To me, pound for pound best means more than clearing out one division. I am basing this list not only on fighters who have wiped clean their respective division, but also on fighters who have tested multiple weight classes and succeeded. NOTE: I have not yet bought into Mr. Edgar and Fitch has never been a champion or tested the waters elsewhere. Shogun still hasn't dominated a weight class in years, though still has the capablities. Well, be nice and here we go!
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1
- Demetrious Johnson
- "Mighty Mouse"
- 25-4-1
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2
- Dominick Cruz
- "The Dominator"
- 24-4-0
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Slowly moving up my rankings.
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3
- Jon Jones
- "Bones"
- 27-1-0, 1 NC
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Takes over the top spot w/ Silva's loss.
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4
- José Aldo
- "Junior"
- 31-8-0
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Aldo has finally fought through some adversity.. and came through. He now has defended his belt a couple times and proved to be extraordinarily dangerous.
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5
- Daniel Cormier
- "DC"
- 22-3-0, 1 NC
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6
- Conor McGregor
- "The Notorious"
- 22-6-0
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7
- T.J. Dillashaw
- 17-5-0
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8
- Chris Weidman
- "The All-American"
- 16-7-0
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9
- Robbie Lawler
- "Ruthless"
- 30-16-0, 1 NC
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10
- Frankie Edgar
- "The Answer"
- 24-11-1
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11
- Anthony Pettis
- "Showtime" | 25-14-0
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12
- Donald Cerrone
- "Cowboy" | 36-17-0, 2 NC
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13
- Renan Barão
- "The Baron" | 34-10-0, 1 NC
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14
- Johny Hendricks
- "Big Rig" | 18-8-0
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15
- Anderson Silva
- "The Spider" | 34-11-0, 1 NC
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I'll push him back to two if he wins his belt back.
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16
- Carlos Condit
- "The Natural Born Killer" | 32-14-0
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Yeah - He beat Hendricks.
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17
- Cain Velasquez
- 14-3-0
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18
- Dan Henderson
- "Hendo" | 32-15-0
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19
- BJ Penn
- "The Prodigy" | 16-14-2
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Flame away! I am no BJ "hugger", but the guy has fought in several weight classes, even taking Machida to a decision and is a multiple weight class champion. He may not be top 3 in any weight class, but pound for pound one of the toughest out there.
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20
- Joseph Benavidez
- 28-8-0
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21
- Benson Henderson
- "Smooth" | 30-12-0
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22
- Rashad Evans
- "Suga" | 20-8-1
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Success in two divsions and being a former champ should get you on this list.
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23
- Nick Diaz
- 26-10-0, 2 NC
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24
- Rich Franklin
- "Ace" | 29-7-0, 1 NC
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25
- Fabrício Werdum
- "Vai Cavalo" | 24-9-1, 1 NC
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26
- Chad Mendes
- "Money" | 18-5-0
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27
- Junior dos Santos
- "Cigano" | 21-10-0
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28
- Urijah Faber
- "The California Kid" | 35-11-0
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29
- Jake Shields
- 33-11-1, 1 NC
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Another top notch figher with success in multiple divisions. Former MW champion and WW champion who also bested Dan Henderson (Former LHW Champ). Not a big, flashy guy, but should be on everyone's top 5 pound for pound in my opnion :).
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30
- Gilbert Melendez
- "El Nino" | 22-8-0
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31
- Chael Sonnen
- 30-17-1
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32
- Maurício Rua
- "Shogun" | 27-14-1
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33
- Eddie Alvarez
- "The Underground King" | 30-8-0, 2 NC
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34
- Jon Fitch
- 32-8-2, 1 NC
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I wish teamates would understand fighting is a sport and friendship will always be there. Fitch would be higher on my list if he knew this. What a conundrum Fitch is in. Can't get the title, not ready to move up to MW quite yet... beats most.
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35
- Josh Koscheck
- "Kos" | 17-11-0
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36
- Alistair Overeem
- "The Demolition Man" | 47-19-0, 1 NC
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37
- Frank Mir
- 19-13-0
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38
- Vitor Belfort
- "The Phenom" | 26-14-0, 1 NC
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39
- Kenny Florian
- "KenFlo" | 14-6-0
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40
- Gray Maynard
- "The Bully" | 13-7-1, 1 NC
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41
- Jim Miller
- "A-10" | 37-18-0, 1 NC
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42
- Ronaldo Souza
- "Jacaré" | 26-10-0, 1 NC
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43
- Yushin Okami
- "Thunder" | 38-15-0
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44
- Hector Lombard
- "Showeather" | 34-10-1, 3 NC
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45
- Shinya Aoki
- "Tobikan Judan" | 48-11-0, 1 NC
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46
- Forrest Griffin
- 19-7-0
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47
- Brian Bowles
- 10-3-0
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48
- Ryan Bader
- "Darth" | 31-8-0, 1 NC
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49
- Nate Diaz
- 21-13-0
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50
- Clay Guida
- "The Carpenter" | 38-24-0
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51
- Nate Marquardt
- "The Great" | 36-20-2
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52
- Hatsu Hioki
- 29-12-2
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53
- Marlon Sandro
- "The Gladiator" | 29-7-2
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54
- George Sotiropoulos
- 14-7-0, 1 NC
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55
- Thiago Alves
- "Pitbull" | 23-15-0
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56
- Melvin Guillard
- "The Young Assassin" | 32-22-2, 3 NC
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57
- Gegard Mousasi
- "The Dreamcatcher" | 49-9-2
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58
- Antônio Silva
- "BigFoot" | 19-15-0, 1 NC
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59
- Matt Hughes
- 45-9-0
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60
- Mike Brown
- 25-9-0
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61
- Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira
- "Minotauro" | 34-10-1, 1 NC
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62
- Wanderlei Silva
- "The Axe Murderer" | 35-14-1, 1 NC
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63
- Antônio Rogério Nogueira
- "Minotouro" | 23-10-0
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64
- Diego Sanchez
- "Nightmare" | 30-14-0
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65
- Michael Bisping
- "The Count" | 30-9-0
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66
- Martin Kampmann
- "Hitman" | 21-7-0
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67
- Roy Nelson
- "Big Country" | 23-19-0
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68
- Thiago Silva
- 21-9-0, 3 NC
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69
- Phil Davis
- "Mr. Wonderful" | 24-7-0, 1 NC
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70
- Matt Hamill
- "The Hammer" | 12-8-0
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71
- Muhammed Lawal
- "King Mo" | 21-10-0, 1 NC
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72
- Demian Maia
- 28-11-0
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73
- Mark Hominick
- "The Machine" | 20-12-0
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74
- Jason Miller
- "Mayhem" | 24-10-0, 1 NC
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75
- Scott Jorgensen
- "Young Guns" | 15-12-0
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76
- Josh Barnett
- "The Warmaster" | 35-8-0
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77
- Mark Muñoz
- "The Filipino Wrecking Machine" | 14-6-0
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78
- Sean Sherk
- "The Muscle Shark" | 35-4-1
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79
- Tyson Griffin
- 17-8-0
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80
- Joe Warren
- "The Baddest Man on the Planet" | 15-8-0
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81
- Dan Hardy
- "The Outlaw" | 25-10-0, 1 NC
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82
- Takanori Gomi
- "The Fireball Kid" | 35-15-0, 1 NC
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83
- Manny Gamburyan
- "The Anvil" | 15-10-0, 1 NC
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84
- Ben Askren
- "Funky" | 19-2-0, 1 NC
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85
- Dennis Siver
- 23-11-0, 1 NC
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86
- Hiroyuki Takaya
- "Streetfight Bancho" | 23-15-2
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87
- Josh Thomson
- "The Punk" | 23-9-0, 1 NC
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88
- Patricio Pitbull
- 36-7-0
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89
- Pat Curran
- "Paddy Mike" | 23-9-0
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90
- Tatsuya Kawajiri
- "Crusher" | 37-14-2
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91
- Edson Barboza
- "Junior" | 24-11-0
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92
- Patricky Pitbull
- 25-13-0
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93
- Ian McCall
- "Uncle Creepy" | 13-7-1
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94
- Roger Gracie
- 8-2-0
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95
- Alexander Gustafsson
- "The Mauler" | 18-8-0
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96
- Kazushi Sakuraba
- "The Gracie Hunter" | 26-17-1, 2 NC
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97
- Akihiro Gono
- "The Magic Man" | 38-24-8
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98
- Tim Kennedy
- 18-6-0
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99
- Bibiano Fernandes
- "The Flash" | 24-6-0
-
100
- Mike Russow
- 15-3-0, 1 NC
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101
- Evan Dunham
- 18-9-1
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102
- Norifumi Yamamoto
- "KID" | 18-6-0, 2 NC
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103
- Zach Makovsky
- "Fun Size" | 21-12-0
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104
- Mamed Khalidov
- "Cannibal" | 37-8-2
My Summary