As we get closer to UFC 285, the return of the GOAT Jon Jones, today seems fitting to rank the top 20 UFC fighters to ever step foot inside the octagon. Now with separate weight classes and both male and female divisions, it is near impossible to rank UFC fighters. To qualify for the Opinion Octagon top 20 you need to have won UFC gold at least once. Title defenses are factored in, as well as strength of resume and weight class. I had to remove all bias which means some of my favorite fighters won't be on this list like Anthony "Showtime" Pettis, Tony Ferguson, or Nate Diaz. There have been tons of legends in the UFC since the very beginning. The sport has evolved multiple times over since UFC 1. That being said it is time to get this list going!
20. Henry Cejudo
Henry Cejudo fought twelve times in the UFC. He went 10-2. He's defeated the likes of Dom Cruz, Demetrious Johnson, TJ Dillashaw, and many more. Henry defeated Demetrious Johnson in a spilt decision to earn his Flyweight title. This fight singlehandedly saved the Flyweight division. The UFC was considering scrapping it. Considering they traded Demetrious Johnson to ONE for a Welterweight who's known for getting knocked out by Jorge Masvidal and Jake Paul, you can see how much the UFC valued the Flyweights. Henry defended it once against Dillashaw and then challenged Marlon Moraes for the vacant Bantamweight Championship. Cejudo defeated Moraes via TKO, then defended the Bantamweight Title against Dom Cruz and "retired." Henry is set to face Aljamain Sterling for Undisputed Bantamweight Championship that he never lost on May 6th at UFC 288. We look forward to seeing him return and there is no one more deserving to kickoff the top 20!
19. Jose Aldo
You can not talk about the history of the UFC without mentioning Jose Aldo. With 28 fights and a record of 21-7, Jose Aldo is truly one of the most dominant fighters ever. Before fighting Conor McGregor was 15-0. During that immaculate run Chad Mendes x2, Chan Sung Jung, Frankie Edgar, Cub Swanson, and the list goes on. Aldo has nine Featherweight Title defenses. Not many fighters can say they have defended their title nine times. Aldo wasn't done after his minor hiccup against McGregor, he defeated Frankie Edgar again and a young Renato Moicano. Aldo has even defeated Chito Vera. Jose Aldo absolutely belongs in the top 20.
18. Max Holloway
Many will argue that Max Holloway is the greatest Featherweight of all time. He's certainly one of them. Max is one of those types of fighters that would never lose if rounds were endless. He's simply never been finished. His only losses are in decisions to Alexander Volkanovski x3, Conor McGregor when they were both young, Dustin Poirier x2, and Dennis Bermudez in a split decision when Max was young. After losing to Conor, Max went on a historic run. During this run Max defeated superstars like Cub Swanson and Charles Oliviera. Max won nine fights in a row before earning his first title fight for the vacant Featherweight Title. Max defeated "Showtime" Anthony Pettis via TKO, defended his title against Jose Aldo twice, and Brian Ortega as well to cap off a historic 13-fight win streak. Max also defended the Featherweight Title against Frankie Edgar before losing his belt to Volk. It would be borderline disrespectful to leave Max off of the Opinion Octagon All-Time UFC Rankings.
17. Charles Oliveira
Charles is one of the fresher names on this list. He has the most submissions of all time inside a UFC octagon with 16! Charles has been in the UFC since 2010. His path has been a roller coaster with many ups and downs, but in 2018 Charles began a historic 11-fight win streak that eventually took him to the title. When Khabib Nurmagomedov retired and relinquished his Lightweight Championship the UFC decided Charles's 8-fight win streak was deserving enough for an opportunity to win UFC gold against Michael Chandler. After an action-packed first round, Charles knocked him out early in the second. Charles defended his belt against Dustin Poirier and submitted him one minute into the second round. Charles should have a title defense against Justin Gaethje, but due to missing weight by half of a pound was stripped of his belt and is now allowed to earn it back with a victory. Charles tapped Gaethje out three and a half minutes into the fight. Charles's exciting run ended against Islam Makhachev in October at UFC 280. Charles is set to face Beneil Dariush on May 6th at UFC 288. A win would most likely put him right back into title contention. Charles is the definition of a fighter when you watch him. He can take a beating, but no matter what you throw at him he is going to get up and continue to fight.
16. Conor McGregor
You knew he was going to be on here. The question was where. A lot of fans will probably have Conor in their top 5-10 UFC fighters ever and frankly, they're just casuals. Yes, Conor is the first UFC fighter ever to become the champion of two separate weight classes. However, McGregor never defended either championship. Conor defeated Chad Mendes for the Interim Feartherweight Title. He knocked out Aldo in 13 seconds to win the Undisputed Featherweight Championship and immediately challenged Eddie Alvarez for the Lightweight belt. Conor TKO'd Alvarez. Conor could have been so much higher on this list if his decision-making was a little different. Conor won the Featherweight belt, and instead of defending it against either Jose Aldo or Max Holloway, he fought Nate Diaz twice. In hindsight, the Diaz fights make zero sense. Yes, he was originally booked against Rafael Dos Anjos and yes, the fights with Diaz brought so much attention to the UFC, but what did they do for his legacy? The first fight with Diaz exposed his weakness and the second was just to avenge the loss. Conor has done so much for the UFC. Conor did to the UFC what Michael Jordan did for the NBA, they made their respective sports must-watch TV. However, this does not make them the greatest at their sport. As negative as a paragraph as this may seem, Conor has to be on this list as he did accomplish amazing feats during his illustrious career. I mean he was called Mystic Mac for a reason during the height of his rise when he was literally calling his own fights right down to the round and method of victory. Looking back on his magical run is always fun. Conor will return against Michael Chandler later this year after they coach against each other on this season of The Ultimate Fighter.
15. Israel Adesanya
The Last Stylebender has made a name for himself as one of the most dominant fighters in the history of the UFC. Adesanya ran through the Middleweight division almost twice before his long reign as champion ended. Adesanya started 9-0 in the UFC before losing to Light Heavyweight Champion at the time, Jan Blachowicz. Before being able to challenge the Light Heavyweight Champion, Adesanya defeated Kelvin Gastelum to win the Middleweight crown, then defended against Yoel Romero, Robert Whittaker, and Paulo Costa. Adesanya ran through them which is why most fans wanted to see Adesanya jump to Light Heavyweight. After the loss to Blachowicz, Adesanya defended his belt three more times. He defeated Marvin Vettori, Whittaker again, and Jared Cannonier. Izzy is looking for revenge as he is scheduled to fight Alex Pereira again in a rematch for the Middleweight Championship at UFC 287. If Adesanya can avenge his loss, it'd be the most impressive win of his career and possibly send him higher on the rankings.
14. Valentina Shevchenko
The Bullet's reign over the Women's Flyweight is more than enough to rank her the first woman among the men on the list. Valentina has 7 title defenses is currently on a historic nine-fight win streak, and she might not be slowing down. During her win streak, Valentina has outstruck her opponents 543-229. She's more than doubling her opponents in strikes landed. Shevchenko has been holding the Women's 125 division hostage for five years now. Talia Santos was the only woman to slow her down on this run. Shevchenko does have two UFC losses...to the greatest female fighter who you'll see on the list as you read. There is zero shame in losing to Amanda Nunes. Shevchenko is still hopeful she will one day be able to avenge that loss to Nunes. Yet, first, she has to defend her title against Alexa Grasso this Saturday night at UFC 285. Win or lose, Valentina's spot in these ranks is locked in.
13. Chuck Liddell
The Iceman is one of the pioneers of UFC. Chuck Liddell's first UFC fight was at UFC 17 and his last was at UFC 115. A career that spanned from 1998 to 2010. Liddell was a fan favorite and is a reason that the UFC was able to maintain viewership in the early years. Conor McGregor might have popularized the UFC, but Chuck put the brand on the map. Liddell has four Light Heavyweight Title defenses. During this run, he beat Randy Couture twice, once to win the belt and once to defend, and Tito Ortiz. The Iceman's historic run came to an end when he lost to Rampage Jackson. The fight against Rampage was the end of Chuck's career as he was only able to secure one more victory before taking off the gloves forever. Without Chuck, there simply is no UFC.
12. Alexander Volkanovski
Alexander "The Great" Volkanovski has a much younger UFC career than most fighters on this list. Volk has had 13 UFC fights, he's 12-1 and is slowly, but surely making a case to be one of the greatest fighters of all time. Volk is the current Featherweight Champion. On his way to the belt, he defeated UFC legends like Chad Mendes and Jose Aldo. Volk went on to defeat Max Holloway for the title and then beat him twice more. Volk also defended the belt against Brian Ortega and Chan Sung Jung. His loss comes against the current Lightweight Champion, Islam Makhachev. A lot of fans will argue Volk beat Makhachev. Volk didn't win on the scorecards, but it's one of those fights you wish had six rounds. Volk probably would have won in the sixth. He has a tremendous gas tank and the loss to Makhachev proved that he could go toe to toe with anyone. Volk still has a whole career left and we are looking forward to seeing the rest of Alex's career.
11. Kamaru Usman
The Nigerian Nightmare started his UFC career 15-0. He is currently 15-1. On his way to the Welterweight, Title Kamaru defeated Leon Edwards, Sean Strickland, Demian Maia, and Rafael Dos Anjos. Usman defeated Woodley via a unanimous decision to earn his championship. He racked in five title defenses against Colby Covington twice, Jorge Masvidal twice, and Gilbert Burns. Usman lost his title to Leon Edwards and will face him to settle their unfinished business in a trilogy fight at UFC 286 in two weeks. However, the caliber of fighters on Usman's resume set him apart from other fighters in this current generation. Kamaru is 35 and the door may be closing soon, but you can not deny how impressive his wins are. His dominance over the Welterweight division earned him a rank in the top 15 let alone the top 20. If Usman can defeat Leon again and avenge the loss I think the Nigerian Nightmare might have to enter the top 10!
10. Amanda Nunes
The Lioness has to be a member of these rankings. Amanda Nunes is the greatest female fighter to ever step foot in an octagon. To be the best, you gotta beat the best. Amanda has defeated Valentina Shevchenko twice, Miesha Tate, Ronda Rousey, Raquel Pennington, Cris Cyborg, Holly Holm, Felicia Spencer, Megan Anderson, Juliana Pena, and many more who have stepped in her path. Amanda has earned 8 title defenses over her reign. Not only is Amanda the Women's Bantamweight Champion, but she is also the Women's Featherweight Champion. She is also the only UFC Champion to defend two championships at the same time. There have been four champions to become double champion. Cejudo, McGregor, Amanda, and Daniel Cormier. The Lioness is the only double-champ to defend both titles. She truly is a GOAT. It's almost a crime to not have Amande higher on this list, but that goes to show you the caliber of fighters that are ahead of her.
9. Demetrious Johnson
If not for Mighty Mouse there would be no Flyweight Division in the UFC. Demetrious shined a spotlight on the UFC's lightest male weight class. The UFC was willing to throw the division away. They honestly took Mighty Mouse for granted as he is still thriving as the ONE Bantamweight Champion. It's a shame we lost the opportunity to see Johnson move up like Cejudo and view matchups like Johnson vs Petr Yan, DJ vs TJ Dillashaw, or even Johnson vs the current Bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling. Sadly Johnson's last bout in the UFC was against Cejudo in 2018. Before being traded, Johnson successfully defended the Flyweight belt 11 times! That's an incredible number of title defenses. Johnson holds wins against Henry Cejudo, Rob Font, Ray Borg, Chris Cariaso, and nearly everyone who has stood in the opposite corner. Maybe one-day Demetrious Johnson will be back, but thank the lord he did what he did in the UFC otherwise, guy's like Brandon Moreno and Mohammad Mokaev may have never gotten the chance to become the Flyweights they are today.
8. Cain Valasquez
The first Heavyweight Champion to get ranked, Cain Valasquez. Cain first won the title against Brock Lesnar. Cain lost the belt in his first title defense to Junior Dos Santos. Cain fought his way back to the title and avenged the loss to Dos Santos. Cain is one of the few champions to lose the belt and earn it back. Cain tallied two successful title defenses before losing the belt to Fabricio Werdum. The Heavyweight division is probably the hardest division to have a long reign. Especially when you factor in most Heavyweight bouts end when one fighter goes to sleep. The damage toll that Heavyweights take compared to the other weight classes is immensely worse. Another notable win for Cain is Ben Rothwell on his way to Lesnar. Cain had a hell of a run and deserves to be in the top 10. If you ask me, Cain is still one of the baddest men on the planet!
7. BJ Penn
They called him "The Prodigy" for a reason. BJ Penn was one of the pioneers of the UFC and what he accomplished truly made him a legend. BJ had three total title defenses. However, they weren't all during the same run. BJ is another one of the few champions to be able to return to glory. A lot of people also might look at Penn's record on paper of 16-14-2 and say how the hell is Penn ahead of Amanda Nunes or Kamaru Usman? Yet, Penn probably lingered for way too long in the UFC. He started his UFC career in 2001 and finished it in 2017. People forget how resilient he used to be. BJ Penn is also one of a handful of fighters who have had championship success in two separate weight classes. It's near impossible to have UFC top 10 list without BJ Penn.
6. Stipe Miocic
Stipe Miocic was the baddest man on the planet from 2016-2018. During Stipe's climb to the title, he defeated Mark Hunt and Andre Arlovski. Stipe then defeated Fabricio Werdum via first-round knockout to earn the Heavyweight Championship. Stipe defended the belt against Alistair Overeem, Junior Dos Santos, and Francis Ngannou before losing the belt to Daniel Cormier. Miocic eventually got his rematch and re-earned his Heavyweight Championship in 2019. Miocic defended the belt successfully one more time against Daniel Cormier to settle their score. A two-year reign as the UFC Heavyweight Championship and then being able to win the title back not only makes Miocic one of the greatest Heavyweights of all time but one of the greatest UFC fighters of all time!
Honorable Mentions:
Realistically there are a ton of fighters that have been in the UFC that could have been on our prestigious rankings. First, we have to mention the original GOAT, Randy Couture. Randy made his debut at UFC 13 and was a dominant Light Heavyweight Champion. Couture accomplished so much as a Light Heavyweight he eventually moved up to become a Heavyweight and became the Heavyweight Champ. Ronda Rousey might not be the greatest female fighter of all time anymore, but there was a time when she was truly the most dominant woman on the planet. If not for Rousey, Women's MMA in the UFC would not be nearly as respected. Guys like Randy Couture paved the way for Chuck Liddell, but Chuck Liddell paved the way for guys like Forrest Griffin Rampage Jackson, and Rashad Evans. They were all Light Heavyweight Champs at one point and made it the most entertaining weight class in the UFC for such a long time before Jon Jones conquered the division. Dominick Cruz, Deiveson Figueiredo, and TJ Dillashaw are all guys who have paved the way for the little guys. Dom Cruz more so than Dillashaw and Figgy because he's had a longer career, but without them, the Flyweight and Bantamweight divisions would not be where they are today. Frankie Edgar is another future Hall of Famer who should be mentioned as he was also one of the pioneers of the Lightweight and Featherweight divisions.
5. Khabib Nurmagomedov
You can not talk about the greatest or most dominant UFC fighters without mentioning Khabib Nurmagomedov close to the top. The Eagle of Dagestan was feared by many. With a total of 3 Lightweight title defenses and a UFC record of 13-0, it's hard to say many are better than Khabib. On his way to UFC gold, he defeated Rafael Dos Anjos, Michael Johnson, and Edson Barboza. He was supposed to fight Tony Ferguson for the Undisputed Lightweight Championship, but unfortunately, Tony was injured and unranked Al Iaquinta stepped up on short notice and took Khabib to a decision. Khabib defended his belt against Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, and Justin Gaethje. The way Khabib won these fights was dominant. Conor lasted the longest, outside of Iaquinta, but Poirier gave Nurmagomedov the most trouble. Even when Khabib was in trouble he was able to stay resilient and finish Poirier. Many fans will critique Khabib saying he didn't do enough. I believe Khabib was smart and got out at the right time. Look at Usman, he got to 15-0, now he's 15-1. Eventually, the competition will catch up to you. It's hard to say anyone in the Lightweight Division at the time of his retirement would have beaten Khabib, but the what-if matchups are always troublesome to think about. All in all, Khabib is a GOAT and has a place in our top 5!
4. Daniel Cormier
DC would probably be the greatest UFC fighter of all time if Jon Jones didn't exist. If Jon Jones didn't exist, Daniel Cormier would have been undefeated in the UFC as the Light Heavyweight Champion going into his Heavyweight Title fight with Stipe Miocic. Had that been the case Cormier would have been the undefeated baddest man on the planet after beating Stipe. Unfortunately for DC, Jon Jones does exist and we all know their history. DC stacked up four total title defenses across the Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight divisions. Cormier's wrestling ability made him a tough opponent for anyone, but he also had some great knockout power. There was a time when we all called DC the baddest man on the planet. He truly is a legend and we can't wait to hear him call the fights this Saturday Night!
3. Georges St Pierre
GSP is one of the greatest martial artists in UFC history. GSP lasted in the UFC from 2004-2013. It felt like he only got better as well. With only two losses that he avenged as well, you can't say many people beat him. GSP successfully defended the Welterweight title 11 times. The list of names that he's defeated is pretty incredible as well. BJ Penn, Matt Hughes, Matt Serra, and Nick Diaz. After four years of retirement after going out on top as the Welterweight Champion, GSP came back to submit Michael Bisping for the Middleweight title. Could we see something similar this weekend with Jon Jones? We'll see, but hopefully, he doesn't retire right away like GSP, which I highly doubt he will.
2. Anderson Silva
Anderson "The Spider" Silva made his UFC debut in 2006 and won the Middleweight Title in the very next fight against Rich Franklin. This was only the beginning of arguably the most dominant reigns in UFC history. Anderson held onto that belt for seven years. During his title reign, he defeated Dan Henderson, Forrest Griffin, Demian Maia, Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort, and Stephan Bonnar. Anderson also defended his title against Yushin Okami which was a big win for him and Yushin was one of the few men to defeat Anderson before his epic UFC career began. Silva's historic run ended against Chris Weidman. After the fights with Weidman Silva never returned to form, probably because of the leg injury he suffered in the rematch with Weidman. Anderson is somehow still competing in martial arts at the age of 47. He is truly an inspirational human being. Anderson Silva is not only one of the most dominant and accomplished fighters in UFC history, but he is one of the greatest. Honestly, if he wanted to call it for whatever reason in 2013 before the Weidman fight, I bet a lot of people would still regard him as the GOAT. The second half of his career didn't tarnish his legacy either, but there's only one man who's never suffered a real loss in the UFC.
1. Jon Jones
You knew this was coming. Jon "Bones" Jones is the undisputed greatest fighter of all time. His only loss is a b.s. DQ that happened on the tenth season of TUF. Jones has defeated everyone put in his path. Stephan Bonnar, Ryan Bader (current Bellator Heavyweight champ), Shogun Rua, Rampage Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen, Alexander Gustafsson x2, Glover Teixeira, Daniel Cormier x2, Ovince St. Preux, Anthony Smith, and Thiago Santos. Jones also beat Dom Reyes in a decision in his last bout just three years ago. All together, Jon has 14 Light Heavyweight Title defenses. Jones is set to fight Ciryl Gane in about 48 hours from right now for the UFC Heavyweight Title. A win would only set a higher bar for future generations of fighters to strive for. A loss at this point would do zero damage to the legacy of Jon Jones. Jon has already had GOAT level career, now he's just trying to lap the rest of the competition and have another. UFC 285 is so close Opinion Octagon can taste it. The anticipation has been through the roof and now we only have all of Friday and half of Saturday to get through to finally witness the GOAT compete in the Heavyweight division.
There you have it, the Opinion Octagon top 20 UFC Fighters to ever step foot inside the octagon! Let us know what you think in the comments!
