Akira Maeda

[GOTNW]

Maeda was a great shoot style worker. I don't think he could completely keep up with the RINGS style he envisioned (especially once injuries caught up with him) but he still had some great stuff against the right opponents like Han, Tamura and Yamamoto. And I'll give him bonus points for creating a badass style in the first place. His sketchy RINGS resume doesn't diminish what he accomplished in UWF. When one of your main criticisms of the guy is "well he wasn't as good as Fujiwara and Ishikawa", well, it's easy to see why the critique fell apart, anyone who doesn't have those two in their top 10 is a wanker.

[elliott]

I ranked Maeda 38th in 2016 and I definitely overrated a favorite. I had a tendency to punish my favorites, but Maeda slipped through the cracks and ended up higher than he should have. The things that make him standout like selling or creating an aura are things I really value though and I think his resume' of high end matches is incredible. So I don't feel too bad for overrating him. I expect him to make my next list but not in the top 40.