The 100 Greatest Mixed Martial Artists (MMA) of All-Time

The Cutting Room Floor. (Last update: 3/30/25)

RankFighterYears
1Jon Jones2008-active
2Anderson Silva1997-2020
3Alexander Volkanovski2012-active
4George St-Pierre2002-2017
5Khabib Nurmagomedov2008-2020
6Ilia Topuria2015-active
7Islam Makhachev2010-active
8Merab Dvalishvili2013-active
9Israel Adesanya2009-active
10Fedor Emelianenko2000-active
11Francis Ngannou2013-active
12Stipe Miocic2010-2024
13Daniel Cormier2009-2020
14Dricus Du Plessis2013-active
15Magomed Ankalaev2014-active
16Leon Edwards2011-active
17Kamaru Usman2012-active
18Khamzat Chimaev2018-active
19Dominick Cruz2003-active
20Alex Pereira2015-active
21Lyoto Machida2003-active
22Dan Henderson1997-2016
23Shogun Rua2002-active
24Demetrious JohnsonWhy?2007-active
25Henry Cejudo2013-active
26Max Holloway2010-active
27Robert Whittaker2009-active
28Dustin Poirier2009-active
29Fabricio Werdum2002-active
30Rampage Jackson1999-active
31Chuck Liddell1998-2010
32Randy Couture1997-2011
33Matt Hughes1998-2013
34Alistair Overeem1999-active
35Charles Oliveira2008-active
36Conor McGregor2008-active
37Jose Aldo2004-active
38Belal Muhammad2012-active
39Frank Shamrock1994-2010
40Royce Gracie1993-2016
41Rashad Evans2003-2018
42Tito Ortiz1997-active
43Wanderlei Silva1996-2018
44Aljamain Sterling2010-active
45Brandon Moreno2011-active
46Cain Velasquez2006-2019
47Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira1999-2015
48Junior dos Santos2006-active
49Chris Weidman2009-active
50Ken Shamrock1993-2016
51Bas Rutten1993-2006
52Rickson Gracie1980-2000
53Anthony Johnson2006-active
54Vitor Belfort1996-active
55Jake Shields1999-active
56Forrest Griffin2001-2012
57Glover Teixeira2002-active
58Justin Gaethje2011-active
59Vadim Nemkov2013-active
60Ryan Bader2007-active
61Phil Davis2008-active
62Frankie Edgar2005-active
63Mirko Cro Cop2001-2019
64Ricardo Arona2000-2009
65Gegard Mousasi2003-active
66Antonio Rogerio Nogueira2000-2020
67Kazushi Sakuraba1996-active
68TJ Dillashaw2010-active
69Josh Barnett1997-2016
70Masakatsu Funaki1993-2012
71Cyril Gane2018-active
72Deiveson Figueiredo2012-active
73Jan Blachowicz2007-active
74Mark Coleman1996-2010
75Yoel Romero2009-active
76Nick Diaz2001-2015
77BJ Penn2001-2019
78Tyron Woodley2006-active
79Alexandre Pantoja2007-active
80Jiri Prochazka2012-active
81Luke Rockhold2007-active
82Jacare Souza2003-active
83Stephen Thompson2010-active
84Eddie Alvarez2003-active
85Rich Franklin1999-2015
86Rafael dos Anjos2004-active
87Patricio Pitbull2004-active
88Arman Tsarukyan2015-active
89Sean O’Malley2013-active
90Sean Strickland2008-active
91Petr Yan2014-active
92Sean Brady2014-active
93Michael Chandler2009-active
94Colby Covington2012-active
95Tony Ferguson2008-active
96Anthony Pettis2007-active
97Benson Henderson2006-active
98Robbie Lawler2001-active
99Rory MacDonald2005-active
100Frank Mir2001-active

The rest of the best MMA fighters of all time.

5 thoughts on “The 100 Greatest Mixed Martial Artists (MMA) of All-Time

  1. Great list in general. However I think you have some people very low. Demetrius Johnson should be way higher. His utter dominance of his division was something only replicated by the likes of GSP, Aldo and Silva. While 11 titles defenses in row (the UFC record) is impressive, I do get the fact he is in flyweight, which is a less competitive division. The sheer dominance he displayed quickly finishing some of the best flyweights the UFC has to offer such as, Cejudo, Benavidez and Tim Elliot. To conclude while I think that the fact that some put Johnson as there GOAT or even top three is ridiculous he at least deserves a top 10 spot given all he has done for flyweight and smaller guys in MMA in general.

    I also believe that Frank Mir is a bit underrated here. If we are ranking the best fighters of all time, yes I agree Mir barely cracks the top 100 but this a greatest list. Mir was brawler, plain and simple; he went after you, tried to get on top of you and he if he did he would bash your head repeatedly until the TKO or put you in a arm-bar. But at the place MMA was at the time Mike was a beast and a top contender throughout his career. He elevated the game winning a UFC championship and an interim championship and challenging the likes of Brock Lesnar for the title. He brought attention to the sport and when you saw Mir was on the card you knew it was going to be show. As well as this unlike in other sports where at the start the top guys where amateurs and playing plumbers like basketball, MMA is quite new so the early 2000s was still a new time for the sport. I am not trying to say he is better than Jon Jones or Stipe Miocic but for the era he was in he elevated the level and the attention of MMATo conclude Mir was one of the best in MMA in his time and brought attention to the sport, and when some talk about him great is often a word thrown around.

    1. Great stuff, Skii. I appreciate the love for D. Johnson and Mir. You bring up a good point about the meaning of “greatest.” Certainly, it’s open for interpretation. I lean more toward the “best fighters of all-time interpretation” with my focuses particularly on the following:

      1). Strength of schedule
      2). Peak run–I largely ignore green (early in career) and twilight (late career) fights.
      3). Marquee victories over ranked fighters in the top 5-10 with a major premium on those ranked in the top 2-3.
      4). Avoiding bad losses during the peak run

      For me, D. Johnson is underwhelming on 1 and 3, decent on 4 (although his peak was so long that Moraes and McCall could be considered peak losses), and he obviously shines on #2 with his 11 title defenses in a row as you mentioned. I’d be much more inclined to have him up where you have him had those title defenses been against stronger competition.

      Mir was a bona fide bad ass who had no fear. He fought a killer schedule, and I think you gave him a worthy tribute. He comes up short in the parameters that I emphasize, but there’s no question he was an early OG.

  2. Very well put. I think that impact on the sport is the big divider between best and greatest for me but as you said it is up to interpretation. To respond to you about Johnson (who if you can’t tell is one of my favorite fighters) is that he wasn’t ducking any fights like a Jon Jones is currently. For one reason or another the lighter the guy is the shorter is career. When Johnson could have faced the likes of Pantoja or Moreno he was already on his way down on the imaginary bell curve. It just woudnt of been a smart move which is partly why he moved away from the UFC. This wall that you have previously adressed that many greats face is at the tail end of their career. People like Silva probably should have called it quites after a loss or two(or 5). As for strength of schedule, Johnson was a fighting champion booking whatever fight they gave him and I don’t think you can pin it on him too much that he was Flyweight( I mean he would of been one chubby Lightweight that’s for sure). The point is he practically murdered his entire division and when he realized he was slipping and maybe the fact that stronger opposition was coming him he moved to ONE which for all intensive purposes for him was a retirement league. Like do we take points away from Neymar for going to Saudi or Pele for going to the MLS?

    1. Totally agree on murdering the division and not ducking anyone. His strength of schedule isn’t his fault in the same way it’s not Babe Ruth or Bill Russell’s fault for playing in totally or largely segregated leagues, or Gordie Howe’s fault that he played in a league with just six teams. Like D. Johnson, they did as well as they could do with what they were given. However, when comparing athletes across eras–or in D. Johnson’s case, across eras and weight classes–degree of difficulty is a big factor. In nearly every case, the athlete was not in control of that degree of difficulty. No shade on Johnson’s intentions AT ALL. No shade on what he did against who was lined up in front of him. He took care of who he was supposed to take care of during his title reign. Had he defeated Cruz and Cejudo (the 2nd time), he’d be a lock for the top-5 for me. Even just defeating Cejudo the 2nd time gets him pretty close to the top 10 for me. Fair or not, those fights carry disproportionate significance since those caliber fights were few and far between on his schedule. To be honest, I think we’re pretty close on Johnson. I have him as the greatest flyweight of all-time. I suspect the biggest difference is how much of a discount we apply to the flyweight division.

  3. I agree. Having him at in the mid 20s might be a bit aggressive because as you said he is the goat of his division and their are only 8 divisions so their are over 15 non-divisional goats ahead of him. Do agree just being a flyweight does deduct points.

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