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A favorite pastime among Cobra Kai fans is ranking the series' best fighters and sensei. It's something fun to do, especially because the rankings have the potential to change every season. Based on the climatic fights at the end of Season 3, Kreese was a stronger fighter than Johnny, and Daniel was better than Kreese. Then, Terry Silver entered the picture in Season 4, and he made it ever so clear that he outclassed everyone else.
Going into Season 5, Mr. Miyagi and Master Kim Sun-Yung are still on a tier of their own, followed by Terry Silver, Daniel, Kreese and Johnny, respectively. As usual, Season 5 will add some new fighters to the equation, and it will be interesting to see where they land in the rankings. For one, Mike Barnes will be back, and regardless of what side he joins, he'll be a formidable fighter. Secondly, Terry Silver's newest recruit, Sensei Kim Da-Eun, (who may be connected to Master Kim Sun-Yung) looks like a total badass. However, the real wild card in Season 5 is Chozen.
Back in Season 3, Daniel took a road trip to Okinawa, and happened to reunite with Yumiko. While there, he also spent time with Chozen. They hadn't parted on great terms in The Karate Kid II, but they made good and moved on. In fact, the two trained and spared together at Miyagi-Do. During their fight, however, it was clear that Chozen was Daniel's superior. He had trained with Sato for a lot longer (and in more depth) than Daniel had trained with Mr. Miyagi.
So, as Chozen enters Season 5, he's definitely more skilled than Daniel. That puts him into direct conflict with Terry Silver. Cobra Kai fans would like to think that Chozen would best Silver in a fight, but who knows what could happen. Both of them are the pinnacles of their styles, and a match between them would be legendary. Hopefully, fans get to see that matchup in the near future, but Chozen joining Cobra Kai means a lot more than simple rankings.
For all three The Karate Kid movies, Daniel was the main character, and Mr. Miyagi was his mentor. Now, on Cobra Kai, a grown-up Daniel took on the mentor role. He taught a lot of different students over the four seasons, but his messaging never changed: "Karate for defense only." In a way, he's been the series' Mr. Miyagi, yet that will change when Chozen enters the picture.
For one, Chozen is a better fighter than Daniel, so Daniel will once again be a student (especially if he goes down a dark path in Season 5). On top of that, Chozen knows much more about the true forms of Miyagi-Do karate. Daniel believed that karate was only for defense because that was all that Mr. Miyagi had taught him, but Chozen knew the truth. Sometimes karate needed to be deadly, and that's the side of Miyagi-Do that he will bring to any conflict with Terry Silver.
The Season 5 trailer even gave fans a hint about Chozen's true skills. At the 1:31 mark, Chozen is in a Cobra Kai dojo, surrounded by six sensei. Why he was in an enemy dojo is unknown. Maybe he was infiltrating their ranks, or maybe he was there to prove a point. Either way, if he ends up taking on multiple opponents, it will be a throwback to when Mr. Miyagi fought multiple people, while Daniel stood there and gawked. Even if he doesn't take them all on at the same time, the messaging is pretty clear. Chozen is the new master sensei on Cobra Kai. He's more advanced than Daniel, which definitively puts him into the Mr. Miyagi role going forward.
To see Chozen in Mr. Miyagi's role, watch Cobra Kai Season 5. The new season debuts Sept. 9 on Netflix.