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1
- Georges St-Pierre
- "Rush"
- 26-2-0
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I mean...am I wrong? I feel like putting GSP at the top of an MMA GOAT list is about as hot of a take as calling the ocean "wet"." Two losses in his entire career, and he avenged both of those. Dominant in every single win of his career aside from one where his opponent was juicing beyond belief. The guy came back after a four year layoff, up a weight class while suffering debilitating colitis and he still won a world championship. Even in his mid 40s he's probably a better fighter than about 95% of the UFC's entire roster. What else can I say? GSP's the GOAT.
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2
- Demetrious Johnson
- "Mighty Mouse"
- 25-4-1
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How is this guy STILL underrated. He's lost to four guys in his whole career, three of which were against opponents who had a huge size advantage on him. Not to mention he avenged the most recent of those with a KO. Will his legacy forever be diminished because he didn't have a TJ Dillashaw fight? That's debatable. What's undisputed is that DJ has the most consecutive title defenses in UFC history, the second longest reign in terms of consecutive days, and will forever be the greatest flyweight of all time. Nobody ever has matched the title streak of DJ, and nobody probably ever will equal his defense streak. What places him below GSP is his lack of competition within the UFC (though many of the fighters he defended against were fairly credible), and his more losses that he's yet to avenge (Cruz, Pickett, Cejudo).
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3
- Khabib Nurmagomedov
- "The Eagle"
- 29-0-0
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Time for a take so hot that I may have just triggered the heat death of the universe. So, yes, is Khabib's early career a little spotty in terms of fighter records? Maybe yes. But then again, almost 90% of current MMA fighters came up on the regional scene fighting cans. Plus, you need to factor in that MMA in Russia was pretty much a dead concept when Khabib was coming up. Don't why I'm disclaiming this because you've already discrediting my ranking, if you're even literate enough to read my explanations that is. When you talk about Khabib, there is one word to describe him: dominant. Had his father not sadly passed away, Khabib would probably still be the champion. Argue that all you want Tony-I mean Charles fans, but look at how Islam Makhachev absolutely destroyed Charles...now think of what would've happened if it was Khabib. Despite any perceived "lack of competition," Khabib is the greatest lightweight of all time, made almost every single on of his fights look easy, and deserves to have as peaceful a retirement as possible after the career he had in the sport.
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4
- Jon Jones
- "Bones"
- 27-1-0, 1 NC
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Speaking of hot takes, it's time to talk about one of, if not my least favorite fighter of all time: Jon Jones. So let's get the obvious out of the way: longest light heavyweight title reign, most title fight victories* in the UFC, incredibly potent skillset, incredibly dominant (in his first title reign). Now let's get to the hotter takes. Jones is undefeated in the UFC: that is FALSE. Jones did not win against Thiago Santos, and he DID NOT WIN AGAINST DOMINICK REYES!
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5
- Anderson Silva
- "The Spider"
- 34-11-0, 1 NC
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6
- José Aldo
- "Junior"
- 32-8-0
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7
- Stipe Miocic
- 20-4-0
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8
- Daniel Cormier
- "DC"
- 22-3-0, 1 NC
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9
- Alexander Volkanovski
- "The Great"
- 26-4-0
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10
- Cain Velasquez
- 14-3-0
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11
- Matt Hughes
- 45-9-0
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12
- BJ Penn
- "The Prodigy" | 16-14-2
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13
- Randy Couture
- "The Natural" | 19-11-0
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14
- Fedor Emelianenko
- "The Last Emperor" | 40-7-0, 1 NC
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15
- Dominick Cruz
- "The Dominator" | 24-4-0
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16
- Dan Henderson
- "Hendo" | 32-15-0
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17
- Max Holloway
- "Blessed" | 26-7-0
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18
- Henry Cejudo
- "Triple C" | 16-4-0
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19
- Chuck Liddell
- "The Iceman" | 21-9-0
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20
- Wanderlei Silva
- "The Axe Murderer" | 35-14-1, 1 NC