In a funny way that kind of attitude reminds me of the "who REALLY wrote Shakespeare" theories. There's been a lot of academics who've done ridiculous amounts of research and textural analysis trying to prove one or another figure of the time was the actual author of the plays. But boil down all their arguments, and they basically resolve into one thing — the inability of these people to accept that the works of genius they revere could come from a country-bred guy of undistinguished family who didn't go to university and who looks unnervingly like Tobias Fünke in Arrested Development. Surely, they think, a writer like that MUST be credentialed and well-traveled, highborn and cultured...
Stipe strikes me as sort of the ultimate utility player. They never get the recognition and star status, but I'd argue that an exceptional level of aptitude at several skills is even rarer than the highest level at one. And what sport has the potential of rewarding the generalist, not the specialist, more than mixed-martial arts?