While there are more and more fighters in the UFC, the debate about who is the greatest fighter of his time will remain. Here is a list of the top 10.
1. Royce Gracie. While winning UFC 1, 2, and 4, Gracie was beating opponents 50 to 100 pounds bigger than him. Gracie’s use of ju-jitsu (or BJJ) opened the eyes of the combat sport. There were very few rules in these early UFC drafts and there seemed to be real questions as to who would win between the boxer or the wrestler or the ju-jitsu artist. Royce Gracie made a legendary name for the practice of Brazilian ju-jitsu with victories over kick boxers and stronger and more powerful fighters. To have a chance in the UFC against a Brazilian ju-jitsu master, other fighters have learned that they at least need to learn the basic skills of BJJ and self-defense. Legend, the originator of the game, and the technical master, Royce Gracie always claim first place.
2. Chuck Liddell. UFC and the most famous fighter of all time, Liddell holds the record for all victories in the UFC. With a solid offense, excellent defense, and remarkably heavy hands, Liddell ruled the UFC Light Heavyweight Division from UFC 52 through UFC 66. He holds victories over many legendary opponents such as Randy Couture, Renato Sobral (Babalu), Vitor Belftot; Tito Ortiz, Kevin Randleman, Alistair Overeem, and Wanderlei Silva.
3. Randy Couture. “The Natural” is one of the most beloved fighters of all time and along with Liddell is credited with leading mixed martial arts rap music as walking songs.
6. Anderson Silva. “The Spider” seemed to hit the UFC right in the middle of his career when he competed in Pride. His Muay Thai skills and especially his Muay Thai headbutt game wreak havoc on his opponents. Long time champion Rich Franklin was KO’d twice with strong knees while in Anderson Silva’s Muay Thai clinch. Out of his first 8 fights in the UFC, Spiders had 6 KO’s and 2 submissions. Although he has many losses before his UFC career, no one has fought against him in the UFC.
7. Tito Ortiz. Tito “Bad Boy Huntington” will always have a place in UFC history and training. Using strong wrestling techniques, Tito won most of his fights by simply taking the fight to his opponents. Tito has endured 5 straight UFC Light Heavyweight Title defenses and has defeated notable opponents such as Wanderlei Silva, Forest Griffin, Ken Shamrock, Evan Tanner, and Victor Belfort. Tito’s style is perfectly summed up in an interview when he says “I bring more brutality into the octagon than anyone else.”
8. Mark Coleman. Known as the “Mammer”, Coleman was the first UFC competitor to use grind and balance (GnP) wrestling to achieve maximum success. Crossing over from the US Olympic wrestling team, Mark “The Father of GnP” successfully won his first two UFC tournaments, UFC 10 and 11. Coleman has had an outstanding MMA career fighting all legends like Fedor, Maurico Rua, CroCop Dan Severn, and Pedro Rizzo. Returning to the Octagon at the age of 44, Coleman won fight of the night honors in a narrow loss to Shogun Rua and defeated Stephan Bonnar in his next fight at UFC 100.
9. French clover Although Clover was only in the UFC for 5 fights, he went undefeated while both fights were for the UFC Light Heavyweight Title. Out of 5 fights, Clover won 4 by submission and 1 by KO. After dominating Tito Ortiz at UFC 22 by submission due to striking, Frank unexpectedly retired and left the UFC. Frank has returned to fight in various other MMA organizations and has many more wins to accumulate.
10. Ken Shamrock. The half brother of Frank Shamrock, Ken Shamrock is a legend in his own right in the UFC. Probably best known for his two losses to Tito Ortiz, Ken also accumulated some amazing wins in the UFC such as his first UFC Superfight Championship (unlimited weight class). Although he technically won the draw, Ken’s fight against Royce Gracie at UFC 5 showed his mettle as he beat Royce and closed his swollen left eye. Throughout his long career, Ken has accumulated notable wins against such high level opponents as Bas Rutten, Kimo, and Maurice Smith.
