5 dream matches between ONE Championship fighters and martial arts legends

#2. ONE Championship grappling phenom Gordon Ryan vs. Gracie Jiu-Jitsu legend Rickson Gracie

Grappling phenom Gordon 'The King' Ryan (left) vs. arguably the greatest fighter in the legendary Gracie family, Rickson Gracie (right) would be an interesting grappling match to see. (Images Credits: @gordonlovesjiujitsu_ and @ricksongraciejj on Instagram)

It's new school vs. old school Jiu-jitsu. ONE Championship grappler/MMA fighter Gordon 'The King' Ryan is widely considered today as the greatest submission grappler in the world. Ryan's unsolvable attacking system and wildly inventive leg locks allowed him to dominate every grappling tournament he's in. 'The King' is so far ahead of his competition it's crazy.

Enter the legendary Rickson Gracie. The 9th-degree red belt in Gracie Jiu-jitsu is the consensus best in the clan that invented the martial art. Though disputed by his own family, Rickson claimed to have fought 400 times and dominated his opponents. True or not, looking at Gracie's undefeated MMA record (11-0) and how he soundly defeated all his foes, that number might not be far from fiction.

A heavy advocate of the old-school style of Jiu-jitsu, it would be interesting to see how Gracie deals with Ryan's modern leglock attacks. On a recent episode of the Joe Rogan Experience Podcast, the Jiu-jitsu legend shared an interesting take on modern day leglocks.

Watch the full segment of this YouTube video uploaded by user TDHH:

Making this match a ONE Championship MMA fight raises the intrigue through the roof. Gracie's flavor of Jiu-jitsu has always been about martial arts and how to apply it in a real fist fight. Ryan's Jiu-jitsu game, though arguably the best in the world, is centered mostly around pure competitive grappling. What an intriguing ONE Championship match this would be.

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#1. ONE Championship flyweight Grand Prix winner Demetrious Johnson vs. the master himself, Bruce Lee

The father of mixed martial arts vs. the greatest mixed martial arts fighter of all time. It doesn't get more poetic than that.

MMA was arguably invented by Bruce Lee, who showed numerous times that the best style is no style. He famously erradicated any specific form to make way for a holistic and ultimately mixed style of martial arts. The opening scene of 'Enter the Dragon' was a straight MMA fight where Lee used various trips and throws and ended the fight with a straight armbar. That's unheard of at the time it was screened more than two decades before the first televised MMA event happened:

Not just in movies, but Lee can truly fight as evidenced by numerous accounts of his street fights and closed-door contests throughout his life. His 1968 public demonstration showed Lee's insane fight IQ, speed, and otherworldly physical prowess.

Watch the demonstration in this YouTube video by Worldwide Martial Arts:

Bruce Lee, facing off with arguably the greatest product of his philosophy, would be an interesting sight to see. ONE Championship flyweight Demetrious 'Mighty Mouse' Johnson is often considered the most complete MMA fighter ever, excelling in all aspects of the game like no other. Like Lee, ONE Championship's Johnson doesn't lean too much on any style as he prefers to utilize all the best aspects of fighting, from the standup to the ground. If in another dimension this fight ever takes place in the ONE Championship Circle, don't blink. These two legends would be swift and furious from the get-go.