Consensus Rankings:   Official  |  Member Designed  |  This Ranking Updated 13 years, 6 months ago  |  All By Penitence

1. 1

   

   Fedor Emelianenko

   "The Last Emperor"

   40-7-0, 1 NC

   Undefeated for ten years and faced the best of the best for many of them. I briefly considered dropping him down a spot or two because he never entered the UFC, but I don't hold that against him and he did face the best guys in whatever organization he was in at the time. He is a fearless, well-rounded fighter that epitomizes MMA.
   

2. 2

   

   Chuck Liddell

   "The Iceman"

   21-9-0

   Chuck reigned over the lightweight division for many years. To assemble a string of knockouts against top competition the way he did is extraordinary. But people forget what a high calibre of opponent he faced in his early days as well. He fought wrestlers like Kevin Randleman, submission specialists like Babalu, and strikers like Overeem, and generally handled them all. Chuck was always willing to fight anyone on the planet.
   

3. 3

   

   Wanderlei Silva

   "The Axe Murderer"

   35-14-1, 1 NC

   There has never been a greater winning streak in all of MMA than Wanderlei's run as Pride champion, and I include both Fedor and Liddell in this. He inspired more fear than any other guy and he fought great opposition. I don't buy that he was fed cans. Wandy in his prime was incredible to watch.
   

4. 4

   

   Georges St-Pierre

   "Rush"

   26-2-0

   He continues to build his legacy every day. He lags behind the top 3 guys a bit in one punch striking power so he doesn't have as many classic finishes, but in quality of opposition he might be number 1.
   

5. 5

   

   Matt Hughes

   45-9-0

   One of the most decorated champions of all time, but more importantly for this ranking, he had more extraordinary come-from-behind wins than any other guy on this list. His wins against Carlos Newton, Frank Trigg, BJ Penn and GSP were all fights he was losing at one point. That is the mark of a champion.
   

6. 6

   

   Royce Gracie

   15-2-3

   Come on, how can't you include Royce Gracie near the top? Maybe he wouldn't defeat any A-list fighters of today, but for his time he was the best. I also don't believe that just by knowing Jiu-Jitsu any BJJ player could have won all dozen of those initial fights like he did. Those were dangerous opponents and they could have hurt a lot of guys. Royce always found a way to win.
   

7. 7

   

   Anderson Silva

   "The Spider"

   34-11-0, 1 NC

   I'd like to see where his legacy ends up before I rank him any higher, but Anderson is obviously very great and beautiful to watch.
   

8. 8

   

   Kazushi Sakuraba

   "The Gracie Hunter"

   26-17-1, 2 NC

   Maybe the gutsiest true warrior of any MMA fighter. He was always game to fight anybody and pulled off some incredible submission victories. He beat four Gracies, and Quinton Jackson as well.
   

9. 9

   

   Tito Ortiz

   "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy"

   21-12-1

   Tito doesn't get enough credit. His game has slipped, but he was the UFC's biggest star and most dominant champion for many years. There are still very few fighters with as many UFC title defenses as Tito.
   

10. 10

    

    Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira

    "Minotauro"

    34-10-1, 1 NC

    Similar to Matt Hughes, Nog won coming from behind many, many times, which marks a champion to me. He was the Pride Heavyweight Champ and the UFC Interim Heavyweight Champ. That makes you an all-time great.