Accolades: UFC bantamweight champion and former Cage Fury Fighting Champion with two wins over Petr Yan and other big wins against Cory Sandhagen. 15 Greatest MMA Fighters of All MMA Al Iaquinta via unanimous decision to win lightweight title (UFC 223, April 7, 2018), Def. Why he's ranked: Volkanovski has won 19 fights in a row in a run that stretches back to 2013. Weight Class: Lightweight, Welterweight, Middleweight, Awards: 2x Fight of the Night, 2x Submission of the Night, Knockout of the Night, Tapout of the Night, Hall of Fame, UFC Belts Achieved: Lightweight, Welterweight. In fact, Nurmagomedov crashed the UFC 178 postfight news conference, while nursing that second knee injury, to call out then-champion Anthony Pettis. However, theres only a handful ofUFC fighters that reached superstardom. Organization and weight class: UFC light heavyweight. Poirier shellacked Conor McGregor against the fence in the second round of a wild bout on Fight Island. Once again, he came back and won three times in a row, including a victory against another UFC legend, Mark Coleman. Pro MMA record: 21 wins (nine knockouts, eight submissions, and four decisions) against two losses and one draw. Brock Lesnar is probably the lousiest UFC champion of all time. The Top UFC Male Fighters of All Time His detractors like to point to his win over Gleison Tibau as being questionable, but he still won it via unanimous decision, and all three judges scored the bout 30-27 in his favor. Anderson Silva won only one of his last nine bouts, but hes still a fan favorite and always will be. Aljamain Sterling defended the 135-pound strap against Petr Yan, then he stopped TJ Dillashaw six months later in a title combat too. Georges St-Pierre. He is one of the most dominant fighters in MMA history! WebAlphabetical list of Mixed Martial Arts Fighters from UFC, Strikeforce and more on ESPN.com. He is arguably the greatest UFC fighter of all time. Web1 "Sexyama" Yoshihiro Akiyama 16-7-0, 2 NC Recent Fights: TKO 2022 TKO 2020 DEC 2019 DEC 2015 DEC 2014 DEC 2012 TKO 2011 2 "The California Kid" Urijah Faber 35-11-0 Jon Jones is also the youngest UFC champion he wrapped the belt around the waist when he was only 23 years old! Oh, dont forget legendary Mark Coleman, the father of ground and pound! UFC Top Cejudo is a two division champion winning in both flyweight and bantamweight while also being the only person to win a UFC title and an Olympic gold medal. Nationality and style: Australian striker. Couture is a UFC legend. Joseph Benavidez via split decision to win UFC flyweight title (UFC 152, Sept. 22, 2012), Def. Nationality and style: Brazilian MMA fighter. Three straight injuries. Hes known who cant be knocked out. His only loss came via disqualification against Matt Hamill on Dec. 5, 2009, and that was a controversial stoppage. Whether you like him or not, hes a huge MMA icon, and he only has a single loss in his entire career. However, hes a much better fighter than the record shows, battling incredible fighters throughout his career, including Matt Serra, Matt Hughes, Georges St-Pierre, Nick Diaz, Diego Sanchez, Frankie Edgar, etc. 3. Georges St-Pierre was born on May 19, 1981 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. For our ranking we considered many different things like the fighters competition, accomplishments, and how good they really were at their prime. His only losses in the UFC came against Dominick Cruz (arguably the greatest bantamweight in the history of the sport) and Henry Cejudo (until recently, a two-weight champion who managed to beat him by a very narrow split decision). They are the biggest reason why UFC is the fastest-rising sports franchise in the world and whyMMA is becoming more popular than boxing. Accolades: UFC middleweight champion with wins against Anderson Silva, Kelvin Gastelum, Yoel Romero, Paulo Costa, Jared Cannonier and two victories over Robert Whittaker. I cover MMA for a living and will admit I have never heard of these promotions. Stipe Miocicwasa two-time UFC heavyweight championwith next level boxing ability and advanced wrestling techniques. He won UFC championships in both welterweight and middleweight divisions and is considered by many as the greatest fighter in the history of MMA. Jon Jones. Weight Class: Light Heavyweight, Heavyweight, Awards: UFC Tournament Winner, 2x Fight of the Night, UFC Viewer Choice Award, UFC Hall of Fame, Belts Achieved: 3x Heavyweight champ, 2x Light Heavyweight champ, Interim Light Heavyweight Champ. Kamaru Usman is the pound-for-pound best male fighter in all MMA. 1. All rights reserved. If there were no controversy surrounding him, there would be no doubt about who the MMA G.O.A.T. Over the next two years, Nurmagomedov climbed the ranks steadily. Cormier retired with a record of 26 fights, 22 wins, 3 losses, and 1 no contest. Instead, he became an Instagram star with over three million followers and started acting in several Hollywood movies and TV shows, including highly popularMarvel Comics adaptationssuch as The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. We decided to take wide lens look at the UFC roster and make two lists, the Top 30 male fighters and the Top 30 female fighters, to showcase some of amazing talent found in the UFC. Nationality and style: Cameroonian boxer. "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler is one of the most aggressive fighters we have seen. After winning the Lightheavyweight title at just 23 years old, Jon Jones defended the belt 11 times. Marlon Vera scored dominant wins over Rob Font and Dominick Cruz, he might be ready for the UFC 135-pound title soon. Amanda Nunes (21-5) A double champion who eviscerated the likes of Miesha Tate, Ronda Rousey, Cris Cyborg and Holly Holm in one round each and counts two wins over the great Valentina Shevchenko, Nunes has already stamped and bolstered her GOAT status during an undefeated six-year reign of destruction. He had the option of fighting for the vacant UFC lightweight championship, or pursuing a trilogy bout with old rival McGregor. Volkanovski slots in at No.1 on Insider's list of the best male athletes in all mixed martial arts, but he's followed by other top-tier fighters capable of leapfrogging him should he take his foot off the gas. Conor McGregor is by far the most famous UFC fighter in history nobody 2. Hed probably be even more popular if he were a bit more flashy and trash-talking, but he still has over 1.5 million Instagram followers. Usman is so good he's now lapping opponents, beating them twice. McGregor is mostly known for defeating Jose Aldo by knocking him out in the first 13 seconds making it the fastest UFC title fight in history. However, the fan backlash was too big, and Lesnar didnt want to deal with USADA (the anti-doping agency) once again. Awards: The Ultimate Fighter 21 Welterweight Tournament Winner, 4x Performance of the Night, Fight of the Night, Most consecutive wins in Welterweight history (15). MMA Fighters top Turkey vs China: Date, time and TV Channel to watch or live stream in the US 2023 FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League today, Poland vs United States: Date, time and TV Channel to watch or live stream in the US 2023 FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League today. You can't have a top UFC fighter list and leave Royce Gracie out. Moraes is the only fighter on the planet to knock Johnson out, and he did so in brutal fashion with a knee to the face on US cable TV in April. Alistair Overeem achieved legendary status before he even came into the UFC. The fight with Oliveira will have the vacant UFC lightweight championship on the line and should the Brazilian grappler win, he will likely rise even higher in this list. He never backed down from a challenge and gave us some of the best, bloodiest, and most exciting fights in MMA history. GSP fought many wars in the octagon and usually prevailed, even when he got battered and bruised. Besides, he became the first American to win the UFC featherweight championship. Simply put, there has been no one in MMA as consistent or dominant as Jon Jones over the past 10 years. "The Underground King" defeated some strong opponents like the likes of Anthony Pettis, Rafael dos Anjos, and Eduard Folayang. The following month he engaged Brandon Moreno in a fight of the year bout. Jon Jones. 15 Most Famous UFC Fighters (up to 2022) 1. Georges St-Pierre. He also has some impressive wins over big opponents like Matt Hughes, Jens Pulver, and Diego Sanchez. This weight class bounces around more often than any other class, as Heavyweights have the knockout power to end the bout at any moment. He's also the most dominant. Weight Class: Featherweight, Lightweight, Welterweight, Awards: First UFC Double-Champ, 7x Performance of the Night, 2x Fight of the Night, Knockout of the Night, Fastest Title Fight victory in UFC history (13 seconds), 2015 Fighter of the Year, 2021 Highest-Paid Athlete, Belts Achieved: Featherweight & Lightweight. "The Spider" retired with an MMA record of 46 total fights, 34 wins, 11 losses, and 1 no contest. Hes also one of the biggest advocates for legalizing marijuana, and he also has a company with his brother that makes high-quality CBD. And, he wasnt beaten he was disqualified. He also defeated some big names like Cub Swanson, Mike Brown, and Urijah Faber. 2. Nogueira had some of the best grappling skills the division has ever seen and he took down some big names like Dan Henderson, Tim Sylvia, and Fabricio Werdum. He competed in the UFC almost since thebeginning; his first appearance in the octagon was on UFC 13 in 1997. Miocic brutalized them all. Holloways social media profiles witness his huge popularity, as Blessed has over 2.5 million followers worldwide. Alexander Volkanovski is No.1 in the sport. UFC icon Georges St-Pierre has been crowned the best MMA fighter of all time ahead of fellow legend Jon Jones. His other UFC wins include finishes over Li Jingliang, Gerald Meerschaert, Rhys McKee, and John Phillips. 11. Web Kamaru Usman is the pound-for-pound best male fighter in all MMA. The Top UFC Male Fighters of All Time Some notable wins Cormier had were against the likes of Josh Barnett, Alexander Gustafsson, and Dan Henderson. Miocic has proven to be a top athlete throughout his MMA career. Poirier's status right now is so good, he's become a shot-caller. Alexander Volkanovski is No.1 in the sport. He has taken out some of the biggest names the sport has seen and many that are on this same list like Fabricio Werdum, Alistair Overeem,and Daniel Cormier,until his loss to Francis Ngannou. He's 6-foot-4, 255-pounds, and the heaviest hitter in UFChistory. 1. Yeah, thats how popular Lesnar was. He was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in July 2009. Penn and Matt Serra -- all men who at one point held UFC gold. It's not an unfair argument, although there's certainly a chance it gets a little overblown. Penn's matt work and grappling skills were next level and he is also one of the fastest people ever to receive a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu. Matt Hugheshad some of the best techniques to slam his opponents to the ground and wrestle them into inevitable defeat. Dominick Cruzis the only person who was able to defeat Demetrious Johnson in his prime. 3. He has done it all in the spotlight, too. If there were an MMA version of Mount Rushmore, he'd be one of the first faces added. He retired with an impressive 22-3 career record and became UFCs expert analyst and commentator. The way he lit up the division in a clear trajectory to the top bore comparisons to a young Conor McGregor, who flew through the UFC's featherweight and lightweight divisions half a decade ago.