Six Fighters Who Could be Crowned the Pound-for-Pound UFC Champion in History
Combat sports fans have always liked speculating on who is the greatest of all time and who is the best fighter at any given time, regardless of the size difference in the fighters. These types of fantasy MMA and boxing predictions fuel debate and online speculation, while the majority of these fights could never happen.
The answer to the question of who is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC depends on when you look at the calendar. However, only a few fighters ascend to the status of the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet. We’re going to highlight the present and future UFC Hall of Famers who has been considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world for an extended portion of their career and contenders for the tag “greatest pound-for-pound fighter of all time.”
Khabib “ the Eagle” Nurmagomedov (29-0)
Our list starts with Khabib Nurmagomedov, potentially the greatest UFC fighter of all time. Nurmagomedov entered MMA as a two-time World Combat Sambo Champion and used his Dagestan grappling background and relentless pressure to smother, smash, and demolish the competition.
Khabib posted a 13-0 record in the octagon, capturing the UFC Lightweight Championship and losing only one round on the judges’ scorecards to Connor McGregor in his UFC career. Khabib smashed the competition predictably and posted one of the most dominant runs in the UFC, defeating the best lightweights in the world with ease.
Khabib retired undefeated after defending the UFC Lightweight Championship against Justin Gaethje in October 2020. He was considered the top pound-for-pound fighter at his peak and could be the GOAT when the dust settles.
Georges “Rush” St. Pierre (26-2)
Georges St. Pierre was the UFC’s first superstar to gain endorsements from a major sports brand (Under Armor) and was a significant pay-per-view draw throughout the UFC’s rise in popularity and prominence.
St. Pierre entered the octagon as a 3rd-degree black belt in Kyokushin Karate, earning a first-degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and becoming a two-weight champion in the UFC during his career. However, St. Pierre’s wrestling and boxing skills became signature parts of his arsenal as fight fans watched GSP improve fight after fight.
St. Pierre has long been considered the greatest UFC Welterweight of all time, posting a 19-2 record in the division and avenging both of his losses in dominant fashion, and finishing his UFC career on a 13-fight winning streak and capturing the UFC Middleweight Championship at UFC 217 against Michael Bisping after a four-year absence from the sport.
Anderson “the Spider” Silva (34-11-1)
When GSP was dominating the welterweight division and making his claim as the pound-for-pound best fighter, Anderson Silva made a similar case in the middleweight division, winning and defending the UFC middleweight championship ten times. While Silva finished his MMA career with a run of poor performances for six years, Silva was the only fighter not named GSP who could be considered the pound-for-pound champ.
In fact, during his record-setting run of dominance, Silva was the more spectacular of the two fighters, scoring highlight-reel stoppages at middleweight and light-heavyweight of Rich Franklin (x2), Forrest Griffin, Chael Sonnen (x2), and his legendary front kick knockout of Vitor Belfort at UFC 127.
MMA fans of the GSP-Silva era missed out on a rumored mega-fight between the two to determine the pound-for-pound best fighter on the planet.
Alexander “the Great” Volkanovski (25-1)
As of publication, Alexander Volkanovski is on his way to cementing his status as the greatest featherweight fighter of all time and is the number-one ranked fighter in the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings. Volkanovski is on the verge of competing in the type of mega-fight GSP-Silva failed to, moving up to lightweight fighting the pound-for-pound second-ranked Islam Makhachev, attempting to become a two-weight class champion.
Volkanovski is riding a twelve-fight winning streak, is undefeated in the UFC, and has cleared out the featherweight division, claiming the UFC featherweight championship in the process. Volkanovski is in pursuit of greatness and could end up the greatest pound-for-pound fighter at the end of his career.
Jon “Bones” Jones (26-1-1)
The champ is here. The greatest light-heavyweight fighter of all time comes with his baggage but has the resume and unbelievable run of dominance as the UFC light-heavyweight champion that puts him in contention for the pound-for-pound crown.
For all intents and purposes, Jones is undefeated, with his only loss being a disqualification for an illegal blow against Matt Hamill – considered one of the worst referee calls in the UFC. At the same time, his no-contest was a knockout victory over UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier that was overturned due to a failed drug test.
Jones has posted a 20-1-1 record in the UFC and has a laundry list of light-heavyweight legends and hopefuls as victims on his record. He is widely considered the greatest light-heavyweight of all time and was long considered the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet.
“The Lioness” Amanda Nunes (22-5)
While Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate were the catalysts for bringing women’s MMA to the octagon, there can only be one pound-for-pound GOAT for female fighters, and her name is Amanda Nunes.
Nunes has won the UFC women’s featherweight and bantamweight championships and is the only double champion in history to hold and defend two titles in the two different weight classes. Nunes is a future UFC Hall of Famers, has a 15-2 record in the UFC, and has stopped the likes of Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate, Cris Cyborg, Holly Holm, and Juliana Peña while holding two wins over UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko.
Amanda Nunes is the greatest female mixed martial artist of all time and has been near or at the top of the pound-for-pound rankings for most of her UFC career and is amongst the contenders for the crown as the greatest pound-for-pound fighter in UFC history.
