The greatest MMA fighters of all time

MMA or Mixed Martial Arts is a relatively young sport in terms of its present form.

Although the sport has been around in one form or another since the dawn of man, it has only been around for a very short while with the rules the way they are today.

The UFC, MMA’s most prestigious event, has only been around since the early 1990s.

Despite being such a young sport MMA is rapidly growing and shedding the image of “human cockfighting” that it portrayed early on, and is now hitting the mainstream.

Across the sport’s history, these are the fighters who have stood out above the rest and made the grade as the best MMA fighters to date.

10. Randy Couture
A true competitor, Randy Couture was the epitome of grit and determination.

Couture was a Greco-Roman wrestler who would often grind the will out of his opponent with ‘dirty boxing’ and takedowns. A handy boxer and a guy who thrived on a challenge, he was often the underdog but never counted out, even into his late fourties.

A UFC hall of famer and a champion in multiple weight classes on mutiple occasions, this tournament champion at heavyweight was one of the greatest championship fighters of all time.

If there is a will, there is a way and all too often Couture had the will and found a way against more fancied opponents.

Only his record stops him from being higher on the list, but anyone who is still fighting at the very top level heading towards his fifties in such a taxing sport deserves recognition.

In his last MMA bout he was KO’d by another great, Lyoto Machida. Not the best way for a legend to finish but as it was a karate ‘crane’ kick that caught him flush on the jaw he can be forgiven for bowing out in that way. As they say, it’s a move that “no can defend against”.

Record: 19 wins (seven by stoppage), 11 losses (10 by stoppage), zero draws

9. Chuck Liddell
One of the first fighters to show us how effective wrestling could be when used in reverse to keep the fight where he wanted, and where he wanted was on the feet where his unorthodox punches did the damage.

Liddell was not known for kicking or grappling but for looping, unorthodox punches that would come from unexpected angles and catch his opponents off guard. An outstanding takedown defence and ability to ‘wall walk’ or scramble back to his feet made Liddell a feared opponent.

A multiple UFC champion and one of the first ‘rockstar’ fighters in the USA, Liddell was a knockout machine and gave the spectators what they wanted – finishes.

Liddell fought on for a few too many years after he should have and finshed his career on a low, but at his peak he was the best light heavyweight in the world at a time when LHW was stacked full of great fighters.

Record: 21 wins (13 by stoppage), eight losses (six by stoppage), zero draws

8. BJ Penn
At a time when the best lightweights were thought to have been outside of the UFC, Penn put his career in jeopardy to pursue his rivals.

He dismantled them with ease and kept looking for greater challenges, fighting at heavyweight against Lyoto Machida and going the distance.

Penn was extremely well rounded in a time of specialists. Equally as comfortable on his feet or on the ground, Penn could do it all.

It was often suggested that Penn relied on his gifts and never pushed himself enough leading into fights – his lack of conditioning in the later rounds supported this theory.

But that just makes us wonder about how good he could have been if he spent more time training and less time on the beach in his native Hawaii.

A multiple UFC champion in two different weight classes and one of the few lightweights to test himself against great fighters much bigger than himself, Penn is a worthy owner of the No.8 spot on this list.

Record: 16 wins (13 by stoppage), nine losses (two by stoppage), two draws

7. Dan Henderson
Another veteran with a long career, Dan Henderson is a hard as nails Greco-Roman wrestler who has had multiple titles in more than one division.

Although he has great wrestling, like his former training partner Couture, he also posesses a thunderous right hand that has put fighters like Bisping and Wanderlei Silva to sleep.

“Hendo” has been a UFC tournement champion aswell as a title holder at middleweight (UFC LHW) and welterweight (UFC MW) in Pride FC, fighting a who’s who in MMA and beating most of them.

Record: 29 wins (15 by stoppage), 11 losses (four by stoppage), zero draws

6. Jose Aldo
If you like leg kicks and Muay Thai, Jose Aldo is the fighter for you.

With lightning-fast strikes featuring near-perfect technique, Aldo has fast become recognised as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

Although this UFC champion is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) he gets most of his wins via his deadly and precise strikes. Aldo inflicts massive damage with his leg kicks and can pick an opponent apart with relative ease.

Jose Aldo may not be a household name like the Liddells and Hendersons due to the smaller profile of his featherweight division, but don’t let this fool you – he is a hall of fame fighter of the future.

Record: 24 wins (16 stoppages), one loss (one stoppage)

5. Matt Hughes
Starting primarily as a wrestler, Hughes evolved quickly to become an accomplised submission artist, often out-grappling highly ranked BJJ practitioners with a combination of power and technique.

Although a specialist ground fighter, Hughes was a powerful finisher, having finished his opponent in 35 of his 45 victories.

During his prime it was thought that the hall of fame inductee was unbeatable, having defended the UFC welterweight belt six times before defeat to his great friend and rival, BJ Penn.

Record: 45 wins (35 by stoppage), nine losses (nine by stoppage)

4. George St Pierre
“Rush” is the UFC welterweight champion and has defended the UFC WW title a total of nine times. He’s without a doubt the greatest WW fighter of all time and one of the greatest fighters of all time – some may say the greatest.

St Pierre is one of the most well-rounded fighters to have ever entered the ring. He is equally at home on the feet or the ground and is often the one deciding where the fight takes place due to his outstanding MMA wrestling, which is the best the sport has ever seen.

St Pierre is never one to trash talk, choosing to do his talking inside the ring. He is known as a true gentleman in a sport often asscoiated with a less desirable personality type.

Record: 25 wins (13 by stoppage), two losses (two by stoppage)

3. Fedor Emelianenko
In an age where MMA was divided, Fedor Emelianenko was considered the best fighter in the world although he never set foot in the UFC.

Having only suffered one loss in his first 32 bouts (due to a dubious disqualification), “the Last Emperor” had seldom looked in trouble in any of his bouts.

A well-rounded fighter with explosive speed and power, Emelianenko could take an opponent’s strength and use it against them, often turning the tables when it appeared he was out of his comfort zone.

Beating striking specialists on the feet and grappling specialist on the ground, Emelianenko was destroying all that were put in front of him despite being a small heavyweight.

A very religous and humble man, Fedor never seemed to show any emotion before, during or after fights. He often opted to respect his rival because “it is not personal”, and always looked at the ground when facing off with his opponent.

The former European Judo and Sambo champion was the greatest fighter on the planet for the best part of a decade.

Record: 35 wins (27 by stoppage), four losses (four by stoppage), zero draws, one no contest

2. Jon Jones
The UFC light heavyweight champion is the top pound-for-pound fighter on the planet today.

Jonny “Bones” Jones uses push kicks, spinning elbows, catch wrestling and a dominant top game to finish and outscore his opponents, mixing unorthodox striking with excellent wrestling.

On many occasions, Jones has completely destroyed opponents who were thought of as serious challengers, throwing wrestlers around like rag dolls and dominating strikers on the feet.

The story of Jon Jones has just begun and already he is considered as one of the finest MMA fighters of all time. I for one think he will become the greatest fighter ever before he has finished.

Record: 19 wins (15 by stoppage), one loss, zero draws

1. Anderson Silva
Where does one start?

This is a guy who was bored with his competition. A guy who dances around the ring because his opponent is too afraid to attack him. A guy who dares his opponent to try to hit him.

I have never seen a fighter toy with a title challenger like Anderson Silva has, and genuine frustration with the lack of a challenge presented by the No.1 ranked contender can be easily confused with arrogance.

Arguably the best Muay Thai striker MMA has ever seen, the freak of nature known as “The Spider” has unnatural accuracy mixed with evasive skills only ever seen before in The Matrix movies. It’s as if he sees everything a little slower than the rest of us.

An incredible striker and submission artist of the highest order, Anderson Silva doesnt care where you want to fight because he will be better than you there anyway.

Anderson Silva is the best MMA fighter to have ever entered the ring, and in my opinion the best combat sports fighter of all time.

Record: 33 wins (26 by stoppage), five losses (three by stoppage), zero draws

This is only my opinion of the greatest MMA practitioners of all time.

What do you think?