The world of mixed martial arts has undergone somewhat of a boom period over the last two decades as the rise in popularity of organisations such as UFC have moved the sport into the mainstream. The debate about who is the greatest MMA fighter of all-time continues to rage on so here is our look at the most legendary ones to have graced the sport over the years.
Anderson “The Spider” Silva is widely regarded as the greatest MMA fighter of all-time
Anderson “The Spider” Silva
We start this list with undoubtedly the greatest MMA fighter of all time in Anderson Silva. The Brazilian fighter went on an incredible winning streak during his prime of 19-0 in which time he defeated some of the sport’s biggest names including Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort, and Dan Henderson. The fact this era of dominance came when there were no other competitions outside of the UFC that were taking competitors away meant Silva was the best at a time when UFC was at its most competitive. He holds the record for the longest title streak in UFC history at 2,457 days. Many wonder how good Silva could have continued to be if he had not horrifically broken his leg against Chris Weidman.
Matt Hughes
It has been a glittering career for US fighter Hughes who is a two-time UFC Welterweight Champion, UFC Hall of Famer, and NJCAA Hall of Famer. During his title streak, Hughes was considered to be the best pound-for-pound mixed martial artist in the world. He has defeated a number of legendary fighters such as Georges St Pierre, Royce Gracie, and BJ Penn. Such is the reputation of Hughes within the sport that St Pierre even admitted after his defeat that he was awestruck by Hughes before, during, and after their bout.
Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko
If you want to consider some of the best MMA fighters in their prime then you need to look no further than Russian Fedor Emelianenko who went undefeated between 6th April, 2001 and 7th November, 2009. He beat some of the best fighters to have graced the sport such as Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (twice) and Mirko Filipovic. He has won multiple titles with different organisations including PRIDE Fighting Championships, FIAS World Combat Sambo Championship, and Russian Judo Federation National Championship.
Georges “Rush” St. Pierre
The Canadian mixed martial artist became one of the first big marketable names in UFC and can take a lot of credit for helping the organisation’s popularity sky rocket during the 2000s. George St. Pierres’ only two defeats during his first 11 years of fighting came against two big-name fighters in the shape of Matt Hughes and Matt Serra. He is a three-time former welterweight champion in the UFC and he holds the record for the second longest combined title streak in UFC history that lasted 2,204 days. The many victories of Georges “Rush” St. Pierre helped the sport to become a popular market across sports betting which was always seen as an unrealistic prospect for MMA. Mobile sports betting has been on the rise ever since then along with mobile casino games in general and MMA is becoming increasingly popular for sports bettors.
Randy “The Natural” Couture
Do not let Randy Couture’s less-brutal-than-normal nickname of “The Natural” fool you. This man was one of the most feared fighters in MMA during his peak. The US fighter is a former heavyweight champion in a career that spanned from 1997 to 2011. He was a late starter in MMA terms, he only turned professional at 33 years of age, and many feel he could have gone on to become one of the greatest if he had started his career earlier.
Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva
Wanderlei Silva is credited with having one of the most prolific prime streaks during the history of MMA. Between 12th August, 2000 and 1st July, 2006, Silva won 18 fights without defeat to put his name amongst the greats of the sport. He has defeated great fighters including Dan Henderson and Quinton Jackson. The Brazilian-American fighter has shown his talents in UFC and PRIDE winning plaudits in both organisations. He also boasts the longest winning streak in PRIDE history.
Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira
Brazilian fighter Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira became renowned for his expertise of the Brazilian Ju-Jitsu discipline during his career. He experienced an 8-year prime streak between 2000 and 2008 when he posted wins against fighters such as Mark Coleman, Fabricio Werdum, and Josh Barnett. Despite only being touted as one of the best fighters in the UFC for a short time he is still regarded as one of the best technical fighters to appear in the organisation.
Jon “Bones” Jones is an icon for the new era of UFC
Jon “Bones” Jones
Not many fighters make this list when they are still active but 29-year-old Jon Jones is one of the few. The current interim light heavyweight champion in UFC has carved quite a reputation for himself already. In an age when the charisma of the likes of McGregor and Brock Lesnar have dominated the media the more low-key approach of Jones continues to impress the purists. He has repeatedly been listed as the best pound-for-pound fighter around right now and notching up 21 victories between 12th April, 2008 and 6th January, 2015 shows how successful he has been. He has a VIP list of defeated opponents including Alexander Gustafsson, Daniel Cormier, and Lyoto Machida and he is only just getting started.
Bas “El Guapo” Rutten
We need to rewind the clock back a bit further to see the prime of Dutch fighter Bas Rutten. The man from Tilburg ended his prestigious career on a high with an undefeated streak of 22 fights consisting of 21 wins and 1 draw. Rutten was like a fine wine and only seemed to get better with age. The UFC Hall of Fame inductee popularised the use of the liver shot in MMA and he has gone on to become one of the most highly-regarded coaches in MMA.
Chuck “The Ice Man” Liddell
In the days before Conor McGregor, the one man who was the most commercially viable fighter for MMA was US-based Chuck Liddell. The fact he has appeared in a number of movies and television shows over the years such as Entourage, Drillbit Taylor, and Kick-Ass 2 emphasize this. However, he was also a brilliant fighter in his own right. He was involved in some epic fights with opponents such as Wanderlei Silva, Randy Couture, and Tito Ortiz. He will forever be remembered as one of the hardest-hitting fighters of all-time.
