The UFC has been around since 1993, and there have been many best fighters of all time.
The sport’s popularity skyrocketed after 2001, thanks to President Dana White. This wild sport now has millions of fans all over the world.
The UFC is also one of the most well-known sports leagues in the world. Over the years, hundreds of fighters from various weight classes have become UFC champions.
However, only a few of the fighters control the rest. Nonetheless, these fighters have established themselves as the best the UFC has ever seen.
As a result, we’ve compiled a list of the best UFC fighters who we believe deserve to be at the top. So, without further ado, let us look.
The 15 Greatest UFC Fighters of All Time
The list was compiled with the assistance of reputable sources such as DAZN, Oddschecker, and others. But, before we get into the specifics, take a look at the table below.
| Fighters Name | Career Record |
| 15. Henry Cejudo | 16-2 |
| 14. BJ Penn | 16-14-2 |
| 13. Max Holloway | 22-6 |
| 12. Conor McGregor | 22-5 |
| 11. Matt Hughes | 45-9 |
| 10. José Aldo | 29-7 |
| 9. Dan Henderson | 32-15 |
| 8. Amanda Nunes | 21-4 |
| 7. Daniel Cormier | 22-3-0 |
| 6. Stipe Miocic | 20-4 |
| 5. Dementious Johnson | 30-4-1 |
| 4. George St-Pierre | 26-2 |
| 3. Jon Jones | 26-1-0 |
| 2. Khabib Nurmagomedov | 29-0 |
| 1. Anderson Silva | 34-11-0 |
15. Henry Cejudo
35 years of age
Flyweight and Bantamweight weight classes
Former UFC fighter Henry Cejudo is the first fighter on our list. Henry is also a former MMA fighter and freestyle wrestler.
During his freshman and sophomore years, Cejudo began his wrestling career. In 2013, he also began his mixed martial arts career.
He only signed with the UFC in 2014. Cejudo is the only athlete to have won both an Olympic gold medal and a UFC championship. He has also held the UFC Flyweight and Bantamweight titles.
Cejudo is also the second UFC fighter to defend titles in two weight classes. Meanwhile, he is the fourth UFC fighter to hold two weight class titles at the same time.
After successfully defending his UFC bantamweight title, Cejudo announced his retirement in 2020. Henry is regarded as one of the best combat athletes of all time.
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14. BJ Penn
43 years of age
Lightweight, Welterweight, and Middleweight
The next fighter on our list is BJ Penn, who is regarded as one of the best competitors in UFC history. He is also a professional MMA fighter and a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner.
Penn began practicing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 1997. He was also the first non-Brazilian to win the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship’s black-belt division in Rio de Janeiro.
His ability and accomplishment drew the attention of the UFC. Penn then made his UFC debut on May 21, 2001. Again, his mixed martial arts skills aided him in defeating his opponents.
Similarly, his abilities made him the second fighter in UFC history to win titles in multiple weight classes. Similarly, he is a former UFC Lightweight and UFC Welterweight Champion.
Penn was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame’s Modern-era wing in 2015 for his achievements in the UFC.
13. Max Holloway
30 years of age
Featherweight is a weight class.
Max Holloway is the next UFC fighter on our list. He is an MMA fighter who made his debut in the UFC in 2012.
Holloway had a difficult childhood. His parents were heavy drug users, and his mother abused him regularly. At the end of his sophomore year, he began training in kickboxing at the age of 15.
Holloway excelled at the sport. He won his first amateur fight after only three days of training. By the age of 19, he had established a reputation as a skilled fighter, which drew the attention of the UFC.
As a result, Holloway was ranked seventh among featherweight prospects in Bloody Elbow’s 2012 World MMA Scouting Report. Furthermore, when he made his UFC debut, he was the youngest fighter on the roster.
Holloway won the UFC Featherweight Championship in 2017. He won the championship by defeating José Aldo. As of 2021 raking, he is ranked first in the UFC featherweight division and sixth in the UFC men’s pound-for-pound division.
12. Conor McGregor
34 years of age
Weight classes include featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight.
Conor McGregor is an Irish MMA fighter who currently competes in the UFC’s Lightweight division. As of July 19, 2021, he is ranked ninth in the UFC lightweight rankings.
McGregor began boxing at Crumlin Boxing Club when he was 12 years old. He began boxing to defend himself against bullies and to boost his confidence. In 2007, he made his mixed martial arts debut.
McGregor made his MMA professional debut in the lightweight division the following year, in 2008. He has also competed in the welterweight division. He also made his professional boxing debut against Floyd Mayweather Jr.
McGregor has since gone on to become one of the UFC’s biggest stars. He is the most popular pay-per-view attraction in MMA history. Furthermore, he has headlined five of the six most-sold UFC pay-per-view events.
As a result, McGregor is one of the highest-paid athletes in the world. With reported earnings of $180 million, he was named one of the highest-paid athletes in 2021 by Forbes.
11. Matt Hughes
48 years of age
Welterweight is the weight class.
Matt Hughes, a former MMA fighter, wrestler, and UFC fighter, is our number 11. Matt is widely regarded as one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time.
Hughes wrestled in high school and college and won the Class A state wrestling championship. He made his mixed martial arts debut in 1998. He made his UFC debut the following year, in 1999.
Hughes made his UFC 22: There Can Be Only One Champion promotional debut. Valeri Ignatov, a Bulgarian, was defeated.
Hughes was the world’s number one pound-for-pound mixed martial artist at one point in his career. Furthermore, the American UFC fighter is regarded as one of the best welterweight fighters of all time, as well as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in UFC history.
Hughes announced his retirement from the sport in 2013. Matt was the eighth inductee into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2010.
10. José Aldo
35 years of age
Weight classes include bantamweight, featherweight, and lightweight.
José Aldo, a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, and UFC fighter is up next. He is widely regarded as the greatest featherweight of all time, having made his MMA debut at the age of 17.
Even though he began training in capoeira (a Brazilian martial art) to defend himself, he drew the attention of the Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor. Aldo moved to Rio de Janeiro at the age of 17 to pursue a career in mixed martial arts.
He then began his training and made his MMA debut. Aldo was the first UFC Featherweight Champion after the UFC/WEC merger.
He was undefeated for over a decade, from 2005 to 2015. Furthermore, in its 2017 pound-for-pound ranking, Sherdog named Aldo the greatest featherweight in MMA history.
He is currently competing in the Bantamweight division. As of December 6, 2021, Aldo was ranked third in the UFC bantamweight rankings.
9. Dan Henderson
51 years of age
Welterweight, Middleweight, Lightheavyweight, and Heavyweight
Dan Henderson is a former MMA fighter, Olympic wrestler, and UFC fighter from the United States. He made his MMA debut in 1997, following in the footsteps of other wrestlers.
Henderson used to wrestle in freestyle matches. His most notable accomplishments, however, were in Greco-Roman wrestling. Similarly, he was a multiple-time national junior and university national champion.
Henderson began training in mixed martial arts in 1997. The following year, he won his first MMA match. He had an on-again, off-again relationship with UFC for nearly two decades.
The most recent Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion was Dan Henderson Henderson. He was also the last Pride Fighting Championships Welterweight and Middleweight Champion.
During his career, Henderson held the UFC Middleweight Championship twice, as well as the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship and the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship. Before retiring in 2016, the 51-year-old UFC fighter was the oldest on the UFC roster.
8. Amanda Nunes
34 years of age
Women’s Bantamweight and Women’s Featherweight weight classes
Next on our list is a female UFC fighter. Amanda Nunes is a Brazilian MMA fighter and UFC fighter. She currently holds the UFC Women’s Featherweight Championship.
Nunes is widely regarded as the best female MMA fighter of all time. She wanted to be a soccer player as a child because she was a very active child. Her mother, on the other hand, influenced her to pursue martial arts training.
Nunes made her professional debut at Prime MMA Championship 2 in 2008. Unfortunately, Ana Maria won the first round by armbar submission.
She became the first woman to be a two-division UFC champion after making his UFC debut.
Furthermore, Nunes is the third fighter, following Conor McGregor and Daniel Cormier, to hold two UFC titles in two weight classes at the same time. She is also the first and only fighter to defend two UFC titles at the same time.
Nunes is ranked first in the UFC women’s bantamweight rankings as of 2021, and second in the women’s pound-for-pound rankings as of 2022.
7. Daniel Cormier
43 years of age
Weight divisions: light-heavyweight and heavyweight
Daniel Cormier, a former UFC fighter, mixed martial artist, and amateur wrestler, ranks seventh on our list of the best UFC fighters of all time.
Cormier was a Greco-Roman wrestler who won a bronze medal in the cadet division at the World Championships. He was also a member of the US World or Olympic Teams six times and a World Cup runner-up.
Similarly, his most notable accomplishment was winning the Pan American Games gold medal twice. Cormier began his mixed martial arts career after success as a wrestler, making his MMA debut in 2009.
He traveled to Australia to make his Xtreme MMA debut. Cormier won the XMMA Heavyweight Championship in 2010. He also won his second MMA title two weeks later, the KOTC Heavyweight Championship.
Cormier, a former UFC Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight Champion, was only the second fighter in UFC history to hold titles in two weight classes at the same time. Similarly, he was the first fighter to defend two titles in two different divisions.
Cormier has announced that he will retire on August 15, 2020. He is currently an analyst and commentator for the UFC.
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6. Miocic, Stipe
39 years of age
Weight Class: Heavyweight
Stipe Miocic is a professional mixed martial artist who made his UFC debut in 2010. Miocic is considered the greatest UFC heavyweight fighter of all time by critics, commentators, and media.
Initially trained in martial arts, Miocic was also trained in boxing. He reached the quarter-finals in the Golden Gloves boxing champion and was an NCCA Division I wrestler.
Before signing with MMA, he first fought in the Ohio-based MMA promotion (NAAFS) (NAAFS). Miocic’s career in MMA began with a huge success. He won his first six fights by knockout and became the NAAFS Heavyweight Championship.
Then, UFC signed him in a multi-fight deal on June 14, 2011. Since his debut, Miocic has made a record for the most wins in heavyweight title fights.
Similarly, he also has the longest title defense streak in the heavyweight division. Likewise, he has nine fight-night bonus awards, which are the most in the history of the UFC Heavyweight division.
Miocic was ranked number 2 in UFC heavyweight rankings as of 2021 and number 11 in the UFC men’s pound-for-pound rankings as of 2022.
5. Demetrious Johnson
Age: 36 years old
Weight Class: Bantamweight, Flyweight
On our number 5 is a mixed martial artist and a current number one Flyweight ONE Champion, Demetrious Johnson. He is considered one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time.
Born in Kentucky, Johnson was a star athlete during his high school. He played track, wrestling, and cross country. Demetrious began his MMA career in 2007 and won his professional debut fight with a first-round knockout.
Johnson competed in World Extreme Cagefighting. He joined the UFC after competing in World Extreme Cagefighting and UFC. His first fight after the merger was at UFC 126 in 2011.
Johnson, known for his quick strikes and evasive movement, is the only fighter in UFC history to have more than ten takedowns in three different fights. Similarly, he holds the record for the most UFC flyweight finishes.
Johnson, the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix Champion, is ranked ninth in MMA pound-for-pound and second in flyweight by Sherdog.
4. Georges St-Pierre
41 years of age
Weight divisions: Welterweight and Middleweight
The next UFC fighter is a former Canadian MMA fighter. Georges St-Pierre, widely regarded as one of the most incredible fighters in MMA history, made his UFC debut at UFC 46.
Jean-Claude Van Damme influenced St-Pierre as a young boy. As a result, he began learning Kyokushin Karate from his father. He has also trained in wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and boxing.
Despite losing his UFC debut match, he won his next match by technical knockout in only 1:42 of the first round.
Throughout his fighting career, St-Pierre has trained in a variety of gyms with a variety of groups. He was also a two-division UFC champion, having won welterweight and middleweight titles.
St-Pierre retired in 2013 with the most wins in title fights and the second longest combined title streak in UFC history. He retired as the reigning Welterweight Champion but made his comeback at UFC 217 in 2017.
3. Jonathan Jones
35 years of age
Weight divisions: light-heavyweight and heavyweight
We’ve narrowed it down to our top three UFC fighters of all time. Jon Jones, a professional mixed martial artist, and the UFC’s youngest champion is ranked third.
During his high school years, Jones was a wrestler and state champion. He studied Criminal Justice at Morrisville State College before dropping out to pursue his MMA career.
He then made his professional MMA debut in 2008. Jones was undefeated for three months with a 6-0 record. The same year, he made his UFC debut at UFC 87.
Twenty-three-year-old Jones was crowned UFC light heavyweight champion after defeating Shogun Rua. (Image courtesy of ufcespanol.com)
Jones won his first UFC fight with unconventional striking and takedowns, and since then, he has set numerous UFC records. Jones, for example, holds the record for the most title defenses, the longest win streak, the most submission victories, and the most victories.
Unfortunately, several controversies marred his professional career between 2015 and 2017. Furthermore, he had his titles stripped three times due to disciplinary action.
Jones, on the other hand, was able to get back on track following the suspension lift in 2017. He is currently ranked seventh in the UFC men’s pound-for-pound rankings as of 2022.
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2. Nurmagomedov, Khabib
33 years of age
Lightweight and Welterweight weight classes
Khabib Nurmagomedov, a Russian former professional mixed martial artist and UFC fighter, takes second place. He is widely regarded as the greatest lightweight fighter in MMA history.
Nurmagomedov had sambo, judo, and wrestling training. He made his professional MMA debut in 2008 and won four fights in less than a month.
The UFC then signed Nurmagomedov to a six-fight contract in the lightweight division in 2011. On January 20, 2012, he made his UFC debut at UFC on FX 1. He was victorious over Kamal Shalorus.
Nurmagomedov is the first Muslim fighter to be crowned UFC champion. He was also the longest-reigning UFC Lightweight Champion. In addition, when he retired, Nurmagomedov had a record of 29 wins and no losses.
Similarly, when he retired, he was ranked first in the UFC men’s pound-for-pound rankings. Since his retirement, Nurmagomedov has been working as a mixed martial arts coach and cornerman.
1. Anderson Silva
47 years of age
Weight Classification: Middleweight, Lightheavyweight
And here we are, with Anderson Silva, a Brazilian-American mixed martial artist, boxer, and UFC fighter, at number one on our list of the best UFC fighters of all time.
UFC president Dana White, UFC commentator Joe Rogan, and MMA pundits have all dubbed Silva one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time.
He began training in martial arts as a child, first in jiu-jitsu and then in taekwondo, capoeira, and muay Thai. Silva made his MMA debut in 1997, fighting in the Brazilian welterweight division.
Anderson-Silva-Winning-Middleweight-Championship-In-UFC
Anderson Silva has won the UFC Middleweight Championship (Source: Instagram Image)
Similarly, he was a member of the Pride Fighting Championships and Cage Rage from 2002 to 2006. The UFC then signed him to a multi-fight contract in late April 2006. Silva debuted on June 28, 2008, at Ultimate Fight Night 5.
Silva knocked out Chris Leben, who had gone undefeated in the UFC with five straight wins, in his debut fight. He then went on to become the UFC Middleweight Champion.
Furthermore, he still holds the record for the longest title reign in UFC history, which has yet to be broken. Similarly, from 2006 to 2013, he held the UFC record of 16 consecutive victories. Sliva left the UFC in 2020 to return to boxing.
Conclusion
The UFC is a brutal and dangerous sport in which the fighters pour their blood and sweat. The fighters on the list are among the best the UFC has seen in its history.
Their abilities and talent stand out among the league’s hundreds of fighters. As a result, these fighters are without a doubt the best UFC fighters of all time.
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