Greatest Ufc Fighter Ever

Valentina Shevchenko is terrifying and the greatest female striker in MMA history. She’s picked apart the likes of Jessica Eye, Holly Holm, Joanna J 1/4 u0119drzejczyk and Julianna Pena. Features: Top 10 best UFC fighters of all time; 5. Frank Trigg II (UFC 52) The image of Hughes lifting Trigg, carrying him across the cage and slamming him to the canvas stands out.

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Wrestling might be the single best martial art background for MMA fighters. Today, 6 of 7 UFC male champions have a wrestling background. Better wrestler dictates where the fight takes place, so there is no surprise that MMA fighters with good wrestling make up the best fighters in the UFC.

I have to mention that the given list of best wrestlers in UFC is not ordered. I considered many factors, like their UFC resume, wrestling resume, percentage of takedowns and takedown defenses, etc. [1]

So, let’s take a closer look at fighters who made it to the list.

Also, I made lists similar to this for every martial art. Take a look at the best Muay Thai fighters in the UFC, best boxers in the UFC, best BJJ practitioners in the UFC, and best kickboxers in the UFC.

Khabib Nurmagomedov

Division: UFC Lightweight

MMA record: 29-0

I might have just started our list with the best wrestler MMA has ever seen. Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov is an unprecedented force inside the Octagon. He fought 29 times inside the cage. 29 men have tried, 29 have failed. Khabib is undefeated his whole career. In his UFC career, he has only lost a single round (against Conor McGregor in the biggest fight in UFC history).

Nurmagomedov is the best ground and pound fighter of all time. There is just a matter of time when his opponents will be on the back and Khabib on top of them. Until now, nobody has yet figured how to solve the mystery of Khabib’s wrestling. Khabib also holds the record for most takedowns in a single fight.

He is the current UFC lightweight champion of the world with 3 title defenses to his name. It is uncertain if we will see Khabib step into the Octagon for one more time, to fulfill his father’s wish and to get that perfect 30-0.

Daniel Cormier

Division: UFC Heavyweight and UFC Light Heavyweight (retired)

MMA record: 22-3 (1 NC)

Daniel “DC” Cormier is an Olympic and NCAA Division I wrestler. He is one of the, if not the best wrestler in the history of the heavyweight division. In his extraordinary career, he came short of a win only three times. Two of those (actually one, because one is no contest) came from his biggest rival, Jon Jones. Two come from the current UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic.

Cormier is known for his height (only 5 ft 11 in) and reaches (only 72 and a half in). Despite those small sizes, when it comes to dictating the pace of the fight and setting up the pressure on his opponents, he is one of the best to ever do it. With his extraordinary cardio for a weight class, Daniel is always in his opponent’s face, leaving them no room to breathe.

Daniel Cormier retired after the trilogy fight with Stipe Miocic. He lost the fight on the judge’s decision and failed to recapture the heavyweight gold. Still, DC retired as one of the greatest of all time.

Jon Jones

Division: UFC Heavyweight, formerly UFC Light Heavyweight

MMA record: 26-1 (1 NC)

Jon “Bones” Jones is arguably the best fighter that has ever stepped foot inside the Octagon. He is the youngest man that has ever won the UFC championship belt (at the age of just 23 years old). Jones is undefeated for his whole career (actually, he has one loss, against Matt Hamill, when he was disqualified for 12-6 elbows in the fight where Jon was dominating completely).

In his first title reign, Jon, a young kid from Albuquerque, completely wiped out the whole UFC Light Heavyweight division. In the process, he absolutely dominated the best fighters and champions from that era, including Shogun, Quinton Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen, Alexander Gustaffson, Glover Teixeira, and Daniel Cormier. He defended the belt on seven occasions.

But, in 2015, problems have started for Jones. He was involved in a lot of scandals and illegal substances usages, so he was stripped of the title and took some time outside the Octagon. He had problems for years, and when he finally came back in 2019, he quickly regained the UFC Light Heavyweight throne, and in just over a year, started to clear the division once again. In his second run, he is at 3 title defenses (Smith, Santos, Reyes).

Although nobody in the UFC has a resume even nearly similar to Jones’, people are still doubting his status as the greatest of all time (because of his actions outside of the Octagon). To clear that doubt, Jones said, that in the near future, he will step up, and go to the UFC Heavyweight division to clear that one as well, and secure his status as “the baddest man that has ever walked the Earth”.

Yoel Romero

Divison: Formerly UFC Middleweight

MMA record: 13-5

Yoel “Soldier of God” Romero is a Cuban Olympic Silver wrestler. When you see him, Yoel is just scary. The UFC Middleweight fighter might just be the most athletic and fittest fighter that has ever lived. At the age of 43, he has a body and strength that absolutely defies all laws of human aging.

Romero’s outstanding wrestling and control of opponent is matched just with his insane one punch KO power. Cuban wrestler is a fighter that absolutely nobody wants to face. Just as Dana White said:

“I never get anybody calling me and saying, ‘Hey Dana, I want to fight Yoel Romero,’” White said. “When do you ever hear a guy call him out? It doesn’t happen. Guys wind up fighting him because the rankings dictate it or whatever, but no one is volunteering for that. [Adesanya] just kept blowing up my phone: ‘I want Romero. I want Romero. I want Romero.’ I respect that. You want to fight a guy like that, I respect it and so we made it happen.”

Kamaru Usman

Top 10 Best Ufc Fighters Ever

Division: UFC Welterweight

MMA record: 18-1

Kamaru “The Nigerian Nightmare” Usman is the current UFC Welterweight champion of the world. In his title fight against former champion Tyron Woodley, Usman absolutely dominated the whole five rounds. He set an unbelievably high pace, and with his amazing wrestling abilities, Kamaru took Tyron down almost at will.

Worth noticing is that Woodley’s takedown defense before that fight was incredible (94% takedown defense), but Usman still took him down whenever he wanted.

Usman is an NCAA Division II wrestler. His wrestling background enabled him the achieve current success in the UFC. He averages 3.44 successful takedowns per 15 minute fight, which is incredible.

His takedown accuracy is incredible with half of his takedown attempts being successful. When we talk about Usman’s takedown defense, it stands at an extraordinary 100%. No fighter in the UFC has yet managed to take Usman down.

“The Nigerian Nightmare” defended his title three times; against Colby Covington, Jorge Masvidal, and Gilbert Burns. When it is all set and done, Usman might go in the history as one of the greatest of all time.

Colby Covington

Divison: UFC Welterweight

MMA record: 18-2

Colby “Chaos” Covington, an NCAA Divison I wrestler. Probably the most hated guy inside the UFC. After his first nine UFC fights, UFC was set to release him. They said, that his wrestling style and boring personality just weren’t the right fit for the company. Soon, Colby realized he had to change something.

After his fight against Demian Maia in São Paulo, Brazil, where he completely outclassed Maia, he called a whole country of Brazil “a bunch of filthy animals” and “Brazil, you absolutely s–k”. The post-fight interview soon went viral, and everyone started to hate Covington. For UFC, that meant one thing, money. They gave Colby a new contract, and Covington’s rise to notoriety started. Soon, he managed to get the whole world to hate him, insulting absolutely everyone in the process.

But, to set Colby’s marketing strategy aside, he is one of the best wrestlers the UFC has ever seen. His cardio and pressure are off the charts. Colby scores an insane 4.91 takedowns per 15 minutes with a 51% takedown accuracy. The pressure and control that he puts on his opponents are absolutely incredible. Colby dominates almost all of his opponents, and that earned him a title shot against Usman. Although he lost via TKO in the 5th round, the fight was an absolute war.

In his fight against Robbie Lawler, Covington set the UFC record for most strikes thrown in a single fight with an absolutely incredible amount of 541 strikes.

Georges St-Pierre

Divison: UFC Welterweight, UFC Middleweight (retired)

MMA record: 28-2

Georges “Rush” St-Pierre is a Canadian MMA fighter. He is a true legend of the sport, inside and outside of the Octagon. GSP comes into talk both when talking about the fan favorite fighters, and when talking about the best to ever do it. Georges is often regarded as one of the best ground and pound fighters in the history of MMA.

GSP is the fourth multi-divisional champion in UFC history. He was the UFC Welterweight champion for more than 2000 days with 9 title defenses to his name. In 2017, he came out of retirement to win the UFC Middleweight belt also (against Michael Bisping). But soon retired once again.

Georges is well known for his incredible fight IQ. In combination with his extraordinary wrestling abilities, he always chooses where the fight will take place. In his case, that is often on the ground. GSP holds the UFC record for most takedowns in history (90). He takes his opponents to the ground, secures a good position, and then ground-and-pounds them until he wins. Georges also has a takedown accuracy of 74%, which is just unreal.

Henry Cejudo

Divison: UFC Bantamweight and UFC Flyweight (retired)

MMA record: 18-2

Henry “The Messenger” Cejudo, also known as “Triple C”, is the first man to be the champion of two UFC divisions (flyweight and bantamweight) and to have an Olympic Gold.

Henry is an Olympic Gold medalist in freestyle wrestling. In 2018 he won his first UFC gold (flyweight division) against Demetrious Johnson, ending his 11 title defenses reign (which is the longest title reign in the UFC history). Next year, he made his first title defense in flyweight against one of the best bantamweights of all time, TJ Dillashaw, knocking him out in just 32 seconds.

Later that year, Henry moved up to the UFC Bantamweight division where he challenged Marlon Moraes for the vacant belt. In the third round, he TKOed Moraes, thus becoming the 4th fighter to hold two UFC belts simultaneously. With two UFC belts around his shoulders and Olympic Gold medal around his neck, he earned his new nickname, “Triple Champion”, or shorter, “Triple C”.

Next year, “Triple C” defended his belt against one of the best bantamweights of all time, Dominick Cruz. Following the win, he retired and went into history as one of the greatest and most decorated combat sports athletes of all time.

Dominick Cruz

Division: UFC Bantamweight

MMA record: 22-3

Dominick “The Dominator” Cruz is one of the greatest UFC Bantamweights of all time. But, his tremendous career is overshadowed by his injuries. He was the UFC Bantamweight champion until 2011 when he had to postpone his career due to injuries.

Cruz came back in 2016 to immediately challenge the then-current champion, TJ Dillashaw. Dominick regained his title by split decision in what was for most the biggest comeback in the MMA history. At the end of the year, he lost his belt against Cody Garbrandt, and due to injuries went out of the game for another 4 years.

He returned to the Octagon in 2021 and lost to Henry Cejudo in a title fight.

Greatest Mma Fighter Ever

Dominick is well known for his fighting IQ, cardio, and incredible wrestling skills. He comes from a strong wrestling background, thus, the number of 3.17 average takedowns per 15 minutes is no surprise at all.

Tyron Woodley

Division: UFC Welterweight

MMA record: 19-6 (1 draw)

Tyron “The Chosen One” Woodley is an American NCAA Division I MMA fighter. He has a strong wrestling background, which he successfully translated to MMA. Woodley has 3 UFC Welterweight title defenses to his name; against Stephen Thompson, Demian Maia, and Darren Till.

Although, having an incredible wrestling background, Tyron is known for his one-punch KO power. Actually, he rarely uses his wrestling abilities to take opponents down (average of just 1.21. successful takedowns in 15 minutes), he puts his wrestling skills to use to defend the takedowns. Woodley has an astonishing takedown defense.

Of all the times when his opponents tried to take him down, Tyron successfully defended 92% of those attempts, which is absolutely high number.

TJ Dillashaw

Division: UFC Bantamweight, one time UFC Flyweight

MMA record: 20-4

T.J. Dillashaw is an American mixed martial arts fighter. He began his martial arts journey in a high school wrestling team. Through his education, his wrestling has evolved all the way to NCAA Division I. He holds the record for most UFC Bantamweight title defenses (tied with Dominick Cruz; both have 3 title defenses).

While he was the bantamweight champion (135 pound limit) in 2019, he decided to challenge Henry Cejudo for the UFC Flyweight gold (125 pound limit). TJ already had problems with making the 135 weight limit, and when he said that he is ready to go down in weight class, it was absolutely ridiculous.

During the weight cut to 125, he looked like a walking skeleton; no fat, no water, nothing. Nonetheless, he hit the scale successfully, making the 125 pound limit. He lost to Henry in that fight. Sometime later, it was revealed that Dillashaw used forbidden substances during the weight cut, which resulted in his 2 year ban. He is expected to return to the Octagon in 2021.

Stipe Miocic

Division: UFC Heavyweight

MMA record: 20-3

Stipe Miocic is the current UFC Heavyweight champion of the world, and with that, has the title of “the baddest man on the planet”. In the heavyweight division, Stipe is one of the most explosive fighters, and his footwork and wrestling skills allow him to control other fighters almost at will.

Miocic is arguably the best heavyweight MMA fighter of all time. He is the only fighter that has defended the UFC Heavyweight belt three times in a row. He then lost the belt to Daniel Cormier, but soon regained the throne in the rematch, thus began his second reign.

Stipe has been involved with wrestling since high school and competed ever since. Eventually, in college, he went all the way through to the NCAA Divison I. Being in the wrestling his whole life, has unquestionably helped him in his MMA career. That was best seen in his title defense against Francis Ngannou.

Ngannou is probably the hardest hitter that has ever stepped foot inside the Octagon, but Stipe utilized his wrestling and was able to take down Francis to the ground almost at will. On his back, there was no danger of the Ngannou’s devastating KO punch power. He outwrestled Francis for the whole 25 minutes and went home with the belt.

Islam Makhachev

Division: UFC Lightweight

MMA record: 19-1

Islam Makhachev is another Dagestani fighter on our list. As Islam has grown up with Khabib Nurmagomedov, and the two are training partners for years, Islam is just like Khabib, a world class sambo practitioner. Islam’s wrestling abilities are something that most of the fighters in the UFC have no answer to.

Right now, he is on a run in the UFC Lightweight division, with 6 consecutive wins to his resume. His plan is to take over the belt, once Khabib retires.

When we talk about wrestling and Islam, we have to take a look at the stats. On average, he scores 3.4 takedowns every 15 minutes, which is incredible. On top of that, he has an unbelievable takedown accuracy with 68%. On the other hand, if Islam’s opponents try to take him down, that won’t be easy as well. The fighter from Dagestan stops 93% of the takedown attempts from his opponents.

Ben Askren

Division: UFC Welterweight (retired)

MMA record: 19-2 (1 NC)

Greatest Ufc Fights Ever

Ben “Funky” Askren is a retired American mixed martial artist and former Olympic wrestler. He is one of the few fighters inside the UFC that have competed at the Olympics. Ben is known for his outstanding wrestling skills and abilities to control where the fight goes (in Ben’s fights, usually opponents on the ground, and Ben on top of them).

Askren is a former Bellator and ONE Championship welterweight champion of the world. For the years, people have talked about how well would he compete against the top guys inside the UFC. While he was in those two promotions, no opponent has found a way to survive Ben’s wrestling and grappling. He had an undefeated record of 18-0 (1 NC).

In 2019, when Ben Askren signed with the UFC, we got the answer. Although he submitted Robbie Lawler in his UFC debut, he then got brutally KO’d by Jorge Masvidal and submitted by Damian Maia. Ben truly was one of the best wrestlers in the game, but his lack of striking abilities was the cause he couldn’t compete with the best inside the UFC. After those two fight, Askren retired because of hip problems.

Alexander Volkanovski

Randy Couture

Division: UFC Featherweight

MMA record: 22-1

Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski is the current UFC Featherweight champion of the world. He began his martial arts career training in Greco-Roman wrestling and won the national title at the age of 12. Then he started pursuing a career in rugby. After some time, Volkanovski changed the sport to MMA.

With his wrestling and rugby background, Alexander is the cardio machine with an excellent ability to control his opponents with wrestling skills. He is currently on an unbelievable 18 win streak, with 8 of those coming inside the UFC.

Currently, he is in consideration for the UFC Featherweight GOAT status. He has an incredible resume inside the UFC, where he TKO’d former title challenger Chad Mendes, then proceeded to get a win over former UFC featherweight king, Jose Aldo, and in the end, get hold of the belt by absolutely outclassing former champion Max Holloway for 5 rounds and then defended the belt again against Max.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Who is the greatest MMA fighter of all time? It’s a question that many have tried to answer with no definitive outcome.

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Part of the problem is that since the rise of cage fighting and the launch of the UFC, eras have come and gone. How do you assess fighters who ruled over a specific time that had weaker competition in different promotions? Could one of today’s rising stars take out a dominant force like Chuck Liddell, Royce Gracie, Wanderlei Silva or Kazushi Sakuraba in their prime?

For our list of the 25 greatest MMA fighters of all time, we tried to balance the criteria. A fighter’s overall career resume mattered. But not as much as their performance at their peak. The eye test was important. But not as important as the competition a fighter faced and how they handled that competition.

Ultimately, we valued fighters who put together multiple wins (often in multiple divisions) over others who were considered among the greatest of all time. You might say that produced recency bias, especially considering pioneer Gracie didn’t make our list and that our No. 25 is an all-time fan favorite.

The list has also been updated to reflect high-profile wins by Stipe Miocic and Khabib Nurmagomedov.

25. Chuck Liddell

Might as well start this list with some controversy. For the record, I began watching the UFC in 2005. At the time, Chuck Liddell was the biggest star and the person most responsible for making the sport of MMA popular. He was a phenom and the fact that he barely made this list is going to upset old-school fans. Yet, it’s easy to forget Liddell’s peak run didn’t last all that long and it wasn’t against the toughest competition. During his seven-win run atop the UFC, four fights came against Tito Ortiz and Randy Couture. Liddell was a human highlight reel. But was he a better mixed martial artist than Cain Velasquez, Shogun Rua, Vito Belfort, Fabricio Werdum and Rampage Jackson, who were considered for this final spot? In the end, Liddell’s peak years and the way he finished guys put him over the edge...just barely.

24. Valentina Shevchenko

Some might find it hard to rank women and men together on a list like this. Not me. Many of the male fighters on this list never faced each other either. Valentina Shevchenko is terrifying and the greatest female striker in MMA history. She’s picked apart the likes of Jessica Eye, Holly Holm, Joanna J 1/4 u0119drzejczyk and Julianna Pena. Her only two losses since joining the UFC are to Amanda Nunes, the greatest female mixed martial artist of all time. And there’s a solid case to be made that Shevchenko won that second fight.

23. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Had Big Nog stopped fighting after Pride 24, he would still be considered an all-time great. At that point, he was coming off a streak of 13 straight wins against top-notch competition. Nogueira’s only knock is that he couldn’t get past Fedor Emelianenko in his prime. But no one could. Big Nog did earn big wins over Heath Herring (to win the inaugural Pride Heavyweight Championship), Bob Sapp, Dan Henderson, Ricco Rodriguez, Mirko Cro Crop, Fabricio Werdum and Tim Sylvia (for the UFC Heavyweight Championship). Nogueira was battle-worn by the time he got to the UFC and still managed to win a title in the top promotion in the world.

22. Eddie Alvarez

To truly appreciate Eddie Alvarez, you have to examine his time in both the UFC and Bellator. He was great in both and the competition Alvarez faced remains a who’s who in MMA today. Alvarez always put on a show for fans. His UFC stretch of beating Gilbert Melendez, Anthony Pettis and Rafael dos Anjos was as good as the lightweight division had seen. And let us not forget that Alvarez was a welterweight champion early in his career, showcasing his ability to excel in multiple divisions.

21. Robbie Lawler

Throughout his career, Robbie Lawler came to finish fights. That didn’t get him too far during his first run in the UFC once he ran into elite competition. Yet, Lawler’s second run in the promotion, which began in 2013, will put him in the Hall of Fame one day. His stretch as champion was nothing short of brilliant while holding two wins over Carlos Condit, Johny Hendricks and Rory McDonald (their second fight is, in my opinion, the most entertaining battle in MMA history).

20. Israel Adesanya

Too soon for Adesanya? Maybe. But look at what he’s done since entering the UFC. In his last six fights, Adesanya has consecutive wins over Brad Tavares, Derek Brunson, Anderson Silva, Kelvin Gastelum, Robert Whitaker and Yoel Romero. Silva is an all-time great, while Whitaker and Romero would have surely made this list had they not run into Adesanya. The 30-year-old has earned his spot and will only move up from here.

19. Dan Henderson

After becoming a standout with his epic bouts in Pride, Dan Henderson’s arrival to the UFC was much anticipated. But it didn’t go as planned the first time around. Still, his KO of Michael Bisping might be the best finish in UFC history. Henderson moved on to Strikeforce, where he regained his mojo and took out the great Fedor Emelianenko. Upon his return to the UFC, Hendo gave us one of the greatest fights in MMA history against Shogun Rua.

18. B.J. Penn

We have to look past the last several years of B.J. Penn’s career, because, quite frankly, they’ve been hard watch. Yet, during his prime, Penn was one of the most exciting fighters in MMA. He made some odd career choices during his first run with the UFC. But his raw talent was unmatched. After getting bounced from welterweight by Matt Hughes in 2006, Penn moved back down to lightweight and was unstoppable. His five wins in the division (four of which came with the UFC Lightweight Championship on the line) were all finishes. Penn did attempt to go back to welterweight, losing to Georges St-Pierre at UFC 94. Yet, by then he was cemented as icon.

17. Henry Cejudo

Two years ago, it’s hard to imagine we’d be putting Henry Cejudo on this list. His UFC career had been a mixed bag, beginning with two losses -- one to Demetrious Johnson and then a split decision to Joseph Benavidez after Cejudo was deducted a point for low blows. Then came one of the greatest runs in UFC history. Cejudo shocked the world and beat Johnson in their closely contested rematch. Cejudo’s last six wins are as impressive as almost any on this list, including wins over TJ Dillashaw and Dominick Cruz. In between those fights, Cejudo became a two-division champ after KO’ing Marlon Moraes to win the UFC Bantamweight Championship.

16. Matt Hughes

Coming before Georges St-Pierre is no easy task from a historical standpoint. But Matt Hughes certainly made the UFC Welterweight Division. Hughes won the championship almost by accident, in a double knockout against Carlos Newton that went Hughes’ way. From then on, Hughes was a monster. He beat Newton decisively in a rematch and then scored impressive wins against Sean Sherk and Frank Trigg. BJ Penn upset Hughes at UFC 46. But Hughes would eventually go on to avenge that loss. The competition at welterweight would get better after Hughes’ run was over. But he has holds wins over two of the biggest names on this list in their prime (including Georges St-Pierre). That, and Hughes’ unprecedented dominance gets him here.

15. Randy Couture

Randy Couture had one of the greatest careers in MMA history. But it was a roller coaster ride, making it hard to determine when his prime was. Couture had as many as four great runs with the UFC. The legend of “The Natural” began with two amazing fights against Pedro Rizzo. He would go on to lose to Josh Barnett (who tested positive for banned substances) and Ricco Rodriguez the following year. Yet, Couture bounced back at light heavyweight, beating Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz and splitting a two-fight series with Vitor Belfort. It wasn’t a stretch of dominance like some of the others on this list. But it was an impressive showing in two highly competitive divisions. There’s something to be said for remaining in your prime for such a long period.

14. Frankie Edgar

Everyone’s favorite underdog until he became one of the greatest fighters in history. Frankie Edgar always looked undersized. But that never stopped him from beating the best lightweights on the planet, including Sean Sherk, Hermes Franca, Jim Miller, Tyson Griffin and BJ Penn (twice). Edgar was the man who stopped Penn’s best career stretch. Two questionable decision losses to Benson Henderson pushed Edgar up to featherweight where he, again, became a title contender with wins over elite fighters. Edgar is one of the best mixed martial artists of all time in two divisions. Few can say that.

12. Max Holloway

Recent losses shouldn’t taint what Max Holloway has accomplished over the past six years. Since losing back-to-back fights to Dennis Bermudez and Conor McGregor early in his career, Holloway has 14 wins with most of them are against strong competition. That list includes Frankie Edgar, Brian Ortega, Jose Aldo (twice), Anthony Pettis, Ricardo Lamas, Jeremy Stevens, Charles Oliveira and Cub Swanson. You could say he over-reached in trying to become a two-division champ against Dustin Poirier. But Holloway has a chance to avenge his recent loss at featherweight against Alexander Volkanovski. Should he do that, Holloway’s legacy as the greatest featherweight of all time could be guaranteed.

12. Dominick Cruz

If it weren’t for injuries, Dominick Cruz might have the greatest career of any MMA fighter. And yet, it’s still quite impressive the way it is. Upon Cruz’s return to the WEC in 2008, he became a well-rounded force, beating future UFC title contenders like Joseph Benavidez and Ian McCall before getting his rematch against Urijah Faber and winning the UFC Bantamweight Championship at UFC 132. Cruz dominated that fight. But the crown jewel of his career may be his win over Demetrious Johnson at bantamweight. It’s the only clear cut win someone has over Johnson in his prime.

11. Daniel Cormier

Is easy to focus on Cormier’s career as him being the greatest light heavyweight in UFC history not named Jon Jones. But consider before Cormier joined the UFC he was dominating heavyweights like Antonio Silva and Josh Barnett in Strikeforce. Cormier’s coming-out party was a dominant performance against Frank Mir in Cormier’s UFC debut. Cormier never coasted on his wrestling, even though he could have, becoming a formidable striker. If he beats Stipe Miocic at UFC 241, Cormier will go down as the greatest heavyweight in UFC history. It’s hard to get past the two losses to Jon Jones (granted, one was overturned due to a positive drug test by Jones). And maybe we’re short-changing Cormier because of them. But he still makes the top-10.

10. Amanda Nunes

Some MMA purists won’t want to see a woman this high on the list. They’ll say Amanda Nunes didn’t face the same level of competition as the men. But take the greatest female MMA fighters of all time and Nunes has beaten all that were willing to face her, usually in spectacular fashion. That includes Cris Cyborg, Holly Holm, Miesha Tate, Holly Holm and Valentina Shevchenko (twice). After an uneven start to her career, the past half-decade has seen Nunes be as dominant as any fighter – male or female – in UFC history. Oh, and she’s a double champion who has successfully defended BOTH of her titles.

9. Jose Aldo

When you think of Jose Aldo, it’s easy to picture his 13-second knockout loss to Conor McGregor at UFC 194. Sure, it would have been nice to see Aldo try and avenge that loss. But what he accomplished before that fight was astonishing. Aldo was an assassin during his early days at WEC, with his breakthrough performance coming when he TKO’d Cub Swanson with a flying knee at WEC 41. Aldo then dominated the promotion’s mega-stars Mike Brown and Urijah Faber. When he joined the UFC, Aldo all but closed out the featherweight division until he ran into McGregor’s fist. There are some people high enough on Aldo to put him atop of this list. I’m not quite as sold on the strength his competition, especially after losses to Conor McGregor and Max Holloway. But that’s just me.

8. Stipe Miocic

From a career standpoint, a TKO loss to Stefan Struve hurts Stipe Miocic’s resume a bit. But he became a different fighter after that. After losing a close war to Junior dos Santos in 2014, Miocic fine-tuned his skills and went on the greatest run in the history for a UFC Heavyweight Division that is as competitive as its ever been. Miocic is a quiet guy. But his wins from 2015 on speak for themselves: Mark Hunt, Andrei Arlovski, Fabricio Werdum, Alistair Overeem, Junior dos Santos (in a decisive rematch). Those are all Hall of Fame level names. Miocic also beat Francis Ngannou at UFC 220, controlling a seemingly unstoppable force that may very well be the future of the heavyweight division. Miocic’s trilogy fight win over Cormier now cements him as an all-time great.

7. Conor McGregor

Is Conor McGregor really retired? If he is, he’s is an icon. No question. Don’t let the hype and showmanship fool you. McGregor was a dominant force possessing a left-hand for the ages. Following the momentum of an early win against Max Holloway in 2013, McGregor beat Diego Brandao (a former “The Ultimate Fighter” winner), tough veteran Dennis Siver, longtime contender Chad Mendes and put Jose Aldo’s lights out. McGregor then lost to Nate Diaz in a fight the former was winning until he ran out of gas. McGregor would avenge that loss in a classic rematch before beating Eddie Alvarez to become a two-division champion. If McGregor wants to move into the top five on this list, he’ll need to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov again and win. But there’s no denying his greatness even without that rematch.

6. Anderson Silva

From April 2006 through October 2012, Silva recorded 17 consecutive wins, 16 in the UFC. But it wasn’t just that streak (bested only by Jones in terms of UFC wins), it was the way Silva destroyed people. In his UFC debut, Silva brutalized Chris Leben, one of the toughest guys in the promotion’s history. Four months later, he would KO Rich Franklin to win the UFC Middleweight Championship. Franklin, a future Hall of Famer, was unstoppable for two years before Silva made him look like a scrub. Most of Silva’s fights weren’t close to competitive. He made fighters like Dan Henderson, Patrick Cote and Franklin (again) look average. Silva answered a close call to Chael Sonnen with dominating wins against Vitor Belfort, Yushin Okami and Sonnen in a quick rematch. And when Silva got bored during that time, he beat up and embarrassed light heavyweights like Stephan Bonnar, Forrest Griffin and James Irvin. Yes, Silva was dominant in an era where the competition wasn’t as strong as it is now. But was that just because Silva made those guys look so bad?

5. Demetrious Johnson

Johnson’s peak period may still be ongoing. His one loss since 2013 was a split decision to Henry Cejudo (a fighter he TKO’d during their first fight) that could have gone either way. Johnson left no question about who was the best in the world during his fights, dominating each opponent in every aspect of MMA. The only knock against Johnson is that he never went up a division after clearing out flyweight. Could he have captured two UFC belts while still in his prime? We can assume yes. But we may never know.

4. Fedor Emelianenko

There’s this idea that Fedor Emelianenko’s all-time rating takes a hit because he never fought in the UFC. In terms of looking at an entire career resume, perhaps that is true. But if we’re just looking at fighters’ prime periods, Emelianenko lays claim to the most impressive streak in MMA history with 27 consecutive wins. And he did it against some of the all-time greats, including Mark Coleman (twice), Kevin Randleman, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (twice), Mirko Cro Cop and Mark Hunt. Emelianenko’s dominance ran from 2000-2009. During that time, there isn’t a UFC champion that would have been favored in a fight against him. Yes, it would have been nice to see him take out all of the UFC’s elite during that time (Though, he beat several of them in other promotions). But it shouldn’t take away from his Mt. Rushmore of MMA status.

3. Khabib Nurmagomedov

If he is done, Nurmagomedov will go out undefeated with the answer to the question of whether anyone can beat him being no. His first true test, at least on paper, came against Rafael dos Anjos at a UFC event in 2014. That fight was not competitive. In fact, none of Nurmagomedov’s fights in the UFC have been, despite top-notch opponents like Michael Johnson, Edson Barboza, Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier. It’s hard to argue with Nurmagomedov’s dominance up until this point. His stretch against McGregor, Poirier and most recently Justin Gaethje ranks as, perhaps, the best three-fight run in UFC history. We may be a bit emotional with Khabib declaring he’s retiring, but he’s earned this spot.

2. Jon Jones

Jon “Bones” Jones didn’t waste any time making a name for himself in the UFC. His spinning back elbow against Stephan Bonnar at UFC 94 is a star-is-born moment. But Jones’ first truly great performance was technically a loss. He demolished Matt Hamill only to be disqualified for using illegal downward elbows. Hamill could barely stand to awarded the victory. From that point on, Jones was unstoppable. He didn’t just beat people. He demolished them, including seven (yes, seven!) surefire, future UFC Hall of Famers. Most of those victories coming via finishes. You could maybe make the case Jones wasn’t the same after his classic fight with Alexander Gustafsson. Yet, he went on to beat Glover Teixeira and Ovince Saint Preux (without surrendering around to either) and scored two wins over Daniel Cormier (Though, one was overturned due to a positive drug test). Jones’ recent fights haven’t been all that entertaining, especially his razor-close decision win against Dominick Reyes. Jones is moving up to heavyweight. If he wins a title there, it would be hard to argue with his GOAT status.

1. Georges St. Pierre

St. Pierre won the UFC Welterweight Championship from Matt Hughes in impressive fashion (TKO) in 2006. He took his first challenger for that belt – a game Matt Serra – lightly, leading to one of the greatest upsets in UFC history. However, Pierre’s next run with the title was flawless, showcasing the most well-rounded skill set of any fighter in MMA history. From his second win over Hughes and retribution against Serra on, Pierre barely lost a round, dominating Jon Fitch, B.J. Penn, Thiago Alves, Dan Hardy, Josh Koscheck, Jake Fields, Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz in their prime. And dominate isn’t a strong enough word. Most of those fights were barely competitive against fighters who were among the division’s elite. By the time Pierre got to Johny Hendricks, a fight he won controversially, Pierre had one foot out the door. Yet, during his peak, he was easily the greatest athlete the UFC. His return bout against Michael Bisping to win the UFC Middleweight Championship in 2017 was just the icing on the cake. You can’t go wrong with any of the fighters in this top-three. But for us, GSP was the total package.

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