The UFC has been around for almost three decades now and during this time we have seen some greats stepping into the Octagon to prove themselves. There have been more than a hundred fighters who can proudly call themselves Champions but one question remains, who is the greatest UFC fighter in the history of the promotion? Can’t make up your mind? Don’t worry, we have got you covered with this list of top five fighters in UFC History.
1. AMANDA NUNES
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At #5 we have the Brazilian, Amanda Nunes. The Lioness made her UFC debut back in 2013 in which she defeated Sheila Gaff and from that moment on, we knew something great was upon us. From that moment, she took her record to 5-1 and got her first title shot in the Bantam division against Miesha Tate at UFC 200, in which the Lioness tamed her opponent. In her title defense, she defeated the likes of Ronda Rousey, Valentina Shevchenko, and Raquel Pennington and then moved up a division for a title fight against Cris Cyborg in the Featherweight division. Nunes finished the fight in just 51 seconds and with that cemented herself as the greatest female fighter in the octagon and also became just one of four UFC fighters in history to hold UFC titles in two different weight classes at the same time.
2. ANDERSON SILVA
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Next up, we have another Brazilian on the list, Anderson Silva. During his reign as the UFC Middleweight champion back in 2013, Silva defended it for seven years with a total of ten title defenses and an incredible 16 UFC fight victories in a row. Silva was completely dominant in his weight class, taking down the likes of Dan Henderson, Victor Belfort & Chael Sonnen. Once he moved to 205lbs (Light-Heavyweight Division) he defeated James Irvin and humiliated Forrest Griffin by a simple knockout at UFC 101. His reign as the UFC Champion came to an end when he fought Chris Weidman who knocked him out and then broke his leg in their rematch. After breaking his tibia, everyone thought his career was finished but the Brazilian made a return to the Octagon and took on some real gritty fighters like Nick Diaz, Michael Bisping, and Israel Adesanya.
3. JON JONES
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Jon Jones has had an incredible UFC career. Since making his debut in 2008, there has been no stopping him. ‘Bones’ became a title contender in his first year itself after he picked up his 6th consecutive win against Ryan Bader. His next fight was against Shogun Rua which was an easy victory for Jones. In the light-heavyweight division, he remained dominant for a while, defeating fighters such as Rashad Evans, Alexander Gustafsson, and Daniel Cormier. In 2015 though, Bones tested positive for cocaine which was his fourth positive drug test and put a dampener on his whole career. Since then Jon Jones has been out of the UFC but still remains the #1 Pound-for-Pound fighter and is likely to make his return to UFC in the Heavyweight division for a title fight against current champion Francis Ngannou.
4. GEORGE ST. PIERRE
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George St. Pierre was one of the most dominant UFC fighters ever and in his initial days in UFC, he picked up a total of twenty career victories, taking out most of the Welterweight division. His first title shot came back in 2004 when he was just a 23-year-old and lost to Hughes in the first round via submission. This defeat ignited the fire inside the Canadian as he then defeated Jason Miller, Fran Rigg, Sean Sherk, and BJ Penn and then knocked Hughes out in their rematch to win his first UFC Welterweight title. After an incredible run, he lost to Serra but Pierre bounced back once again and won his title back in their rematch in 2008 and defended the title for the next nine fights. One of the best fights in the title defense came against Johnny Hendricks in 2013 where he completely whitewashed his opponent. The Canadian moved up a division after that and dethroned Michael Bisping as the Middleweight champion and became a two-division champion.
5. KHABIB NURMAGOMEDOV
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The Eagle made his UFC debut back in 2012 already entering with an MMA record of 16-0. In just a year with the UFC, he took that tally to 21-0 and became a real title contender. In the following year, he fought four times defeating top-ranked fighters such as Rafael Dos Anjos and Michael Johnson. It was the year 2018 when Khabib finally earned a title shot and defeated Al Laquinta to get his hands on the UFC Lightweight title. One of his biggest & most high-profile career victories was when he put Conor McGregor to sleep with a fourth-round choke with the world watching. After his fight with Justin Gaethje last October, the Russian hung up his gloves respecting his late father. The fact that he retired with 29 wins and 0 defeats, without losing his UFC title makes it clear that he is the greatest UFC fighter of all time.
[Image Credit: Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva]
Shashank Iyer