There are many great fighters that have entered the cage throughout the last three decades of ’s existence from all across the globe. For varying reasons, fighting resonates with every human, and hardcore fans of the sport love it because of the pressure-filled nature of the best fighters executing their skills under the bright lights of fight night. The beauty of MMA is how each combatant can bring with them a unique skill set to the table.
Those that have mixed them the best or that are extremely dedicated to one art (specialist) have excelled. CEO has been banging the drum of who he believes is the greatest MMA fighter of all time, more often than not selecting , . 10.
Kamaru Usman 20 4 0 9. BJ Penn 16 14 2 8. Chuck Liddell 21 9 0 7.
Randy Couture 19 11 0 6. Fedor Emelianenko 40 7 0 5. Khabib Nurmagomedov 29 0 0 4.
Demetrious Johnson 25 4 1 3. Anderson Silva 34 11 0 2. Georges St-Pierre 26 2 0 1.
Jon Jones 27 1 0 making this list is a bit of a surprise considering the man who he lost the title to may soar past his records by year's end. Usman started his career as a wrestler who continued to win and win until he earned a title shot against at UFC 235. Usman dominated the fight over the course of five rounds and would go on to defend his welterweight title a total of four times.
In the midst of Usman’s run as champion, he went from wrestling folks to knocking the snot out of his opponents. BJ Penn doesn’t receive enough praise from today’s generation of fight fans, probably because they saw the tail end of his career where he was a shell of his former dominant self from 10 years prior. Incredibly, Penn became a world jiu-jitsu champion after just three years from when he first stepped on the mats, but it wouldn’t be his grappling skills that he is most remembered for, it was his thirst for violence.
‘The Prodigy’ had incredible boxing for MMA and would use timing and natural power to win exchanges on the feet. Penn has had some monumental performances, but the Penn fan club will remember the Hawaiian most for his epic finishes of Diego Sanchez, Sean Sherk, and Matt Hughes. ‘The Iceman’ Chuck Liddell was a man of very few words as he did most of his talking with his heavy-handed fists back in his day.
Liddell was Dana White’s first premiere athlete that he individually promoted. White understood that a man with Liddell’s style and look could be a massive star – and he was right. The epic battles that the California-native was involved in are legendary.
Liddell knocked out some of the sport’s biggest names, including and Randy Couture. ‘The Iceman’ showed that not all fighters need to talk like or to promote themselves. They can be like Liddell, or like the current silent assassin champion, .
Randy “The Natural” Couture was one of the most cherished UFC champions because of his humbleness as well as his workmanlike attitude on fight night. Couture had dreams of wrestling in the 1996 Olympics, but after not achieving that goal, he found a welcoming home inside the cage. Couture used his high-level wrestling mixed with boxing that he accumulated while in the Navy to help kick-start his MMA career with a strong base.
Though he started fighting in his 30s, Couture was able to not only compete with more experienced mixed martial artists, but he was able to rocket up the rankings and play spoiler as he badly beat the UFC’s golden boy, Chuck Liddell. Russia’s Fedor Emelianenko never had the chance to compete against the UFC’s best heavyweights, but the mild-mannered fighter had memorable bouts for Japanese-based MMA organization PRIDE FC. Even if Fedor was being hurled at his head or punched square in the face, he always kept the same bland facial expression.
Fans love Emelianenko for his fluidity to go where the fight required him to. Whether it was throwing his catapult overhand right or using his sambo submissions on the ground, Fedor could never be counted out. has the cleanest record in MMA history.
Not only did the man finish his career unbeaten, but he also never sustained a cut. Another wild fact about Khabib is that he only lost one round in his entire UFC career. The last three fights of his career, where he defended his title against the elites of the UFC’s lightweight, all ended with the Dagestani fighter using his sambo training to get into a position to submit them.
Khabib’s lack of longevity will always be held against him, but what he did accomplish will put him on every top 10 list. is such a great fighter because of his ability to never stop learning. Even with a handful of title defenses already on his resume, Johnson would still evolve his game.
‘Mighty Mouse’ is responsible for one of the best submissions in MMA history where he suplexed his opponent straight into an armbar. Johnson quietly went about his business and was sadly part of the rare MMA trade from the UFC to ONE Championship. The UFC received Ben Askren, who fought only three times for the company before retiring, and Johnson would go on to become a star for the Asia-based ONE.
Johnson will be remembered for having the single most consecutive title defenses in UFC history. came over to the UFC in 2006 and immediately made his presence felt by his striking ability, which was leaps and bounds above any other fighter who has fought for the UFC. Silva’s playful but devastating styling was highly attractive to fans.
He had a similar counter-attack strategy to that of Muhammad Ali, as ‘The Spider’ would often drop his hands to show-off his amazing reflexes and defense. Silva is the owner of 16-straight wins that have included 11 title defenses and countless knockouts. One of the greatest knockouts in UFC history came when Silva was playing with his food before pouncing to finish the job.
Against Forrest Griffin, a former UFC champion, Silva schooled the bigger man even though he was the one moving up 20 pounds. Silva’s highlight reel is without a doubt the best ever. solidified his spot on this list when he returned after nearly four years away from the game to become a two-division champion back in 2017.
Before then, GSP was defending his title against any and all comers. St-Pierre was a student of the game and was always ahead of the competition with his training methods. GSP was one of the greatest winners the sport has ever seen because of his ability to strategically win by attacking his opponents' weaknesses.
He did so without being emotional, but instead, with absolute perfect technique and execution. The Canadian champion is number one on some experts' lists simply because he never had the PED scandals like the next fighter on this list. is a complete anomaly due to the fact that he is likely the most talented MMA fighter in history because of his fight night IQ, clean technique, and gamesmanship.
Jones has beaten every man that has signed the contract to fight him, but he does have one blip on his resume that came from throwing an illegal angled elbow. Jones has fought through several generations and is going strong. His most recent win made him a two-division champion, and he is at the point in his career where he is cherry-picking fights as he plans to ride off in the sunset without tasting defeat in the traditional sense.
Jones has a sketchy career with PEDs, but his accomplishments before testing positive can still be recognized..
