5 of the greatest Chins of all time.
Striking, wrestling, and Jiu Jitsu are all integral parts of a good MMA game. Without some modicum of comfort with all three arts, in this day and age it is getting increasingly difficult to compete at a high level of MMA. One facet of the game that cannot be trained, is the God Given Physical toughness of the Chin. Call it natural born talent, call it a God given ability, call it a genetic mutation if you like.

5 of the greatest Chins of all time.
Striking, wrestling, and Jiu Jitsu are all integral parts of a good MMA game. Without some modicum of comfort with all three arts, in this day and age it is getting increasingly difficult to compete at a high level of MMA. One facet of the game that cannot be trained, is the God Given Physical toughness of the Chin. Call it natural born talent, call it a God given ability, call it a genetic mutation if you like. The ability to take an abnormal amount of physical punishment to the face and head, while still maintaining the ability to think and fight in an intelligent manner is not something you can train, it is something you have, or you don’t. To quote the rules of the UFC one must be "intelligently defending himself" the ability to do so when one is getting pounded is a gift to say the least. Strikes must be brushed aside on the fly, as if a mosquito had just landed on their nose and nothing more. Every fighter will take an assortment of punishment to the face at some point in their career but only a select few can take the hits and keep on coming. This Column is dedicated to the fighters out there who have what can only be described as a gift. It is a gift that can’t be bought or sold, traded or bartered. If you are a fighter, it is a gift that keeps on giving. This is for the men and Women who have what it takes to be a Punching bag when they cross over into their next lives. The hallowed chins that are immortalized on the walls of the chins of fame. The toughest "Chin’s" this side of the Chinese Mafia. We will give these warriors there due right here and now. Here we go with #5

#5 Yoshihiro Takayama
 
Yoshihiro Takayama after a night on the town

What do you get when you mix 75 percent Japanese blood, and 25 percent Apache Indian blood? You get six foot 6 300 pounds of Pure unadulterated, Yoshihiro Takayama. That is what you get. His record in MMA is 0 wins and 3 losses. I don’t know how this guy does it but at the end of all three of his losses he had more colors smattered about his face then the most Beautiful Rainbow I have ever seen. He takes Punishment Head on with reckless abandon and 0% regard for his health. Hell, who needs health when you have a rainbow on your face? You could actually see his face change colors as he took Punishment from Don Frye, different shades of Violet, Maroon, Blue and Black. I could almost read Frye’s mind as he was punishing Takayama. With every punch he must have been wondering, "where in the face am I going to punch this guy next?" I can’t see his face anymore, all that’s left is a melting pot of Colors that look like one of those old abstract paintings. The nose is off on his forehead, his chin is off by his ears, his eyes are on different sides of his head, the similarities go on. Takayama has the heart and the Chin to be a champion in any sport. He just doesn’t have much else.

#4 Chuck Liddell
 

Chuck can dish out the punishment as well as anyone out there in the sport today. One part of his game that is sometimes overlooked is his adeptness at taking the pain, as well as giving it out. In his last 4 fights, Vitor Belfort tagged him, Guy Mezger tagged him, Amar Suloev tagged him, and Murilo Bustamante tagged him. Chuck must be a kid at heart because no one likes to play tag like Chuck Liddell. He has proven that he can roll with the punches with the best of them. Now, if only he could get his shot at the only punishment that he really wants, and deserves, and that is the leader of Team Punishment, Tito Ortiz.

#3 Kazuyuki Fujita

Kazuyuki Fujita at age 13

I don’t know where this guys genes come from but one of his parents must have been a punching bag because Fujita can take a punch like nobody’s business. He took multiple HUGE knee’s to the noggin via MARK KERR back in Kerr’s hay day as a fighter. He ate a rocket full of punches square to the face and chin via Ken Shamrock, and numerous knee’s to the gullet via fellow Chin of fame vet Yoshihiro Takayama. No one was able to stop the Fujita-nator. Only Mirko Cro Cop was able to stop him but that was a cut stoppage not a Knockout. I am beginning to think that it would be impossible to knockout Fujita. Fujita is an attrition specialist, he takes pain like no other, and brushes it aside like he is brushing his teeth. His skull looks like it is twice as think as his waist. His strategy coming into a fight is something right out of a Rocky Movie. It is a simple 3 step program that has taken years to develop.

Step 1 - Take inhumane amount of punishment to the head and wait it out till the opponent gets punched out and arm weary,

Step 2- Take more punishment to the chin and forehead, wait until the opponents legs get tired and his knee’s get sore from striking your face.

Step 3 - When it is obvious that the opponent is gassed out due to the arm-stiffening amount of punishment he has dished out, kick it up from there and take the victory from the tired opponent.

#2 Aaron Riley
 

To some people he is affectionately referred to as Robbie Lawler’s opponent in the fight of the year at UFC 37. But Riley is so much more then he showed in that fight, his fight with Robbie Lawler does not tell the whole story, not by a long shot. The huge bombs he took were only one of a Mouthful he has eaten in a career where he has eaten more then his fair share. Robbie Lawler was the first fighter ever, to knock him down in an MMA fight. The only thing is, Riley took enough punishment in that fight to knock down a herd of elephants. He has taken shots to the face that have required dental work in the opening moments of a fight and went on to finish the fight as if he took a slap from his girlfriend. Bob Sapp could wind up and throw a haymaker right into the chicklets of Aaron Riley and Riley would come back and fight with the heart of a jungle full of lions. The only thing that is keeping him off the number one slot of this list is the fact that he actually has the talent to win fights so he is not in a constant state of getting beaten down like the number one bird on this list.

And the winner is...

#1 Daijiro Matsui

This is the founding member of the real Team Punishment. I am not talking about Tito Ortiz’s team Punishment I am talking about the Pride Punching bags that take more Punishment then should be lawfully allowed under MMA sanctioning. Daijiro Matsui is a warrior in every sense of the word. He comes to fight every time. He takes on fighters twice his size and doesn’t give up under any circumstances. He has gone the distance with Igor Vovchanchyn and Vanderlei Silva and he has fought on cards with 1 days notice!!! People complain about having only a few weeks notice to fight, well he fought without any notice at all. I bet the conversation with Pride went something like this,

PRIDE OFFICIAL: Uhh…Daijiro, Did you know Pride : Shockwave was on tonight?

Matsui: Uhh, yeah I heard about that, Sakuraba is fighting Cro Cop on that card tonight right?

PRIDE: Yes, you are right, Uhh… by the way are you busy tonight?

Matsui: No, not really why?

Pride: Because we think it would be an honor for you to fight on the card tonight against Jerrel Venetiaan who bigger then you and has been given several weeks notice to fight.
Would you like to accept this honor?

Matsui: Well I was planning on seeing "Stuart Little 2" tonight… but why not? It would be an honor to represent Team Punishment!

…END…

Matsui is well on his way to setting a record for getting pounded on by more fighters then anyone else in the history of sports. I am not talking about the history of MMA. I am talking about the history of sports around the world. Who has taken more punishment throughout a career then Daijiro Matsui. I think he should take up a new sport. He could be a good Formula 1 Racecar driver if he got the opportunity. The way I see it is, if he lost control of the car, flew off the road, crashed into a concrete wall, and exploded into a ball of flames, it still wouldn’t be enough to stop him. He would simply crawl out, wipe the charred skin off his body, suck it up, and run the rest of the race on foot and still come in second last ahead of the other guy who got in an accident. His Family doctor had to quit work at the hospital because he now has a full time position caring for the assortment of injuries of Daijiro. Daijiro we love your resolve, and you have a heart like no other. But for the love of all things Holy, think of your family, hang up the gloves. Formula 1 will be glad you did.

The list has a definite Japanese flavor too it. Maybe it is something in the water that gives them the type of superhuman chins that set lesser Chins to shame. What is the reason? Is it the water? Is it the air? Is it the shoes? Or is it the Sushi? Hmm….

For mmaringreport this was "The Sushiboy" Arnold Lim.
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