The 25 Best UFC Fighters of All Time

Few fighters hold as many UFC records as Holloway — from the most significant strikes (3,681) to the most wins as a featherweight (20). Growing up in Hawaii, Holloway had to overcome significant adversity to get where he is today: a drug-addicted mother and an abusive father. But “Blessed” made it look easy in the cage, beating Anthony Pettis to become the interim champion at 145 pounds in 2016. Six months later, he beat José Aldo by TKO, unifying the title and reinforced his standing as one of best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. He went on to defeat Aldo again, as well as other champs like Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, and Frankie Edgar, utilizing fantastic movement and high-volume striking. His two losses to Alexander Volkanovski were very close, and though he looked outmatched in recent defeats to Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira, Holloway may still have a few more records left in him before he says goodbye to the sport.

UFC President Dana White once said he didn’t want to see women fight. Rousey changed his mind. Between 2011 and 2015, there didn’t seem to be a fighter in the game more dominant than the former Olympic bronze medalist in judo. There wasn’t an arm she couldn’t snatch and nearly snap in half. Some even wondered how she’d fare in the cage against her male counterparts. “Rowdy” was so exciting, she inspired a generation of fans — and future champions — to step in the cage. Was the level of competition she faced particularly high? Not compared to today, and Rousey got schooled on her feet by the likes of Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes, before leaving the UFC in 2016. But in the early days of women’s MMA, she was the baddest woman on the planet — and did something few men have ever done: forced White to admit he was wrong.

With his mohawk, head tattoos, and DMX entrance music, Chuck Liddell personified the UFC in the early 2000s. He was one of the sport’s first superstars, a knockout artist who helped propel mixed martial arts into the mainstream. Liddell was also an excellent striker and wrestler, stuffing takedowns and using counterpunches from odd angles to defeat champions like Tito Ortiz, Randy Couture, Kevin Randleman, Vitor Belfort, and Murilo Bustamante. His highlight reel is iconic, as are his primal knockout celebrations. And though “The Iceman” left the sport for good in 2018, having lost six of his last seven fights, almost all were to former UFC champions, including legends such as Rampage Jackson and Mauricio Rua. By then a new generation of fighters had entered the Octagon — a cage Liddell had helped build.

In 1993, Royce entered the first Ultimate Fighting Championship event as the lightest competitor. What most fans didn’t know was that his brother Rorion had helped create it to promote the family’s style of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He wanted to show Americans that it could be effective against larger opponents. The result: Royce won UFC 1, UFC 2, and UFC 4, defeating musclebound monsters like Ken Shamrock, Kimo Leopoldo, and Dan Severn (not to mention Art Jimmerson, and his one boxing glove.) And he did it on the canvas, multiple times in one night, proving that ground fighting — not just flashy punches and kicks — is essential. What happened next was nothing short of a revolution in American martial arts, as Royce helped propel Jiu-Jitsu, his family, and the UFC, to fame. After a hiatus from the UFC to compete in Japan, Royce returned for his last fight in the promotion, losing badly to Matt Hughes. The sport had evolved beyond just mastering one style, but he was still the godfather, the man who had started it all.

If ever there was a fighter who seemed like he emerged from The Matrix, it’s this slick-striking native of Nigeria. Though he studied Taekwondo as a child, Adesanya didn’t seriously begin practicing martial arts until he was 18, long after he had moved with his family to New Zealand. Bullied and teased in his new country, Adesanya used that adversity to fuel his desire to fight. He dropped out of college and went on to win dozens of pro kickboxing matches. He made his UFC debut in 2018, then quickly became middleweight champion beating champions such as Anderson Silva and Robert Whittaker, and dazzling audiences with his devastating kicks and acrobatic walk-outs. Though he dropped a decision to Jan Blachowicz in a bid to become a double champion, and later lost his 185 pound belt to kickboxing rival Alex Pereira, “The Last Stylebender” persevered. In 2023, he avenged his defeat to Pereira with a spectacular knockout, again becoming champion. Now in his mid-30s, Adesanya is past his prime, but his recent losses — all to top-level competitors — don’t take away from his overall greatness.

Beware of the UFC fighter with no nickname and no tattoos. Throughout his career, Matt Hughes had neither. What he did have, however, was two separate six-fight winning streaks, defeating some of the best welterweights in the game — including both B.J. Penn and Georges St-Pierre — en route to becoming a two-time 170 pound champion. Utilizing dominant wrestling and farm boy strength, Hughes also battered the likes of Royce Gracie, Renzo Gracie, Ricardo Almeida, and Matt Serra — all well-known practitioners of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. As a result of these victories, some began calling Hughes “the Gracie Killer,” a nickname also bestowed on the legendary Japanese fighter Kazushi Sakuraba. But Hughes never took to it. His name — and the belt — were enough.

In the mid ‘90s, when Conor McGregor was just a wee lad in Ireland, the rapper Notorious B.I.G. perhaps said it best: “The more money you make, the more problems you get.” McGregor, whose “Notorious” nickname was inspired by the Brooklyn-born rapper, became the biggest star the MMA world has ever seen. In his prime, he commanded pre-fight crowds with his bombast and brogue, and he backed it up, too. McGregor seemed able to destroy pretty much everyone at 145 and 155 pounds — from José Aldo to Eddie Alvarez — and won titles in both divisions, becoming the first fighter to hold two belts at the same time. He was MMA for a generation of fans, boasting the highest pay-per-view draws in the history of the sport, and even transitioning to boxing in a loss to Floyd Mayweather. The bout was the second most watched boxing pay-per-view of all time, and reportedly earned McGregor around $100 million. “The Notorious” never quite regained his form, suffering losses to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier (twice), the last of which ended in a gruesome injury that likely ended his career. McGregor also ran afoul of the law, facing allegations of assault, disorderly conduct, and rape. More problems indeed.

Noobs may wonder how we could rank a guy with a 16-14 record — and even got KO’d in a random street fight — in the top 25. The answer: In his prime, B.J. was one of the best pound-for-pound in the world. Between 2001, when his UFC career began, and 2011, when he fought Jon Fitch to a draw, Penn could beat almost anyone at 155 and 170 pounds — and he won the belt in both weight classes. His only defeats were to the likes of former champions Georges St-Pierre, Frankie Edgar, Matt Hughes, Jens Pulver, and Lyoto Machida, the latter of whom fought at 205 pounds. Penn avenged the loss to Hughes and Pulver and added wins over Din Thomas, Caol Uno, Sean Sherk, Matt Serra, and Takanori Gomi. Unfortunately, “The Prodigy,” didn’t know when to hang up his gloves. The last decade of his career was marked by a string of losses, arrests, legal troubles, and reports of mental health issues.

If Islam Makhachev is the best fighter today, Topuria is a close second. An ethnic Georgian, who moved to Spain as a teenager, “El Matador” started out as a grappler due to his background in wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. And he’s shown his skills on the mat, submitting eight of his opponents including Bryce Mitchell. Today, however, he’s widely considered the best boxer in mixed martial arts. The evidence? Knockout wins over former champions Max Holloway, Charles Oliveira, and Alexander Volkanovski, which helped him win the 145 pound and 155 pound straps. Though he gave up the former, and will defend the latter against Justin Gaethje in June, he’s eventually looking for a super fight with Makhachev at 170 pounds. A win for Topuria would make him a triple champ, and perhaps the pound-for-pound best fighter alive.

In May of 2013, Usman was just another standout college wrestler turned MMA fighter with a 1-1 record. Then he rattled off 19 victories in a row, most of them inside the UFC, dominating a host of champions like Sean Strickland, Leon Edwards, Tyron Woodley, Rafael dos Anjos, and Colby Covington. He also developed a powerful striking game and became one of the most dominant champions in the 170 pound division. Today, Usman is still looking sharp in his late 30s. Despite two subsequent losses to Edwards, and a narrow, short-notice defeat to current 185 pound champ Khamzat Chimaev, Usman looked on his game against rising challenger Joaquin Buckley last year. The “Nigerian Nightmare” may have one last title shot left in him, whether it’s against Makhachev at 170 pounds or a rematch with Chimaev at 185.

Call him the George Foreman of MMA. “The Natural” was the first fighter in UFC history to win titles in two divisions (light heavyweight and heavyweight), and he did it multiple times. Couture won his last belt at the spry young age of 43, making him the oldest champ in UFC history. An accomplished Greco-Roman wrestler, who also specialized in “dirty boxing,” in the clinch, Couture is second only to Stipe Miocic for the most title wins as a heavyweight (five), even though he was undersized for the division. Though he lost 11 fights in his career, nearly all of them were to top-tier opponents, and his victims include former UFC champions such as Kevin Randleman, Maurice Smith, Tito Ortiz, Tim Sylvia, Vitor Belfort, Mark Coleman, Pedro Rizzo, and Chuck Liddell. He even beat former boxing middleweight champion James Toney (in MMA). Now if only someone would make a grill with his name on it.

For nearly a decade, José Aldo didn’t lose a fight. The “King of Rio” held three versions of the featherweight title across two major organizations. Between 2006 and 2015, he won 18 consecutive bouts, beating champions like Urijah Faber and Frankie Edgar. After he lost his 145 belt to Conor McGregor in just 13 seconds, the devastating striker (those leg kicks!) still managed to remain one of the best in the world, beating Edgar yet again and winning the interim belt when McGregor moved up in weight. He went on to beat tough opponents like Rob Font, Marlon Vera, and Pedro Munhoz — and to lose close fights to champions such as Max Holloway, Alexander Volkanovski, Merab Dvalishvili, and Petr Yan.

Firefighter, college wrestler, Golden Gloves boxing champion, and arguably the greatest UFC heavyweight champion of all time — that’s Stipe Miocic’s legacy. In a division that has seen its share of champions rise and fall very quickly, Miocic won the belt twice, beating former champs like Junior Dos Santos, Alistair Overeem, Fabricio Werdum, and Andrei Arlovski. He’s one of two UFC fighters to ever beat Daniel Cormier (twice) as well as Francis Ngannou. And though the latter knocked him out in their rematch, and he also lost handily to Jon Jones, Miocic won a total of six title fights, a record in the heavyweight division. Even more amazing: He did it while working part-time as a firefighter and EMT in his home state of Ohio.

A former rugby player who began training wrestling and MMA in the off-season, Volk is arguably the greatest 145-pound champion of all time. Though he came up short against Islam Makhachev, twice, he performed well enough in the first fight against a much larger opponent and showed just how good he really is. His victories over former champs Max Holloway (three times) and José Aldo did the same. Don’t let his knockout losses to Ilia Topuria and Makhachev (in their second bout) fool you; the Australian is still fighting at the highest level and looks to keep defending his belt well into his late 30s.

While he might not be the greatest fighter of all time, Islam is the greatest fighter today. He easily cleared out the lightweight division, then moved up and won the welterweight title, smothering Jack Della Maddalena in 2025. In doing so, he tied Anderson Silva’s record for the longest win streak in UFC history. A sambo champion who came up training with Khabib Nurmagomedov, he’s arguably the best MMA grappler in the UFC, submitting the likes of former champ Charles Oliveira. But he’s also an experienced striker who knocked out two-time 145 champ Alexander Volkanovski. Even better: He’s arguably big enough — and good enough — to win the 185 title. If he were to do so, he wouldn’t just be the “GOAT,” we’d have to start inventing new nicknames to describe his greatness.

Perhaps the only thing better than Shevchenko’s footwork during the fight, is her footwork after it. Her victory celebrations entail performing the Lezginka, a traditional dance from the Caucasus region involving a series of quick steps and twirls. She’s performed it frequently, beating six UFC champions — Holly Holm, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Jessica Andrade, Julianna Peña, Alexa Grasso, and Zhang Weili. A crisp and powerful muay thai striker who also boasts fantastic grappling, Shevchenko’s only UFC losses have been two close decisions to Amanda Nunes — and one to Alexa Grasso, who pulled off a spectacular face crank in 2023. “Bullet” avenged that defeat more than a year later and is destined to retire as one of the sport’s all time greats. Now that’s something to twirl about.

2,457 days — that’s how long Anderson Silva was UFC champion. His remarkable seven-year, 16-fight UFC win streak spanned a generation of fighters, as the Brazilian-born “Spider” beat the likes of champs like Rich Franklin, Dan Henderson, Vitor Belfort, and Forrest Griffin. Along the way he acquired a highlight reel of knockouts — as well as gruesome defeats. The broken leg he suffered in his 2013 loss to Chris Weidman remains perhaps the most chilling moment in UFC history, and his 2004 loss to Japanese veteran Ryo Chonan — by flying scissor heel hook — in Pride ranks among the craziest submissions of all time. Through it all, Silva remained both playful and dangerous. He was a true legend of the sport, and continues winning fights, now in boxing, in his 50s.

Too often in MMA, the little guys get overlooked. But “Mighty Mouse” is widely regarded as one of the fastest and most well-rounded fighters to step into the cage. Johnson lost to fellow legend — Dominick Cruz — in his bid for the UFC bantamweight title in 2011. But he got another chance at a belt, roughly a year later, when he moved down to the 125 lb. division and defeated Joseph Benavidez. For the next six years Johnson remained the UFC champ, defending his belt 11 times against the likes of future double champ Henry Cejudo along with tough veterans like John Dodson, Tim Elliott, and Ray Borg. (His submission of the latter — a beautiful suplex armbar transition — is a masterpiece of mixed martial arts.) Though he lost a controversial rematch to Cejudo, he later became the 125-pound title holder at ONE Championship where he was inexplicably traded for Ben Askren in 2018. Johnson went on to captivate fans around the world until he retired in 2024, while Askren became part of Jorge Masvidal’s highlight reel. Go figure.

In the middle of Nurmagomedov’s incredible run for the 155-pound title, a video emerged on YouTube of a young Khabib, in a swishy tracksuit, wrestling a bear cub. His furry opponent was no match for the Dagestani grappler, and neither were any of the humans he faced inside the Octagon — from double champs like Conor McGregor to single champs like Rafael dos Anjos. Khabib retired undefeated. No questions, no asterisks. And while some might argue that his offensive striking was always mid, his wrestling and submissions were so dominant that it didn’t matter. His skill on the mat — and penchant for wearing papakha sheepskin hats — inspired a new generation of Dagestani fighters who have found success in the UFC. Today, five years after his retirement, no one save for perhaps his teammate, Islam Makhachev, or Khamzat Chimaev, is on his level when it comes to grappling. If his father and coach, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, were alive today, he would be proud of his son’s influence on the sport.

Hate him, love him, or think he’s dodging Tom Aspinall, Jon Jones’s status as the greatest of all time is undeniable. He beat just about everyone across two generations of fighters at 205 pounds. (The only fights Jones seems to have lost were in court, where the Rochester-New York native has pleaded guilty to charges including a DUI and leaving the scene of a crash that injured a pregnant woman.) Then he moved up to heavyweight and trounced champions Stipe Miocic and Ciryl Gane, part of his record setting 16 title wins across two divisions. Along the way, he’s won fights on his feet, on the ground, and overcome injuries and adversity. He’s perhaps the best athlete the sport has ever seen, and aside from a controversial 2009 disqualification against Matt Hamill, he’s never been defeated in the Octagon.