The 10 Greatest UFC Fighters Of All Time Ranked

Who is the greatest to ever do it? This is one discussion that is hotly debated by sports fans. In the NBA, many agree that it is Michael Jordan; soccer fans have Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, and NFL fans give a nod to Tom Brady and Jim Brown. But who gets the call in the UFC?

We thought to make our top 10 list of greatest fighters to compete in the UFC, so without further ado, let’s delve in:

Randy Couture

Couture holds the record for most title fights (16), and is tied with Stipe Miocic for most wins in UFC heavyweight championship matchups. Couture also holds the record for most title reigns (6).

The former US army agent is the first of seven fighters to hold two championship belts in two different divisions. He is also one of two fighters to win a championship fight after clocking the age of 40.

Couture was named the 4th member of the UFC Hall of Fame.

Kamaru Usman

Kamaru Usman is still in contract with the UFC and he competes in the welterweight division. He was the most recent champion in this division until he got knocked out by Leon Edwards at UFC 278, but MMA odds favor him to take back the crown when they rematch. He was the winner of the Ultimate Fighter 21.

The Nigerian-American is No 1 in the welterweight rankings and No 4 in pound-for-pound rankings, as of August 2022. He has so far successfully defended his championship belt five times.

Usman has the most consecutive wins in the UFC welterweight class and second most consecutive wins in the UFC (15). He is also tied for the second most wins by unanimous decision in UFC history (10).

Daniel Cormier

Daniel Cormier is now a commentator for the UFC, but he made his mark during his time as a professional mixed martial arts wrestler. He is the second fighter in the organization’s history to hold two weight class belts at the same time, and is the first to defend his crown in two divisions.

Asides the UFC, he has won a world championship belt in every MMA promotion he has competed in.

Stipe Miocic

Widely considered the greatest fighter in UFC history, Miocic currently competes in the heavyweight class and has won the title twice.

The 40-year old has been an active MMA fighter since 2010, and has continued to show no signs of slowing down. He is currently ranked No. 2 on the UFC heavyweight ladder.

Miocic defended his title four times and holds the record for most title fight wins in the heavyweight division. His three consecutive title defenses is also the longest streak in this class. No other UFC heavyweight fighter has earned more fight-night bonus awards than Miocic (9).

Khabib Nurmagomedov

Nicknamed “the Eagle,” Nurmagomedov competed in the UFC lightweight division and holds the record for longest championship reign in this class. His title defense spanned more than three years from April 2018 to March 2021.

The Russian fought 29 times throughout his UFC career and retired undefeated.

Jose Aldo

Aldo emerged the first featherweight champion after the UFC/WEC merger. He was the last fighter to win the WEC featherweight championship, making him only the fourth fighter to do so. The Brazilian defended his UFC featherweight championship seven times and WEC belt twice, and is widely regarded as the greatest featherweight fighter of all time.

After losing in his debut, he went on an 18-win streak, spanning a decade. He last competed at the bantamweight division before retiring from professional mixed martial arts around two months ago. However, he still has one fight left on his UFC contract, and remains under contract with the promotion.

Demetrious Johnson

Johnson is among the most lethal fighters to compete in the UFC. He was the first UFC flyweight champion. Johnson is the record-holder for longest winning streak(13) in this weight class. Other flyweight records held by the Kentucky native include most consecutive wins and most title fights (13), most title fight wins (12), most consecutive title defenses (11; also the most in UFC history). He has won 12 UFC title fights, the third most in the promotion’s history.

Anderson Silva

Without a doubt, the Brazilian-American is one of the greatest to ever do it, and has been lauded by popular MMA commentators like Joe Rogan. He holds the record for longest UFC championship reign, after holding the middleweight belt for 2,457 days. That stint included 10 successful title defenses.

Silva holds other records including most consecutive wins in UFC history (16) and most finishes in UFC title fights (9).

Georges St-Pierre

We rank St-Pierre as the second greatest fighter to ever compete in the UFC. He won championships in two divisions, thrice in the welterweight class and once in the middleweight class. He has successfully defended his belt nine times and is tied for second most unanimous decision triumphs in UFC history.

He is listed by many publications as the greatest welterweight fighter and the MMA fighter with the most accomplishments. The Canadian holds the record for most career takedowns in UFC history, among many other welterweight records. St-Pierre has received recognition from many reputable sports magazines, including Rogers Sportsnets, Fight Matrix, and Black Belt Magazine.

Jon Jones

Jon Jones would have remained undefeated but because of a controversial decision he is not, but his records put him atop our rankings as a GOAT in the UFC. He competed in the UFC light heavyweight category, and first held the championship belt in March 2011 after defeating Maurício Rua, becoming the youngest champion in UFC history at the age of 23.

The New Yorker held the belt until April 2015 when he was stripped of his championship. But he returned to the top of the light heavyweight pinnacle in December 2018 and held the belt till August 2020.

Among many other accomplishments, he holds the record for longest unbeaten streak (18), and is tied with Demetrious Johnson for most successful title defenses.