Best UFC Fighters of All Time - Learn About Top 10 MMA Legends

Choosing the best athlete in any sport is a fools errand, and it is even trickier in a promotion like UFC. After analysing their respective careers, the quality of their opponents, their impact on the sport, and their mainstream appeal, we have put together the following list of the top 10 UFC fighters of all time: 

1: Georges St-Pierre (2002-2017)

Georges St-Pierre is perhaps the most respected MMA fighter of all time. The Canadian-born martial artist holds the record for the most takedowns in UFC history, and his welterweight title reign is the stuff of legend in the MMA world. 

After defeating Matt Hughes for the UFC Welterweight Championship in 2007, Pierre would hold the belt for six years, picking up wins against the likes of BJ Penn, Dan Hardy, Nick Diaz, and Matt Serra. He would vacate the belt in 2013. 

In a true GOAT move, Georges St-Pierre returned to the UFC four years later, defeating Michael Bisping in the Performance of the Night to win the UFC Middleweight Championship. He would then vacate the title and retire, leaving the company at the very top of his game. 

Jon Jones is one of the most controversial fighters in the UFC, with his actions outside the Octagon sometimes overshadowing his performances inside it. No one can deny that Jones is one of the greatest UFC fighters ever, though. 

Jones’s fighting record is close to perfect. He has been in 29 fights, winning 27 of them and losing one due to a disqualification. The other fight was his match with Daniel Cormier, which, after Jones originally won by TKO, had the result reserved to a no-contest as a result of a wellness policy violation. 

Jon ‘Bones’ Jones won the UFC Light Heavyweight title when he was just 23 years old. He would then go on to defend the belt a record 11 times, defeating the likes of Quinton Jackson, Vitor Belfort, and Daniel Cormier. 

After a three-year absence, Jones returned to the UFC in 2023 and defeated Cyril Gane to become the UFC World Heavyweight Champion for the first time. This victory means a dream bout with Stipe Miocic could be on the cards in the near future.

Few fighters have changed the game quite as much as Anderson Silva. He is widely considered the greatest striker of all time and holds the title for the longest title reign in UFC history. His run with the UFC Middleweight Championship lasted for 2,457 days, a record that is unlikely to be broken. 

His reign started in 2006 and ended in 2013, setting a UFC record of 16 straight title defences. The likes of Dan Henderson, Vitor Belfort, Forrest Griffin, and Rich Franklin were all either submitted or knocked out by Silva along the way. 

A broken leg meant that the latter stages of his career were not as impressive as his early run, and he finally called it a day in 2020, but Silva’s legacy was secured long before he called time on his incredible career. 

Khabib Nurmagomedov is the only UFC fighter on this list to retire with a perfect record. The fighter was the longest reigning UFC Lightweight Champion of all-time, picking up victories over the likes of Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, and Rafael Dos Anjos. His most-famous moment came when he forced Conor McGregor to submit in 2018, with the two-fighters having one of the most heated rivalries in the company’s history. 

The ‘Eagle’ capped off his career with a victory over Justin Gaethje in 2021. He left his belt in the ring and took his place on the Mount Rushmore of UFC in the process. 

There are very few fighters with a victims list as impressive as Stipe Miocic’s. The Ohio-born heavyweight has a career record of 20-4, defeating the likes of Daniel Cormier, Francis Ngannou, Mark Hunt, Alistair Overeem, and Junior dos Santos on his way to becoming one of the greatest UFC Heavyweight Champions of all-time. 

His most recent fight saw him lose to Francis Ngannou in 2021. He has not been seen inside the Octagon since, but rest assured, Miocic will be back with a bang when he finally puts his gloves back on. 

Amanda Nunes is widely regarded as the greatest female UFC fighter of all time, and rightfully so. She is the current UFC Women's Featherweight and Bantamnweight Champion and is the only woman to hold two title belts at the same time, and only the third fighter in the UFC’s history behind Conor McGregor and Daniel Cormier. Impressively, she is the only one to defend both while holding them. 

If you can name a great female fighter, then chances are, Nunes has beaten them. Ronda Rousey, Holly Holm, Cris Cyborg, and Julianna Peña have all felt the wrath of Nunes. The latter of these handed Nunes her first defeat in seven years when she submitted her in 2021. Nunes got her revenge seven months later, defeating her by unanimous decision to regain the UFC Bantamweight Championship. 

If you want to make a statement in the UFC, defeating Frank Mir in your first bout is one way to do it. Cormier caused a storm in his first few matches in the UFC, having built an impressive reputation in Strikeforce and as a multiple award-winning freestyle wrestler. 

In only his fifth fight in the company, Cormier took on Jon Jones for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. He would come up short in his first of just three defeats in the company. He wouldn’t have to wait long to get his hands on the gold, though, as he defeated Anthony Johnson four months later at UFC 192. 

He would go on to have one more encounter with Jones where he would initially lose by TKO. The decision was reversed later, though, with Jones testing positive for a banned substance. His victory over Stipe Miocic in 2018 would see him become the champion’s second-ever double champion. 

Cormier would then end his career with back-to-back defeats to Stipe Miocic and has gone on to establish himself as one of the most popular commentators and pundits in the UFC. 

The first ever UFC Flyweight Champion, Demetrious Johnson is perhaps the greatest flyweight to ever step foot in the Octagon. He defeated Joseph Benavidez to win the become the inaugural champion in 2012 and would go on to defend his belt successfully 11 times. 

During his reign, he defeated top flyweights like John Dodson, Chris Cariaso, and Henry Cejudo. It was the latter of these that would end his run, defeating Johnson by split decision in what would be Johnson’s final UFC outing in 2018. He is currently fighting in the ONE Championship in Singapore where he is the company’s Flyweight Champion. 

Whether you love or hate him, there is no denying the impact Conor McGregor has had on the UFC. The Irish fighter has put the spotlight on the company time and time again, and his fights are among the highest drawing in its history. 

As it happens, his in-ring achievements aren’t too bad, either. McGregor made history when he became the company’s first ‘Champ-Champ’ in 2016 when he defeated Eddie Alvarez to win the UFC Lightweight Championship in front of a packed Madison Square Garden. 

McGregor has lost three of his last four fights, losing back-to-back fights against Dustin Poirier and being submitted by Khabib Nurmagomedov, and he has not stepped foot inside the Octagon since 2021. He has still not officially announced his retirement, though, and despite being past his best, McGregor might still have one or two blockbuster fights left in him. Given his financial pulling power, Dana White will certainly hope so. 

You will be pushed to find a fighter that has had a career as long and as impressive as that of José Aldo. The Brazilian fighter was one of the most dominant stars in the UFC between 2005 and 2015, going on a 10 year unbeaten streak before losing emphatically to Conor McGregor. 

Despite losses late in his career to the likes of Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway, Aldo is still widely regarded as one of the best fighters to compete in the UFC. He finally retired in 2022 after the birth of his first son. 

The UFC has put on many historic encounters over the years,, and we could have selected plenty of great fights. The following are our picks for the most famous UFC fights ever. 

Conor McGregor vs Khabib Nurmagomedov, UFC 229

Conor McGregor vs Khabib Nurmagomedov is hands down the biggest fight in UFC history. The contest took $2.4 million in PPV buys and saw one of the most heated rivalries in the industry settled once and for all. 

The feud between the two men had become increasingly bitter, with McGregor often at the centre of the controversy. The Irishman was made to pay for his actions when Khabib forced him to submit when they finally met in the Octagon at UFC 229 on October 6, 2018. 

Chuck Liddell vs Tito Ortiz II, UFC 66

Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz was the hottest rivalry in the MMA world back in 2006, and the rematch between the two men, following Liddell’s KO victory in their first fight in 2004, was the first to draw 1.1 million buys for the UFC. 

Liddell was once again victorious over Ortiz, picking up a TKO victory in the third round of the fight to win the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. This was arguably the pinnacle of both men’s careers as headline draws. A third fight between the two men was long-rumoured but never materialised. 

Jon Jones vs Daniel Cormier, UFC 214

Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier are two of the biggest UFC light-heavyweight fighters of all time, and the match between the two at UFC 214 was one of the most anticipated in the promotion’s history. Cormier was out to avenge a defeat by Jones earlier in his career, and the fight didn’t disappoint. 

Jones would win the fight by TKO, but the decision would later be overturned due to the fighter testing positive for a banned substance. The controversy still doesn’t diminish the fight’s status as one of the biggest of all time.