Top 10 P4P of all time
The other day, former two division champion Conor McGregor took to twitter to give his view on the GOAT conversation. Pretty much ranking himself joint 1st with Anderson Silva and explaining how Georges St. Pierre and Jon Jones followed. Of course this sparked debate throughout the entire MMA community, so why not come up with our own lists? Myself and friends of the podcast Reemz and Ivan put this together to give you all an idea of out top 10 P4P MMA artists of all time. Let us know what you think!
Reemz Top 10 all time P4P
My criteria takes into consideration things such as; peak level of performance, martial arts skillset, fight IQ, quality of opponent beaten, championship pedigree, longevity and influence and legacy.
10 - Conor McGregor
Conor McGregor makes this list for a multitude of reasons, firstly he is one of the most gifted natural strikers of all time, he’s an expert boxer showing amazing proficiency in boxing going backwards and well as counter striking with his deadly left hand, he’s also a skilled Taekwondo fighter, and he has one of the best fighting IQ’s using his things such as body kicks to wear down opponents. If you at his achievements he is the first simultaneous two weight devision champion, he beat Jose Aldo another all time great in record time, and beat Eddie Alvarez one of the greatest Lightweights of all time in one of the most flawless striking performances of all time. He is also MMA’s first superstar, he is the guy that took the sport to that level where it could be compared to boxing in terms of popularity and that is also very important.
9 - Fedor Emeliankeno
If you look at the accolades and achievements Fedor could be considered the greatest Heavyweight of all time. But he spent his entire prime out of the UFC which is the top organisation in Mixed Martial Arts and he is the only guy who cracks my top 10 who has never competed in the UFC. However his resume speaks for itself and more than warrants a place on this list. Fedor is most known for his 28 (TWENTY EIGHT) fight winning streak in the HEAVYWEIGHT division, more impressive considering that's a division where fights get ended at a moments notice with one punch. If you start looking at some of the names he beat during this streak you’re left even more impressed, legends such as Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mirko “Cro Cop,” Mark Coleman, and Mark Hunt to name a few. There was a period in MMA when you had to tune into a Fedor fight just to see if it was actually possible for him to be beaten.
8 - Khabib Nurmagomedov
Khabib stakes his claim as a top 10 fighter of all time by being the most dominant fighter in one of the UFC’s toughest divisions since the very first time he stepped into the Octagon. Khabib’s physical, grinding and dominating style of wrestling as seen him pick up impressive victories against all the best names the UFC Lightweight division has to offer; Rafael Dos Anjos, Edson Barboza, Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor were all destroyed by Khabib and as of yet no one has solved the problem that is the Dagestan Mauler owing to this impressive record of 28-0 in MMA. Being undefeated in Mixed Martial Arts is something that is very unique and even more impressive is Khabib has done it against some of the best competition MMA has to offer.
7 - Amanda Nunes
Amanda Nunes is the GOAT of Women's MMA. This goes without saying she had a pretty compelling case by the time she demolished legends Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate in back to back fights sandwiched in between two hard fought victories over Valentina Shevchenko who is probably the best fighter in women’s MMA outside of Amanda. However that GOAT status was cemented and set in stone after she destroyed Cris Cyborg who was the most feared woman in MMA for over 13 years in just 51 seconds. Whats more impressive is Amanda was seen as the underdog in that fight where she was stepping up in weight to fight Cris in a division she had terrorised for her entire career, she when Amanda dispatched Cyborg in such convincing fashion, it catapulted her into the argument for the greatest fighter ever irrespective of gender. She has beaten all the best women MMA has to offer, she because only the third UFC fighter to hold two titles simultaneously and she did it all in destructive and entertaining fashion, Amanda is simply one of the greatest fighters ever.
6 - Jose Aldo
What is the most impressive thing about Jose Aldo? Well we can start from his debut with WEC on June 2008 where he won a fight against Alexandre Franca Nogueira via 2nd round TKO and then didn’t lose not even one single solitary fight again until he was stopped by Conor McGregor in December 2015. That is 7 years, 7 straight years Jose Aldo went in the Featherweight division between two organisations where he lost a grand total of Zero fights. When you look deeper you seen between 2004 and 2015 he actually only lost once. If that isn’t enough to empress you, you will see that during that period he defended his Featherweight championship NINE times including beating Chad Mendes twice and Frankie Edgar. He is remembered for losing his title to Conor McGregor in just 13 seconds, but after that he regrouped and reclaimed his championship beating Frankie Edgar again. Jose was never a popular fighter, he never drew huge numbers, he didn’t go up a weight division, he never fought 2-3 times a year. But when he did fight he usually won in convincing fashion and he did it for an awful long time in one of the most competitive divisions in the UFC.
5 - Daniel Cormier
Daniel Cormier is one of the greatest combat sport athletes of all time. By the time he decided to try his hand at Mixed Martial Arts he was competing for medals at World Level in Freestyle wrestling. Fast forward during a decade long career in MMA Cormier has been dominant over two weight divisions, dispatching every opponent who’s ever fought not named Jon Jones (who is also one of the GOATs). He has stoppage victories over Dan Henderson, Antonio Silva, Anthony Johnson (Twice) as well as victories over top contender Alexander Gustafsson and legend Anderson Silva. His most impressive year was in 2018 when he defended his UFC Light-heavyweight championship by knocking out Volkan Oezdemir, then moved up to the Heavyweight division and won the title by knocking out Stipe Miocic, then defended his Heavyweight title by submitting Derrick Lewis. In conclusion Cormier has been dominant in two weight divisions, became one of only three people to be a two weight champion simultaneously and has done it with great skill and class in the Octagon.
4 - Demetrious Johnson
Pound for Pound Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson is probably the best fighter of all time. He arguably has the most flawless MMA skillset of any fighter ever, he’s an amazing technical striker in all aspects from boxing, to clinch striking, to kickboxing. He is also an expert wrestler with deadly submission skills, he doesn’t really have any weakness in his game other than the fact that he is very very small, which is what has hindered him throughout most of his career not only by how he’s viewed by casual MMA fans but by what he can do in terms of quality of opponent. During his 6 year run at the top of the UFC Flyweight division he defended his title 11 times which is a UFC record he took from Anderson Silva. Those title defences are all littered with Performance of the Night, Knockout of the Night, Submission of the Night and Fight of the Night bonuses which just highlights the pure excellence he exhibited over all of his fallen opponents. The fact that his division was considered weak, the fact Mighty Mouse never talked trash to sell fights and the fact that people find it hard to consider a man only 5ft 3inches tall as the baddest fighter in the world all did a lot ensure he never got the respect he deserved. But his credentials, his accolades and his performances all speak for themselves.
3 - Anderson Silva
For a long time in MMA the answer to the who is the GOAT? Question was a pretty straightforward one, most people from casuals to experts would have had one name that they arrived at pretty quickly. Anderson Silva and up until around 2013 where he had back to back losses against Chris Weidman that probably would have been the correct answer. Before those Weidman fights Anderson was simply the most dominant fighter in the world by a comfortable margin, he didn’t only win, he won with ease, sometimes in devastating and breathtaking fashion such as his front kick Knockout of Vitor Belfort. He held the record for the the longest winning streak in the UFC (16) and the most title defences (10) two records that many thought wouldn’t be broken, even in the fights where he wasn’t finishing guys with his amazingly creative striking arsenal, he never looked like losing, he was simply on a different level to everyone else. The only fight he ever came close to losing was against Chael Sonnen and he ended that fight in spectacular fashion with a triangle choke which just added to his myth around that time. Many people in the world felt like Anderson was unbeatable, he even went to Light Heavyweight and won without breaking much of a sweat. Since his losses to Weidman his career took a nosedive and he was never able to get back to one of the top contenders in his division and this is why most people no longer consider him the GOAT, but the fact remains that at his peak Anderson Silva was the baddest man on the planet.
2 - Georges St. Pierre
I am pretty sure most people will have the same top 2 of all time, the only disagreement would be the order you place them at 1 and 2, me personally I don’t think any order is wrong its all down to personal preference and that’s why I have GSP at number 2. George St. Pierre has basically the perfect resume you’d want from an all time great, he has all the intangibles, all the numbers, multiple title runs and titles at two different weight divisions. He won his first title in 2006 against another all time great in Matt Hughes who at that point was the only man to have ever beaten him, before losing it in his first title defence in a stunning upset against Matt Sera. He then fought his way back to the title with victories against top contender Josh Koshcheck, a rubber match victory agains Hughes and a rematch victory for the title against Sera. So he had avenged both his losses before going on the greatest title defence run in the history of the UFC Welterweight division. St. Pierre defended his Welterweight title an incredible nine times and of all long term UFC champion he has comfortably the most impressive list of title defences if you just look at the names; BJ Penn, Jake Shields, Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz is just a few of the name he beat during his title run, a lot of these victories were very close and hard fought but he won them nonetheless. By the time he took a hiatus from MMA in 2013 many already considered him the GOAT but he came back in 2017 to add another layer to his legacy by defeating Michael Bisping to become the UFC Middleweight champion before promptly retiring again as one of the most accomplished champions in the history of combat sports.
1 - Jon Jones
Jon Jones for me is the most talented fighter I’ve ever seen in any combat sport, it is a mixed of god given natural gifts, years of dedicated training and an expert fight IQ. A world class kickboxer, a world class wrestler, a submission expert, one of the most technical fighters ever, the things he has been able to accomplish in the Octagon at times make it look like it’s unfair to put another man in there with him. The issue with Jones that makes his legacy complicated is the things he has done outside of the Octagon which for all he has done are impossible to ignore. Jones became the youngest UFC Champion in history at 23 years old when he defeated Light Heavyweight Champion Maurício Rua in brutal fashion. Following that he went on one of the most dominant title runs in history defeated big names such as Lyoto Machida, Rampage Jackson, Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort, Daniel Cormier. The only fight he ever came close to losing was against Alexander Gustafsson, but Jones got rid of any doubts when he destroyed Gus in their rematch. His career in the Octagon has been flawless he has never actually been beaten in a fight, his only loss came via a controversial DQ against Matt Hammill. The only reason Jones isn’t universally considered the GOAT is because of numerous controversies in his career including scrapes with the law, stripped titles and numerous issues with USADA. For some this may have added an asterisk to his legacy but if we are talking solely what he has managed to accomplish as a fighter he has the best case for the greatest MMA fighter of all time.
Atlas' Top 10 all time P4P
1. Jose Aldo
2. Georges St. Pierre
3. Demetrious Johnson
4. Jon Jones
5. Max Holloway
6. Dominick Cruz
7. Conor McGregor
8. Anderson Silva
9. Khabib Nurmagemedov
10. TJ Dillashaw
My criteria is pretty simple. I've based it heavily on how good the fighter was in said prime and the strength of the competition they've beaten. Other factors like longevity and title wins/defences were also considered but they're kind of secondary. Rankings 6-8 can be arranged in any way too, so take that how you wanna. There's names like Daniel Cormier that narrowly miss out on a list that I might have had him on a while ago. Factors like him being 1-3 against the two best fighters he's ever faced contribute to him being left off. Have to also show some love to other near misses like Frankie Edgar and Fedor. Also shout out to Valentina Shevchenko, who's the best woman MMA fighter I've ever seen.
Starting from the bottom with the controversial one. Don't fight me on this: TJ Dillashaw is a top 10 MMArtist of all time. Thanks to Bang Ludwig he developed one of the most potent pressure striking games you can find and win or lose he constantly fought the best fighters in his weight class. A world class athlete with an amateur wrestling background and breath taking cardio, after his KO loss against 135 mainstay John Dodson he spent the better part of a decade at the top of one of the most talent rich divisions in MMA. Going 5-1 in title fights. During his run he beat Barao in his prime twice and also took Ws against Garbrandt x2, Assuncao and John Lineker. Note that he also took the greatest fighter in his division's history to the brink. He'll be back from his USADA ban early next year and no doubt he'll be thrown right into the deep end of a weight class that currently has the best top 10 in the company. If he can peel a couple scalps and maybe hold the title again, how can we dispute his standing or better yet, not move him up?
Khabib has one of the most dominant wrestling games ever and looks set to add to a resume that already boasts Conor, Dustin and RDA. There's no other fighter that has the kind of record he has. 28-0s and the likes of such just don't exist in MMA with the way match ups are done and with how many dangerous fighters belong to any given organisation, especially at 155lbs. His path to the top hasn't been plain sailing either. After dispatching RDA in 2014, he looked set to make a legit title run before a knee injury took him away from the sport for two years. On his return in 2016 he finished Darrrell Horcher and was given the green light on his shot at then champ Eddie Alvarez. However despite already putting pen to paper to secure his shot, he was duped out of it by Dana White in favour of a Alvarez vs McGregor super fight. So it was back to the grind and two years later he was standing across the octagon from Conor. 3 and a half rounds later the Irishman was tapping. Vindication after years of injury and frustration. He followed this fight up with a dominant victory over fellow top 5 lightweight ever, Dustin Poirier. Khabib is a fighter who can easily crack into the top 5. He has a fight against Justin Gaethje to look forward to, and a convincing victory over him could do a lot in terms of moving him up.
Anderson Silva held the middleweight championship for 6 and a half years. Consider that along with a 16 UFC fight win streak with some of the most dazzling finishes of all time. His best wins coming against Vitor Belfort (one of my favourite finishes ever), Dan Henderson and Rich Franklin, who was probably the best 185er ever before Anderson finished him twice. A flashy, powerful striker with legit knockout power over two divisions with a solid black belt BJJ base. Anderson could not only win fights, he could win every facet of a fight from start to finish. His impact on the sport as a whole is huge. You only have to look around at the sport to see how many people try to emulate his style and signature techniques. Jon Jones and Israel Adesanya have both come out and admitted to Anderson being one of their fighting heroes, and Conor McGregor even went as far as to call him the greatest of all time. It's just not possible to leave Anderson off this kind of list despite weak competition outside of the fighters I already named. It's weird to me that he had non title fights 205lbs while being 185lb champion. I guess it's by the by in hindsight but achieving double champ status would have been easy considering some of the fighters who were champion during the late 2000s (Liddell, Rampage etc) and it'd have probably moved him up a spot or two.
McGregor: 22-4 as a professional. 19 wins by stoppage. He possess all time great boxing skills, one shot power and underrated grappling. He holds wins against wins against solid competition like Dennis Siver and pre prime Max and Dustin. A finish over a very game Chad Mendes thanks to the best body work of his career. Then we move onto the Aldo fight. Knocking out the best fighter of all time in record time. Not to mention his breathtaking clinic against all time great Eddie Alvarez, which might be the best performance ever by a challenger in a title fight. My own criteria qualifies the Aldo victory as the most impressive win in MMA ever. At his apex Conor has a shout for one of the few best offensive boxers of all time. Educated footwork behind a quasi karate style stance, elite distance management, clean entries and exists, elite counter punching and a one of kind ability to lose zero pop on his punches when striking on the back foot (See the Mendes and Poirier fights for examples of his kicking game). I think his best days are behind him because of inactivity and a wild lifestyle. A finish over a sorry Cowboy Cerrone doesn't move me in any kind of way. If he's right in his own self assessment and he still has some gas in his tank, he could definitely do enough to move up my rankings. We'll see.
Dom Cruz. The best bantamweight in MMA history. He beat pretty much everyone there was to beat in his division. He had team alpha by the nuts for years. He holds wins over all time greats Demetrious Johnson, Dillashaw, Faber x2 and Benavidez x2. Also holds secondary wins over the likes fo Brian Bowles and Takeya Mizugaki, who aren't as talented as the aforementioned all timers but very game opponents with decent resumes and skillsets. Undefeated from 2007 till 2016. Cruz had the advantage of being very hard to figure out. His herky jerky unorthodox footwork was a puzzle that no one could figure out. It allowed him to near perfect and implement learned boxing techniques ie. shifts and exiting and entering off angles. It was this that opened up his striking and made it very easy for him to mask whatever wrestling exchange he was trying to initiate, A huge part of what made him so dominant particularly early in his career. The fighters that were able to figure him out were obviously the ones who met him with the most resistance (Dillashaw, Garbrandt, Benavidez II). Despite his success and obvious dominance, his career will always be something of a what if. Constant injuries kept him out of action for years on end, taking away from him fighting during his physical prime. He's fought just five times since he beat Demetrious Johnson in 2011. Which includes a period of complete inactivity from 2012 through 2015. Obviously this has nothing to do with sentiment but he deserves credit for fighting through adversity Wrestling, striking, great movement and reactive techniques. Wins over some of the greatest ever. Best 135er of all time.
Max Holloway is probably the best boxer in MMA history this side of Jose Aldo. If you've made it this far into this piece you're probably tired of me constantly referring to boxing when dissecting a fighters game. I just think the fundamentals of boxing is one of the most important aspects of MMA striking, and you could argue Max has come close to mastery, The best switch hitter I've seen in MMA. No one uses volume and fundamental striking the way Holloway does. He throws with variety, he changes levels, he feints very often and very well. While he maybe isn't as sound in the pocket as maybe a Jose Aldo is, he is as good as anyone ever at mid to long range. Is he going to knockout you out with one punch? No. But he has made a habit of taking guys to the deepest and darkest waters and letting them drown (he has 6 T/KO wins in the 3rd round and beyond). He won 13 straight in one of the best divisions in MMA history, and finished the best fighter ever twice. Jose maybe wasn't in his 'prime' as such when he and Max fought, but he was still as elite as anyone in his weight class so I still hold these wins in high regard and it's a big reason why Max ranks so highly on my list. The Aldo wins along with finishes of sub 170lb mainstay and former champ Anthony Pettis, Andre Fili who has a lot of talent and a solid game, Charles Oliveira and Brian Ortega gives Max a solid resume in terms of wins. He is still in his prime and could realistically get his belt back. Regardless of what happens here on out, Max is made man in the sport.
Jon Jones. He could have been so much more than he actually is. We all know what he's done and what he's been through so I won't delve into that. I just wanted to preface my statement with that because it's disappointing for me as he's a fighter that I hold very dear. Anyway, he's no doubt one of the all time greats. On it's face his resume looks impressive, but as you delve into it you do find more brand names (Rampage, Shogun, Sonnen) than you do legitimate world class MMA fighters. That's why he's only 4th on my list. This isn't take away from his greatness, but if you really look at who he's beaten, there isn't much to sniff at outside of a tandem of wins over DC, a finish of Machida and a solid 50-45 against Rashad Evans. I guess 2 elite wins (DC) and 2 other very good wins do go a long way in a division that isn't too ripe with talent. Having said that, Jon's straight up dominance despite questionable competition is why I have him so high on my list. 14-0 in title fights, youngest UFC Champ ever. Fight IQ off the charts and the best clinch game I've ever seen. Jon definitely has technical weaknesses, ie lack of fundamental boxing skills and weak defensive footwork. But he also had the ability to force fights into avenues that he was more comfortable in. No one could make him box. No one could force him to sit in the pocket. And if you can't do either of those things against Jon then you have no chance of beating him. 26-1 as a fighter (27-1 if you count the second DC fight) with his only loss coming by DQ in a fight that should have been stopped about 30 seconds earlier, Jon is legitimately undefeated as a fighter and has basically been champion for a decade and is in the process of cleaning out his division for the 3rd time.
Demetrious Johnson continues to be one of the most overlooked and disrespect MMArtists on the planet. He is truly an expert in every facet of the sport, but being as small as he is, it was always hard to attract attention. The money is in the casual and there just isn't a high demand for seeing 5ft3 guys float around the cage among those who aren't truly invested in the sport. Even if said '5ft3 guy' is possibly the best representation of MMA ever. He could dictate a fight through clean striking and movement or through grinding and grappling. However you wanted it, Mighty Mouse could give it to you. He's had his hiccups, namely a loss to Drew Fickett back in the WEC, and a loss in a UFC title fight against Cruz. He never really seemed like the best possible version of himself at 135lbs though. Mainly because of his size. A move down to the UFC's brand new 125lb weight class in 2012 was exactly what he needed to reach his potential. Fighting against guys who were closer to his own size. He won 13 fights in a row, with 11 title defences and 7 finishes in the process. It took awful judging in his rematch with Cejudo to finally dupe him out of his long held championship. To add insult to injury, Dana White, the owner of the UFC, the man who had disrespected Johnson for years put the final nail in the coffin he was sent to ONE in exchange for Ben Askren. You all know how that went. A common misconception (one that I admittedly used to be a victim of) is that Johnson he fought weak competition, his rap sheet includes: Henry Cejudo x2 (yes, he beat him twice) Joe Benavidez x2, John Dodson x2 and Kyoji Horiguchi. Now in ONE Championship, still in his prime and currently the no.1 contender in his weight class, there's still opportunity for him to add to his already sterling legacy.
Georges St. Pierre needs minimal explanation. Only Jon Jones has more wins in title fights than he does, and St. Pierre did it against infinitely stiffer competition. Possibly best the MMA wrestler ever. Best jab I've seen in MMA this side of Aldo and Holloway. Master game planner and generational athlete. Two division champion. His UFC career really speaks to the type of guy he is. A grinder. A hard worker. A guy who loves a challenge. Someone who can adapt. In 2004, the sport was still fairly in its infancy. GSP had only been win the UFC for about 8 months but then champion Matt Hughes had cleaned out the division and needed a fight. St. Pierre, at just 23 years old was thrown into the deep end and finished in the first round. A five fight win streak that included a submission win over Sean Sherk and a close fight against all time great BJ Penn earned GSP his rematch against Hughes. A hungrier, more mature and much improved GSP made quick work of Hughes. with a 2nd TKO win. However, in his next fight he was KO'd by Matt Serra in the most embarrassing loss in UFC history. In perfect St. Pierre fashion he rolled his socks up and shut out 9-1 wrestle-boxer Josh Koscheck to earn a shot at the interim title in a rubber match with Matt Hughes and finished him yet again ironically with the same submission that Hughes finished him with 3 years earlier. Five months later he was King again. Icing Serra with stiff knees to the body and avenging his only other career loss. He then went on to win 9 more fights in a row. By the time he walked away in 2013 he had wins over Carlos Condit, Jay Heiron Nick Diaz, Jake Shields, Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck x2, Matt Hughes x2, and BJ Penn x2 and prime PEDs Johny Hendricks. Avenged both his career losses by brutal finish. The lack of finishes towards the end of his career never bothered me. I never saw a fighter get that many 50-45's over such elite competition. Hung up his gloves on the back of a 13 fight win streak that included 9 straight title defences at 170 and a title win at 185. And just because I can't not mention it, the second fight against Koscheck is the single best use of a jab I've ever seen in an MMA fight.
Jose Aldo at #1 is a no brainer for me at this point. Best boxer, leg kicker, counter striker and defensive fighter in MMA history. There are many layers to Aldo's game that I've actually covered in the past. His footwork and constant attention to his positioning gave him an advantage when avoiding strikes or scrambling out of wrestling exchanges. He had the ability to dictate pace better than anyone I've ever seen. He time and time again completely shut down some of the best strikers in the sport. I can go on and on. Simply put, the sport just hasn't ever seen a fighter as good as Jose Aldo. 'To be the best fighter in the world you gotta be the best defensive fighter. Don't change who you are naturally, but you have to understand defence and defence starts with position. Always starts with position. You have to know position you have to win every position.' - Trevor Wittman. Aldo captured this statement perfectly. Building a vicious kickboxing game off the base of the best defensive game ever seen in MMA. He was extremely hard to hit, he could never be found out of position ripe for countering in the pocket or at range. He fought with his chin down and his hands up. He never initiated an exchange without having a plan on how to finish it and get out of trouble and if you initiated an exchange against him, you were probably going to miss badly before being countered. He ruled over what was arguably the best division in MMA for 8 years and defended his belt 9 times against the likes of Faber, Florian, Hominick, Korean Zombie, Mendes x2 and Edgar (he beat Edgar even more convincingly in a 2016 rematch for the interim). But what other wins does he have? A finish of Mike Brown (who beat Urijah Faber twice and had a very solid meat and potatoes game) to win the title in 2008, a violent finish against expert grappler Manny Gamburyan (who was in the best form of his career), a sub 10 second massacre of Cub Swanson, and post prime finishes of the hardened veteran Jeremy Stephens, who at the time might have also been in the best form of his career and the very talented Renato Moicano who had dominated 145 dark horse Calvin Kattar and submitted Cub Swanson leading up to their fight. Aldo now looks set to face a Petr Yan, a personal favourite of mine and my pick for the best bantamweight alive today, for the 135 strap. A win (though unlikely) would only further secure his status as the best fighter of all time.
Ivan's all time Top 10 P4P
1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Jon Jones
3. Anderson Silva
4. Jose Aldo
5. Daniel Cormier
6. Demetrious Johnson
7. Fedor Emilianenko
8. Khabib Nurmagomedov
9. Dominick Cruz
10. Conor McGregor
Before I elaborate on my order and choices for this list, I thought I’d outline the criteria that I used whilst compiling the list. The factors that I took into consideration for this are as follows:
- The ability and skillset of the fighter in question
- The peak level of performance achieved by the fighter, overall prime and longevity
- The body of work and career legacy (titles won, title defences, winning streaks, if titles were won at multiple divisions etc.)
- The level of competition faced during their career spans and the quality of their wins (i.e. how many finishes, variety of said finishes, dominance displayed in victories etc.)
Generally speaking, this was a tough exercise considering the majority of the fighters listed here are still active – albeit at varying points in their respective career arcs – and that obviously leaves space for things to change down the line but nonetheless, I’ll begin at the bottom and work in ascending order.
Conor McGregor’s the biggest star in the sport, and despite the constant talking he does – most of which resembles delusional rambling – he more than definitely has the ability to back these words up. He’s one of the best strikers the sport has seen, wicked power in that infamous left hand of his; excellent movement and high level fight IQ which allows him to gauge distance and timing to perfection. A two division world champion, he has notable wins over Poirier, Mendes and two of the greatest championship victories ever – a 13 second KO over the 145 GOAT in Aldo and outclassing Alvarez to secure the belt at 155. The lack of title defences, the dabbling at 170 vs. Diaz twice and Cerrone, is why he’s so ‘low’ on the list but, still in his prime, he’s capable of climbing up this ladder.
Dominick Cruz is the GOAT bantamweight in the sport’s history. Famed for his unorthodox movement which he uses in both offensive and defensive phases for feints, opening angles and controlling the rhythm of the fight, he also has a strong wrestling base and uses his jab well to pick and choose when to engage in exchanges. Unfortunate to have injuries rob him of most of his prime but despite this, he still has one of the most impressive CVs in the sport – the renowned rivalry with Urijah Faber, where he avenged his loss and bettered him over the trilogy but his pinnacle was reached with a vintage performance vs. TJ Dillashaw to recapture his belt after a long injury layoff.
Khabib Nurmagomedov is quite possibly the best combat grappler ever in the sport, something which isn’t a small feat by any means. His suffocating, high pressure style has led to a series of dominant upon dominant displays in one of the deepest divisions in the sport, where he has mauled the likes of Conor McGregor, Rafael Dos Anjos and most recently Dustin Poirier – all of whom are all time greats at 155 – en route to a flawless and untouched 28-0 record in the sport (12-0 in the UFC). He’s at the top of the game currently and looking like that will remain as such for a long time to come, I envisage that he will in all likelihood retire as one of the three greatest mixed martial artists of all time.
Fedor Emilianenko for a long time was considered the GOAT in the sport’s history and to this day he remains the greatest heavyweight ever. A truly well rounded fighter that in his prime posed high level boxing, combined with elite grappling via his exceptional judo and sambo background and a vicious ground and pound. He was the face of PRIDE in the early to mid 2000s – at the time seen as the premier MMA organisation in the world – where he dominated the heavyweight division, when it was at its deepest and most rich in talent. He went 8 years undefeated, going 27-0 (!!!) in that time frame, with he a 14-0 record in PRIDE that resulted in coming the heavyweight champion, defending three times and winning the 2004 Heavyweight Grand Prix. During his PRIDE career, he beat Mark Hunt, Mark Coleman twice, Kevin Randleman, Mirko Cro Cop and Antonio ‘Big Nog’ Nogueira twice, all of whom were in their primes.
Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson is one of the most complete fighters in the history of the game and the man with the most title defences in UFC history, with 11 successful defences of his flyweight championship. Mighty Mouse is one of only a handful of fighters that can say that they have no holes in their game – an incredibly skilled striker, with elite movement and fight IQ, paired with superb grappling that he uses to dictate and control fights via takedowns and clinch work. During his time in the UFC, he cleaned out the flyweight division during his title reign – beating the likes of Joseph Benavidez (twice), Henry Cejudo (arguably twice) and Kyoji Horiguchi. All in all, a CV with very few blemishes on it and perhaps I’m a tad harsh by putting him at #6, as on ability alone he’s arguably top 3, but I just felt he suffered from not having that deep of a division.
Daniel Cormier is one of the most decorated combat athletes to have made it to the UFC. An Olympic calibre freestyle wrestler, DC made the transition to MMA later on than most as he debuted as a 30 year old. He quickly rose to prominence and within 3 years won the Strikeforce Heavyweight Championship, beating Antonio ‘Big Foot’ Silva and Josh Barnett en route to the belt. Success followed in the UFC as DC would go on a 4 win streak before losing to Jon Jones for the light heavyweight belt. He would bounce back by stopping Rumble Johnson for the vacant belt, defending it against Alexander Gustafsson before stopping Rumble once again. He would end up moving to heavyweight to face Stipe Miocic for the title, where he finished him within a round to become a two weight champion. After submitting Derrick Lewis in his first defence, he would lose the rematch to Stipe Miocic. A rubber match with Stipe is in the works and should he manage to defeat him once more, it could elevate him a spot or two on this list.
Jose Aldo is the GOAT featherweight and somebody who became associated with vicious leg kicks – just ask Urijah Faber. A tremendous Muay Thai striker that possesses arguably the best boxing the game has ever seen (definitely one of the best jabs I’ve ever seen), superb footwork which he uses to perfectly to create angles and evade being hit defensively and excellent takedown defence and is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He is the youngest WEC champion at 23 years of age and holds the record for the longest winning streak in featherweight history with 15 consecutive wins, a record 9 wins via stoppage and UFC featherweight record holder for the most title defences with 7. During this stretch, he cleaned out one of the most competitive divisions in the organisation as he beat the likes of Chad Mendes (twice), The Korean Zombia, Frankie Edgar (twice), Urijah Faber, Cub Swanson, Mike Brown etc.
Anderson Silva has the longest title reign in UFC history to his name, one that spanned a mind boggling 2457 days – which is nearly 8 years to put things into perspective – along with the longest winning streak in company history with 16 wins, most finishes in UFC middleweight history (11) and most finishes in UFC title fights (9). All of this cements his status as the greatest middleweight ever and as an all time great in the sport’s history but even that alone doesn’t do him justice. At his peak, Anderson Silva was a force of nature that we’ve rarely seen – he was a devastating striker, with surgical precision in his attacks, a lethal clinch game which he used to destroy Rich Franklin twice and probably the best counter puncher I’ve ever witnessed in the sport, at times dodging his opponent’s wayward strikes with ease as if it were The Matrix. The greatest example of this was the famous fight with Forrest Griffin, a fight that Silva made to look like a sparring exhibition with his thorough outclassing. Another example of Silva at the height of his powers was his grudge match vs. Vitor Belfort, where he finished Belfort in a round with a brutal front kick that pierced Belfort’s guard. Other notable wins of his are stoppages of Dan Henderson, Yushin Okami, Nate Marquardt and a decision over Damian Maia. His post prime and succession of losses since 2013 have put somewhat of a dampener on his career and it’s why he’s ‘only’ in at #3.
Jon Jones is still the youngest UFC champion in the promotion’s history, when he captured the light heavyweight belt aged 23 after dismantling Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua at UFC 128. Ever since then, he has held the light heavyweight division in the palm of his hand and defeated every challenger that’s been thrown his way and holds every record imaginable as it pertains to the light heavyweight division – most defences (11), most consecutive defences (8), longest title reign, longest win streak (13) to name a few. A supremely gifted athlete, Jones possesses elite level wrestling and grappling ability plus unorthodox striking laden with various elbow techniques, his infamous oblique kicks and a cerebral approach to fights that allow him to nullify all of his competition to date. He’s cleaned out the division over the course of the decade – initially taking care of the successful light heavyweights of the 2000s that were in their post primes (Rampage Jackson, Rashad Evans, Shogun Hua) and then the new wave of contemporaries he faced (Alexander Gustafsson twice, Glover Teixiera, Daniel Cormier twice unofficially). Of late, he has looked less than convincing in his victories, perhaps indications that he’s entering his own post prime but he’s always flirted with the idea of moving up to heavyweight and that’s something we will see happen in the future. If he manages to join the two weight champion club, we may have to revisit his all time ranking.
Last but by no means least, at the #1 spot I have none other than Georges St. Pierre. For me, St. Pierre is the most complete mixed martial artist to have ever graced the sport and one who was elite in every facet of the sport – an insane athlete, he had the best wrestling ability ever in the sport, the best jab in the game and overall exceptionally high level striking and footwork, a ground game that was second to none and one of the smartest fighters we’ve had. All of these things combined helped to shape him into becoming the most dominant champion in the sport and ruling the welterweight division, which was the strongest and most competitive division in the sport. In the first half of his career, he was a dynamic striker who was aggressive and risk taking in style, which got him his first title shot at the age of 23. He would lose to the then champ Matt Hughes, before winning 5 in a row – including notable wins over Sean Sherk and BJ Penn – and getting a rematch with Matt Hughes. This time around, he’d finish Hughes with a devastating head kick and flurry to become UFC Welterweight Champion. A shock loss to Matt Serra followed and this from this point on is where we would see St. Pierre go up another level as a fighter and become the dominant champion in the second half of his career. He would beat talented wrestler Josh Koscheck and submitting Hughes in their rubber match before annihilating Serra in their rematch, to recapture his welterweight championship. He would go on to a 9 fight winning streak as champion, dispatching the division’s top contenders – the likes of Jon Fitch, BJ Penn, Thiago Alves, Dan Hardy, Josh Koscheck, Jake Shields, Carlos Condit, Nick Diaz and Johny Hendricks before vacating to take a hiatus in 2013. St. Pierre would return 4 years later and move up a weight class to face Michael Bisping for the middleweight belt. In yet another dominant display, he would end up choking out Bisping to become, at the time, only the 4th two weight division champion. He has the 3rd longest title reign in UFC history (2nd longest combined), 3rd most title defences ever, 2nd most wins in title bouts to name a few. He goes down as not only the greatest welterweight in MMA history, but also as the greatest fighter the sport has ever had.
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