighter?
OK 103 isn't for a few weeks, so something in the mean time (apart from an nice looking Fight night card coming up!) WHo's your favorite fighter?
I'd have to go with Nate Quarry. The dude is a class act, loved him in TUF season one and love the way he fights. He'll never be the greatest of all time, but I'll go for him no matter who he's fighting. Recently I looked up his private life a bit and it turns out he was brought up a Jehovah Whiteness, and didn't even participate in organise sport until he was 24!
Next would be Jon Jones. Firstly from the talent he showed in his 3 fights in the UFC but when I heard him interviewed and the way he spoke and his intelligence I got a full on chubby man crush on him. He will be a title holder one day. HW or LHW, probably both :D
Of the big names take your pick of Fedor, GSP, Machida, Rampage, Randy and Shogun
Oh yeah, and Big Jon Hess.. Sometimes you just haf'ta SAFTA.
Igor Vovchanchyn
Currently Fedor and BJ
RobbyRoy
3 Sep 2009, 22:31
My favourite since I started watching MMA is Shogun, closely followed by Fedor. A couple of random ones are Luis Cane and Goran Reljic, who although he hasn't had many fights, I like what I see. Ricardo Arona, Vitor Ribeiro and JZ Calvancante are a couple more non-UFC fighters I've always liked. This could go on forever but if you want one, its Shogun.
Been Anderson Silva for quite a while now.
Also a huge fan of Lesnar too... love the way he gets up the nose of the so called "hardcore" MMA fans. Looking forward to his era of dominance in the UFC, destroying everyone Dana puts in his path... and the school girl hissy fits from "hardcore" fans when he does so.
Always had massive respect for Fedor, but never really liked him.
Vinnie Vegas
4 Sep 2009, 11:15
I like GSP and Anderson Silva quite a bit, but I don't think any real MMA fan doesn't like watching those two.
Of the guys that are a bit more up to personal taste, I'd say I'm a pretty big fan of Brandon Vera - I like the way he fights, and think that he is on his way to becoming dangerous at 205.
I'm also a fan of the two Nate's - Marquardt and Diaz.
From the 'greats' of MMA, I like Fedor, Dan Henderson, Sakuraba, Nog and GSP. Also Wanderlei Silva, oh and Randy. Also I really like for no real reason is Murilo Bustamante. Oh and Rich Franklin!
I love watching Anderson and BJ Penn but for some reason don't have the soft spot I do for the above.
From the newer breed, I always go for Shogun and Gergard Mousasi and Nate Marquardt.
Hmm...I like a lot of fighters... I don't really dislike any fighters, just how they fight I guess. What style they are etc, being overly one dimensional or a Lay and Prayer wont score points in my book though.
I guess though for overall package it would probably have to be Fedor, Nog or GSP. Extremely good fighting skills in all aspects of the game, but yet humble, highly respectful and dedicated martial artists, real "fighters fighters".
But basically they are all very entertaining to watch fight and have provided me with the most exciting and entertaining fights in my 10-odd years of being an MMA fan.
Alpha Male
4 Sep 2009, 15:26
Antonio...
Rodrigo...
Minatoro...
NOGUEIRA!!!!!
The man is far and away the best fighter I've ever seen and that includes Fedor. I don't think Fedor is going to end up having anywhere near the legacy that Nog has built up.
For a top 5:
Nog. Has done it all and continues to school people. I would love to see a rematch with Mir or a title match with Lesnar. Mir is good with the BJJ but Nog is on another level to everyone in the world. I think Brock would find his ground game much harder to counter than Frank's.
Lesnar. This man is deadly. He has more potential than any heavyweight ever and could end up being like Anderson Silva, just too good for anybody. The rumoured Fedor match would be must see as would a fight against Nog.
Fedor. The man is a freak and destoys all in his path but I can't call him the greatest until I've seen him in the Octagon.
Lytle. Not a huge name but my God will he put on a show. Has an amazing chin and great stamina that means he can never be without a chance regardless of the opposition.
Rampage. The man just screams "star". Can win from any position and has a knack for drilling guys with slams. Like Lesnar the man is just compulsive viewing for me.
Nog for me as well. After that BJ and Alexander. Houston's been pretty badly exposed but I'm a fan for life after his first two UFC fights, plus he's a really good guy. He raises six kids on his own, donates a kidney to one of them, saves infants left in cars and by all accounts goes above and beyond towards his fans.
Others are Randy, Wand, Cro Cop, Maia, GSP, Nick Diaz, Lauzon. Going back to the early days, Frye and Bas.
keyboard_warrior
4 Sep 2009, 19:46
i get slighlty rigid for clay guida. hes not very good at anything but just smothers his opponents and is all heart. his entrances are good for a laugh too... seems to have endless energy and runs around like hes just had a hit of smack.
Vinnie Vegas
5 Sep 2009, 07:59
Hmm...I like a lot of fighters... I don't really dislike any fighters, just how they fight I guess. What style they are etc, being overly one dimensional or a Lay and Prayer wont score points in my book though
I guess that's my attitude.
I will always laugh when Chris Leben gets choked out after tiring himself out throwing massive bombs, because he was behind on the scorecards.
Also, Leben got beaten by Bisping by decision, and then tested positive for steroids. If you take steroids and the other guy still beats you by unanimous decision, you might as well retire.
There's plenty I like but my very favourites by division -
Lightweight - Frankie Edgar
Welterweight - Georges St. Pierre
Middleweight - Jason MacDonald
Light Heavyweight - Lyoto Machida
Heavyweight - Andrei Arlovski
If I was to include all-time throw Carlos Newton in there.
Liddell, Been a fan since 99
Henderson
Serra
Nick Diaz
Of the recent fighters.
Machida
Lesnar
Other fighters that didnt make it to my fave list But love watching fight are Rampage, Rashad, Jardine, Wanderlei, Anderson, Shogun, Tito
GoGoGadget
13 Sep 2009, 20:52
Good thread, thought id get involved.
At the moment:
Light: Diego Sanchez - Hope he smashes BJ at 107
Welter: Dan Hardy - If he had a decent haircut I would probably like him alot more, but he is very talented and has awesome stand up.
Middle: Nate Marquart - WOW. He should be fighting Silva, not Hendo. I love Damien Maia but he just destroyed him. Great wrestler with heavy hands. Even if he is a ranga.
Light H/W: Machida. Way to good not to like. Also hate Rashad Evans, so having The Dragon take the belt was just :thumbsu:. Bones Jones is awesome to watch. Loved that spinning back elbow that dropped Bonner :eek:. Cant wait to see Belfort again as well.
H/W: Love watching this division. Brock can be a bit of a neanderthal but he is looking pretty impressive so far. Its gonna take a power puncher to stop him. I like Carwins chances if he can avoid getting taken down and molested. After the last outing I am seriously looking forward to seeing Duffee go again.
All time: Love Randy but hate the 'Captain America' that Goldberg screams constantly. Forrest Griffen and Stephan Bonner for 'that' fight. Tito for be offensive and getting Ken so worked up and then just creaming him 3 times in a row.
THOSE I HATE!
Light: BJ Penn. Seriously mate, grow up. You cant lace GSP's bootlaces, dont even think about another rematch. It's a matter of time until someone beats you at lightweight, don't go thinking you are even in P4P contention.
Welter: Matt Serra - With the exception of a fluke against GSP who has he beaten of any real significance?? Matt Hughes in his prime would have destroyed him. Pay Hughes a little more respect than calling him a dick and maybe you'll get some back.
Middle: Chris Leben - get a serious hairstyle and get of the roids. Just retire, if you cant handle Bisping any serious contender will probably end your career anyway.
Light H/W: Rashad Evans - Stop dancing around and for the love of god, leave your nipples alone.
H/W: Tim Sylvia - Two Words: RAY MERCER. Another two words: DRUGS CHEAT.
\Rant
RobbyRoy
13 Sep 2009, 20:57
I really don't see BJ losing at lightweight to anyone and at WW he's in with a shot against pretty much everyone else so I would put him easily in the top 5 P4P.
And Matt Hughes is a dick.
I really don't see BJ losing at lightweight to anyone and at WW he's in with a shot against pretty much everyone else so I would put him easily in the top 5 P4P.
And Matt Hughes is a dick.
Love to see him fight Aoki, who'd be schooled but still, I'd love to see it. Honestly looking forward to seeing Sanchez fighting him too. But have to agree, he owns 155.
I'd also like to add my +1 to the Hughes comment.
Yes hughes sucks, serra could have beaten him If hughes didnt just blanket him
LFTWNG11
14 Sep 2009, 11:42
Cannot go past Fedor Emeliannko... has the skill, power and speed to beat anyone, is modest and says the right things in interviews and so fourht BUT you know deep down inside, he knows he is better than you and will prove it every single time.
Always have a soft spot for Andrei Arlovski, the bloke had the MMA world at his feet, too bad for him he has a glass jaw. Anyone seen his Belrussian Playboy Centerfold missus?!?! What a champ. He also had an interview after the Tim Sylvia loss (1st one) where he said "I party too much with the girls, stay out late and not want to train" Then lost to Tim again... LOL. He is a legend in my opinion... just for the fact he had everything, and threw it away on partying and bitches. A legend for all the wrong reasons.
If AA had a good jaw like say Nog, and could stay in the pocket and trade, he'd be almost unbeatable.
But you're right with Fedor. Class act and amazing skills for a HW.
I'm fairly new to the sport and have been watching a lot of the old stuff on DVD so my picks may not even be fighting anymore but:
Forrest Griffen (I know he's not the best fighter but he's just so enjoyable to watch) Anderson Silva, Dan Henderson, GSP, Mike Swick, I really don't want to like BJ Penn but gotta respect the guy.......same with Matt Hughes......
..and of course Randy and Chuck - how can you not?
LFTWNG11
14 Sep 2009, 17:45
If AA had a good jaw like say Nog, and could stay in the pocket and trade, he'd be almost unbeatable.
But you're right with Fedor. Class act and amazing skills for a HW.
Yea AA needs a jaw, and the ability to resist the partying. When he was HW Champ he frequented the Playboy mansion a bit apparently, but who can blame him?!?! Unfortuantely for him, he had something very special, then lost it (the partying came before everyone found out he had a glass jaw) and now is finding it very hard to find it again, and in that time he has been worked out... hit him in the jaw. Still love him and at least looks like the prototype HW fighter.
Fedor is all class, but you can tell underneath his calm demeanor, he knows he is better than you... I reckon thats why Dana get so worked up over Fedor, not only does Fedor reject him but he maintains that class with the "f**k you" smile underneath. Its great. Not fussed if he ever fights in UFC, he has proven himself IMO. Unfortunately if he smashes Strikeforce, he has no option but to go to UFC to silence all the "he ducks fights" haters, LOL @ Frank Mir. If there was a thread on your most disliked fights, Frank would be no.1 for me.
daniel7
19 Sep 2009, 17:55
so many great fighters already listed. im a huge fan of GSP and anderson silva. would just be amazing to see these two guys go at it not sure who
id back to win that.
KungFooSing
20 Sep 2009, 21:40
Silva, Machida, BJ and Roger Huerta.
Machida and Silva are just incredible to watch, their timing and precision are sublime.
BJ's focus is inspiring and Huerta, well I dunno, its just his charisma I spose.
Randy will always be my favourite fighter 46yo and still trading it that is pretty incredible.
Lesnar, Alves, Koscheck, Dos Santos, Forrest, pretty much any fighter that loves to throw em i like.
daniel7
21 Sep 2009, 11:20
i agree with deej the fact that couture is 46 years old and still in the game is amazing but will the ufc throw him in the octogon with lesnar
Randy is a legend but could he match it with a monster like brock lesnar
at his age.
LFTWNG11
21 Sep 2009, 12:00
i agree with deej the fact that couture is 46 years old and still in the game is amazing but will the ufc throw him in the octogon with lesnar
Randy is a legend but could he match it with a monster like brock lesnar
at his age.
Lesnar has already beat Couture once in the octagon... with Couture going down to light heavyweight, I doubt he will get another shot at Lesnar.
After Nog convincingly beat Randy, it kind of derailed his title shot plans. Randy's next fight is Brandon Vera at UFC 105.
The great thing about Randy is his "fire" to still compete. Like when we saw Cro Cop fight on the weekend it was just sad, he looked like he didn't want to be there. Looked like a shell of himself.
I'll always support Randy, I just hope he knows when his time is up so he doesn't go out like Cro Cop has.
LFTWNG11
21 Sep 2009, 16:35
Haven't had a chance to see any of UFC103... should finish downloading tonight :D
But I have read the reports on the 2 fights I was interested in. Being a long time Cro Cop admirer (2nd only to Fedor in Pride IMO), was keen to see him string another win together and make a charge in the HW division... well he couldn't be any further from that position!!!! I know he lost his first 2(or 3?) UFC fights and then won last time out, the consensus was he was getting used to the cage and was all set to show off in the cage. Then he gets picked apart in this fight, in which he looked lacklusture and disinterested (much like his first couple of losses in the cage). Very sad if you ask me, and highlights how much character someone like Couture has....
After Nog convincingly beat Randy, it kind of derailed his title shot plans. Randy's next fight is Brandon Vera at UFC 105.
The great thing about Randy is his "fire" to still compete. Like when we saw Cro Cop fight on the weekend it was just sad, he looked like he didn't want to be there. Looked like a shell of himself.
I'll always support Randy, I just hope he knows when his time is up so he doesn't go out like Cro Cop has.
You know that I used to say pride fighters were overrated in general, well crocop is the highest on the list for me. Remember that rumour about him saying he'd come to ufc take the belt and head back to pride? Plan got a little derailed by some of his own high kick medicine. Wand too, steroids, Shogun, all those massive reputations were not necessarily deserved in my opinion. I know they all were and still are tough bastards but the reps were above that, they were rungs above anything the ufc had, I may be wrong but i think even you said crocop would eat randy around when randy came back for the sylvia fight? I'd take randy by mauling over cropcop now then and anytime before. I hope I dont come across as a smart arse I probably do but I seriously think the pride reputations were inflated for a lot of fighters. It's funny that Anderson lost in pride jeez what he would do to those guys now.
100action
22 Sep 2009, 22:05
for mma it would be Peter Aerts, im a big fan of high kicks and none kick harder than the lumberjack; he makes the cro cop look like a pansy.
all time favourite would be Mike Tyson, watching him fight just casts a overwhelming feeling of inferiority and helplessness over you as a male because you cant fathom how much he is better than you, he would destroy any mma fighter and that includes people that can grapple like Fedor Emelianenko.
for mma it would be Peter Aerts, im a big fan of high kicks and none kick harder than the lumberjack; he makes the cro cop look like a pansy.
all time favourite would be Mike Tyson, watching him fight just casts a overwhelming feeling of inferiority and helplessness over you as a male because you cant fathom how much he is better than you, he would destroy any mma fighter and that includes people that can grapple like Fedor Emelianenko.
Now THAT'S inflamatory.
/sit's back - eats popcorn.
cuzzy_bandwagon
23 Sep 2009, 08:56
for mma it would be Peter Aerts, im a big fan of high kicks and none kick harder than the lumberjack; he makes the cro cop look like a pansy.
all time favourite would be Mike Tyson, watching him fight just casts a overwhelming feeling of inferiority and helplessness over you as a male because you cant fathom how much he is better than you, he would destroy any mma fighter and that includes people that can grapple like Fedor Emelianenko.
lol i didnt know donny posted on big footy!!!
You know that I used to say pride fighters were overrated in general, well crocop is the highest on the list for me. Remember that rumour about him saying he'd come to ufc take the belt and head back to pride? Plan got a little derailed by some of his own high kick medicine. Wand too, steroids, Shogun, all those massive reputations were not necessarily deserved in my opinion. I know they all were and still are tough bastards but the reps were above that, they were rungs above anything the ufc had, I may be wrong but i think even you said crocop would eat randy around when randy came back for the sylvia fight? I'd take randy by mauling over cropcop now then and anytime before. I hope I dont come across as a smart arse I probably do but I seriously think the pride reputations were inflated for a lot of fighters. It's funny that Anderson lost in pride jeez what he would do to those guys now.
I never said Cro Cop would smash Randy, I said he's smash Sylvia. It was you that believed Sylvia could beat Fedor though ;)
See - http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5845960&postcount=36
In any case, I do agree CroCop was somewhat overrated in hindsight. At least when expecting to do as well inside the cage compared to that of his Pride fights.
I reckon though, for the more '1 dimensional' (CroCop, Lesnar, Lindland, Coleman) fighters the rules/arena they fight in can make the biggest difference to a fighters performance. The cage+ufc rules (elbows to the head on the ground, no knees or kicks tho) are much better for wrestlers, where as in Pride ring+rules(restarts in the centre, no elbows to the head, but soccer kicks and knees to the head) are much better for strikers, guys like Cro Cop excelled. There are many reasons for this which I can explain if you can't see why.
In any case in a ring, under Pride rules, Cro Cop has a deserved badass reputation winning the OWGP. Hypothetically if he fought all his UFC opponents in Pride, he would have done much better I believe. He was just so confident in the ring, and Mirko is a very mental fighter, in the UFC, he lost all confidence, especially after GG scrambled his brain with that RHK!
I know you think that MMA doesn't exist outside the UFC, but there ARE different flavours of MMA. And yes I agree that if he is truly to be considered one of the best he should be able to fight in both arenas. Still, points to consider.
And Wand, well Wanderlei is just getting older. Same as Chuck. Wand was not overrated in his day. If you saw his run through Pride I think you would have put him up there just like everyone else did, he was a killer and the Pride rules suited him to perfection. He was getting past it even before he got to the UFC, he was coming off 2 straight losses going into the Liddell fight. Now he's gone like 6-1 in his last 7 fights, but that isn't representative of how much of a badass he was in his Prime. Regardless, Wanderlei Silva is a legend of MMA.
Also, that doesn't mean ALL Pride guys were overated just cos of a few dropping off.
Rampage, Henderson, Anderson, Big Nog, Fedor, Shogun, Overeem have all done well since leaving Pride. And remember the entire MMA game has gone up since then, the up and comers are might tougher fights for *everyone*. The UFC flag bearers from the time are also being beaten. Chuck, Tito, Hughes, Randy, Franklin etc are all having trouble amongst the modern MMA up and comers. This is to be expected as fighters get older and new blood comes in. Chuck 1-4, Rich 3-2, Hughes 2-3 Randy 2-3 in their last 5 fights etc.
At the time, the best heavyweights were in Pride, this is not opinion anymore, Fedor has domolished Sylvia and Ande, Nog has dominated Randy. Mir is the only one you could make a case for, beating Nog who was only 3 weeks removed from a week stint in hospital with a blown out knee. Even then Nog is getting past it, but I'd like to see a Mir/Nog rematch. And cos Mirko was hanging with the top guys in Pride and winning the OWGP, his reputation was deserved. What we have learned since then is that you cant just take someone from a ring and expect him necessarily to perform as well in the cage.
Same goes for Fedor, that's why I'll be keen to see him fight Rogers and see how he goes in the cage.
Also, if you have time go have a read of some of our old thoughts, its pretty interesting, a lot of my thoughts seem pretty similar to today, but now we know what has happened, it funny in retrospect
http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=246077
Mike Tyson, watching him fight just casts a overwhelming feeling of inferiority and helplessness over you as a male because you cant fathom how much he is better than you, he would destroy any mma fighter and that includes people that can grapple like Fedor Emelianenko.
No he wouldn't.
I'll let someone else argue the point though, I cbf.
LFTWNG11
23 Sep 2009, 09:58
With CroCop I thinks its mostly him being past it. He is not the fighter he was 5 year ago, without a doubt. Alot of it has to do with fighting in a cage as opposed to the ring, but also I think he is just unforutnate enough to have age catch up to him earlier than most. Guys Like Randy and Chuck, they have been able to battle on well into their thirties, I just think CroCop isn't one of those fighters.
The cage v ring theory is very true. Maybe the reason why Fedor decided to go to Strikeforce, it will give him 3 competative fights in the cage... then we may seem in the UFC with cage experience?
Ha ha sylvia to smash fedor jeez what was i thinking.:)
lol, yeah that was a bit of a miss there :) Though, even I was suprised how fast Fedor dispatched Sylvia, I thought big Tim would definately be a challenge.
I reckon Big Tim (fully fit anyway) still has something to give though. Wonder if he ever makes it back to the UFC? He has a rock solid chin and is big and still has skills. I reckon he'd still match up reasonably well against guys like Kongo, Herring, Gonzaga, and I'd like to see a rematch with Mir. Yeah he got KO'd by a scrub in Mercer, but I think that was an anomaly as much as GSP/Serra was.
MMA is such a dynamic, evolving sport, anything can happen, and with hype and marketing people can appear bigger than they are. I think as time goes on though, experience can allow you to make better judgements just by watching a fighter a few times and using a bit of logic. And MMAath just doesn't work most of the time.
The great thing is we're still discussing it as hardcore as ever 3 years on. Imagine what the next 3 years will hold? Who knows? Maybe Todd Duffee will be be HW champ! hahah
I know you think that MMA doesn't exist outside the UFC, but there ARE different flavours of MMA. And yes I agree that if he is truly to be considered one of the best he should be able to fight in both arenas. Still, points to consider.
I'll do a more detailed reply a bit later but just wanted to clarify this, I look at the UFC as the AFL, and MMA is Australian Rules Football. Of course there is aussie rules played outside of the AFL but the AFL is the pinnacle of the sport.
I'll do a more detailed reply a bit later but just wanted to clarify this, I look at the UFC as the AFL, and MMA is Australian Rules Football. Of course there is aussie rules played outside of the AFL but the AFL is the pinnacle of the sport.
Yep, now thats a fair enough enalogy and I agree with you in essence - currently as it stands the UFC is *THE* MMA brand worldwide, the would account for 80% of the talent in the MMA world. The main difference is that AFL have 100% of the top Aussie Rules talent. There are no Gary Abletts running around in the VFL. Also, Aussie Rules is consistent with rules and scoring etc. Many MMA orgs have different rules so this can muddle the evaluations further. A UFC fighter reliant on the cage and elbows on the ground, might have a MUCH harder time fighting in say Dream, just as Mirko had trouble in the Cage. Something else to consider in the analogy.
Also, just because they are the biggest, doesn't mean that other MMA orgs don't have "UFC worthy" (world class) fights with the 20% of fighters not in the UFC. Mousasi/Babalu for example was a world class fight, could easily put that straight into a UFC card, both fighters are easily UFC worthy, same with Fedor/Rogers and many others outside the UFC.
And Pride in it's heyday (2001-2006) was arguably the pinnacle of MMA, so someone like Fedor's accomplishments then were equally as good as anyone from the UFC's at the time.
But I will say as it currently stands, that unless you fight in the UFC, you can't RISE to #1 in the world without going there. For instance Mousasi could never get to #1 LHW regardless of who he fought outside the UFC. Even if Rampage went to strikeforce (apparently he's quitting fighting BTW!) and Mousasi destroyed him, he still couldn't claim it because the UFC LHW div is undisputedly the best in the world.
Obviously the exception is Fedor, who is already #1 and he's outside the UFC, but he earned his #1 in Pride earlier on which were the top dog for HW's worldwide (so as legitimate as the UFC is now). Now that the UFC heavyweight division is stacked, there is slowly starting to be (valid) argument that he should come and fight in the UFC to keep #1 spot. I say IF he's stopped fighting 'UFC level' fights outside the UFC, then he must do that to remain relevent. Until then as long as he's fighting top 10-15 guys of which there are only a few arguably outside the UFC(Rogers/Werdum/Overeem/Barnett). I'm praying that once his contract with M1 and Strikeforce finishes, he'll have experience in the cage, and can come to the UFC.
Out of interest magnum where do you rate dos santos now? Some serious punching power, not sure of his bjj but he's with nog so you'd think he'd have some ground game.
I rate him ready to take the next step. Personally he's scratching top 10. Might even be in there.
Things we know:
His chin is good. He took some hard left hands straight down the pipe and kept coming.
His cardio is fine.
His standup is pretty good. Not as technical as possibly Kongo or even Cro Cop was, but he's got the ability to strike with pretty much anyone in the div. His knees and Muay Thai clinch were great too and put away Cro Cop.
His power is good. Demolishing Werdum, Struve and finishing CroCop is testament to this.
What we dont know:
His wrestling. I can't see it being all that flash, with only 4-5 years of MMA training. This might be his achilles heel, especially against the beastly wrestlers like Cain/Carwin/Lesnar
His BJJ. He's been training BJJ for less than I have, admitedly he's been working under the Nogueiras and probably a few more hours per week than I do, so it will be pretty good, he's a legit purple belt. I'm guessing with his chin, he might be able to put it to good use. But I'd think he'd need to be on top to work it, which might be difficult because of his wrestling.
I think a fight vs Kongo or the loser of Cain/Roy Nelson would be a good test. Personally I give him a decent chance against either, but he'd better better suited to Kongo...
Just inside the Top 10 for me. Probably give a good matchup to anyone in there Cain/Gonzaga/Herring/Kongo/Mir/Carwin... The top 10 at HW is a toss up for me aside from Lesnar and Fedor who I think are the best.
Wait until he hits 28ish. Another 4 years of BJJ and Wrestling on a 6'4" frame and he'll sit nicely weitgh wise at HW. That's going to be scary. The days of the Randy Couture and Crocop are gone. We're going to need another division for the dudes under 230.