In case you don't know barriston selmy defeated prince raegar , the hound ,obaeryn , Robert Baratheon,ser Gregor multiple times in his younger days and many other great warriors in single combat
@Marcus Sullivan that's true , one of the failures of the show is we never really got to see Jamey apart from season 1, yet every one kept on going on and on about how good he is , I thought the red witch was going to give him his had back and he would have an epic one on one with the night king being the last person trained by Artur dayne , that would have been the under dog story of the century , the only person to ride from kings landing was a one handed night yet he returns slayer of the night king , instead they choose to make a feminist statement and made Arya stark the killer of the night king ???,😅🤣, Jamey actually lived the professy , he dipped his sword in to fire when he killed the mad king, he dipped his sword into a lion when he killed his cousin to escape, and if he killed the night king he dipped his sword in ice 🤷🤷🤷🤷, am I making sense ,???? and are tried of all these feminist marketing strategies 😅🤣 ? Please comment.
- Taking of Gulltown - The THREE battles at Summerhall - Battle of Ashford (defeated but survived) - Battle of the Bells - Battle of the Trident - Siege of Pyke Common, Robert deserves WAAAY more respect as a fighter. Not only was he an absolute beast, but he fought more battles than most of the men on this list. And remember, he was the type to be right in the middle of the action too.. I’m sorry but prime Robert was tougher to kill than 90% of these guys. Top 5 at LEAST
We saw Sir Arthur Dayne fight exactly one time, and he was about to kill another on this list before being stabbed from behind and change the course of history. Almost identical to Karl the lead Night Watch mutineer, who nearly killed Jon Snow one on one until he was stabbed from behind. Snow also may have been killed by Quorn Halfhand who let him win to save the mission.
@Mike Oath why do you rank the Mountain above Oberyn Martell? Martell clearly was the better fighter, had he not been so driven by revenge he would have just dispatched the Mountain and been done with it, but he wanted to poison and draw out the fight so he could get a confession and revenge/justice
if you watch the series again you find out that from season one to five or six , someone at least once kept talking about how good Jamey Lannister was , season 1)those 2 lanister men that were ambushed by robs wolf , season 2)Briann of tart , season 3 and 4) little finger ,etc , but Arthur Dane only 3 people. I agree based on what we see Arthur Dane is the best , and based on what we see, oberin and the dance master second for me, but based on what we hear ? Jamey lanister ,🤷 .
According to all sources Sir Arthur Dayne the morning star was by far the most skilled knight they had ever seen. Even Ned agrees with that. Eggon might also be very good but with the historical characters there's not so much to go by. Overall the top 5 undisputed are 1. Sir Arthur Dayne 2. Sir Jaime Lannister (has both hands) 3. Robert Baratheon (prime) 4.Barristan Selmy (prime) 5. Mountain/Hound I feel pretty sad I couldn't include Oberyn Martell considering how great of a fighter he is but I think he loses against all of the others here. I feel Robert Baratheon would be my #1 in terms of an actual war though, all accounts say he was essentially a god in a battlefield mowing down people like crazy and had the strength of the Mountain. Also Khal Drogo could've legitatemtly been the best fighter out of all of these had he been a knight but he is probably gonna lose to everyone else even in the top 20 because they have armor and a better sword while Drogo's blade meant for cutting could probably do nothing against the others.
Yep.... I never understood why he didn't pick up one of the swords that were lying on the floor next to him from the Lannister soldiers he just defeated???
@Leandro Pinheiro arguably but the move he did wasn’t really swordsmanship, I’d say he could dust him up with fists. That move he did would probably worked on a regular sword given how he’s armoured. If he was unarmoured sure but armour is a Massive advantage in a sword fight if anything the wood blunt force is more effective.
gotta appreciate Bronn in that fight against Vardis, he gave chances for people to tap it out, but they compelled vardis with duty and honor, and even at the very end bronn gave the lady a good chance to call it. Which was just sad, Vardis did his duty and even when he clearly lost they let him die anyway.
Good list. I always wished oberyn would not have died although it was super cool how it happened. He was a really cool character though would have been cool to see him continue on. It was said in an episode that prince oberyn was a legendary fighter.
No one can disagree because he was brought up by everyone whenever the conversation was there as the best swordsman. Ned also said this to Jaime and Jaime is confirmed to be one of the best in history by GRRM.
9:07 -- Jon Snow strikes a horse rider's sword or sword hand with his own sword. The horse rider was in full gallop, so he had all the momentum of his body and armor weight at that speed--yet Jon's sword not only knocked him off his horse, but BACKWARDS about ten feet (more than two meters). It looked great though.
It looked shit. You call tell that the guy is pulled backwards, before Jons sword ever connects - he swings and clearly hits nothing but air. Forget the idiocy of the physics, it fell flat already with the visuals.
For those of us who read the books, Oberyn Martell was a excellent character. It wasn't just that he was a good actor. For about the first seasons game of thrones very closely followed the books. That's what happens when you follow the books!!
Great list, especially your number 1, who I had totally forgotten about. I half expected Arya to be on this list, but she's not really a fighter, she's an assassin. And I don't think she has even been in a real sword to sword fight. Of course at the Battle of Winterfell, she did pretty well for herself, and even learned to fly.
She dueled with brianne of tarth and won and brianne seemed like she was taking it srs as it went along and arya was dancing around she also showed her talent when killing the night king
Yes and as a fencer who nearly made it into my countries Olympic team (I missed out at the nationals by 10 places) it is correct. Fencing is chess on legs and lots of it is psychological. It's difficult to see people's eyes through the mask but you get a feel for your opponents strategy. Also that syrio guy should be higher in the list as compared to the hound for example he is nimble and has far better footwork. In fact his footwork is the best out of all on the list and when it comes to swordfighting it's good to keep distance.
Jorah Mormont is old and his skills arent sharp anymore, but he fights for a cause so high he defies it all, so devoted he doesnt realize he´s been slain by zombies until there´s a pause to consider his wounds. Syrio Forell is a master, and i read the interesting suggestion that he´s actually the faceless man from Bravoos, this is why he doesnt pick up a real sword from the floor, thats why we dont see him die, and thats why he allegedly soon sits captured in a silly barred wagon on Aryas path, he had it all planned. Obyron is also a true master, what a fight! And Khal Drogo heh, the fact that he says: i already have! before the kill is actually done, says a lot about his confidence, based on his skills...
@სკდშ. Interestingly enough I disagree with almost everything you've said. Drogo fights against people mainly wielding spears, the sellswords and unsullied alike. I think overall quality of fighting is probably similar to Oberyn's they would fight dirty and be skilled in the spear. Drogo in my opinion would destroy Oberyn in everything, he is a physical specimen one of the strongest, fastest fighters. While I think that Drogo would lose to any of the top knights just because he si really not fight for a battle against someone in an armor. Drogo wields an Arakh it is like a Katana a blade meant for cutting and they really just don't do shit against Armor.
@სკდშ. good point about the poison and Drogo having no armour, in that case then yes he would whoop him. Barristan is said to be as good as Arthur Dayne, at least when I’m his prime, so with his armour I think he would crush Oberyn.
@J T didn't remember myself leaving a comment here but still, Drogo has no armor whatsoever,oberyn can use roughly any type of weapon due to his experience in underground fighting (may be wrong with the place), which makes it way too easy to stab Drogo once with a weapon of oberyns choosing and so poisoning him to death. I don't really see a scenario in which Drogo is fast enough to kill oberyn even if he manages to wound him once or two times. I understand this argument doesn't have the depth to it but those are still valid points. as for sir baristan im being simply biased as I haven't seen or heard any feats from him for me to assume he'd be able to defeat the red viper.
I'd put Bronn just before old Selmy - he very legitimately could have fought and won vs the Mountain and wisely chose to not risk it. He himself knew he was capable of it. There's a reason he was still alive at the end of all of this.
I could also say that The Mountain doesnt have a place in that list since he wasnt a mortal human anymore. And he wasnt that great before his transformation since he was just slaughtering villagers. In case we count him we should count the White Walkers King as well. He killed a dragon with a single spear. And Arya killed the White Walker. And the whole house Frey just herself. And she isnt even in the list. And what about the person who trained Arya? Maybe there are many more ''hidden'' great warriors in there...
Everyone always put Bronn on the mud, in the series he is shown to be one of the smartest/most cunning fighters. Sure face to face isn't his forte but he has the best kill scene in the series (Battle of the Blackwater, just after saving The Hound)
Bronn forsure had highest fight IQ in the show. Imo he would have beat any of these fighters on the list cause he knew exactly how to pick his battles and still end up on top unscathed. We saw his iq first displayed against vardis and other times in CQC against lannister soldiers and the hand when readying his dagger. And we cant forget dario cause he just disappeared from the show but was clearly one of the most intelligent fighters
@Mike Oath It would have to be a good day for Bronn for sure, but it is possible, I do think that everyone way underrates Bronn as a Fighter, He definitely could take on Jorah and would be a match for someone like Jon.
@Teutonic Knight I think Hound low diffs Bronn. Bronn is a cunning fighter but Sandor has such a huge experience and skill lead on him, while being stronger and faster. Bronn could only win if he fought with a short and light sword with a dagger as a surprise to the hound. But in Armor and in 1v1 I don't see Sandor losing even once out of 100. I'm just being realistic by the way. Same as how Jaime would probably beat everyone else, according to Ned Jaime is almost as good as Sir Arthur Dayne probably the most talked about swordsman and the best swordsman ever in history.
I honestly think he’s always way underrated, he could’ve absolutely beat Ned, and Maybe even someone way more skilled like the Hound. You don’t get to be a sell sword that old without being a really mean dude.
There was NO WAY Clegane could have ever grabbed a Valerian blade and squeezed, even without Brianne pulling back. Steel that sharp cuts on it's own, even without drawing, pressure alone will do it. Aside from that, it was. Epic
The show runners said that when practicing and filming, Kit Harrington ALWAYS went at full speed and full strength! They reported that they never had to tell him to make it look real!
I read that the editing crew was told they had sped up his fight scenes with the sword too much, and they needed to slow it down a bit to make it look more realistic, the editing crew replied, that wasn't sped up, that was the actual fight scene.
Jon might not be the best fighter, but he is a great commander and over all one of the most morally gifted and compassionate characters, he knows what is right and what is wrong and almost nobody in this series seems to know that except from Eddard Stark, Varys and Tyrion, which is why Jon Snow would be a great king. All the other characters are morally flawed in their own way, either sinister, barbaric or driven by their emotions, temptations and affections, but less so by virtue, reason and justice. I haven't read the books but based on how the series depicts the characters this is my opinion. By the way the final was the worst ending I have ever seen, don't be fooled they did that on purpose so people read the books and the real ending will be different.
He wasn't perfect in the books, he was younger than he is in the show and was given to adolescent angst, but in spite of all that he wanted to do the right thing, yes. Most of his inner conflicts were not being sure he *was* doing the right thing.
They ran out of material by the end of season 5. So season 6 and 7 they just invented stuff based on the state of the show and characters. They even added a 1 year hiatus to try to come up with something, and still couldnt get a decent writing. Any fan of the show would have done better.
There are no books past season , 5 or 6 I believe, they have yet to be written. Thats the shame of it, the producers and writers had no guidelines to use. George RR Martin is getting old, who knows if those books will ever even exist.
Good old dead Ned handles a Baker Rifle better than he handled the Targaryen family heirloom that is better known as ICE...that belonged to Rhaegar Targaryen.
You are correct in regards to the show, but in the books Ned Stark is an Average/above average swordsman. No match for book Jaime. But we aren’t talking about the books.
@Joe M keep in mind Syrio like Musashi is using a boken. I would guess he fights like Arya, with a rapier and would not be surprised if he was more than proficient with a main gouache in his off hand. i would like to see that fight for sure.
@TheKinesiologist1 fairly well. Syrio parries one of Arthur's attacks but Arthur has another sword for attack/defense. I'd say Syrio is on the same skill level as The Hound, as they both easily defeated a group of House guards
How is Syrio where he is. That fight was amazing and he was using a wooden sword. He literally would have carved them like a cake with a real sword. It would be really interesting to see a Syrio vs Arthur fight! Can't lie though. That fight with the Hound and Brianne was crazy!
The knight was also at a major disadvantage in that fight. They forced him to use Jon Aryn's sword instead of his. Jon's was obviously meant to be wielded two handed whereas the shield using knight normally had a lighter short sword
Each of these characters have strengths and weaknesses that could allow them to best each other. Though, according to the books, Arthur Dayne, Barriston Selmy, and Jaime Lannister were among the best of the best all around fighters. Gerald Hightower, Khal Drogo, Oberyn Martell, GreatJon Umber, and Brienne of Tarth would be close to the top of the list as well.
He is also a skilled fighter! He proved it when he killed 2 white walkers, defeat Ramsay with a shield and kill one of his man while the man had his sword in his hand and Jon had it in the (I don't know what is called, that thing that hold the sword in your belt)
Food for thought, as good as these knights were, they were easily defeated by the Dothraki. Also, one of the leaders of the Dothraki exclaimed that “they couldn’t fight”. Jamie admitted to Cersei, that they couldn’t defeat them in an open fight. Now, add to that fact that Drogo never lost to a Dothraki AND he defeated a blood rider without a weapon and literally ripped his throat and tongue out…Imagine what he’d do with his bow, horse, and sword.
@Sean Washington An arrow can't pierce a plate armor, that's the principle of wearing it. Sometimes it happens but most of the times it doesn't work. Crossbow are the best to pierce the armor. But the tiny dothraki's bow are made to been use against leather armor like the ones they wear. And the dothraki's sword are bad, not a good iron it can break easily, a good sword can"t pierce a plate armor so a bad sword can't do that too. And if we talk about the battlefield it's very contextual, cavalries are useless in the moutain, in steep places, in the bottlenecks, in the swamps, in siege a horse can't jump over a wall. Dothrakis don't have discipline or tactics, they just charge by relying on numbers and enemy morale
Gotta give it to Oberon, despite his stupidity at the end of the fight, he beat the mountain while trying to keep him alive. If he was just going for the kill it would have ended quick.
Yeah it seems so obvious. His fighting style doesn't suit a large heavy sword but at least he would have the cutting edge and weight behind it. I went to the nationals in the UK for fencing and missed out being in the Olympic team by 10 places. His comment about swordplay being about seeing is bang on even though it's difficult to see people's faces behind the mask. Fencing is essentially chess on legs and so much of it is psychological. Sorry I know you didn't ask for all this.
Ser Arthur Dayne indeed but According to George R. R. Martin, Ser Barristan Selmy and Arthur were evenly matched with regular swords. However, if Arthur wielded Dawn he would beat Barristan
Only reason brienne bested the hound is because he had been suffering from dysentery in the book when they fought and the producers kept it the outcome the same without showing his illness
If you could believe that a man windmilling two swords could take on 4 or 5 attackers then, yes, I would have to give it to your #1 selection Sir Author Dayne.
Drogo and the hound are better than the mountain. From cleganebowl, we clearly see that the hound is better, if the mountain wasn't on zombie mode he would have been defeated
Drogo would have lost. Both as a human and experimented creature, the mountain fought with nothing to loose. That alone is a very dangerous fighting attitude.
@5:43 when Grey worm kills them with one swing of a knife, TYRION wasn't even looking. He didn't look when such a crucial event is taking place just a few feet away.
The Hound beats The Mountain. If The Mountain wasn't zombified the fight would have been over a lot sooner. Also if Robert Baratheon didn't stop their fight I see The Hound winning but Robert didn't want to lose one of his strongest warriors. I could also see Brienne, Jaime with two hands, Ser Barristan, Jon Snow, Syrio Forel, and Darhio Naharis defeating The Mountain. Fair list but The Mountain belongs way lower and Brienne is better than Jaime with two hands as we saw.
Brienne only barely beat the Hound because he was very fatigued, unarmed, no valerian steel sword, ect. Remember that guy biting Sandor on the neck and Arya said "that sound has got you moving alot slower these days"
IMHO Grey Worm was totally underwritten for his skills. The whole sullivans IMHO were made to look unskilled in many of the scenes, getting surprised and slaughtered. But yet their fame was hold high.
What about Arya Stark? She checked out off a few names on her list, fought the waif blind, killed the main antagonist (aside from Cersei) the bloody Night King, AND she survived to the end!!! She can replace her dancing instructor. Granted, Syril had some dope moves, but he could’ve danced and dived his way down to one of those knocked out Lannister men, grabbed his sword, and danced his ass to kill Meryl Trant (who Arya killed). Better yet, her pops Ned Stark didn’t do squat but execute a hopeless Crow, who was warning Westeros of things to come. Besides, Ned didn’t defeat Ser Arthur Dayne! He cheated! I know this list is compiled of the best fighters, but let’s add brains in the equation, and Arya needs to be on this list!
Ser Vardis was ready to end honorably, after first blood. He knew that he had lost the fight, and was facing a very dangerous opponent. And then she basically orders him to die.. and that last look he gives her of "Well fuck my life.. my lady".. good man. Fought honorably.
Low-key when I saw that first I was thinking "did I miss something?" because I'm 99% sure he'd have survived that bar blood loss. Though that wouldn't be instant!
Ive used oaken practice swords before, they could break, but you would not be walking if struck in the knee or the head with one at full speed, no way. So that was dead on
the Show version of Jon Snow is top-tier idc what anyone says. Talking game (in Game of thrones or anywhere else) is one thing, talk is talk, stories and myths mean one thing, feats and what we actually see in the show is another. Arthur Dayne was clearly shown to be next-leve lbadassery, I'd equivocate it to Dayne = Muhammad Ali, Snow = Mike Tyson both in their prime. As someone who boxed for 17 years and had two champs train me (Gene Fullmer, and Eddie "The Flash" Newman) i might take this analogy too far but Tyson was shorter than Ali, and didn't have the stamina, but that said styles make fights, and Joe Frazier (say, Khal Drogo /w thick studded leather armor, not enough to slow him down, and equally trained with Westerosi blades, and equally experienced against their knights, in this hypothetical) was all wrong for Ali (Dayne). Faster, or as fast, stronger, armed with two styles of swords as well as multiple daggers, and on horseback. Dayne still causes a ton of wounds, but I think is ultimately beaten, in 1 out of 3 matches, with the 2nd being so close that they both die from their wounds (the conroversial Ali/Frazier 2). Mike, has some insane feats (Show-Snow), unusual power and strength for his size, and is very fast. Deadliest fighter alive in his prime, for his time. Snow has valyrian stel, and is armored with mostly chain, a breastplate and coif. Dayne is similarily armored, taller, stronger, not quite as fast. Snow is at the skillset he is by the end of the show, having cut down the most men of anyone on the show combined. No one else comes close. Furthmore, he's bested a WHITE WALKER in combat, and hundreds of wights, killed somewhere around 175-200 men if not more in personal combat and warfare. Also defeated The HAlfhand (another fighter who I'd take odds on against almost anyone). Snow always finds a way to prevail. Dayne has two swords, his insane level of skill, Snow has his legendary sword and Ghost. I still think Dayne kills Ghost and Jon before they get him 2/3 but Jon is so good and Ghost and him combined are certainly enough for any great fighter, Jamie included. Maybe a better example would be my trainer, GEne Fullmer, he fought Sugar Ray Ronbinson 5 or 6 times, most during Robinson's prime. now Robinson is truly the Arthur Dayne of boxing. No one was matter, not Floyd Mayweather (similar weight class) De La hoya, none of 'em. The Raging Bull Jake Lamotta is damn close, Gene, less-known, was also a wolrd middleweight champ (though traditionally Robinson fought slightly lower weightclass but that's an aside). Point is: Robinson could be beaten, even by men that he'd normally beat. Jon Snow, if anything, is tenacious and willing to go the distance. I'm high as fuck so ill shutup and let people chew me out but Jon Snow is absolutely the GOAT of the show. Books? not even close. The next person to Jon is either Birenne of The Hound. Probably The Hound, as when he lost to Brienne he was slowed, not having rested or eaten very well, and getting ill from an infection. Still, took Brienne everything to beat him and he sitll survived what he did. The Red Viper defeated the Mountain, and Bronn killed everyone who fucked with him, by the time he was offered a chance to fight the Mountain he'd already recieved his award (albeit taken later). I still wonder if Bronn coulda had him, i think he would have poisoned his dagger and gotten it into The mountain somehow. So yeah, my point is this: I'm Mike Tyson and i gave birth to Jon Snow, who knows nothing. Grapefruit juice is yummy.
Jon Snow should have been placed way higher, the man served in Nights watch, dealt with King beyond the wall, killed white walkers, won multiple battles, rode dragons, stood in front of a dragon's rage, who could argue his bravery.
Interesting ranking, I dont really agree with most of it but its definitely fair, id put drogo/daario ahead of the mountain as i feel like they are upgraded versions of oberyn (Drogo imo is better, daario equal or slightly worse). I argee with the first, i personally think the mountain is very overrated, he is big but completely curb stomped by oberyn (might be a clash of styles). I dont think Jon snow is very good, neither do I think brianne or the hound are very good either but there is ofc a very limited list of people to put on here. Cheers for the entertaining list :)
Bronn gave them a chance to save that knight by calling the fight. Multiple chances in fact. But they just didn't call it. I didn't realize that until now.
I really enjoyed Jorah's fight against the Dothraki fighter -- it's so many shows celebrate that agile hero, but here's Sir Jorah to remind us: "Yeah, this armor is heavy. It slows me down, and it tires me out. Also, *it's fucking armor* "
Wait, couldn’t Syrio have just taken one of the swords from the men he took out? He could’ve even taken 2!! Lol , why’d I never think about this until now
If its arakhs, Khal Drogo. If it's greatswords, the Mountain. If it's hammers, Robert Baratheon. If it's knives, Karl Fookin Tanner. If it's mouths, Tormund Giantsbane. If it's groin to groin only combat, Theon Greyjoy.
You missed Blackfish who is a legendary fighter, swordsman, and commander, and you missed Loras who was one of the best Knights in the 7 kingdoms before his captue.
@Alientcp "No it didn't." Then thats it. Simple. Makes no difference how you justify it. The parameters were there. Easy. Again, wrong. A joust is one of many events during a tourney that consists of 1v1 contests. Thats exactly what a joust is. And Loras won clear. Again, simple. Again, you're wrong. How was Loras a poor sport??? He won and was waving to the crowd as he was blindsided by the Mountain. Again, you are wrong, and now you clearly have no idea what you're talking about. Andddd again, what the Mountain could or would have done makes no difference. HE DID NOT CONNECT AND LORAS WAS NOT BEATEN TO A PULP. Again, you are wrong. That didn't happen. You said it did. Wrong. Simple. Embarrassing.
@Who Knows "First, the video didn't say "limited to fights seen"" No, it didnt, but the video was actually showing the battles, talking about characters and not showing them actually fighting would disrupt the way the video was presented, and probably was the reason blackfish was not presented. The joust is not a 1v1 combat, its a tournament, which isnt even centered in actual fights. And just as the mountain was a poor sport, Loras was as well. Sure, the mountain didnt connected any hits, but eventually he was going to, Loras was defensless. But regardless, he did los to Brienne, and Brienne, while skilled, is a few notches down the elite.
@Alientcp Literally nothing you've said means anything. A bunch of non-points that you're wrong about. First, the video didn't say "limited to fights seen". Making you wrong. Second, Loras unseated the Mountain at that tourney and won. The Mountain being the poor sport he is broke the rules of combat and attacked him after the joust was over while Loras was unprepared, and at no point did he "beat him to a pulp". He literally didn't land one hit. Loras blocked every shot with his shield. He was totally fine after the Mountain stormed off in a tantrum. Making you wrong again. Yes Brienne* beat him. Thats it. He is/was still one of the best fighters in Westeros and thats objective. He is acknowledged as such by multiple other legendary fighters. Again, you are wrong. Embarrassing.
Blackfish never fought in the show. And loras was beaten to a pulp by the mountain in the tournament (when the hound saved him), and if im not mistaken, he was later defeated by Brianne and she got a spot on the Kingsguard for it. He wasnt bad, but he wasnt top tier either.
bronn should be way higher. in the books hes one of the best currently living after oberyn before he dies and after jaime lannister (before he gets his hand cut off)
I think that Jon should be ranked a little higher. Admittedly, he hasn't had any one on one duels and, is not great at combat tactics, he does manage to kill a shit ton of people in a battle! I really wanted him to fight Greyworm!
The Mountain literally lost all his fights. He lost to Loras Tyrell, he lost to the guy with the spear, even though he crushed his skull after, and he lost to his brother at the end if he wasn't a Zombie. He can't fight he only intimidates people with his size and can throw them or crush skulls. Typical bouncer.
In case you don't know barriston selmy defeated prince raegar , the hound ,obaeryn , Robert Baratheon,ser Gregor multiple times in his younger days and many other great warriors in single combat
Yeah, that guy is just clueless.
@John Roy 😸😺😅
@John Roy he was out number , just like Arthur Dane.
@Marcus Sullivan that's true , one of the failures of the show is we never really got to see Jamey apart from season 1, yet every one kept on going on and on about how good he is , I thought the red witch was going to give him his had back and he would have an epic one on one with the night king being the last person trained by Artur dayne , that would have been the under dog story of the century , the only person to ride from kings landing was a one handed night yet he returns slayer of the night king , instead they choose to make a feminist statement and made Arya stark the killer of the night king ???,😅🤣, Jamey actually lived the professy , he dipped his sword in to fire when he killed the mad king, he dipped his sword into a lion when he killed his cousin to escape, and if he killed the night king he dipped his sword in ice 🤷🤷🤷🤷, am I making sense ,???? and are tried of all these feminist marketing strategies 😅🤣 ? Please comment.
No matter how many times, it's always a pain to watch Oberyn die.
- Taking of Gulltown
- The THREE battles at Summerhall
- Battle of Ashford (defeated but survived)
- Battle of the Bells
- Battle of the Trident
- Siege of Pyke
Common, Robert deserves WAAAY more respect as a fighter. Not only was he an absolute beast, but he fought more battles than most of the men on this list. And remember, he was the type to be right in the middle of the action too.. I’m sorry but prime Robert was tougher to kill than 90% of these guys. Top 5 at LEAST
@Ibinabo Izuchukwu SCHWACH....
Absolutely
We saw Sir Arthur Dayne fight exactly one time, and he was about to kill another on this list before being stabbed from behind and change the course of history. Almost identical to Karl the lead Night Watch mutineer, who nearly killed Jon Snow one on one until he was stabbed from behind. Snow also may have been killed by Quorn Halfhand who let him win to save the mission.
@Rykon He did the same to the leader of thens on battle for the wall.
@Mike Oath why do you rank the Mountain above Oberyn Martell? Martell clearly was the better fighter, had he not been so driven by revenge he would have just dispatched the Mountain and been done with it, but he wanted to poison and draw out the fight so he could get a confession and revenge/justice
if you watch the series again you find out that from season one to five or six , someone at least once kept talking about how good Jamey Lannister was , season 1)those 2 lanister men that were ambushed by robs wolf , season 2)Briann of tart , season 3 and 4) little finger ,etc , but Arthur Dane only 3 people. I agree based on what we see Arthur Dane is the best , and based on what we see, oberin and the dance master second for me, but based on what we hear ? Jamey lanister ,🤷 .
According to all sources Sir Arthur Dayne the morning star was by far the most skilled knight they had ever seen. Even Ned agrees with that. Eggon might also be very good but with the historical characters there's not so much to go by.
Overall the top 5 undisputed are 1. Sir Arthur Dayne 2. Sir Jaime Lannister (has both hands) 3. Robert Baratheon (prime) 4.Barristan Selmy (prime) 5. Mountain/Hound
I feel pretty sad I couldn't include Oberyn Martell considering how great of a fighter he is but I think he loses against all of the others here. I feel Robert Baratheon would be my #1 in terms of an actual war though, all accounts say he was essentially a god in a battlefield mowing down people like crazy and had the strength of the Mountain. Also Khal Drogo could've legitatemtly been the best fighter out of all of these had he been a knight but he is probably gonna lose to everyone else even in the top 20 because they have armor and a better sword while Drogo's blade meant for cutting could probably do nothing against the others.
I would’ve LOVED to see Syrio with an actual sword vs Meryn. He would’ve carved him up like a cake
@Paul Mitchell He was a small man, he didn't know how to use a westeros sword
it was never made clear that syrio died, he probably is or was one of the faceless men.
Yep.... I never understood why he didn't pick up one of the swords that were lying on the floor next to him from the Lannister soldiers he just defeated???
@Nyx Awesome because the writers room blinded him to their presence
@Leandro Pinheiro arguably but the move he did wasn’t really swordsmanship, I’d say he could dust him up with fists. That move he did would probably worked on a regular sword given how he’s armoured.
If he was unarmoured sure but armour is a Massive advantage in a sword fight if anything the wood blunt force is more effective.
gotta appreciate Bronn in that fight against Vardis, he gave chances for people to tap it out, but they compelled vardis with duty and honor, and even at the very end bronn gave the lady a good chance to call it. Which was just sad, Vardis did his duty and even when he clearly lost they let him die anyway.
Oh man watching Syrio take out all those lanester gaurds with a wooden sword is pretty bad ass
And barrister was a bad ass also
Not sure how the list was made Jon snow was one of the best fighters in the series and syrio was a bad ass
Very true
1st sword of Bravos aint no cupcake.
Syrio is talking about the God of Death. Could he be Jaqen Hagar?
Good list. I always wished oberyn would not have died although it was super cool how it happened. He was a really cool character though would have been cool to see him continue on. It was said in an episode that prince oberyn was a legendary fighter.
So... cool, then.
Brienne herself admitted that, had the Hound not been in a bad shape due to malnourishment and living in the wilderness, she'd have lost to him
Plus , she have valyrian sword ( which are 30 % lighter than steel, or closely to that )
@M. Williams she also picks really good enemies only the wounded ones
@M. Williams I agree, she is a formidable fighter
Nonetheless, she was impressive. What other woman in the kingdom would last 30 seconds?
And fighting an infection. Remember, that one guy bit him. Infection will weaken you more than most people realize, and human mouths are nasty.
I love how Arther Dayne is always #1 on every list. The one thing no one disagrees with. Baddest mofo in GoT Canon.
@Mike Oath - True. Arthur Dayne is like an ambidextrous Jaime Lannister. So, basically Jamie x 2.
No one can disagree because he was brought up by everyone whenever the conversation was there as the best swordsman. Ned also said this to Jaime and Jaime is confirmed to be one of the best in history by GRRM.
Ser Arthur Dayne is the baddest of the bad!! He fights equally with both hands! Like a Jedi!
Drogon would beat the hell out of Arthur... Then eat him.
Grey Worm should be a lot higher on the list in my opinion. He was in a lot of fights, and should have died multiple times, but didn't
9:07 -- Jon Snow strikes a horse rider's sword or sword hand with his own sword.
The horse rider was in full gallop, so he had all the momentum of his body and armor weight at that speed--yet Jon's sword not only knocked him off his horse, but BACKWARDS about ten feet (more than two meters).
It looked great though.
It looked shit. You call tell that the guy is pulled backwards, before Jons sword ever connects - he swings and clearly hits nothing but air.
Forget the idiocy of the physics, it fell flat already with the visuals.
He’s deceitfully strong for his stature.
Thats how strong jon is, he knocks around people like theyre baseballs
@PEGASUS...👉🏻 The beauty of VALYRIAN STEEL...lol
For those of us who read the books, Oberyn Martell was a excellent character. It wasn't just that he was a good actor. For about the first seasons game of thrones very closely followed the books.
That's what happens when you follow the books!!
Great list, especially your number 1, who I had totally forgotten about. I half expected Arya to be on this list, but she's not really a fighter, she's an assassin. And I don't think she has even been in a real sword to sword fight. Of course at the Battle of Winterfell, she did pretty well for herself, and even learned to fly.
My thoughts EXACTLY.
The faceless man #JaqenHghar I thought might be on the list.
Learned to fly lol
She dueled with brianne of tarth and won and brianne seemed like she was taking it srs as it went along and arya was dancing around she also showed her talent when killing the night king
I love this tier list. Very well done. Please make an updated version for 2019
The advice of Syrio Forel at 11:29 helped Arya finishing the Night King
Yes and as a fencer who nearly made it into my countries Olympic team (I missed out at the nationals by 10 places) it is correct. Fencing is chess on legs and lots of it is psychological. It's difficult to see people's eyes through the mask but you get a feel for your opponents strategy. Also that syrio guy should be higher in the list as compared to the hound for example he is nimble and has far better footwork. In fact his footwork is the best out of all on the list and when it comes to swordfighting it's good to keep distance.
Jorah Mormont is old and his skills arent sharp anymore, but he fights for a cause so high he defies it all, so devoted he doesnt realize he´s been slain by zombies until there´s a pause to consider his wounds. Syrio Forell is a master, and i read the interesting suggestion that he´s actually the faceless man from Bravoos, this is why he doesnt pick up a real sword from the floor, thats why we dont see him die, and thats why he allegedly soon sits captured in a silly barred wagon on Aryas path, he had it all planned. Obyron is also a true master, what a fight! And Khal Drogo heh, the fact that he says: i already have! before the kill is actually done, says a lot about his confidence, based on his skills...
I would love to see a Battle Royal with these Guys in their prime also add Robert Baratheon (in prime)
“You’re going to need the breast plate stretcher”
Prime, I think they are
Jean Claude vandam
love the fact that finally somebody gave oberyn the credit he desorves by putting him above drogo and sir baristan
@სკდშ. Interestingly enough I disagree with almost everything you've said. Drogo fights against people mainly wielding spears, the sellswords and unsullied alike. I think overall quality of fighting is probably similar to Oberyn's they would fight dirty and be skilled in the spear. Drogo in my opinion would destroy Oberyn in everything, he is a physical specimen one of the strongest, fastest fighters. While I think that Drogo would lose to any of the top knights just because he si really not fight for a battle against someone in an armor. Drogo wields an Arakh it is like a Katana a blade meant for cutting and they really just don't do shit against Armor.
But remember Drogo did his fight unarmed until he later used 2 knives that guy looks like he could kill the mountain with 2 knives .
@სკდშ. good point about the poison and Drogo having no armour, in that case then yes he would whoop him. Barristan is said to be as good as Arthur Dayne, at least when I’m his prime, so with his armour I think he would crush Oberyn.
@J T didn't remember myself leaving a comment here but still, Drogo has no armor whatsoever,oberyn can use roughly any type of weapon due to his experience in underground fighting (may be wrong with the place), which makes it way too easy to stab Drogo once with a weapon of oberyns choosing and so poisoning him to death. I don't really see a scenario in which Drogo is fast enough to kill oberyn even if he manages to wound him once or two times. I understand this argument doesn't have the depth to it but those are still valid points. as for sir baristan im being simply biased as I haven't seen or heard any feats from him for me to assume he'd be able to defeat the red viper.
Drogo and Baristan both would’ve killed Oberyn…
I'd put Bronn just before old Selmy - he very legitimately could have fought and won vs the Mountain and wisely chose to not risk it. He himself knew he was capable of it. There's a reason he was still alive at the end of all of this.
God damn, that shot of the hound when he falls backward off the cliff is such an amazing scene. Whoever worked on that half a second clip is a genius.
I could also say that The Mountain doesnt have a place in that list since he wasnt a mortal human anymore. And he wasnt that great before his transformation since he was just slaughtering villagers. In case we count him we should count the White Walkers King as well. He killed a dragon with a single spear. And Arya killed the White Walker. And the whole house Frey just herself. And she isnt even in the list. And what about the person who trained Arya? Maybe there are many more ''hidden'' great warriors in there...
Yep.... Apart from being very strong, he wasn't that skillful, especially compared next to his "little brother" the hound! ;)
Here's hoping your comment gets LOTS more positive attention.
I remember watching the viper mountain fight like it was yesterday. I would have loved to see him prevail and just be who he was.
Excellent video thank you! it's too bad we don't get to see a fight scene between Sir Dayne and the Red Viper that would be a very tough battle
red viper lost to barristan though he was late teenager at the time of fight
Everyone always put Bronn on the mud, in the series he is shown to be one of the smartest/most cunning fighters. Sure face to face isn't his forte but he has the best kill scene in the series (Battle of the Blackwater, just after saving The Hound)
Bronn forsure had highest fight IQ in the show. Imo he would have beat any of these fighters on the list cause he knew exactly how to pick his battles and still end up on top unscathed. We saw his iq first displayed against vardis and other times in CQC against lannister soldiers and the hand when readying his dagger. And we cant forget dario cause he just disappeared from the show but was clearly one of the most intelligent fighters
@Mike Oath It would have to be a good day for Bronn for sure, but it is possible, I do think that everyone way underrates Bronn as a Fighter, He definitely could take on Jorah and would be a match for someone like Jon.
@Teutonic Knight I think Hound low diffs Bronn. Bronn is a cunning fighter but Sandor has such a huge experience and skill lead on him, while being stronger and faster. Bronn could only win if he fought with a short and light sword with a dagger as a surprise to the hound. But in Armor and in 1v1 I don't see Sandor losing even once out of 100. I'm just being realistic by the way. Same as how Jaime would probably beat everyone else, according to Ned Jaime is almost as good as Sir Arthur Dayne probably the most talked about swordsman and the best swordsman ever in history.
I honestly think he’s always way underrated, he could’ve absolutely beat Ned, and Maybe even someone way more skilled like the Hound. You don’t get to be a sell sword that old without being a really mean dude.
I always wonder why anguy (the archer of the brotherhood) isn't in one of this lists... he was very impressive in the show i think
Solid list, I just think that the mountain was deadly simply due to his freakish size
In the books, he'd outweigh everyone like 4 times.
Sir Forel deveria ter pego uma das espadas dos guardas Lanister e enfrentado o Guarda Real, aí ele teria tido chances.
There was NO WAY Clegane could have ever grabbed a Valerian blade and squeezed, even without Brianne pulling back. Steel that sharp cuts on it's own, even without drawing, pressure alone will do it. Aside from that, it was. Epic
this is the same in 'Rob Roy'. Some sword fight specialist approved it as factual.
The show runners said that when practicing and filming, Kit Harrington ALWAYS went at full speed and full strength! They reported that they never had to tell him to make it look real!
I read that the editing crew was told they had sped up his fight scenes with the sword too much, and they needed to slow it down a bit to make it look more realistic, the editing crew replied, that wasn't sped up, that was the actual fight scene.
Jon might not be the best fighter, but he is a great commander and over all one of the most morally gifted and compassionate characters, he knows what is right and what is wrong and almost nobody in this series seems to know that except from Eddard Stark, Varys and Tyrion, which is why Jon Snow would be a great king. All the other characters are morally flawed in their own way, either sinister, barbaric or driven by their emotions, temptations and affections, but less so by virtue, reason and justice. I haven't read the books but based on how the series depicts the characters this is my opinion.
By the way the final was the worst ending I have ever seen, don't be fooled they did that on purpose so people read the books and the real ending will be different.
He wasn't perfect in the books, he was younger than he is in the show and was given to adolescent angst, but in spite of all that he wanted to do the right thing, yes. Most of his inner conflicts were not being sure he *was* doing the right thing.
They ran out of material by the end of season 5. So season 6 and 7 they just invented stuff based on the state of the show and characters. They even added a 1 year hiatus to try to come up with something, and still couldnt get a decent writing. Any fan of the show would have done better.
There are no books past season , 5 or 6 I believe, they have yet to be written. Thats the shame of it, the producers and writers had no guidelines to use. George RR Martin is getting old, who knows if those books will ever even exist.
I think we're all downplaying Ned stark in these comments. He managed to last more than 30 seconds against the #1 fighter in the entire series.
Good old dead Ned handles a Baker Rifle better than he handled the Targaryen family heirloom that is better known as ICE...that belonged to Rhaegar Targaryen.
You are correct in regards to the show, but in the books Ned Stark is an Average/above average swordsman. No match for book Jaime. But we aren’t talking about the books.
@Joe M keep in mind Syrio like Musashi is using a boken. I would guess he fights like Arya, with a rapier and would not be surprised if he was more than proficient with a main gouache in his off hand. i would like to see that fight for sure.
@TheKinesiologist1 fairly well. Syrio parries one of Arthur's attacks but Arthur has another sword for attack/defense. I'd say Syrio is on the same skill level as The Hound, as they both easily defeated a group of House guards
how would the number "1" fighter fare against Syrio Farel?
How is Syrio where he is. That fight was amazing and he was using a wooden sword. He literally would have carved them like a cake with a real sword. It would be really interesting to see a Syrio vs Arthur fight! Can't lie though. That fight with the Hound and Brianne was crazy!
Bronn was no coward in his fight, he was just figuring the other knights fighting style so he could counter
Sir Vardis killed more stone and rock than humans. 🤣
The knight was also at a major disadvantage in that fight. They forced him to use Jon Aryn's sword instead of his. Jon's was obviously meant to be wielded two handed whereas the shield using knight normally had a lighter short sword
Arya become better that Syrio and Brienne (even she is still a young girl), so this is strange to not see her on this list.
@Lioner Gerand 😂🤣 Good one!
But she is no one, how can she be on the list?
YEP!
Each of these characters have strengths and weaknesses that could allow them to best each other.
Though, according to the books, Arthur Dayne, Barriston Selmy, and Jaime Lannister were among the best of the best all around fighters. Gerald Hightower, Khal Drogo, Oberyn Martell, GreatJon Umber, and Brienne of Tarth would be close to the top of the list as well.
Jo ta for sure can’t argue that
@Brody Rines Yeah, overall, he really wasnt. But he was an above average fighter and was fiercely loyal to those he loved; to a fault.
I don’t think Jorrah was that great he fell all the time he honestly just was lucky
Jon Snow is not a fighter, he is a warrior. Battle hardened commander and a war hero.
@Stavros Kodjapashis scabbard
He is also a skilled fighter! He proved it when he killed 2 white walkers, defeat Ramsay with a shield and kill one of his man while the man had his sword in his hand and Jon had it in the (I don't know what is called, that thing that hold the sword in your belt)
Great video not only the list but fighting scenes as well love it
The Sword ⚔️ Of The Morning🌞 I Do Have To Say That Is Bad Ass, He Use’s 2 Swords ⚔️ Instead Of A Sword & A Shield 🛡 Now That’s A Real OG💯
I always wondered when Jon tells Bran not to look away. Does that imply that when Jon was suppose to see his 1st execution that he looked away?
Either him or Robb, probably...
Food for thought, as good as these knights were, they were easily defeated by the Dothraki. Also, one of the leaders of the Dothraki exclaimed that “they couldn’t fight”. Jamie admitted to Cersei, that they couldn’t defeat them in an open fight. Now, add to that fact that Drogo never lost to a Dothraki AND he defeated a blood rider without a weapon and literally ripped his throat and tongue out…Imagine what he’d do with his bow, horse, and sword.
@Sean Washington An arrow can't pierce a plate armor, that's the principle of wearing it. Sometimes it happens but most of the times it doesn't work. Crossbow are the best to pierce the armor. But the tiny dothraki's bow are made to been use against leather armor like the ones they wear. And the dothraki's sword are bad, not a good iron it can break easily, a good sword can"t pierce a plate armor so a bad sword can't do that too. And if we talk about the battlefield it's very contextual, cavalries are useless in the moutain, in steep places, in the bottlenecks, in the swamps, in siege a horse can't jump over a wall. Dothrakis don't have discipline or tactics, they just charge by relying on numbers and enemy morale
@Nik Torréntè I read the book and still have it. You tried.
@Sean Washington Too bad you don’t know the real Arthur Dayne,who actually fights with DAWN only and not with 2 swords,in the book!!!
@Billy Johnson kzclip.org/video/IM7mxEovOX4/бейне.html
Billy, Jamie literally started with the Dothraki. Then he mentioned the dragons. Nice try tho.
@Sean Washington Jamie literally ment with the dragons. re watch the show he literally said "and that was only one, if she really wanted to use them"
Gotta give it to Oberon, despite his stupidity at the end of the fight, he beat the mountain while trying to keep him alive. If he was just going for the kill it would have ended quick.
Maybe the first sword of braavos should have picked up one of the many swords on the floor
Yeah it seems so obvious. His fighting style doesn't suit a large heavy sword but at least he would have the cutting edge and weight behind it. I went to the nationals in the UK for fencing and missed out being in the Olympic team by 10 places. His comment about swordplay being about seeing is bang on even though it's difficult to see people's faces behind the mask. Fencing is essentially chess on legs and so much of it is psychological. Sorry I know you didn't ask for all this.
Ser Arthur Dayne indeed but According to George R. R. Martin, Ser Barristan Selmy and Arthur were evenly matched with regular swords. However, if Arthur wielded Dawn he would beat Barristan
Only reason brienne bested the hound is because he had been suffering from dysentery in the book when they fought and the producers kept it the outcome the same without showing his illness
i didn't realize the viper said "size does not matter when you're flat on your back" and that's exactly where the mountain was when he killed him.
Great catch there!...(wink wink)
Great observation.
szene #12 is the most impressive one in my eyes
The guy with the wooden sword is the number one. He was the only one who beat multiple professional soldiers without a proper weapon.
32:50 When your team is useless and u have to face the raid boss solo but the last second your healer's buff heals you and you win it. LMAO
@Asad Zubair Bhatti
Why did you suggest it then ?
@OP fact of the matter is, WHO CARES SMALL SON? :P
@Asad Zubair Bhatti
I can disprove that right now.
@OP i can torture you by keeping you in suspense
@Asad Zubair Bhatti
A thought of what ?
If you could believe that a man windmilling two swords could take on 4 or 5 attackers then, yes, I would have to give it to your #1 selection Sir Author Dayne.
He's not portrayed properly in the movies. He is the best fighter period.
The problem is so many of these men were past their prime during GOT. Its hard to judge.
Drogo and the hound are better than the mountain. From cleganebowl, we clearly see that the hound is better, if the mountain wasn't on zombie mode he would have been defeated
Would've loved to see khal drogo vs the mountain
Drogo would have lost. Both as a human and experimented creature, the mountain fought with nothing to loose. That alone is a very dangerous fighting attitude.
iiGhOsTSLaYeR drogo would destroy the mountain
khal drogo beat this shit
@5:43 when Grey worm kills them with one swing of a knife, TYRION wasn't even looking. He didn't look when such a crucial event is taking place just a few feet away.
The Hound beats The Mountain. If The Mountain wasn't zombified the fight would have been over a lot sooner. Also if Robert Baratheon didn't stop their fight I see The Hound winning but Robert didn't want to lose one of his strongest warriors.
I could also see Brienne, Jaime with two hands, Ser Barristan, Jon Snow, Syrio Forel, and Darhio Naharis defeating The Mountain. Fair list but The Mountain belongs way lower and Brienne is better than Jaime with two hands as we saw.
Somehow you missed the bit where the Mountain crushes Oberyn's skull about a minute later...
Brienne of tarth will always be one of my favorite characters of the whole show. She showed them men she could fight with the best of them!
I would switch Barristan and Gregor.
kaiser2324 I wouldn’t say he’s no skill but yes the main reason he because of his strength
Yeah gregor is all strength, hes not that skilled tbh
The Bloodhound yea facts
Brienne only barely beat the Hound because he was very fatigued, unarmed, no valerian steel sword, ect. Remember that guy biting Sandor on the neck and Arya said "that sound has got you moving alot slower these days"
IMHO Grey Worm was totally underwritten for his skills. The whole sullivans IMHO were made to look unskilled in many of the scenes, getting surprised and slaughtered. But yet their fame was hold high.
What about Arya Stark? She checked out off a few names on her list, fought the waif blind, killed the main antagonist (aside from Cersei) the bloody Night King, AND she survived to the end!!! She can replace her dancing instructor. Granted, Syril had some dope moves, but he could’ve danced and dived his way down to one of those knocked out Lannister men, grabbed his sword, and danced his ass to kill Meryl Trant (who Arya killed). Better yet, her pops Ned Stark didn’t do squat but execute a hopeless Crow, who was warning Westeros of things to come. Besides, Ned didn’t defeat Ser Arthur Dayne! He cheated! I know this list is compiled of the best fighters, but let’s add brains in the equation, and Arya needs to be on this list!
I miss Sons Daario. Hope he shows up in the last episode
For me: 1-Ser Arthur Dayne, 2- Drogo,3- Prince Oberyn, 4- Ser Barristan Selmy (Old, I bet he was as good as Arthur Dayne when he was younger)…..
Yeah, Drogo never lost a fight.
I always took it as Ser Arthur Dayne "Sword of the Mourning"
Serio has to be in the top 3. Who else could do what he did with only a wooden sword?
Ser Vardis was ready to end honorably, after first blood. He knew that he had lost the fight, and was facing a very dangerous opponent. And then she basically orders him to die.. and that last look he gives her of "Well fuck my life.. my lady".. good man. Fought honorably.
I still love how @ 2:06 a sword slash to Qotho's cheek led to instant death...... 🤦🏻♂️
Low-key when I saw that first I was thinking "did I miss something?" because I'm 99% sure he'd have survived that bar blood loss. Though that wouldn't be instant!
Arya and her trainer should definitely be on this list.
Absolutely love briennes war cry 😂
Jon is an amazing swordsman if you ask me
Barristan was a straight beast,one on one,not many wanted any part of that,SELMY!!!!!!!!!🤘👍🤘
The last Dodge of the hound vs the Mountain was mad swag not gonna lie😂
Finally a list that has the viper in an appropriate placement
Ive used oaken practice swords before, they could break, but you would not be walking if struck in the knee or the head with one at full speed, no way. So that was dead on
the Show version of Jon Snow is top-tier idc what anyone says. Talking game (in Game of thrones or anywhere else) is one thing, talk is talk, stories and myths mean one thing, feats and what we actually see in the show is another. Arthur Dayne was clearly shown to be next-leve lbadassery, I'd equivocate it to Dayne = Muhammad Ali, Snow = Mike Tyson both in their prime. As someone who boxed for 17 years and had two champs train me (Gene Fullmer, and Eddie "The Flash" Newman) i might take this analogy too far but Tyson was shorter than Ali, and didn't have the stamina, but that said styles make fights, and Joe Frazier (say, Khal Drogo /w thick studded leather armor, not enough to slow him down, and equally trained with Westerosi blades, and equally experienced against their knights, in this hypothetical) was all wrong for Ali (Dayne). Faster, or as fast, stronger, armed with two styles of swords as well as multiple daggers, and on horseback. Dayne still causes a ton of wounds, but I think is ultimately beaten, in 1 out of 3 matches, with the 2nd being so close that they both die from their wounds (the conroversial Ali/Frazier 2).
Mike, has some insane feats (Show-Snow), unusual power and strength for his size, and is very fast. Deadliest fighter alive in his prime, for his time. Snow has valyrian stel, and is armored with mostly chain, a breastplate and coif. Dayne is similarily armored, taller, stronger, not quite as fast. Snow is at the skillset he is by the end of the show, having cut down the most men of anyone on the show combined. No one else comes close. Furthmore, he's bested a WHITE WALKER in combat, and hundreds of wights, killed somewhere around 175-200 men if not more in personal combat and warfare. Also defeated The HAlfhand (another fighter who I'd take odds on against almost anyone). Snow always finds a way to prevail. Dayne has two swords, his insane level of skill, Snow has his legendary sword and Ghost.
I still think Dayne kills Ghost and Jon before they get him 2/3 but Jon is so good and Ghost and him combined are certainly enough for any great fighter, Jamie included.
Maybe a better example would be my trainer, GEne Fullmer, he fought Sugar Ray Ronbinson 5 or 6 times, most during Robinson's prime. now Robinson is truly the Arthur Dayne of boxing. No one was matter, not Floyd Mayweather (similar weight class) De La hoya, none of 'em. The Raging Bull Jake Lamotta is damn close, Gene, less-known, was also a wolrd middleweight champ (though traditionally Robinson fought slightly lower weightclass but that's an aside). Point is: Robinson could be beaten, even by men that he'd normally beat.
Jon Snow, if anything, is tenacious and willing to go the distance. I'm high as fuck so ill shutup and let people chew me out but Jon Snow is absolutely the GOAT of the show. Books? not even close. The next person to Jon is either Birenne of The Hound. Probably The Hound, as when he lost to Brienne he was slowed, not having rested or eaten very well, and getting ill from an infection. Still, took Brienne everything to beat him and he sitll survived what he did.
The Red Viper defeated the Mountain, and Bronn killed everyone who fucked with him, by the time he was offered a chance to fight the Mountain he'd already recieved his award (albeit taken later). I still wonder if Bronn coulda had him, i think he would have poisoned his dagger and gotten it into The mountain somehow.
So yeah, my point is this: I'm Mike Tyson and i gave birth to Jon Snow, who knows nothing. Grapefruit juice is yummy.
The Most honourable man in an infamous duel that ended dishonourably
Honorable mentions
Tormund Giantsbane and Ser Allister Thorne
Hamza Khaliq facts imo he would fuck up Jamie
Tormund is easily top 10. He should be more than an honourable mention.
I don't know about Tormund and Thorne, but in the books Qhorin Halfhand and Mance Rayder could wipe the floor with John Snow.
Jon Snow should have been placed way higher, the man served in Nights watch, dealt with King beyond the wall, killed white walkers, won multiple battles, rode dragons, stood in front of a dragon's rage, who could argue his bravery.
The Mountain isn't even good he would have lost the fight against the hound if he wasn't a zombie
@Stuff for the plot ahaha
Correct. If Oberyn wasnt so busy showboating he could have killed him easily but I guess that's the plot
His massive strength and size is what makes him good. Against the average fighter, Gregor takes the dub 10/10 times
the red viper death was for me the most sad sence in the whole serie.....
Selmy belongs higher on the list. The Mountain was just huge in size. And we forgot about thoros and his fiery sword
Drogo could take the mountain. He's beefy and quick enough at the same time.
Interesting ranking, I dont really agree with most of it but its definitely fair, id put drogo/daario ahead of the mountain as i feel like they are upgraded versions of oberyn (Drogo imo is better, daario equal or slightly worse). I argee with the first, i personally think the mountain is very overrated, he is big but completely curb stomped by oberyn (might be a clash of styles). I dont think Jon snow is very good, neither do I think brianne or the hound are very good either but there is ofc a very limited list of people to put on here.
Cheers for the entertaining list :)
The hound just cut down the entire kings guard in 10 seconds.
The mountain was beaten numerous times before being a zombie.
Bronn gave them a chance to save that knight by calling the fight. Multiple chances in fact. But they just didn't call it. I didn't realize that until now.
Aria Stark was a hell of a fighter
Awesome how he reverses his right hand sword.
The only reason the viper lost was that he stood to close when he had the mountain beaten
That and because he talked too much. If you’re gonna shoot, shoot, don’t talk!!!!
If Khal drogo was in Westeros with some armor, havoc would ensue
The armour would have to be light, as he would not want to be weighed down with 80+lbs of plate armour. He had only fought with basically no armour.
I really enjoyed Jorah's fight against the Dothraki fighter -- it's so many shows celebrate that agile hero, but here's Sir Jorah to remind us: "Yeah, this armor is heavy. It slows me down, and it tires me out. Also, *it's fucking armor* "
Wait, couldn’t Syrio have just taken one of the swords from the men he took out? He could’ve even taken 2!! Lol , why’d I never think about this until now
I thought it was the only one that wondered this. I've always wondered why he didn't especially considering his life was on the line
I enjoyed this list, I would have switched a few, like Ser Barristan, Selmy.
How do people not think Ned stark is so weak he has feats against Arthur and Jaime
If its arakhs, Khal Drogo.
If it's greatswords, the Mountain.
If it's hammers, Robert Baratheon.
If it's knives, Karl Fookin Tanner.
If it's mouths, Tormund Giantsbane.
If it's groin to groin only combat, Theon Greyjoy.
😂😂😂
You missed Blackfish who is a legendary fighter, swordsman, and commander, and you missed Loras who was one of the best Knights in the 7 kingdoms before his captue.
@Alientcp "No it didn't." Then thats it. Simple. Makes no difference how you justify it. The parameters were there. Easy. Again, wrong.
A joust is one of many events during a tourney that consists of 1v1 contests. Thats exactly what a joust is. And Loras won clear. Again, simple. Again, you're wrong. How was Loras a poor sport??? He won and was waving to the crowd as he was blindsided by the Mountain. Again, you are wrong, and now you clearly have no idea what you're talking about. Andddd again, what the Mountain could or would have done makes no difference. HE DID NOT CONNECT AND LORAS WAS NOT BEATEN TO A PULP. Again, you are wrong. That didn't happen. You said it did. Wrong. Simple. Embarrassing.
@Who Knows "First, the video didn't say "limited to fights seen""
No, it didnt, but the video was actually showing the battles, talking about characters and not showing them actually fighting would disrupt the way the video was presented, and probably was the reason blackfish was not presented.
The joust is not a 1v1 combat, its a tournament, which isnt even centered in actual fights.
And just as the mountain was a poor sport, Loras was as well. Sure, the mountain didnt connected any hits, but eventually he was going to, Loras was defensless.
But regardless, he did los to Brienne, and Brienne, while skilled, is a few notches down the elite.
@Alientcp What? Loras was not beaten at all. You have no idea what you're talking about. OP is correct. They both belong on the list.
@Alientcp Literally nothing you've said means anything. A bunch of non-points that you're wrong about. First, the video didn't say "limited to fights seen". Making you wrong. Second, Loras unseated the Mountain at that tourney and won. The Mountain being the poor sport he is broke the rules of combat and attacked him after the joust was over while Loras was unprepared, and at no point did he "beat him to a pulp". He literally didn't land one hit. Loras blocked every shot with his shield. He was totally fine after the Mountain stormed off in a tantrum. Making you wrong again. Yes Brienne* beat him. Thats it. He is/was still one of the best fighters in Westeros and thats objective. He is acknowledged as such by multiple other legendary fighters. Again, you are wrong. Embarrassing.
Blackfish never fought in the show. And loras was beaten to a pulp by the mountain in the tournament (when the hound saved him), and if im not mistaken, he was later defeated by Brianne and she got a spot on the Kingsguard for it.
He wasnt bad, but he wasnt top tier either.
Don't think Drogo counts. The object of a fight is to be the one who gets to keep on living.
bronn should be way higher. in the books hes one of the best currently living after oberyn before he dies and after jaime lannister (before he gets his hand cut off)
Brienne is pound for pound strongest when it comes to waking me up in the middle of the night with her screams when i forget to turn the show off
I think that Jon should be ranked a little higher. Admittedly, he hasn't had any one on one duels and, is not great at combat tactics, he does manage to kill a shit ton of people in a battle! I really wanted him to fight Greyworm!
2019 Update: The hound is better than the Mountain
The Mountain literally lost all his fights. He lost to Loras Tyrell, he lost to the guy with the spear, even though he crushed his skull after, and he lost to his brother at the end if he wasn't a Zombie. He can't fight he only intimidates people with his size and can throw them or crush skulls. Typical bouncer.
The hound is better than the zombie Mountain, far better than the human Mountain.
The Hound definitely would've killed Gregor within the first minute (sword impale) had he not have been undead.
More skilled. Weaker. Overall the better fighter id say is sandor since he would've killed gregor if not for his "immortality"