In combat sports, one of the biggest advantages you can possess over your opponent is having an amazing chin. There are an unfortunate handful of fighters who have no ability to take a punch; guys like Andrei Arlovski and Josh Thompson have been knocked out to the point where they should consider retirement. Then, you have your warriors with the iron chins that can take vicious shots and just keep fighting, unfazed, like nothing ever hit them. Join me as I take a look at the best chins in the history of mixed martial arts.
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At UFC 131, Shane Carwin proved to the MMA world that he is one of the toughest heavyweights the UFC has to offer. Not only did he take a ridiculous amount of punishment from Junior Dos Santos in the first round, he also kept pushing and stuck to his game plan. He kept throwing bombs that could have ended the fight if they connected and he almost landed a guillotine in the closing moments of the fight.
Nick Diaz has successfully defended his Strikeforce title many times and is about to make his UFC debut, but nobody will ever forget his 2007 Fight of the Year winning bout against Takanori Gomi at PRIDE 33. It was one of the most exciting back and forth fights in PRIDE history and if Diaz’s chin wasn’t made of granite, it would have been over in the first round. Diaz got dropped by a dynamite of a right hook that could have knocked out anybody, but he fought back and eventually submitted Gomi from his back in the second round for the victory.
As a man with one of the most decorated careers in combat sports, it’s hard to believe that Dan Henderson has never been knocked out. Throughout his time spent in RINGS, UFC and Strikeforce, he has fought knockout artists in the likes of Vitor Belfort, Rich Franklin, Wanderlei Silva, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Anderson Silva. Henderson is now preparing for Fedor Emelianenko who may be the biggest challenge his chin has faced to date.
Whether he gets clobbered by a devastating right hook or if he gets dropped on the top of his head, Fedor Emelianenko somehow not only finds a way to keep and regain his composure, he finds a way to win the fight. At PRIDE 23 against Kazuyuki Fujita, Fedor got rocked by Fujita’s right and started walking around on rubber legs; it looked like even the slightest breeze would tip him over. And just as impressively as he did it against Kevin Randleman when he got dropped on the top of his head, Fedor shook the cobwebs, came back and submitted his opponent. He has withstood all of that, but will he be able to walk through Dan Henderson’s “H-Bomb”?
1. Mark Hunt
Mark Hunt, samoan, has tested his chin against the best in two different sports (kickboxing and mixed martial arts) and is known among diehard combat sports fans as one of the toughest men to step in the ring or cage. His chin was best tested against Mirko Cro Cop in PRIDE and Ray Sefo in K-1. Ray Sefo was one of the most feared strikers in kickboxing and when the two met, it was one of the most exciting fights in K-1 history. Sefo gave Hunt everything he had, and Hunt was literally asking for more. Despite losing by way of unanimous decision, it was a true testement to how much punishment Hunt could take. It wasn’t until 2005 that Hunt would baffle fans again with his ability to take punishment when he ate a left high kick from Cro Cop in PRIDE. You could hear the thud of Cro Cop’s shin connecting with Hunt’s neck, and you could see the sweat fly off Hunt’s head… it didn’t even knock him down. When all was said and done, Hunt won the fight and gained massive popularity after the bout. Even though his mixed martial arts record is not much to be proud of, Hunt can take great pride in the fact that he has the toughest chin in the sport.
