UFC: Jon Jones, Anderson Silva, GSP – ranking the best UFC fighters of all time
With the greatest UFC card ever set to take place in Las Vegas, we asked a who’s who of fighters, trainers, managers and insiders who the best UFC combatant of all time is. Find out who took top spot inside.
With the greatest UFC card ever set to take place in Las Vegas this weekend, we decided to ask a who’s who of fighters, trainers, managers and insiders who the greatest UFC fighter of all time is.
The results are in.
Three names stand out from the rest, with a couple of throwbacks in the mix and of course Conor McGregor.
But, there was no room for one-time pound-for-pound king and undefeated lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov, with The Eagle not tallying a single vote.
Read on to see the results.
Rob Whittaker – UFC icon
Jon Jones. Without a doubt. He’s the best ever.
Alex Pereira – UFC light heavyweight champion
Anderson Silva or Jon Jones. Because of their title defences and fighting style.
James Te Huna – former UFC fighter
Mine is Mark Hunt. He doesn’t back down from a fight, and more importantly, he doesn’t back down from what’s right.
Arlene Blencowe – MMA fighter
I’m going with my girl Holly Holm. A boxing Hall of Famer and a former UFC champ.
James Vake – MMA fighter
Jon Jones. Despite the controversies, he’s won two belts in two different divisions, and is technically undefeated with his one loss being an illegal elbow in a fight he was dominating.
The youngest champion in history and also dominated what was the most stacked division at the time and defeated the four top 205ers who were in their prime: Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida, Rampage Jackson and Shogun Rua. And all in the space of one year!
GSP and Demetrious Johnson are also up there.
Justin Fitzgerald – boxing trainer
With respect to the other top four or five of all time, I would put Georges St-Pierre as the GOAT.
Over a decade at the elite level, and years of title defences is one thing. It’s hard enough to become champion and even harder to continually defeat challenger after challenger. If you break his UFC career record of 20-2 down, he avenged his only two losses and either stopped or submitted the opponent. That’s a champion.
He also went up a weight division and won the middleweight title. His championship credentials speak for themselves and his fight IQ was very high. The GOAT.
Lieutenant Dan Hennessey – legendary ring announcer
Jon Jones. His only loss was a DQ against Matt Hammill for illegal strikes. He was killing Hammill up to that point. Most dominant reign of any UFC champion.
Jack Brubaker – boxer
Gotta go with Jonny ‘Bones’ Jones
Courtney Tairi – Broadcaster
I’m going Amanda Nunes. Fearless and one of the best to ever do it. Not only a dual weight champion but also defended her titles. Avenged her loss to Peña and retired on top.
Niko Pajarillo – UFC broadcaster
Anderson Silva. In the pantheon of dominant champions, what sets ‘The Spider’ apart is his array of finishes. Jon Jones was similarly dynamic, but Anderson did it consistently across two divisions. Not only did he move up to light heavyweight on numerous occasions for NON-TITLE BOUTS (a feat not seen among today’s fighters), but he looked so comfortable, securing massive knockouts with a swagger and a flamboyance unique only to Anderson Silva.
Cam O’Neill – Eternal MMA Promoter
Anderson Silva. Incredible run from 2006 – 2012 often finishing other legends and looking effortless doing it.
Kacper – Submission Radio
GSP. He took on all-comers. He avenged all of his losses. He defended the belt through multiple generations of opponents. Never failed a drug test. Won belts in multiple weight classes, and retired on top.
Denis – Submission Radio
Randy Couture. He is the only UFC fighter to win a championship after becoming a Hall-of-Famer and is the oldest champion in MMA history with his title victory over Tim Sylvia at age 43. He is one of the few MMA champions to regain a title he had lost, and the only to have done it three times (twice at heavyweight, once at light heavyweight). His style helped revolutionise modern MMA with his work again the cage and wrestling, he also never avoided tough fights and fought at heavyweight even though he was small even for 205. He’s not the typical GOAT but I feel like GOAT has a number of meanings depending on who you talk to and for me GOAT means a fighter who fought anyone at any time and acted with class. I believe Randy Couture is an example of that.
Denan Kemp – Bloke in a Bar
Anderson Silva epitomised what a mixed martial artist was. GSP is also up there.
Who the Fook are these guys? – Combat sports podcasters
Jon Jones. Controversy aside, nobody has dominated the sport quite like Bones. Hard to go past his record of championship accomplishments.
Conor McGregor. Literally a once in a lifetime phenom. Nobody will ever have a rise to superstardom like Conor, transcending the sport while backing it up in the cage becoming double champ.
Alexander Volkanovski. Without a doubt the featherweight GOAT, and one of the best pound for pound fighters ever. Put the entire nation of Australia on his back and exceeded all expectations. God bless Volk!
Chris Reive – Sports journalist
Longest title reign in UFC history, most finishes in UFC title fights, and just pure fun to watch, Anderson Silva tops my list. Special mention to Conor McGregor as having the greatest impact on the sport and Jon Jones as the most talented.
Nick Campton – Sports journalist
Georges St-Pierre. He’s got it all – sustained dominance in one division, a title in a second, the strongest schedule of any long-reigning champion and utter dominance over just about everyone he faced during that time. Avenged both his losses in dominant fashion. The first fighter who mixed the martial arts at the highest level, every great fighter to come along since him is created in his image.
Tyson Jackson – Daily Telegraph journalist
Jon Jones. Arguably the most skilled fighter of all time. If he stayed out of trouble, what more could he have done. Jones made some of the best look like amateurs, and is a two-weight world champion.
Brendan Bradford – Combat sports journalist
Anderson Silva. Could do things you didn’t think were possible, and looked like he had the best fun doing it. Great fighter and awesome character.
Amanda Nunes would be high on my list too.
Nick Walshaw – Combat journalist
Georges St-Pierre. A UFC powerhouse who changed the way we think about fighting — and, indeed, fighters — GSP remains the very definition of a Mixed Martial Artist given his insane combination of striking, grappling, fight IQ, everything. Apart from winning titles in two divisions, or never popping for drugs, ‘Rush’ also dominated through not only a run of fights, or even a few years, but generations of rivals. Remained a combat sports rarity to the very end too, going out of the game on his terms.
Originally published as UFC: Jon Jones, Anderson Silva, GSP – ranking the best UFC fighters of all time
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