Counting down to the best MMA fighter of all time

#13 Kazushi Sakuraba (1996 to 2015)

Kazushi Sakuraba: Made a habit of defeating the Gracie family

Kazushi Sakuraba has been a legend in Japan for over two decades. The enigmatic, Japanese fighter first came to international attention when he won the UFC Japan tournament in December 1997. It was a night not without controversy as he initially lost his first round bout versus Marcus Silveira when referee John McCarthy mistakenly thought he had been knocked out, when in truth he had jumped to the ground to attempt a take-down.

When Tank Abbott pulled out due to injury, a Sakuraba/Silveira re-match served as the final, with the previous encounter now being declared a No Contest. Sakuraba, this time won via Submission. From there, he began competing for PRIDE where he defeated huge names such as Vernon White, Carlos Newton and Vitor Belfort.

Already a legend in his own time, Sakuraba became even more famous for defeating a long line of fighters from the Gracie family. He earned the nickname, the "Gracie Killer" and knocked off Royler, Renzo, Ryan and most impressively Royce in the longest MMA fight ever, at 90 minutes duration during the 2000 PRIDE Grand Prix.

Even in his later years, Sakuraba still defeated top line superstars such as Kevin Randleman and Ken Shamrock.

In truth, Sakuraba fought too far past his prime and lost his final five fights between 2010 and 2015. However, what he achieved prior to 2010 was ground breaking for Japanese MMA.