Alexander Karelin : Greatest grappler ever?

What say you? This guy whipes his ass with any wrestler that's for sure. I'm willing to bet that he would have found a way to smash Royce had he been included in the early UFC's

only ever seen his match against akira maeda in rings which was apparently a work,

i really dont know enough about him tbh, but i have only ever heard him spoken of with reverence

Marcelinho Garcia would choke his big ass out.

Alexander Karelin would roll Marcello Garcia up into a ball and play soccer with him.

Honestly, allmost all olympic coachs in allmost every sport across the planet Acknowledge Karelin as the greatest athlete to EVER LIVE.

I will say he is the most successful athlete to ever compete in a non team sport. He only had one career loss to Rulon Gardner, and that was only after they changed to rules to try to make Greco-Roman bouts more ' fair '.

He also used to run stadium stairs with a refridgerator straped to his back, and routinley would pick up based out opponents off the mat ( termd The Karelin Lift) and hit High-Amp throws with them

Im still picking Marcelinho.

joaolaitano wrote:Marcelinho Garcia would choke his big ass out.

The experiment frowns upon you

Marcelo could tap Karelin in a friendly rolling session. In a real fight, Karelin would smash that guy into pieces.

Marcelo Garcia entered MMA and got KTFO by some Korean can. Karelin would eat Marcelo for protein.

Buddha_Cat wrote:

joaolaitano wrote:Marcelinho Garcia would choke his big ass out.

The experiment frowns upon you

holy fuck that is a scary picture

and if that isnt shopped that guy is fucking huge

Imagine this guy in MMA or pro-wrestling? This would have been gold.

joaolaitano wrote:Im still picking Marcelinho.

Roger would be a fairer fight for karelin ..Garcia is a pretty small dude.

Hollywood Dang wrote:Imagine this guy in MMA or pro-wrestling? This would have been gold.

He had that one match with in RINGS, but they say it was a work ???

He could probolly still come back now a days and wreck shop.

Robotron wrote:

joaolaitano wrote:Im still picking Marcelinho.

Roger would be a fairer fight for karelin ..Garcia is a pretty small dude.

Thats the point, and im saying an ADCC rules match, not MMA.

And if you guys saw the MMA fight of Garcia he fought at 185, and he is 5'6 that walks around 170, and he didnt get knocked out he wasnt able to continue due to a cut.

Karelin would have been the greatest monster heel of all-time

Sucks Karelin was defeated by Rulon's youthful chub.

The Super Hyper Creep wrote:
He had that one match with in RINGS, but they say it was a work ???

I have that show and im pretty certain it was a work

though it is on sherdog as a legit fight - http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Alexander-Karelin-25349

R3D wrote:Marcelo could tap Karelin in a friendly rolling session. In a real fight, Karelin would smash that guy into pieces.

Marcelo Garcia entered MMA and got KTFO by some Korean can. Karelin would eat Marcelo for protein.

have you seen the fight? he didnt get "ktfo" by any means. and the korean isn't a can either, he's a well respected judoka!


garcia consistently chokes grapplers who live eat and breath submission grappling. he would handle karelin in an ADCC or IBJJF rule set, yes. it's simply a different sport than what karelin competed in. but all things considered you could call karelin a better grappler imo. i would say masahiko kimura was possibly better than him!

Yes I saw the fight. Marcelo went for desperation td's and caught a crazy knee.

And yes, Dae Won Kim is a CAN. He may be a respected Judoka, maybe even a decent fighter, but his record and competition up to this point makes him a CAN.

I already said Marcelo can tap ANYONE in a friendly rolling/ ADCC rules match, but in a REAL FIGHT, Karelin would tear him into pieces. The x guard wouldnt work on a beast like Karelin. Garcia would get beaten damn near to death. Karelin used to rag doll 300lb olympic wrestlers while they were based out and resisting. He would throw Marcelinho to the moon.

Take a picture of this rare occasion but I completey agree with R3D lol

Karelin is the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler, and possibly the greatest wrestler to ever walk the Earth. I dont care what super jiu-jitsu technique or special guard game you have, when your that big, strong ,fast, and powerfull, it negates alot of technique. Plus the man isnt a stranger to grappling either. Alot of those old Soviet Bloc wrestlers crossed trained in Judo, and Sambo.

Also Kid if you want to pull the Kimura card...

I'll just pull the Ed "Strangler" Lewis one !

The Super Hyper Creep wrote:Take a picture of this rare occasion but I completey agree with R3D lol

Karelin is the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler, and possibly the greatest wrestler to ever walk the Earth. I dont care what super jiu-jitsu technique or special guard game you have, when your that big, strong ,fast, and powerfull, it negates alot of technique. Plus the man isnt a stranger to grappling either. Alot of those old Soviet Bloc wrestlers crossed trained in Judo, and Sambo.

Also Kid if you want to pull the Kimura card...

I'll just pull the Ed "Strangler" Lewis one !

I agree. Strength can neutralize technique. I wonder how a large and powerful BJJ/Catch/Sambo guy would do though.

Creep knows my reverence for Karelin. There are few wrestlers that I have tried to idol myself after. Karelin, The Brand Bro's, Kendall Cross, Gable, Sanderson, Baumgartner, I tried to take a little from everyone of them and try to make it my own. Karelin was a monster in his time. I can't watch the Gardner match because of how much it angers me. Gardner shut down after that one point.

Hell yeah bro, after that one V over Karelin Gardner flop'd big time. He is preported to be 500 lbs now.

Karelin > Marcelo via picking up him and slamming his head into the ground.

The Super Hyper Creep wrote:Hell yeah bro, after that one V over Karelin Gardner flop'd big time. He is preported to be 500 lbs now.

Yeah, you're not wrong. I really had no idea it was that much.

http://www.suite101.com/content/olympic-wrestler-to-compete-on-the-biggest-loser-season-11-a320756

Karelin over Garcia if they were playing for keeps. Karelin competed with an intensity and focus I hadn't ever seen before. It's great watching someone that driven.

Rulon was a fat wrestler when he competed. This is a guy who is tough as nails but he has never struck me as the disciplined type. After his last olympic attempt he probably found refuge in eating entire fried cows.

RocknRolla380 wrote: After his last olympic attempt he probably found refuge in eating entire fried cows.

Thats because he knew what it took to be a true champion. Gardner vs. Kaz Kakamura !