Who is the UFC GOAT? In any sport, it is a hotly discussed topic and when it comes to the world’s leading MMA promotion, things really are no different. The organisation has transcended the sport and sent it to new levels in recent years, which is largely down to the superstars that have graced the Octagon.

Which of these UFC legends, though, are truly the best fighters in the history of the Las Vegas-based company. The likes of Ronda Rousey and Brock Lesnar may have dominated at the box office, but their actual performance in the cage was patchy at times, to say the least. Below is a ranking of the 15 best UFC fighters of all time.

Ranking factors include:

• Championships won
• Dominance of a division
• UFC records held
• Level of opposition

10

Daniel Cormier

MMA record: 22-3

A former two-weight UFC champion in both the light heavyweight and heavyweight division, Daniel Cormier is the second fighter in the promotion’s history to hold titles in two weight classes simultaneously after Conor McGregor, and stands as the first to have successfully gone on to defend those titles.

A trend-setter and record-breaker, ‘DC’ has formed an aggressive rivalry with Jon Jones, which is often compared to Mike Tyson’s with Evander Holyfield in boxing, who he famously fought twice, with the latter overturned to a no contest after his rival failed a drugs test. Cormier retired in 2020 after back-to-back defeats in the heavyweight division against Miocic, but his legacy will not be affected given his prior achievements, which have also earned him a slot as a regular pundit on UFC events. His likable personality and skills inside the cage see him rightly celebrated as a legend of the sport.

9

Amanda Nunes

MMA record: 23-5

Although the UFC has now had a total of 10 double champions, few have held (and actually defended) two titles in the same way that ‘The Lioness’ did with both the women’s bantamweight and featherweight crowns up until her retirement in 2023. A truly versatile fighter with elite striking skills, Nunes defeated every major name of her era, including Ronda Rousey, Cris Cyborg, Holly Holm, and Valentina Shevchenko (twice).

After beating Miesha Tate for the bantamweight championship at UFC 200, she held it for an astonishing 2,528 days until handing it back when she decided to hang up her gloves. Amanda was deservedly inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in June 2025, where she hinted at a comeback to try and regain bantamweight gold from current champion Kayla Harrison. That bout would be one of the biggest women’s fights in company history – and a few would count Nunes out when it comes to completing a fairytale comeback story.

8

Alex Pereira

MMA record: 13-3

No fighter in these rankings has as few professional fights to his name as Pereira. Now a three-time UFC champion, the Brazilian striker has only 16 professional bouts to his name. In a testament to how quickly he rose up the UFC ranks after his November 2021 debut, it took ‘Poatan’ just four bouts to defeat long-time rival Israel Adesanya for the middleweight title. Although Pereira lost that belt back to ‘The Last Stylebender’ in his next fight, he would soon be a UFC champion again. Barely seven months after that setback, he knocked out Jiri Prochazka to win the vacant UFC light heavyweight championship.

Known for his fan-friendly style and willingness to compete whenever the promotion calls upon him, Alex has become one of the company’s biggest modern-day attractions. His brutal knockout of Magomed Ankalaev in their rematch at UFC 320 to regain this light heavyweight title after losing it earlier in 2025 showed just how dangerous he remains.

7

Islam Makhachev

Record: 28-1

Makhachev secured his own spot in company history when he defeated Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322 to claim the welterweight championship. The Russian grappler was already the most successful lightweight champion of all time, before he vacated the title at 155lbs to chase glory in a second weight class.

With his triumph over ‘JDM’, the 34-year-old became just the 11th double champion in UFC history. Currently riding a 16-fight win streak, Makhachev could yet force his way even higher up this list before he calls time on his career.

6

Jose Aldo

MMA record: 32-10

Jose Aldo retired from MMA in an emotional speech following his loss to Aiemann Zahabi at UFC 315. The defeat rounded out a 1-2 run for the former featherweight champion in his second stint with the UFC. However, earlier in his career, Aldo truly pressed his claim for GOAT status.

Between May 2006 and December 2015, he never lost a fight, racking up 18 straight wins, including seven consecutive defences of the UFC featherweight championship. The Brazilian legend was always entertaining too, scoring stoppage wins over the likes of Chad Mendes and ‘The Korean Zombie’ Jung Chan Sung.

Unfortunately for Aldo, he is likely to always be remembered as the man on the wrong side of a 13-second KO by Conor McGregor, but that defeat alone shouldn’t define his career. He is widely considered to be the greatest featherweight fighter in history and will forever be remembered for his contributions to the sport.

5

Demetrious Johnson

MMA record: 25-4-1

Demetrious Johnson reigned as the inaugural and former UFC flyweight champion, setting the pace for one of the most dominant spells in any weight class that the promotion had ever seen. Largely notorious for his lightning strikes and elusive movement, Johnson holds the record for the most takedowns in UFC flyweight history.

He is the only UFC fighter to record over 10 takedowns in three different fights, and his remarkable record-breaking feats will see him etched in the history books forever as one of the greatest to ever grace the Octagon, and certainly the best at flyweight. After departing the UFC in 2018, Johnson moved to ONE FC where he compiled a 5-1 record and won the promotion’s flyweight title. He announced his retirement from the sport in an emotional speech on the 6th of September 2024 inside the ONE cage.

4

Khabib Nurmagomedov

MMA record: 29-0

Khabib Nurmagomedov is the most dominant lightweight of all time in a division where he was the longest-reigning champion in history, holding the title from April 2018 to March 2021. With 29 wins and no losses in the UFC, he retired with a perfect record. It’s one which will likely rarely be matched given his ability to completely take control of fights with his elite wrestling and killer submissions.

‘The Eagle’ took on some of the best towards the back end of his career, and was one half of the most iconic rivalry in UFC history against bitter enemy Conor McGregor. Their fight at UFC 229 is still the company’s biggest-selling pay-per-view ever. Khabib fought just twice more after that victory, before deciding to retire following a win over Justin Gaethje.

He may well have been placed further up this list if his career had continued, but he acted on the wishes of his mother and late father by deciding to walk away from active competition. He has since gone on to mentor Islam Makhachev, who reigned as lightweight champion before vacating the gold to pursue glory at welterweight.

3

Georges St-Pierre

MMA record: 26-2

Georges St-Pierre reigned as a two-division champion in the UFC, having won titles in the welterweight and middleweight divisions. He won the UFC welterweight crown on three occasions, having raised the full title, twice alongside the interim belt. The Canadian hero lost twice in his career – to Matt Hughes and then Matt Serra – but would later avenge both defeats inside the Octagon.

He retired as the reigning welterweight champion in December 2013, having held the record for most wins in title bouts and the second-longest combined title streak in UFC history (2,204 days) while defending his title nine consecutive times. He returned to the Octagon in November 2017 at UFC 217, when he defeated Michael Bisping by submission to win the middleweight title, becoming the fourth fighter in the history of the UFC to be a multi-division champion. He won an incredible 13 straight fights before finally calling time on his career.

2

Anderson Silva

MMA record: 34-11 (1 NC)

Former middleweight champion Anderson Silva still holds the record for the longest title reign in UFC history at 2,457 days, spanning from 2006 until 2013, which is an incredible feat given the challengers that tried to dethrone him during his stint with the belt. This spell included an incredible 16 consecutive victories, featuring wins over the likes of Vitor Belfort and Chael Sonnen.

A two-time UFC Hall of Famer, ‘The Spider’ fought in a total of 13 UFC title fights, scoring finishes in nine of them. His record includes a number of losses, but many of these happened towards the end of his career, where he was simply fighting because he loved to compete more than anything else. That he could lose five of his last six fights and still be considered one of the greatest fighters to ever step into the Octagon says a lot about how truly brilliant the Brazilian was in his prime.

1

Jon Jones

MMA record: 28-1 (1 NC)

Jon Jones is considered by a large majority, including UFC CEO Dana White, to be the greatest fighter to have ever set foot in the Octagon. Before winning the UFC heavyweight championship last year, ‘Bones’ reigned twice as light heavyweight titleholder. He held the gold at 205lbs from March 2011 to April 2015 and from December 2018 to August 2020. His first title saw him become the youngest champion in UFC history with his title victory over Maurício Rua at age 23, which many that age could scarcely dream of.

He holds many UFC records in the light heavyweight division, including the most title defences, most wins, and longest win streak, but has also made a remarkable impact after bulking up to incredible shape to make the move up to heavyweight. This was even more remarkable because it came after a two-year hiatus from the sport.

Jones’ only official loss came via a controversial disqualification in December 2010, which many would like to see overturned. He further enhanced his reputation as the greatest of all time by beating Stipe Miocic in comfortable fashion at UFC 309. However, that fight would prove to be the last of Jones’ legendary career as he confirmed his retirement in June 2025. He has left considerable shoes to fill.