Mixed Martial Arts, or MMA, is among the most popular and exciting sports worldwide. Many highly skilled fighters are a part of the fighting realm, but among all, few have reached the status of being the best in the business. In this extensive review, I will give you a list that will include the best MMA fighters of all time.
It will be an unbiased review of the top 10 greatest MMA fighters from the leading experts in this ever-growing industry. No matter whether you’re a die-hard MMA fan or a new one, you’re in for a delight. Stay with me, with more to follow!
Related: Best MMA Fighters to Never Fight in the UFC
How To Rank The Best MMA Fighters?
The factors that I will include in this review to determine who are the best MMA fighters will be:
- MMA Record
- Striking level
- Grappling level
- Signature move
#10 – Conor Mcgregor
Record: 22 – 6
Striking overall: ★★★★★
Grappling overall: ★★★★☆
Signature move: Left-hand strikes
Conor McGregor, also known as the” Notorious,” is one of the best MMA fighters who skyrocketed the popularity of this sport over the last decade. Besides his love for theatrics and trash talk, McGregor is known for his impressive striking stills and a wide karate-like stance. Being a southpaw, all his opponents knew they were one strike away from getting knocked out.
Certainly, one of his most impressive career feats was his way to the top of the featherweight division when he knocked out Jose Aldo in 13 seconds. Then, he set his eyes on the lightweight division. Ultimately, he won the title of the best lightweight in the UFC by scoring a TKO against Eddie Alvarez.
He was the first UFC champion who held two belts.
Unfortunately, Conor didn’t hold onto the belts for long, having no title defenses. Nevertheless, he is the sole factor of why the MMA community has become a global phenomenon.
#9 – Stipe Miočić
Record: 20 – 4
Striking overall: ★★★★★
Grappling overall: ★★★★☆
Signature move: Power punching
Stipe Miocic is considered the Heavyweight Goat in the UFC and is known for being a consistent and injury-free champion. He has fought numerous battles with great MMA fighters in the octagon, defeating the likes of Cormier, Ngannou, Overeem, and many others. He defended his UFC Heavyweight title four times.
Known in the octagon for his impressive boxing skills, power punching style, and great wrestling moves, Stipe is recognized as an exciting fighter. The fact that he also has a 64% KO ratio means that MMA fans are always interested in seeing him fight.
Stipe is now a 41-year-old veteran, and the end of his career is right around the corner. Nevertheless, he still has the desire to fight. Stipe was supposed to fight Jon Jones in November 2023 to cement his status as the best MMA fighter in the heavyweight division, but Jones got injured. Stipe is still keen to fight when Jones recovers.
Despite being a fighter in the octagon, Stipe is also a firefighter in his hometown in Ohio.
#8 – Daniel “DC “Cormier
Record: 22 – 3, 1 NC
Striking overall: ★★★★☆
Grappling overall: ★★★★★
Signature move: Body slamming
Daniel Cormier is one of the best MMA fighters ever to grace the octagon. Before he went to the UFC, he started his MMA career in StrikeForce.
Just like Conor McGregor, he held two belts simultaneously, but in the UFC heavyweight division, as well as the light heavyweight division. He successfully defended his titles four times, three light-heavy and one heavyweight. He has impressive wins over high-level fighters such as Stipe Miocic, Anthony Johnson, Alexander Gustafsson, Anderson Silva, Frank Mir, etc.
Daniel Cormier definitely had the tools and wins to be recognized as the best MMA light heavyweight on the planet if it weren’t for Jon Jones. He fought Jones twice, lost one fight, and the other was ruled a no contest because Jon failed the drug test. Ultimately, “DC” retired after two consecutive losses against Stipe Miocic. These losses didn’t affect his reputation as one of the best MMA fighters in history.
Today, he is a successful commentator at many UFC events.
#7 – Jose Aldo
Record: 31- 8
Striking overall: ★★★★★
Grappling overall: ★★★★☆
Signature move: Brutal leg kicking
Jose Aldo had a prosperous MMA career, and many consider him to be the best MMA fighter in the featherweight division. He started his career in WEC, where he became a featherweight champ and even defended the belt two times.
Eventually, this organization merged with the UFC, where Aldo dominated the featherweight division for eight years, from 2006 to 2014. He won 18 fights in a row during that period. Regarding his fighting style, he mostly used Muay Thai and gave devastating leg kicks to his opponents. Brazilian jiujitsu was also his strong side.
Viewers were mostly in awe after watching his matches, whether he won or lost. He got the best of elite MMA fighters like Mendes, Edgar, and Faber. He lost to Mcgregor in 2015 and mostly lost to champions in the upcoming years like Volkanovski and Holloway.
He won three consecutive fights, then lost against Merab Dvalishvili. After the match against Dvalishvili, he retired. Jose Aldo became a part of the UFC Hall of Fame in 2023.
#6 – Demetrious Johnson
Record: 27 – 3 – 1
Striking overall: ★★★★★
Grappling overall: ★★★★★
Signature move: Submission artist
The MMA world has yet to see a better flyweight fighter than the “Mighty Mouse” – Demetrious Johnson. At his time in the UFC, he was also one of the best pound-for-pound fighters. He is fast and efficient at using his takedown skills to transition into submissions. Johnson is also good in the ground and pound department.
He has also broken a couple of UFC records. One of them is the most takedown in his division. The second is having more than ten takedowns on three different occasions.
He was the first champion in his division and successfully defended his belt 11 times. Johnson defended his UFC flyweight title against MMA fighters such as Joseph Benavidez, Henry Cejudo, and John Dodson.
After a split decision loss to Cejudo in 2018, where many fans thought he won the match, he said goodbye to UFC and went to One Championship. Today, he is successful in that MMA organization where he won multiple grand prix tournaments.
#5 – Khabib Nurmagomedov
Record: 29 – 0
Striking overall: ★★★★☆
Grappling overall: ★★★★★
Signature move: Dagestani Handcuff
In MMA, Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov is mostly recognized for his incredible grappling skills that tired his opponents. Then, he either finished his opponents by submission or a TKO. Some fans think his fights weren’t so enjoyable because of that style. The one thing that was always fascinating about Khabib was his stamina and his relentlessness to dominate his opponents. He had the longest reign in the lightweight division champion in UFC’s history and is considered to be one of te best MMA fighters in this division. He was a champion for almost three years.
During his time in the UFC, he dominated in all of his matches and pulled off wins against fighters like Poirier, Gaehtje, Barboza, Dos Anjos, and McGregor.
The fight against McGregor had the best pay-per-view night in the UFC, with 2.4 million buys. After this fight, he only stepped into the octagon two times. He went undefeated in the UFC with 29 impressive wins and retired at the peak of his fighting abilities. He honored the wish of his mother not to fight anymore after the death of his father.
Now, he is a mentor to Islam Makhachev, the reigning champion of the UFC’s lightweight division.
#4 – Fedor Emelianenko
Record: 40 – 7, 1 NC
Striking overall: ★★★★★
Grappling overall: ★★★★★
Signature move: Ground and pound
Another heavyweight on the list of the best MMA fighters of all time is Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko. He was a hard hitter with a vicious ground-and-pound game during his fighting days. During his prime, he was an all-around mixed martial artist and an unstoppable force in the ring.
Fedor is the only fighter in this ranking of the best MMA fighters of all time who wasn’t a part of the UFC. He fought in a lot of MMA organizations, such as Pride, Bellator, and Strikeforce. His undefeated spell as the Pride Heavyweight champion lasted eight years, from 2001 to 2009. He won an incredible number of 27 fights in a row. He beat many MMA legends like Mirko Cro Cop, Antonio Nogueira, Mark Hunt, and Mark Coleman.
No one can deny that Fedor has a legacy that is worthy of him being recognized as the GOAT of the MMA world.
#3 – Anderson Silva
Record: 34 -11, 1 NC
Striking overall: ★★★★★
Grappling overall: ★★★★☆
Signature move: Super sharp striker
Anderson “The Spider” Silva, a striking phenom, could easily be declared as the best MMA fighter ever. Silva is a UFC legend who broke many records in this fighting promotion.
He holds the record of ten title defenses and a massive 16-win streak in the UFC. Also, he had his UFC Middleweight titles for 2,457 days between 2006 and 2012. Besides the middleweight division, he also fought as a light heavyweight, knocking out Irvin, Bonnar, and Griffin.
He possessed a fighting style like no other fighter on the planet. His unique movements in the octagon got him to win fights with impressive knockouts. “The Spider” beat big names in the MMA middleweight world like Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen, Demian Maia, Dan Henderson, Rich Franklin, and others.
“The Spider” retired in 2020 after three losses in a row, but that didn’t hurt his legacy as being one of the best MMA fighters in history.
#2 – Jon Jones
Record: 27 – 1, NC
Striking overall: ★★★★★
Grappling overall: ★★★★★
Signature move: Elbows and oblique kicks
If you start debating who’s the MMA GOAT, Jon Jones must be a part of the “best fighters of all time” conversation. Jones is, without a doubt, the top MMA fighter in light heavyweight history.
Jones always makes calculated moves in the octagon and uses his long reach to his advantage. His style is composed of his elite wrestling and unorthodox striking techniques.
All of his wins were just a display of high-level skills and dominance. He became the youngest champion in UFC history at 23 years old when he brutally TKO’d Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Besides Rua, he defeated many MMA greats like Cormier, Machida, Gustafsson, Belfort, “Rampage” Jackson, etc.
He also set the record for most UFC title defenses (11) and has the biggest win streak (26) in the light heavyweight division.
After a 2-year break, Jones set his eyes on the heavyweight division and submitted Cyril Gane to become the heavyweight champion. He should’ve fought Stipe in November 2023, but he got a shoulder injury. Nevertheless, he will Stipe upon his recovery. Even though he had his titles stripped because of using illegal substances, he has achieved his status as one of the best MMA fighters ever.
#1 – Georges St-Pierre
Record: 26 – 2
Striking overall: ★★★★★
Grappling overall: ★★★★★
Signature move: Superman punch
Georges “Rush “ St-Pierre was surely the best MMA fighter ever to enter the octagon. St-Pierre was an all-around fighter and basically had no weaknesses.
He got into karate after being bullied, and that’s how he started his journey as a fighter.
He was a two-division champion by winning titles as a welterweight and a middleweight. He dominated the welterweight division by destroying superb fighters like B.J. Penn, Matt Hughes, Carlos Condit, and Nick Diaz. He won 13 consecutive fights and defended his UFC welterweight title 9 times.
He avenged his two losses against Matt Serra and Matt Hughes in great fashion.
He retired on two occasions. The first time, was after his controversial win against Hendricks. After a 4-year hiatus, he returned to the octagon and became the middleweight champion after he submitted Michael Bisping. He vacated his title because of his health issues. Only a few fighters retired at their peak, but Georges thought that was the right decision.
Many accomplishments earned him the right to be called the best MMA fighter of all time.
Honorable Mentions
- Chuck Liddell – with four title defenses in the UFC as a light heavyweight champ, Liddell was the real deal in his prime.
- Matt Hughes – was a middleweight superstar with 7 title defenses and wins against great fighters like Georges St-Pierre, B.J. Penn, Matt Serra, and Renzo Gracie. This impressive resume undoubtedly garners him consideration as one of the best MMA fighters of all time.
- Kamaru Usman – defended his UFC middleweight title five times and had a fascinating 20-fight win streak.
- B.J. Penn – a Brazilian jiujitsu expert, Penn ran through opponents with ease in his prime, beating fighters such as Matt Hughes, Matt Serra, both Renzo and Rodrigo Gracie, and Takanori Gomi. He was a champ in two divisions, welterweight and lightweight.
- Max Holloway – fights in the featherweight division, where he was a champion and defended his title three times. He holds the record for most significant strikes landed in the UFC – 3,366.
