With Mixed Martial Arts starting to really get a massive surge in numbers of viewership in Asian countries, the UFC has come leaps and bounds, especially in India, where it has enjoyed a considerable boost in viewership in the past couple of years. The promotion of the UFC only started in India around 2016 and reached close to 100 million views in 2018.
With the UFC becoming more popular and regularly broadcast in India, the fans have more knowledge about the sport and each of them has their own favourite.
Here, I’ll be discussing my best UFC fighters of all time.
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10. Matt Hughes
A self-proclaimed country boy from Illinois, Matt Hughes was a welterweight division fighter who stood out for his elite grappling and his great record in American Division 1 Wrestling.
He put the world on notice in November 2001, when he won his first UFC Welterweight Championship.
Throughout his career, he went on to win the belt twice and defended it a combined number of seven times, which was the second-most till he retired in 2011.
9. Khabib Nurmagomedov
The Russian mixed martial artist was the longest-reigning lightweight division champion, having held the title from April 2018 to March 2021 when he decided to retire from the game.
The mixed martial artist was famously known for his headgear and actually wrestling with bears in his younger days, which is where his elite grappling skills came from.
8. Stipe Miocic
The man from Ohio was already an elite combat sports artist before joining the UFC, as he was an NCAA Division wrestler.
Miocic defended his belt three times, which was the highest number in the UFC Heavyweight Division. He beat the likes of Francis Ngannou and Daniel Cormier in his reign. He finally lost to Ngannou in 2020, but he is still considered to be one of the all-time heavyweight greats with a record of 20-4-0.
7. Demetrious Johnson
The most accomplished flyweight in the MMA was also known as “Mighty Mouse” Johnson because of his trash-talking skills, but he would always back himself in the Octagon.
Johnson won his first Flyweight Championship back in 2012 and defended it a record-breaking 11 times before losing it in a split decision in 2018.
He was renowned as the most well-rounded athlete in the game, and the only person to have 10 takedowns against three separate opponents.
Unfortunately, in 2018, one of the best flyweights ever to enter the Octagon was traded to ONE Championship in place of Ben Askren.
6. José Aldo
New-age UFC fans only remember Aldo because of the knockout he faced against McGregor in 13 seconds. However, there’s a lot more to the Brazilian legend.
Aldo became the UFC Featherweight Champion in 2009. The talented Brazilian’s reign lasted six years, during which he beat Chad Mendes multiple times.
Aldo defended his title a record-breaking seven times and was undefeated for a decade with 18 consecutive wins.
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5. Conor McGregor
The Irish stallion has been the face of the UFC for the past five years. His boisterous character is what sets him apart from all the other fighters in this list.
McGregor is a former UFC Featherweight and Lightweight Double-champion. He is also the former Cage Warriors Featherweight and Lightweight Champion.
Losing to Dustin Poirier twice in 2021 has tarnished McGregor’s legacy a little bit. However, he still retains a great record of 22-6-0.
4. Daniel Cormier
Widely recognized as DC, Cormier is said to be the most accomplished American wrestler, having won the pan-American games and having also finished fourth in Wrestling at the 2008 Olympic Games.
Coming from a grappling background, Cormier made his UFC debut in 2013. He became a double-division champ, where he held both the Lightweight and Heavyweight belts simultaneously and defended both for a combined four times.
Cormier’s signature combats came against Anthony Johnson and Dan Hendorson, both of whom he beat several times.
3. Anderson Silva
Also known as The Spider, Silva is considered to be one of the greatest hitters of all-time in the UFC. He is a Muay Thai specialist out of Brazil and held the UFC title for a record-setting 2457 days, which was a part of his reign from 2006 to 2013. In this time, he recorded the most number of consecutive victories at 16 as well as 10 consecutive title defences.
2. Jon Jones
JJ has been one of the most talented yet controversial UFC fighters ever, having been suspended multiple times.
Jones took the world by storm when he became the UFC’s Light-heavyweight Champion at the young age of 23. He was stripped of his title on several occasions, but he never lost it. The only loss of his career only came in the form of a disqualification.
Jones has beaten several stars and defended his title 11 times. He also has the most lightweight title wins of 14 in the UFC.
1. Georges St-Pierre
The Canadian has held both the Welterweight and the Middleweight titles simultaneously. In the second reign of his Welterweight belt, St-Pierre defended it nine times and recorded 15 plus consecutive victories.
St-Pierre also has the most title bout victories in UFC history with 13, and the two times he lost his belt, he was able to avenge them straight away in the rematches.
St-Pierre’s legacy of excellence has been a motivating factor for all the new-age UFC fighters. He ended his career with a record of 26-2.
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