You have to look at guys in the context and era they were fighting within. While Royce Gracie wouldn't cut it athletically in today's UFC, what he did in the beginning was groundbreaking and epic hence his place on this list, and other like him.
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1
- Royce Gracie
- 15-2-3
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The one who more or less started it all.
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2
- Kazushi Sakuraba
- "The Gracie Hunter"
- 26-17-1, 2 NC
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The man who put an end to the concept that straight-up Gracie Jiu Jitsu could single-handedly keep you on top in MMA.
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3
- Fedor Emelianenko
- "The Last Emperor"
- 40-7-0, 1 NC
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Still stands as the greatest heavyweight of all time.
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4
- Randy Couture
- "The Natural"
- 19-11-0
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The ambassador for the sport.
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5
- Georges St-Pierre
- "Rush"
- 26-2-0
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Destroys all modern day competition, has no peer, and is a mega-star.
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6
- Wanderlei Silva
- "The Axe Murderer"
- 35-14-1, 1 NC
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He defined the Pride middleweight division.
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7
- Chuck Liddell
- "The Iceman"
- 21-9-0
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People were scared to step in the ring with him. You just knew you were getting KTFO'd. And he was on Dancing with the Stars. What MMA fighter did you expect to be able to say that about?
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8
- Anderson Silva
- "The Spider"
- 34-11-0, 1 NC
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Best striker in the history of the sport?
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9
- Tito Ortiz
- "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy"
- 21-12-1
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Have to give credit where due, Tito was one of the main reasons the UFC and MMA is where it is today.
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10
- Frank Shamrock
- "The Legend"
- 23-10-2
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Basically erased from the UFC official history books, but Frank was legendary for a time.
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11
- Matt Hughes
- 45-9-0
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12
- Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira
- "Minotauro" | 34-10-1, 1 NC
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13
- Vitor Belfort
- "The Phenom" | 26-14-0, 1 NC
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14
- Ken Shamrock
- "The World's Most Dangerous Man" | 28-17-3
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15
- Mark Coleman
- "The Hammer" | 16-10-0
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16
- BJ Penn
- "The Prodigy" | 16-14-2
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17
- Takanori Gomi
- "The Fireball Kid" | 36-15-0, 1 NC
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18
- Dan Severn
- "The Beast" | 101-19-7
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19
- Maurício Rua
- "Shogun" | 27-14-1
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20
- Mirko Filipović
- "Cro Cop" | 38-11-2, 1 NC
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21
- Pedro Rizzo
- "The Rock" | 20-11-0
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22
- Bas Rutten
- "El Guapo" | 28-4-1
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23
- Rich Franklin
- "Ace" | 29-7-0, 1 NC
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24
- Rickson Gracie
- 9-0-0
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25
- Pat Miletich
- "The Croation Sensation" | 29-8-2
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26
- Urijah Faber
- "The California Kid" | 35-11-0
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27
- Mark Kerr
- "The Smashing Machine" | 15-11-0, 1 NC
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28
- Lyoto Machida
- "The Dragon" | 26-12-0
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29
- Dan Henderson
- "Hendo" | 32-15-0
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30
- Renzo Gracie
- 14-7-1, 1 NC
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31
- Don Frye
- "The Predator" | 20-9-1, 1 NC
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32
- Oleg Taktarov
- "The Russian Bear" | 17-5-2
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33
- Marco Ruas
- "The King of the Streets" | 9-4-2
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34
- David Abbott
- "Tank" | 10-15-0
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35
- Maurice Smith
- "Mo" | 14-17-0
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36
- Gary Goodridge
- "Big Daddy" | 23-22-1
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37
- Guy Mezger
- "The Sandman" | 30-14-2
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38
- Igor Vovchanchyn
- "Ice Cold" | 55-10-1, 1 NC
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39
- Norifumi Yamamoto
- "KID" | 18-6-0, 2 NC
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40
- Sean Sherk
- "The Muscle Shark" | 35-4-1
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41
- Kazuyuki Fujita
- "Ol' Ironhead" | 18-14-0
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42
- José Aldo
- "Junior" | 31-8-0
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43
- Brock Lesnar
- 5-3-0, 1 NC
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44
- Alistair Overeem
- "The Demolition Man" | 47-19-0, 1 NC
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45
- Forrest Griffin
- 19-7-0
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46
- Tsuyoshi Kosaka
- "TK" | 42-33-2
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47
- Kevin Randleman
- "The Monster" | 17-16-0
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48
- Rashad Evans
- "Suga" | 20-8-1
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49
- Jon Fitch
- 32-8-2, 1 NC
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50
- Jens Pulver
- "Little Evil" | 27-19-1
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51
- Evan Tanner
- 32-8-0
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52
- Jeremy Horn
- "Gumby" | 92-22-5, 1 NC
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53
- Carlos Newton
- "The Ronin" | 16-14-0
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54
- Cris Cyborg
- 27-2-0, 1 NC
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55
- Josh Barnett
- "The Warmaster" | 35-8-0
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56
- Antônio Rogério Nogueira
- "Minotouro" | 23-10-0
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57
- Sergei Kharitonov
- "The Paratrooper" | 35-9-0, 2 NC
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58
- Akira Shoji
- "Mr. Pride" | 14-17-5
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59
- Murilo Bustamante
- "Bust A Move" | 15-8-1
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60
- Ricco Rodriguez
- "Suave" | 54-27-0, 1 NC
My Summary