# The 12 Greatest PRIDE FC Heavyweights of All Time

> Unstoppable champions, feared knockout artists and cult ring legends from the golden age of Japanese MMA go head to head. Who reigns supreme?

*By YPB Team · Published June 10, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-12-greatest-pride-fc-heavyweights-of-all-time*

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## Current results (3 votes)

1. **Fedor Emelianenko** — 100% (3 votes · score 1000/1000)
   The Russian sambo master who went unbeaten in PRIDE and reigned as heavyweight champion, widely called the greatest heavyweight in MMA history.
2. **Gary Goodridge** — 0% (0 votes · score 428/1000)
   Big Daddy, an early heavyweight slugger whose crossface knockouts made him a PRIDE fan favorite.
3. **Mark Hunt** — 0% (0 votes · score 333/1000)
   The K-1 Grand Prix champion turned heavyweight slugger known for his granite chin and walk-off knockouts.
4. **Mirko Cro Cop** — 0% (0 votes · score 333/1000)
   The Croatian kickboxer whose left high kick terrorized the division en route to winning the 2006 Open Weight Grand Prix.
5. **Don Frye** — 0% (0 votes · score 333/1000)
   The Predator, a mustachioed wrestler-boxer immortalized by his slugfest with Yoshihiro Takayama.
6. **Bob Sapp** — 0% (0 votes · score 200/1000)
   The Beast, a colossal former NFL prospect whose freakish size made him one of PRIDE's biggest spectacles.
7. **Kevin Randleman** — 0% (0 votes · score 200/1000)
   The explosive former UFC champion remembered for his ferocious suplex of Fedor Emelianenko.
8. **Josh Barnett** — 0% (0 votes · score 200/1000)
   The American catch-wrestler nicknamed the Baby-Faced Assassin who reached the top of PRIDE's heavyweight ranks.
9. **Fabricio Werdum** — 0% (0 votes · score 200/1000)
   The Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace who cut his teeth in PRIDE before becoming UFC heavyweight champion.
10. **Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira** — 0% (0 votes · score 1/1000)
   PRIDE's first heavyweight champion, a jiu-jitsu legend famed for surviving punishment and submitting bigger opponents.
11. **Sergei Kharitonov** — 0% (0 votes · score 1/1000)
   The stone-faced Russian sambo striker known for crisp boxing and devastating ground-and-pound.
12. **Aleksander Emelianenko** — 0% (0 votes · score 1/1000)
   Fedor's younger brother, a long-limbed knockout artist with a reputation as a dangerous finisher.

Tags: japan, combat sports, fighters, mma, pride fc