Debating the all-time top 10 UFC fighters is a subjective matter for many fans, but certain fighters undeniably rank among the best in the history of the sport according to UFC power rankings.

In this post, we will delve into the analysis of the most exceptional fighters, exploring their UFC records, remarkable achievements, and where they rank on the all-time list. Some of the fighters are still building a legacy right now and could continue to climb those rankings, while others are firmly cemented in the UFC Hall of Fame.

Who has the most title defenses in UFC history?

There are three fighters in the history of the UFC that have defended their titles 10+ times. All three are UFC legends and some of the greatest fighters to ever go to work in the octagon.

Anderson Silva defended his title 10 times during the prime era of his career. He has nine finishes in title fights and was one of the most dominant champions the UFC has ever seen.

Demetrius Johnson then went on an impeccable run defending titles after claiming the flyweight belt in 2012. He defended that title 11 times including a rematch against the man he claimed it from in Joseph Benavidez.

While both signify two of the greatest champions in UFC history, nobody has defended their title more than Jon Jones. The all-time great has 13 title defenses as one of the most impressive MMA fighters to ever compete in the UFC.

Who is the greatest UFC fighter of all time?

Jon Jones has been considered one of the best UFC fighters of all time for over a decade now, but his recent return to the octagon against Cyril Gane sealed his legacy at the very top.

Jones returned to the UFC three years after his last fight against Dominick Cruz in a title shot against Cyril Gane that many considered a challenge. Gane had been wreaking havoc on the division and a matchup with Jon Jones presented what seemed to be a fairly even contest.

Jones then proceeded to completely dominate Gane and wrap up the fight via submission in the first round, therefore claiming the title. In doing so he silenced any critics who would previously challenge if he was the greatest UFC fighter of all time.

Famous UFC Fighters

When it comes to the UFC fighters with the biggest following, it's hard to consider anybody outside of Conor McGregor for the top spot.

Conor’s showmanship worked wonders for the UFC in attracting an entire generation to the sport. In return he built a tremendous cult following around the world and is easily the most supported UFC fighter to date.

Jon Jones has a major following of his own due to his unmatched success, and many other famous MMA fighters like Georges St Pierre, Ronda Rousey and Chuck Liddell have won the hearts of UFC fans with their personalities and commitment to the octagon.

Honorable Mentions

This was a very tough list to decide on. There are so many variables to a fighters legacy and of course the comparison between fighters in completely different weight classes holds its own challenges.

Jose Aldo was right on the cusp but only narrowly missed out. His fights against Chad Mendes, Frankie Edgar and Rob Font all spring to mind as some of Aldo’s best performances, and he only just misses the list with a 13-7 record in the UFC specifically.

Kamaru Usman ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ hasn’t quite done enough to make it into the top ten all time, while other great fighters like Max Holloway, Chuck Liddell and Amanda Nunes landed just outside the top ten.

Ranking the Top 10 Greatest Male UFC Fighters of all time

10. Conor McGregor

Career Record: 22-6-0
Weight Class: Featherweight, Lightweight, Welterweight
Awards: First UFC Double-Champion, Fastest Title Fight Victory in UFC History, 2015 Fighter of the Year, 7x Performance of the Night, 2x Fight of the Night
UFC Belts: Featherweight & Lightweight Champion
UFC Title Defenses: Three

Conor McGregor is far more than an entertaining personality in the UFC. Sure, he talks a lot, and his character helped to build his fan base within the sport, but he was knocking out some of the best fighters in the game in his prime.

He quickly climbed the UFC featherweight rankings, and on his way to the top he battled and won against Max Holloway, ended the fight early against Dustin Poirier & Chad Mendes and knocked Jose Aldo out cold in 13 seconds flat. His knockout against Eddie Alvarez to claim the title as the UFC lightweight champion was so composed, and he dominated that fight until he ended it with a knockout.

Conor fought the very best whenever the opportunity came up, and in his prime he took down those fighters and continued to ascend as one of the greats.

Other fighters on this list have attempted to claim a second belt while the current champion of their division and failed, but Conor did so with style with his win over Eddie Alvarez in 2016.

9. Israel Adesanya

Career Record: 24-2-0
Weight Class: Middleweight, Light Heavyweight
Awards: 2x Fight of the Night, 6x Performance of the Night
UFC Belts: Middleweight Champion
UFC Title Defenses: Five

Israel ‘The Last Style Bender’ Adesanya has 24 wins to just two losses, with those two losses both coming in title fights.

The Nigerian born kickboxer joined the UFC in 2018 and very quickly climbed the ranks in the middleweight division with wins over the likes of Marvin Vettori, Derek Brunson, Anderson Silva and Kevin Gastellum in the interim title fight. At that point he was 6-0 in the UFC and was given a title shot for the Middleweight Champion belt against Robert Whittaker.

Adesanya was carefully countering Whittaker’s advances throughout that fight and eventually caught him with a sweet left hook that closed out the fight. The Last Stylebender was the middleweight champion of the UFC, and went on to defend that title five times. He won four of those fights by unanimous decision including a rematch against Whittaker, an impressive win over Jared Cannonier and a tidy finish against Paolo Costa.

Adesanya stepped out of his comfort zone and climbed into the light heavyweight class for a title shot for a second belt against Jan Blachowicz. While he picked up his first loss, the battle showed Adesanya’s toughness and determination to take on the very best in order to build his legacy.

Sure, he lost his title belt to Alex Pereira, but went right back in and reclaimed it with his back against the cage at UFC 287. There’s no doubt Izzy is one of the most impressive kickboxers the UFC has ever seen, having fought in multiple UFC weight classes and dominated for the middleweight division for almost his entire career.

8. Alexander Volkanovski

Career Record: 25-2-0
Weight Class: Featherweight, Lightweight
Awards: 1x Performance of the Night, 3x Fight of the Night
UFC Belts: Featherweight Champion
UFC Title Defenses: Four

Alexander Volkanovski, nicknamed simply ‘The Great’ is one of the greatest pound for pound UFC fighters in recent history. He was 7-1 upon arrival into the UFC, making his debut with a second round win over Yusuke Kasuya in 2016.

As he climbed the ranks Volkanovski got his first fight on the UFC main card at UFC 232, where he handled Chad Mendes for a second round stoppage. His momentum as a rising star in his class grew stronger with each fight, beating legend Jose Aldo as a slight underdog to earn a title shot against Max Holloway.

Volkanovski won that fight by unanimous decision and then went back to defend the title against Holloway in a rematch at UFC 251. The controversial outcome of that fight meant a lot of UFC fans turned against Volkanovski, believing Holloway should have been given the win in the rematch.

Volk will finally get his chance to silence those critics with his first title defense of the featherweight belt since then against Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290.

The run up to that rematch against Max Holloway is what earned him a spot on the top ten, and his performance against Brian Ortega at UFC 266 is one of the single greatest performances in featherweight division history. Volkanovski is still building his legacy as one of the best UFC fighters right now.

7. Daniel Cormier

Career Record: 22-3, 1 No Contest
Weight Class: Light Heavyweight, Heavyweight
Awards: Second UFC Double-Champion, 3x Performance of the Night, 2x Fight of the Night, UFC Hall of Fame
UFC Belts: Light Heavyweight, Heavyweight
UFC Title Defenses: Four

Daniel Cormier is recognized as one of the worlds very best wrestlers, and he combined it with a stand up game that held up against the UFCs very best heavyweight fighters.

Now a commentator for the UFC, Cormier’s legacy as a fighter made him a UFC Hall of Famer in 2022. He claimed the vacant light heavyweight belt in a title fight against Anthony Johnson in 2015 despite being dropped early in the first round, edging his way back into the fight before submitting Johnson with a rear naked choke.

His rivalry with Jon Jones is one of the most profound in the sport, with Cormier going 15-0 before facing Jones for the first time. Jones gave Cormier his first loss prior to vacating the belt, and the rematch is one of the most talked about fights amongst UFC fans.

Jon Jones won the second fight too as the challenger for Cormier’s light heavyweight belt, but it was later overturned to a no contest due to Jones failing a drug test. Cormier was returned his belt and went on to defend it another two times with a rematch against Anthony Johnson and a ground and pound stoppage over Volkan Oezdemir.

Cormier went on to become just the second double champion in UFC history, following Conor McGregor, when he climbed to the heavyweight class and defeated Stipe Miocic. When DC defended that title against Derrick Lewis he became the first fighter in UFC history to have title defenses in multiple weight classes.

DC is recognized as one of the very best heavyweight UFC fighters of all time.

6. Stipe Miocic

Career Record: 20-4-0
Weight Class: Heavyweight
Awards: 5x Performance of the Night, 3x Fight of the Night, Knockout of the Night
UFC Belts: 2x Heavyweight
UFC Title Defenses: Four 

Defending any title is tough, but defending a title in the UFC’s heavyweight division where every opponent possesses knockout power and can close out a fight with an early finish at any moment is particularly difficult.

Stipe is considered perhaps the greatest Heavyweight fighter of all time because of his ability to withstand the opposition in that class. Two losses early in his career set back his title fight shot a little, but he would eventually earn that right in 2016 against Fabricio Werdum.

A perfectly timed punch knocked Werdum out cold, sending him from the front foot to the mat in a second. He would then defend his heavyweight title three times against Alistair Overeem, Junior dos Santos and Francis Ngannou before losing it against Daniel Cormier.

That loss against DC sparked the beginning of a fascinating trilogy, and Stipe would come back for his revenge a year later at UFC 241. The third and final fight between the two went the distance, and Stipe claimed it to also claim the series 2-1.

5. Demetrius Johnson

Career Record: 25-4-1
Weight Class: Bantamweight, Flyweight
Awards: 3x Fight of the Night, 4x Performance of the Night, Submission of the Night, Knockout of the Night
UFC Belts: Flyweight
UFC Title Defenses: 11 

Eleven title defenses is truly remarkable. For several years Demetrius Johnson was untouchable in the UFC, performing as one of the most impressive fighters in the organization from 2012-2017.

‘The Mighty Mouse’ earned the flyweight title against Ian McCall in 2012, and then proceeded to take on anybody and everybody who challenged him for it. His diversity and skill in the octagon made him one of the toughest fighters to beat, winning with an armbar against John Moraga, Kyoji Horiguchu, Wilson Reis and Ray Borg, a kimura against Chris Cariaso and first round stoppages against both Joseph Benavidez and Henry Cejudo.

The speed and calculated approach of the Mighty Mouse made him one of the most impressive UFC Champions in the sports history and one of the best MMA fighters of all time.

4. Khabib Nurmagomedov

Career Record: 29-0
Weight Class: Lightweight, Welterweight
Awards: 3x Performance of the Night, 2020 UFC Honors Submission of the Year
UFC Belts: Lightweight
UFC Title Defenses: Three

Not many UFC fighters can walk away having never lost a fight in their entire careers. Khabib did just that, exiting the sport at his very peak with a clean 29-0 record that included 13 straight wins in the UFC.

Khabib’s record speaks for itself. He was coached from a very young age with a strict regime, and developed into an outstanding wrestler. He was no fun to fight at all, often taking control of his opponents on the mat and choking them out. In fact, Khabib used the rear naked choke to finish his opponent three times in the UFC, including two of the sport's greatest talents in both Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier.

When he forced Justin Gaethje into submission with a triangle choke, one of the top UFC fighters, in his final UFC fight, he would be later awarded the UFC Submission of the Year award for his performance in that fight at UFC 254. Khabib then proceeded to retire in the octagon as the lightweight champion of the UFC and one of the best fighters in MMA history.

3. Anderson Silva

Career Record: 34-11-0
Weight Class: Middleweight, Light Heavyweight
Awards: 7x Knockout of the Night, 5x Fight of the Night, 2x Submission of the Night, Longest Title Reign in UFC History
UFC Belts: Middleweight
UFC Title Defenses: Ten 

Brazilian mixed martial artist Anderson Silva holds likely the most impressive title run in UFC history. His time at the very top is a thing of beauty, and some of his knockouts and performances during that time rank among the very best.

Trying to pick out just a few fights worth mentioning is not easy, but the combination display against Dan Henderson certainly stands out. The damaging knees and punches combo followed by a rear naked choke to finish showed just how dominant Anderson Silva was across the board. The early counterpunch and finish against James Irvin, the magnificent movement and counter punch against Forrest Griffin, and of course, the front kick to the face against Vitor Belfort that represents one of the all time UFC knockouts.

Anderson Silva could fight anybody anyway he pleased. He was never truly in any trouble in his prime, with superb counters and a ground game that made him dangerous everywhere inside the octagon.

He fought for a long time and the attempted comeback from a nasty leg break meant a few losses late in his career, but in those prime years nobody got close to taking down Anderson Silva. He was recently announced as a UFC Hall of Fame inductee for the 2023 class.

2. Georges St. Pierre

Career Record: 26-2-0
Weight Class: Welterweight, Middleweight
Awards: 4x Fight of the Night, Knockout of the Night, Submission of the Night, Performance of the Night, UFC Hall of Fame
UFC Belts: 2x Welterweight, Middleweight
UFC Title Defenses: Nine

Canadian fighter Georges St. Pierre is one of the top UFC fighters you’ll likely ever see step into the octagon. He won 12 consecutive title fights, earned titles in two weight classes, never backed down from a challenger and took part in several brawls during his career in the UFC.

To many MMA fans, GSP is the best UFC fighter and it's not up for debate. He was an elite wrestler who would take guys to the ground and deliver brutal punishment that was rare even at the highest level. When he put an opponent on the ground with a well timed punch his ability to immediately jump on them and start going to work was unbelievable.

He could kick you in the head, knock you clean out or submit you on the ground and that made him very uncomfortable to fight against. His comeback following the loss to Matt Serra in 2007 sparked a rampage, and from there he went on to win thirteen straight fights including the rematch with Serra.

His final fight, a brawl with Michael Bisping, crowned a superb career with one final confirmation of his greatness. GSP put Bisping on the ground in the third round and proceeded to choke him out to seal his legacy before retiring from the UFC.

GSP remains one of the most dominant and entertaining fighters of all time, having fought and won belts in two weight classes, and undoubtedly becoming one of the all-time best MMA fighters.

1. Jon Jones

Career Record: 27-1-0, 1 No Contest
Weight Class: Light Heavyweight, Heavyweight
Awards: UFC Hall of Fame, Youngest UFC Champion in History, 4x Fight of the Night, 2x Submission of the Night, 1x Knockout of the Night, 2x Performance of the Night, Longest unbeaten streak in UFC history (19 wins), Most wins in UFC title fights (15 wins)
UFC Belts: Light Heavyweight, Heavyweight
UFC Title Defenses: 13

Jon ‘The Bones’ Jones came back to the octagon after more than three years away from the scene to reassert his dominance on the competition. Previews for his 2023 fight with Cyril Gane for the UFC Heavyweight title expected it to be close, with Jones edging out as a slight favorite, but it didn’t turn out to be a close contest at all.

Jones dominated Gane and ended the fight inside the first round, adding yet another dominant win to his resume. He technically never lost a fight, and his one loss came via disqualification early in his career in a fight he was dominating against Matt Hamill.

That loss put Jon Jones at 9-1, and from then on he never lost again. Jones has put his opponents out with rear naked chokes, guillotines, ground and pound, knockout blows, knees and a wealth of unanimous decisions.

He now has 13 title defenses and titles at two different weight classes, having gone from the youngest champion in UFC history to a Hall of Famer and all time great. Jon Jones earns the number one spot on the list, and is without a doubt top two in the minds of UFC fans.

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Related: Top 10 Heavyweight UFC Fighters of all time