The UFC has become the world’s most popular MMA promotion. Since its inception in November 1993, the UFC has attracted some of the world’s best mixed martial arts fighters.
However, In the early days of MMA, the UFC wasn’t the only MMA promotion who held the top athletes around the world. Pride FC was famous for having top heavyweight fighters like Fedor Emelianenko. The WEC was known for holding top lighter weight fighters, such as Dominick Cruz & Jose Aldo.
On top of this, there were top Champions in other MMA promotions such as Strikeforce, who had Luke Rockhold, Nate Diaz, Dan Henderson, Alastair Overeem and others on their roster.
However, over time, Zuffa (the company who owned the UFC) bought up their rival’s promotions and in doing so, made all of their rival’s top talent officially UFC fighters.
The UFC announced the merger with WEC in October, 2010. In March, 2011 Dana White announced that the UFC had purchased Strikeforce. On top of this, Zuffa bought Pride FC in March 2007, however, the promotion was shut down soon after.
The result of these acquisitions meant that the UFC undoubtedly held the top MMA talent from around the globe. That means that arguable, and with a few exceptions, being the best MMA fighter in the UFC makes you the best MMA fighter in the world.
Over the years, there have been many elite Champions who have entered the UFC’s famed Octagon. However, in this article, we look at the top 10 MMA fighters who have ever competed in the UFC.
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10. Daniel “DC” Cormier
At number 10, we have “The Double Champ”, Daniel Cormier.
DC started off his mixed martial arts career in the Heavyweight division. Prior to joining the UFC, Cormier became the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion & the King Of The Cage Heavyweight Champion.
He joined the UFC as an undefeated Heavyweight fighter. However, soon after, he decided to drop down to the UFC’s Light Heavyweight division. This was because DC was a member of the well-respected AKA gym, where Cain Velasquez, another UFC fighter, trained.
DC & Cain were training partners and close friends, DC therefore made the division to not fight in the same division as Cain Velasquez, in order to avoid the possibility that they would ever have to fight each other.
DC did extremely well in his new weight class. He dominated a very durable Dan Henderson in his 1st fight, which earnt him a title shot against Jon Jones, the greatest Light Heavyweight of all time. Cormier lost the fight via decision.
However, after that fight, Cormier had another chance at UFC gold, when he fought Anthony “Rumble” Johnson for the title. DC put on a spectacular performance and choked out Johnson in the 2nd round, to become the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion.
DC would go on to defend his belt 3 times before facing Jon Jones again. DC v Jones 2 was ruled a no-contest (even though Cormier was knocked out in the fight) as Jones tested positive for EPO. This meant that Cormier remained the Light Heavyweight Champion.
After successfully defending his belt 1 more time, he decided to move back up to heavyweight (after Cain Velasquez retired from MMA), where he would take on the greatest UFC heavyweight of all time, Stipe Miocic. However, DC did not have to relinquish his Light Heavyweight belt in order to go up a weight division.
The UFC allowed him the chance to become only the 2nd fighter (behind Conor McGregor) to hold 2 UFC belts, at the same time.
Daniel Cormier won via devastating knockout in the 1st round of the fight, making him “The Double Champ”.
Cormier retired with an MMA record of 22-3.
A fighter is also only as good as the competition that he has faced. DC holds notable wins over: Stipe Miocic, Alex Gustaffson, Anthony Johnson, Frank Mir, Dan Henderson, Roy Nelson, Anderson Silva, Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, Josh Barnett & Derrick Lewis
9. Kamaru “The Nigerian Nightmare” Usman
Kamaru Usman is a UFC Welterweight and he is one of the rare cases where a fighter actually gets better after becoming the champion of their division.
More often than not, a fighter will see the Championship belt as the destination to their MMA journey. Once they’ve achieved their childhood dream, they take their foot off the gas and they start to deteriorate, as that spark leaves them (Look at Cody Garbrandt as a prime example of this).
However Usman, who had won most of his pre-championship UFC bouts via decision, started to notch up vicious knockouts to number 1 contenders, after becoming champion.
There are very few examples of a champion being as dominant as Kamaru Usman in the history of the UFC.
Usman is a former member of the Blackzilians gym. He represented the Blackzilians on the UFC’s “Ultimate Fighter” competition and was the official Ultimate Fighter 21 Tournament Winner.
Since then, Usman has been undefeated as a professional. He dominated former Welterweight Champion, Tyron Woodley, over 5 rounds to become the new Champion of the division and his title defenses have been nothing short of amazing.
Usman has pretty much cleared out his division of realistic title contenders, and he only has a small way to go before he could compete for GSP’s unofficial title of “World’s Greatest Ever Welterweight”.
Kamaru Usman is, as of writing, 20-1 in his pro MMA career. He hold wins over; Colby Covington x2, Jorge Masvidal x2, Gilbert Burns, Leon Edwards, Tyron Woodley, Rafael Dos Anjos & Demian Maia.
8. Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov
Dagestan’s own Khabib Nurmagomedov retired from mixed martial arts with an undefeated professional record of 29-0. The only MMA fighter to ever do so, after winning a UFC Championship belt.
Khabib hails from Dagestan, Russia. He grew up in a wrestling heavy environment, as is common with children from the area. He is famous for having wrestled bears in his youth, and there is even a video to prove it:
He became a 2x Combat Sambo World Champion, before transitioning to MMA in 2008.
Khabib was known for having one of the best ground games in all of MMA. Once he got his opponents down to the mat, there were very few who ever managed to get back up again.
He’s just so advanced. And his feet are like hands. His foot sweeps and the way it breaks you down, it’s good. He’s good, so good.
Dustin Poirier, after his loss to Khabib for the UFC Lightweight title
One of the most impressive things about Khabib’s career in MMA, was that every one of his opponents always knew what his game plan would be, yet no-one could do anything to stop it. Ordinarily, fighters who fight using a particular style get found out, and their opponents develop a blueprint to defeat them. However, in Khabib’s case, his opponents knew he would take them down at some point in the fight. They knew that they were powerless to stop it, so instead, they tried to develop gameplans for how they would manage the fight once they were taken down. None were successful.
Khabib had a famous rivalry with another lightweight, Conor McGregor. This is where the famous “dolly” incident originated in MMA. Khabib had cornered a good friend of Conor’s, Artem Lobov, one night and McGregor heard about it. In order to defend his friend, Conor flew out to the UFC event and demanded that Khabib fight him. He then grabbed a dolly and threw it at the bus which Khabib was on.
Multiple fighters were injured and some of them could not make their fight due to injuries sustained on the bus.
This event lead to arguably the biggest MMA fight of all time, Khabib v McGregor at UFC 229). Khabib won via submission.
Khabib retired with a pro MMA record of 29-0. He is the first muslim to win a UFC title. He holds wins over; Justin Gaethje, Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, Edson Barboza, Rafael Dos Anjos, Al Laquinta & Michael Johnson
7. Stipe Miocic
Stipe Miocic is a Ukrainian – American Heavyweight MMA fighter, who holds the record for the most consecutive UFC Heavyweight title defenses of all time. Miocic is widely regarded as the greatest UFC Heavyweight of all time.
Miocic started out in his combat sports career with an interest in boxing. He was the Cleveland Golden Gloves Boxing Champion before he transitioned to MMA.
In 2011, Stipe joined the UFC and put together a string of wins before losing for the first time against Stevan Struve via KO. However, he put the loss behind him and worked his way to a title shot against Fabricio Werdum at UFC 198.
Miocic won the fight via knockout in the first round.
The heavyweight title is the slipperiest title to hold on to in all of MMA. This is likely due to the extraordinarily heavy hands which all heavyweights possess, which means that a single well-timed punch can lead to a knockout.
That is what makes Stipe Miocic’s record of 3 consecutive title defenses in the UFC Heavyweight division so impressive.
Over 2 title reigns, Stipe defended his belt 4 times. He has the most wins in Heavyweight title fight victories and he holds the longest title defending streak in the division
Stipe holds wins over notable opponents such as ; Daniel Cormier x2, Junior Dos Santos, Francis Ngannou, Alistair Overeem, Fabricio Werdum, Mark Hunt, Andrei Arlovski & Roy Nelson.
6. Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson
Mighty Mouse is widely lauded as the greatest Flyweight of all time.
Demetrious Johnson was another WEC alumni who joined the UFC after the merger of the two companies.
He started off his career at bantamweight and he had mixed success. He fought another MMA legend, Dominick Cruz, for the WEC Bantamweight Championship title and lost via unanimous decision.
His career really took off when he moved to the UFC’s Flyweight division. He became the UFC’s first Flyweight Champion in 2012. After winning the belt, he would go on to defend it 11 times, which made him the holder of the record for most consecutive title defenses in the history of the UFC. He held the accolade of being the UFC’s only Flyweight Champion ever, from the years 2012-2018, until finally losing the belt via controversial decision to Henry Cejudo.
Demetrious Johnson holds wins over; Henry Cejudo, John Dodson x2, Horiguchi, Tim Elliot, Joseph Benavidez x2 & Rodtang
5. Amanda “Lioness” Nunes
Amanda Nunes is arguably the greatest women’s MMA fighter of all time. She has beaten anyone who is anyone in women’s MMA and was a 2 division UFC Champion, the only woman to ever do so.
Nunes started training in various martial arts when she was a teenager. At one point, she lived in her gym and she would wake up at 4am to clean the mats with her coach.
She soon started competing in BJJ tournaments and she won a gold meal at the Pan American Jiu-Jitsu Championship in 2008.
Nunes transitioned to MMA in 2008 and trained at American Top Team gym. She made her Strikeforce debut in 2011 but never became champion. She moved to the UFC in 2013 and that is where she really found her form.
After a 3 fight win streak, she earnt a shot at the Bantamweight title against Miesha Tate, at UFC 200. Amanda put on a devastating show and won via submission in the very first round. This made her the first openly gay UFC Champion.
After a couple of successful title defenses, Nunes moved up in weight to take on the the ferocious Cris Cyborg in a Featherweight Championship fight. A woman’s fighter known for having brutal knockout power. In shocking fashion, Nunes won the fight via KO in the first round. This made her only the 3rd ever fighter to hold belts in 2 divisions at the same time.
Amanda Nunes then went on to become the only fighter in UFC history to both hold and defend 2 belts in 2 divisions at the same time.
Amanda Nunes holds victories over; Holly Holm, Ronda Rousey, Cris Cyborg, Miesha Tate & Valentina Shevchenko x2
4. Jose Aldo
Jose “Junior” Aldo is a Brazilian MMA fighter, who spent most of his fighting career at Featherweight.
When you think of UFC Hall Of Famer’s, especially in the lighter weight classes, Jose Aldo is one of the first names that comes to mind. In his prime, he was an absolute force to be reckoned with. He had some of the most lethal leg kicks in the sport’s history, his hands were lightning quick & he had huge knockout power for a smaller fighter.
His famous leg kicks were on full display in his fight against Urijah Faber:
This might make you think that his opponents would want to get him to the ground as quickly as humanly possible, but that was no easy task. He had a 90% takedown defense record, making it virtually impossible to get him on to the mat.
Jose Aldo was dominant in his weight class, outclassing his opponents in almost every way in his multiple title defenses.
Aldo was one of WEC’s best fighters and after the UFC / WEC merger, he officially joined the UFC ranks. He went on a 10 year win streak, not losing in over 18 consecutive fights. This win streak was ended by none other than Conor McGregor, who knocked him out at UFC 194, in December 2015.
Jose Aldo holds wins over; Cub Swanson, Urijah Faber, Chad Mendes x2, Frankie Edgar x2, Chan Sung Jung (Korean Zombie), Ricardo Lamas & Pedro Munhoz
3. Georges “Rush “Saint-Pierre
GSP, who many would argue is THE greatest MMA fighter of all time, comes in at number 3 in this list of greatest UFC fighters of all time.
GSP had an extremely quick route to the UFC Welterweight title. In just his 3rd UFC fight, he was matched up with Matt Hughes at UFC 50 for the vacant title. He lost the fight via submission in the first round. It was the first time that GSP had tasted defeat in an MMA fight.
He then racked up a series of wins against top Welterweight fighters and thrust himself right back into title contention with a win over UFC Welterweight Champion BJ Penn. At UFC 65, GSP got his second shot at the title, when he would again fight Matt Hughes. This time, GSP won the bout via knockout in the 2nd round, to become the UFC Welterweight Champion.
GSP would then go on to defend his belt 9 consecutive times against the elite killers of the Welterweight division. After winning a split decision victory against Johnny Hendricks, GSP announced his retirement from MMA, while he was on top.
However, 4 years later, GSP would make his return to the UFC’s famed Octagon in order to take on the then reigning UFC Middleweight Champion, Michael Bisping. GSP won via submission in round 3, and in doing so, he became a 2 division UFC Champion. GSP immediately retired after the victory.
GSP retired with a pro record of 26-3. He held wins over; Johny Hendricks, Carlos Condit, Nick Diaz, Matt Hughes, Michael Bisping, BJ Penn, Dan Hardy, Josh Koscheck& Jon Fitch.
2. Anderson “The Spider” Silva
Another fighter who is arguably the greatest MMA fighter of all time is Anderson Silva.
Considering how late in life Silva joined the UFC, it’s incredible how large an impact he made.
Anderson Silva started his pro MMA career in Brazil, in the Welterweight division. After a string of victories, he moved to Pride FC where he had equal success in his bouts. It was not until 2006 that Silva joined the UFC, when he was 30 years old.
However, “The Spider” proved that it’s never too late to follow your dreams as he went on one of the most historic runs in MMA history.
After an impressive debut, where he KO’d Chris Leben in the first round, he was offered a UFC Middleweight title shot against the then Champion, Rich Franklin.
Silva made his title shot look easy, by finishing Franklin by TKO in the first round
After becoming the Middleweight Champion, Silva went on a record-breaking title run of 10 straight successful defenses. He still holds the record for the longest title reign, holding the belt for 2,457 days.
He holds wins over; Vitor Belfort, Rich Franklin x2, Dan Henderson, Forrest Griffin, Demian Maia, Chael Sonnen, Derek Brunson & Stephan Bonnar
1. Jon “Bones” Jones
Jon Jones is as famous as he is infamous in the world of MMA. He holds a record for being the youngest man to ever win a UFC title. He became the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion at 23 years old, when he knocked out the formidable Shogun Rua
However, he has also had a career rife with out of the Octagon mistakes. Since the purpose of this article is to discuss the greatest UFC fighters of all time, we’re going to skip over Jones’ out of competition life and stick to his MMA performances.
Since winning the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship Title at UFC 128, Jones has always fought in a title fightwhenever he has competed. That in itself is absolutely staggering. Every fight that he was ever had since he was 23 years old, was for a UFC Title. That is 14 straight fights over 9 years.
The only loss which Jon Jones has on his record, was in actual fact a disqualification. He was fighting Matt Hamill at UFC – The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale when he was in full mount over Hamill. While in full mount, and dominating the fight, Jones threw an illegal 12-6 elbow, which disqualified him from the fight.
So what we’re essentially saying is, Jon Jones has never really lost a pro MMA fight.
Jones has had some legendary fights in the UFC. He went to war with Daniel Cormier at UFC 182, where we won via unanimous decision, he was also part of one of the greatest UFC title fights in history, when he faced Alexander Gustaffson at UFC 165.
There is only really one reason why some people wouldn’t put Jon Jones at the top of their list of greatest fighters in UFC history, and that is because of his second fight against Daniel Cormier. Even though Jon “won” the fight by knockout, the fight result was over-turned and ruled a no-contest as Jones tested positive for EPO.
Jon Jones has victories over; Daniel Cormier, Alexander Gustaffson, Chael Sonnen, Shogun Rua, Glover Texeira, Vitor Belfort, Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida, Quinton Jackson, Ryan Bader, & Stephan Bonnar.
