Mixed martial artists are the scariest athletes on the planet. They're not necessarily the biggest or strongest or best - but they are the scariest.
Think about it. These guys have chiseled their bodies down to muscle and bone. They enter a cage knowing their fight can - and probably will - end with someone knocked out or choked unconscious. Unless the referee stops the fight in time, the losing fighter could die. MMA is that dangerous. (And that cool.)
But some of these dudes are scarier than others. In my worst nightmare, I would find myself locked into an Octagon with any of these 10 guys.
The UFC light heavyweight champion barks and howls and walks around in python-thick steel chains, but what makes Jackson terrifying is his body slam. Nobody slams as viciously as Jackson, who could have killed Ricardo Arona in 2004. Arona probably thought he was close to victory when he locked his legs around Jackson's neck and started squeezing - a move called the triangle choke - but Jackson stood, raised Arona over his shoulders and whip-lashed him to the ground. The back of Arona's skull smashed into the mat, and he was out cold.
He's one of the best middleweights in the world, but more than that, this guy might be certifiably insane. Miller is one of those guys who smiles when you smack him in the face and seems to like the taste of his own blood. When he leers, the blood oozes around his metallic silver mouthpiece, which makes him look sinister - like "Jaws" from older James Bond movies.
8. The Gracie family:
Do they even feel pain? Their obliviousness to injury goes beyond courageous and borders on sickening. Royce Gracie was 39 when he fought UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes in 2006, and Gracie refused to quit - or show pain - even as Hughes was twisting his left arm into a pretzel. Gracie's cousin, Renzo Gracie, also once refused to quit with a broken arm. Where does this toughness come from? From the family patriarch, Helio Gracie, who wouldn't quit in 1951 after a Japanese fighter known as "Kimura" broke his elbow with the arm-wrenching move that now bears his name.
He's 41, but this American heavyweight can still kick your ass. And here's how he'd do it: Standing in front of you, his left hand clamped behind your neck so you can't go anywhere, his right hand throwing punches into your face. Some opponents have tried to counter by throwing punches right back in Frye's face, resulting in 30 seconds of nonstop, back-and-forth haymakers. And then the other guy goes down. Mind you, this is the way Frye likes to fight. Maybe he has no nerve endings in his face.
Even after knocking you out, he keeps pounding until the referee pries him off. Watch some of his fights. They're sadistic. He knocked out Din Thomas and Caol Uno, and in both cases kept hitting their unresponsive faces until the official pushed him away. In his most recent fight, on The Ultimate Fighter Season 5 Finale against rival Jens Pulver in June, Penn choked Pulver until he quit. And then choked Pulver for another second or two, for good measure.
He's not the most technically sound fighter, but you tell him that. He's huge and menacing, with bulging arms and gnarly facial hair. Slice was an underground legend, leaving a trail of Internet videos of him beating the crap out of other amateur street fighters, until being recruited by a relatively new MMA outfit called Cage Fury Fighting Championships. In his first professional fight, Slice choked out washed-up boxer Ray Mercer in June. Next he'll fight washed-up MMA veteran David "Tank" Abbott. Kimbo Slice is a carnival act, but he's a scary carnival act.
Fedor, as he's called, is widely considered to be the best pound-for-pound MMA fighter in the world. He's the Pride heavyweight champion, and moves with the power, speed and smarts of an NFL middle linebacker. But his scariest features are his eyes. They show no emotion. Nothing. He stares at his opponent like a cow stares at a clump of grass. And then he devours.
He's the biggest underachiever in MMA history, but please don't tell him I said that. The 5-foot-10 Randleman fights at 205 pounds, but he looks about 240. He has the physique of a body builder and the background of a wrestler - an NCAA champion at Ohio State - and he moves way too fast to be that large. If he learns how to punch, he could fix his ugly record. Meantime, he's been accused of performance enhancement after providing a fake urine sample. What, you thought a body like that came naturally?
His nickname is "The Axe Murderer," which tells you everything you need to know. Silva is relentless and vicious and apparently impervious to pain. He is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu but rarely gets to show it because he usually knocks out the other guy with his sledgehammer fists. Or knees. Or elbows.
He's 23-6 as a heavyweight, and while he's never been a UFC champion - he lost a title shot to Tim Sylvia in November 2006 - Monson is the most terrifying fighter I've ever seen. He's 5-9 and 240 pounds with no discernible fat, and if you're having a hard time picturing someone with those dimensions, imagine an enormous, bulging, tattoo-covered bulldog. Why does Monson freak me out so much? Because he looks like he could fold my body into thirds and shove me in a carry-on suitcase.
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