Most dominant athlete ever?

[BAH HUMBBUG!]

And in those nine seasons, his records lasted for decades, and he is still #9 on the all time rushing list, doing it in only nine seasons.

The question isn't longevity, it's most dominant. Hell Bo Jackson gets a nod here for the NFL, just because of how dominant he was.

I don't think either is the most dominant athlete ever, simply because if we are talking all sports, there are athletes that have been more dominant than either of them in their respective sports. I'm just saying that if you say Jerry Rice, there is no way you can't say Jim Brown.

 

[Poetic Chaos]

I don't see Jon Jones ever losing a fight the way he's been dominating opponents.

 

[DoomsdayApex]

After last night, I don't think there is any question that Anderson Silva stands alone in the MMA world as most dominant ever.

Nope. He's dominated a shallow division for years (similar to Fedor towards the end of his career). Silva needs to beat a high-profile name like Jon Jones in order for me to consider him the GOAT. At this point, he's still tied with Fedor.

 

[TheVileOne]

Silva has already surpassed Fedor. He's not lost in six years which was by DQ against Okami. He's won 16 in a row. 15 consecutive UFC wins. 10 UFC title defenses. He hasn't been finished or lost legit in 7 and a half years. He defended his title 10 times.

As champion Fedor only had to defend his title three times.

 

[DoomsdayApex]

And yet the Middleweight division hasn't provided a true worthy challenge for Silva. Thus, Ando has NOT surpassed Fedor.

 

[TheVileOne]

Who are you to decide who is not worthy Apex?

Did the heavyweight division in Pride ever provide a worthy challenge for Fedor? It didn't so what the **** does that even mean?

By worthy do you mean someone that can beat him at 185? I'd say all of Silva's opponents for the title were worthy challengers except Cote and Leites.

 

[Rowsdower!]

Roger Federer. Greatest Tennis Player of All Time.

 

[Texas Zombie]

Bigger, Stronger, Faster.

And probably not just them, it seems like many, if not most professional athletes use PED's.

Most just look the other way. I know a guy that plays for a MLB team and he said, before Canseco was proven right, that Clemens had been caught using. But instead of MLB calling him out, they 'arranged' it so that instead of him playing full seasons, he would just 'sign late' and start in June or later.

Then, out comes the reports that all of these MLB players were using, and guess who was on the list? Clemens.

I'm pretty jaded now when it comes to athletes and PED's. I just assume many are using. And Usain Bolt, forget about it. Totally using PED's. No question.

Yeah it happens, I have also witnessed collegiate athletes use steroids, fighters who fight in bellator, and a couple "going pro" bodybuilders.

It comes from a lack of testing, it should be mandatory to do much more testing.

**** gene doping will be around in 20 years anyways, athletes with superior strength, and stuff. I'm sure the US government is all over it for military purposes, but that's all

 

[TheOnlyOmega]

And in those nine seasons, his records lasted for decades, and he is still #9 on the all time rushing list, doing it in only nine seasons.

The question isn't longevity, it's most dominant. Hell Bo Jackson gets a nod here for the NFL, just because of how dominant he was.

I don't think either is the most dominant athlete ever, simply because if we are talking all sports, there are athletes that have been more dominant than either of them in their respective sports. I'm just saying that if you say Jerry Rice, there is no way you can't say Jim Brown.

I basically have it like this. They are both the best you can get at their positions. Both are extremely dominant, just one did it twice as long. Brown and Rice's dominance can be compared because the level of domination was similar when they were both in there prime, its just that one of these dudes played at that level for 20 years, while the other only 9.

Also if were talking records, just look at some of the ones Rice holds. He's the leader in receiving yards, with about 6000 yards between him and number 2. The most impressive one is his 1500 receptions, which I'm pretty sure will never be broken.

 

[Rowsdower!]

 

[Texas Zombie]

The most dominant athlete ever. Cael Sanderson.

159-0, 4 national titles in a row.
4-Utah high school state championships.
And a gold at the Olympics.

He is by far the best college athlete to compete in recent times.

 

[Hound55]

Screw college sports... Christian Laettner made the final 4 four years in a row, but f*** Christian Laettner as well.

 

[E-Man]

The most dominant athlete ever. Cael Sanderson.

159-0, 4 national titles in a row.
4-Utah high school state championships.
And a gold at the Olympics.

He is by far the best college athlete to compete in recent times.

Dude's becoming a legendary coach as well. I wish I could just meet that dude so I could steal his powers through a handshake.

 

[TheWatcher]

For basketball in general it's obviously the man Bill Russell.

11 NBA titles in 13 years
2 National Championships
Olympic Gold Medalist
5x NBA MVP
12x NBA All-Star

 

[Doc Samson]

For basketball in general it's obviously the man Bill Russell.

11 NBA titles in 13 years
2 National Championships
Olympic Gold Medalist
5x NBA MVP
12x NBA All-Star

I can see what your saying, but from just a sheer dominant perspective, I still say Wilt. Russell had the more illustrious career, as far as accomplishment. He was surrounded by a more solid team for longer and was more of a defensive stalwart. Bill Russell was also more of a leader, and that contributed to him winning so much more than Wilt, who's commitment was always in question just from his lifestyle. That being said, Wilt is still one of the few people who actually changed his sport, literally.

The Stilt changed rules, changed the size of the court, the way to inbound the ball, & freethrows.

50.4 & 25.7 Rebounds per game in a season is just insane, no matter who your playing against. Who knows how many shots he blocked since they weren't keeping that stat then. 100 points in a game AND lead the league in assists one year?!

Not to mention he still holds statistical records that are virtually unbreakable. It's not his fault he was the first of his kind during his era.

 

[BAH HUMBBUG!]

For basketball in general it's obviously the man Bill Russell.

11 NBA titles in 13 years
2 National Championships
Olympic Gold Medalist
5x NBA MVP
12x NBA All-Star

I can see what your saying, but from just a sheer dominant perspective, I still say Wilt. Russell had the more illustrious career, as far as accomplishment. He was surrounded by a more solid team for longer and was more of a defensive stalwart. Bill Russell was also more of a leader, and that contributed to him winning so much more than Wilt, who's commitment was always in question just from his lifestyle. That being said, Wilt is still one of the few people who actually changed his sport, literally.

The Stilt changed rules, changed the size of the court, the way to inbound the ball, & freethrows.

50.4 & 25.7 Rebounds per game in a season is just insane, no matter who your playing against. Who knows how many shots he blocked since they weren't keeping that stat then. 100 points in a game AND lead the league in assists one year?!

Not to mention he still holds statistical records that are virtually unbreakable. It's not his fault he was the first of his kind during his era.

All fair points, but I also don't like old school player comparisons to modern sports, even Jim Brown, despite me using him as an example [ I was more playing devil's advocate], but to this point. It's not fair at all to compare Russell, Wilt, Ruth, Brown, Ty Cobb and so on, to players today that play at a much higher level of competition, and many rules have changed.

Just my two cents.

 

[BAH HUMBBUG!]

I basically have it like this. They are both the best you can get at their positions. Both are extremely dominant, just one did it twice as long. Brown and Rice's dominance can be compared because the level of domination was similar when they were both in there prime, its just that one of these dudes played at that level for 20 years, while the other only 9.

Also if were talking records, just look at some of the ones Rice holds. He's the leader in receiving yards, with about 6000 yards between him and number 2. The most impressive one is his 1500 receptions, which I'm pretty sure will never be broken.

Oh trust me, lifelong 49er fan here and I grew up watching Rice. All I am saying, is if Rice was/is the most dominant, I don't think one can argue against Jim Brown being arguably just as, if not more dominant than Rice.

Tyson is a great example, because we saw him as dominant as any boxer ever, then we also saw what happened after he went to prison, had nothing to do with his original trainers and fought against opponents that were of higher caliber.

Just because Tyson has a split career, doesn't take away from him being possibly the most dominant boxer, or at least heavyweight ever.

Just like Jim Brown's shorter career, or even Bo Jackson's very short NFL career doesn't take away from how dominant they were.

 

[Doc Samson]

All fair points, but I also don't like old school player comparisons to modern sports, even Jim Brown, despite me using him as an example [ I was more playing devil's advocate], but to this point. It's not fair at all to compare Russell, Wilt, Ruth, Brown, Ty Cobb and so on, to players today that play at a much higher level of competition, and many rules have changed.

Just my two cents.

My only problem with that, and if I'm not mistaken it may have been the two of us debating it a few pages back, but if that's the case, no era's should be compared IMO.

 

[TheWatcher]

Despite what that terrible ESPN show says, numbers do lie. Wilt was a notorious coach killer who had several of them fired. He was one of the worst free throw shooters of all time. He wilted under the pressure time and time again.

 

[Doc Samson]

Despite what that terrible ESPN show says, numbers do lie. Wilt was a notorious coach killer who had several of them fired. He was one of the worst free throw shooters of all time. He wilted under the pressure time and time again.

True, but in terms of dominance, being unstoppable within one's self, he was the poster child. Never said he was a great all around leader of men, certainly not, but he really did whatever he wanted to, without much hope of being stopped. His story is one that shows it's still a team game, and he lost I believe 8 times in the playoffs to Bill Russell and his better team.

By the same token, people love to say how dominant Shaq was, but the truth is he never was on a team without a superstar. Ever. And he won because of it. Being unstoppable doesn't necessarily equate to being a leader, and I don't think either Wilt or Shaq were tremendous in that regard.

And like I always say, he actually changed the rules of professional basketball, where most of these dominant athletes listed here didn't.

 

[TheWatcher]

Russell was a much better passer and shot blocker, despite being 6'9 to Wilts 7'1. His shot blocking will never be matched.

 

[Doc Samson]

Russell was a much better passer and shot blocker, despite being 6'9 to Wilts 7'1. His shot blocking will never be matched.

Wilt lead the league in assists before, I don't know if Russell ever did that, or any other Center for that matter. And shot blocks weren't a stat for most of their careers, who knows how many Wilt sent away.

 

[TheWatcher]

Talk to or listen to any person of that time and they will tell you no one could block a shot like Russ. Wilt was a great passer for a few seasons. Russell was excellent his whole career.

 

[Doc Samson]

Wins & Championships are team accomplishments. Russell came into the league on a team that already had 3 HOF's. When Wilt got to play with 2 HOF's, they set an NBA record for wins at the time and won the title. When he went to LA and got surrounded by talent again, he broke that record for wins again, and one the title. As individuals, in head to head matchups, Wilt scored more points, grabbed more boards, and passed for more assists. But Bill was a better leader with a better team, simple. As far as domination though, no player in NBA history did what Wilt did.

 

[TheGuy]

For basketball, I think it's between Russell and Jordan. Both guys were best in defense and offense, respectively. For their teams to have a stranglehold on the league means both were uber dominant.