Top 10 ufc heavyweight. The best mma fighters. World ranking of mma fighters

Mixed martial arts (MMA) is perhaps the fastest growing sport in the world. Every day the number of his fans is growing inexorably. Even though the sport is only about 25 years old, there have been many great champions in that short time. It is quite possible that this list best fighters MMA in another 25 years will look very different, but today it looks like this.

St. Pierre, known by the nickname "The Head" is one of the most promising fighters in the MMA world. Canadian competitor, former UFC welterweight champion. He's still in his prime (born in 1981) and when you look at his superior athleticism and wrestling skills, he's still going strong. During his participation in UFC fights in the welterweight category, Georges St-Pierre had 27 fights, of which he won 25 victories and only 2 defeats, both of which he avenged. In 2008 and 2009 he was recognized as the best athlete of the year in Canada, and also according to the Wrestling Observer magazine as the best fighter of 2009.

Anderson Silva, also known as "Spider" (born 1975) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. He recently lost the championship to the younger and stronger Chris Wideman. But still, Silva remains one of the best fighters who took part in mixed martial arts. The Brazilian master held the champion title for the longest time in UFC history, defending him 10 fights in a row. UFC President Dane White called Silva the strongest fighter in the history of mixed martial arts.

Five-time UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion (record three times). Randy (known as “The Natural,” “Captain America”) became the first fighter to win two UFC championship belts in two different weight categories. Randy Couture (born in 1963) is known not only as an American fighter who competed in Greco-Roman wrestling and MMA, but also as an actor and showman.

Chuck Liddell for MMA, someone like Michael Jordan for basketball, David Beckham for football, in one word “SUPERSTAR”. It is no exaggeration to say that to this day he is considered the most popular UFC fighter of all time, and probably one of the best. Charles David Liddell, nicknamed “Icy,” born in 1969, is a professional kickboxer, world champion in the UFC light heavyweight category from 2005 to 2007.

Sixth place in the ranking of the best MMA fighters goes to Bas Rutten. This is a Dutch kickboxer who took part in mixed martial arts fights. UFC heavyweight champion. Bas Rutten (born in 1965), also known by the nickname “Handsome”, finished his career without ever losing, he had 22 fights, of which 21 victories and 1 draw. Rutten's favorite tactic is to attack the liver, both with his hand and his foot. His charisma, inside and outside the octagon, helped make the Dutch athlete a celebrity. To date, the former champion is a television commentator and has also appeared in several films and video games.

Royce Gracie (born December 12, 1966) is a Brazilian fighter and master of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. His name is first on the list in the UFC Hall of Fame. Considered one of the most influential figures in MMA history. He gained his fame thanks to victories over larger opponents with the help of wrestling techniques, thereby drawing the attention of athletes participating in MMA to study more wrestling on the ground. During his career, which ended in 2007, Gracie had 16 fights, winning 14 of them.

Matt Hughes (born October 13, 1973) is an American mixed martial artist and former two-time UFC welterweight champion. He defended his title in total seven times, which was a record for the welterweight category. In his prime, Matt Hughes was literally unstoppable. During his career, he fought 54 fights, winning 45 of them.

Dan Henderson

Words are not enough to describe the greatness of Dan Henderson. He is undoubtedly one of the greatest and most durable MMA fighters of all time. Even more impressive is that he still fights younger athletes to this day. Dan Henderson (born August 24, 1970), nicknamed "Hendo", became the first fighter to win a Pride championship in multiple weight divisions (welterweight and middleweight). Former Olympic wrestler. He has won more titles than any other fighter in MMA history.

Igor Vovchanchyn (born June 8, 1973) is a former Ukrainian kickboxer and mixed martial arts fighter, winner and medalist of many mixed style tournaments. Igor (born in 1973) known by the nickname “Cold Blooded” was one of the most dominant fighters of all time, from 1995 to 2000 he fought 32 fights in a row, never losing. In total, the kickboxer had 87 fights, of which he won 76. Igor Vovchanchyn was also one of the shortest (174 cm) heavyweight fighters in the history of mixed martial arts.

Fedor Emelianenko

“The Last Emperor”, “Terminator”, these are the nicknames of Fedor Emelianenko (born September 28, 1976), the greatest MMA fighter who ever entered the octagon. Four-time world champion in MMA in the heavy weight category, seven-time champion of Russia and four-time world champion in combat sambo. International Master of Sports in Judo and Honored Master of Sports in Sambo.
For almost 10 years, Fedor remained unbeaten, having fought a total of 32 fights during this period of time, which made him the best fighter in the history of MMA.

10 best MMA fighters in the world. Why is Cormier better than Khabib?

What is a p4p rating?

To put it simply, pound for pound ratings are perceived as rating fighters from different weight classes, who are compared as if they all weighed the same and were considered potential opponents. When comparing, achievements in this moment, potential, subjective impression and anything else - right down to charisma and integrity of the image. We studied the ratings of the top 10 fighters in the world from the sites Sherdog, Tapology, Fightmatrix, ESPN, MMAweekly and UFC (since the five previous ratings included only UFC fighters) and compiled a summary top ten.

10. Henry Cejudo (USA)

31 year; over 56.7 kg; 13 wins, 2 losses

What did you do: freestyle wrestling

Short: the first Olympic champion to become UFC champion. Cejudo had two attempts - against one of the most dominant champions UFC Demetrius Johnson, and from the second Cejudo defeated Johnson, who had defended the title 11 times before.

9. Stipe Miocic (USA)

36 years; over 93 kg; 18 wins, 3 losses

What did you do: baseball, wrestling, boxing

Short: about everyone who comes next, by default you can write “he hits well, fights well.” Miocic gave the impression of a big, strong, smiling man who worked as a fireman, until it turned out that nature gave him such data with which he could beat perhaps the best kickboxer, grappler and boxer in the UFC in two years. Miocic became the most successful heavyweight in the promotion's history, defending the title three times and losing only to Daniel Cormier. You will meet him on the first line.

8. Georges St. Pierre (Canada)

37 years; up to 77.1 and up to 83.9 kg; 26 wins, 2 losses

What did you do: karate, wrestling

Short: obviously the most controversial position in the ranking. Georges St-Pierre returned to the UFC last November after a 47-month hiatus and promptly beat middleweight champion Michael Bisping. Given that St-Pierre's previous career has been outstanding - a welterweight championship and 9 title defenses - he could well be in the top 10, but at the moment St-Pierre is not saying anything about continuing his MMA career and, It’s possible that it will go away completely. It is important that he is not in three of the six rankings studied, but MMAWeekly, for example, puts the Canadian in second place, and if you consider him as an active fighter, this is very easy to accept.

7. Robert Whitaker (Australia)

27 years; up to 83.9 kg; 20 wins, 4 losses

What did you do: karate

Short: Whitaker remains one of the UFC's most enigmatic champions, but also one of the youngest men on the list of the best fighters on the planet. Probably one balances the other. He has an aggressive striking technique, an excellent ability to endure in the cage and carry out long fights, but so far his frequency of appearances is rather alarming: two fights each in 2015 and 2016, one each in 2017 and (most likely) 2018 .

5-6. Demetrius Johnson (USA)

32 years; up to 56.7 kg; 27 wins, 3 losses

What did you do: wrestling, pankration

Short: Johnson defended the UFC title 11 times, and no other champion has more defenses. Unfortunately, the flyweight division brought the fighter into the flyweight spotlight, and even two fights with Olympic champion Cejudo and the hobby computer games did not make Johnson more popular. He is now on the UFC's doorstep as part of a trade deal with One FC.

5-6. TJ Dillashaw (USA)

32 years; up to 61.2 kg; 16 wins, 3 losses

What did you do: struggle

Short: Usually, when talking about top fighters, they cite some amazing winning streaks, but Dillashaw was the one who broke such a streak. He once beat Renan Barao, who came into the fight against Dillashaw on a 32-fight win streak. Bookmakers multiplied their bet on Dillashaw by 10 if he won.

Over the past two years, TJ has focused on facing off against his former teammate. beautiful tattoos Cody Garbrandt, and won both times. Dillashaw also sparred with boxer Lomachenko, and he communicates well with Sergey Kovalev.

4. Tyron Woodley (USA)

36 years; up to 77.1 kg; 19 wins, 3 losses

What did you do: struggle

Short: Woodley won the title with a confident knockout current champion, but after that it started to upset me. His next three fights ended in judges' decisions. Just when it looked like the UFC could solve the problem with the help of a new champion, undefeated Liverpudlian big man Darren Till, Woodley confidently dealt with him, submitting Till in the second round. Woodley's mom personally reassured the young challenger after his defeat.

3. Khabib Nurmagomedov (Russia)

30 years; up to 70.3 kg; 27 wins, 0 losses

What did you do: wrestling, combat sambo

Mentioned but not included

The UFC's rankings include Conor McGregor, and this can be interpreted as a political decision: if you have a fighter who brings maximum amount money in battles, it is strange not to advertise it with your own resource.

MMAweekly.com is the only site that offered to consider two girls: Chris Justino and Rose Namajunas.

Tony Ferguson was also mentioned - his fight with Khabib has already failed four times, but we would be ready to wait for a fifth attempt.

About Khabib

It is difficult to assess Khabib’s third place; in the last two fights he was initially considered the obvious favorite, and this, on the one hand, is an indicator of class, on the other hand, it will generate distrust in his achievements. His competitors in this ranking more often won battles when bookmakers doubted their choice.

But if you imagine Khabib weighing 100 kg, you can break your head about their fight with Daniel Cormier: with an equal fight, Khabib’s endurance would be traded for Daniel’s ability to knock out, and then you can start arguing. At the same time, Cormier’s candidacy does not raise any questions among any of the publications: he is first in six out of six cases.

The fight Cormier - Derrick Lewis will be the central event of UFC 230. It will take place on November 3 in New York (on the morning of November 4 in Moscow). You can watch the live broadcast of UFC 230 on the Match TV channel. The broadcast starts at 5:00 am (Moscow time) on November 4.

Photo: Sam Wasson / Stringer / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru, Joe Scarnici / Stringer / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru, Getty Images / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru, Rey Del Rio / Stringer / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru , RIA Novosti/Said Tsarnaev, globallookpress.com, Harry How / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

Reading time: 13 min.

The fastest growing sport is MMA (mixed martial arts), with more and more fans appearing every day. This sport is only a quarter of a century old, but there are already many famous athletes in it who are proud of their titles and awards. It is difficult to stay in this sport for a long time, so it is quite possible that old champions will be replaced by new talents. In the meantime, we present you the rating - best mma fighters for 2017.

Georges St-Pierre

Georges St-Pierre - undefeated champion MMA, Anderson Silva lost this title to him after a recent defeat. Georges is at the peak of his physical capabilities and, apparently, is not going to give up his place on the throne to anyone. Without a doubt, welterweight is the category in which he is the best; in battle, Georges shows excellent physical and psychological characteristics, unbalancing his opponents with his behavior in the ring. Saint-Pierre is also a participant in UFC tournaments (the absolute fighting championship), where he has two defeats (after revenge, he won) and twenty-four victories. UFC champion twice, set a record for victories, by decision of the judges - 11 victories. Matt Hughes is his closest opponent in UFC wins with 18 wins. Each of these records will most likely be broken by Saint-Pierre himself; fans of the fighter are waiting for this moment, monitoring Georges’ fights. His young age and physical characteristics give him the opportunity to achieve new records.

Anderson Silva

Initially, he was a member of the Chute Boxe Academy, but due to problems with management and other factors, he founded his own organization, the Muay Thai Dream Team. Anderson Silva, better known as “The Spider,” lost his title to Chris Weidman, but remains the best fighter in the MMA ring. Silva’s homeland is Brazil, he defended his title and the honor of his homeland a record number of times - 10. He made his MMA debut in 2000, with Denis Kazyukin, a Russian fighter, with whom they later became close friends. Kazyukin defeated Andre Galvao via armbar, and Anderson was defeated by Luis Azered, his teammate. Having won by knockouts against Claudinor Fontinelle and Jose Barreto, he restored his name. Champion of the UFC, middle weight category, he held this position for eight long years. 2013 - fight with Chris Weidman (loss), demanding a rematch, his demand was granted. In the rematch, unfortunately for the fans, he broke his leg in the second round.

Randy Couture

Randy Couture has a couple of aliases: "Natural" and "Captain America". The most popular fighter in the history of mixed martial arts, Chuck Liddell, may soon lose this title as Randy is hot on his heels. By the way, in the fight between Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture, the latter received a landslide victory. Couture is a three-time heavyweight champion in MMA history. He also participated in martial arts competitions in the light heavyweight division. He is also associated with the UFC - a five-time champion of this discipline. The daring and unfounded statements of boxer James Toney that MMA and Randy in particular are a frivolous and temporary phenomenon were refuted by Randy himself in a fight with the boxer, which ended in a confident victory for Couture. James Toney exposed himself in an unattractive light after this fight, without ceasing to discuss this topic, but his words sound funny after the defeat. Randy had some problems with MMA: litigation related to non-payment by the organization Money and holding fights.

Chuck Liddell

MMA considers Chuck Liddell to be what Shaquille O'Neal is to basketball, Ronaldinho to football and Michael Phelps to swimming - a global star! He is considered the most popular MMA fighter and, in general, the best fighter in the history of martial arts in general.
Having defeated Tito Ortiz, he received the champion belt in the light heavyweight category and defended this title 4 times in two years. But nothing lasts forever, and at the end of his career he lost several times, to the chagrin of those who were not indifferent to his skill. In the very dawn of mixed martial arts, he was his treasure, which won victories over many worthy and more experienced opponents. It was he who drew the attention of the American public to MMA, making these competitions the top, among other similar shows. And after the end of his career, he keeps himself in shape. He also owns a gift shop and appears on various popular television shows. He also published an autobiographical book - “Ice. My fighting life."

Bas Rutten

Bas Rutten, better known as "Handsome", is a professional athlete who contributed to the very birth of MMA. A Dutchman by birth, previously a professional kickboxer and a black belt in karate, he easily switched to mixed martial arts. A huge muscle, already instilled fear in his opponents, plus a good technical base - these two components helped him become a champion who made an invaluable contribution to the development of MMA at the time of its inception. Winning one victory after another, he literally swept away opponents with his trademark low kicks and knee strikes to the head. He ended his professional career without a single defeat, having participated in twenty-two fights. His favorite move was a blow to the liver, which usually paralyzed the opponent and Rutten won. The natural charisma of Bass and his behavior in the ring made him a favorite of the public. Now he has finished his career, but despite this, he continues to work in MMA, however, already as a commentator. He also starred in several films and became a character in games.

Royce Gracie

Royce Gracie is nicknamed “The King of Submissions” and deservedly so. He is a pioneer of MMA, one of the first professional athletes who switched from academic sports to mixed martial arts. The master of Brazilian jiu - jitsu, won a victory over much larger opponents, with the help of painful and suffocating techniques. While still competing in jiu-jitsu competitions as a teenager, he had a record amateur score of 51 wins and only 3 losses. Fans have always loved Gracie: in one fight, when his elbow hit the "triangle" of the opponent, he was ready to walk with a broken arm, but not admit defeat. The scandals related to illegal substances did not affect his career either - steroids were found in Royce's blood. Nandrolone - a stereoid, the presence of which is allowed in the blood in the amount of 2ng / mg of testosterone, was exceeded three times, which was the reason for the scandal and the annulment of the results of the fight, in which Gracie won a landslide victory. He also starred in films and videos (for example, the clip of Attitude, the Brazilian band Sepultura).

Matt Hughes

Hughes was the strongest welterweight champion until Georges St-Pierre came along. He was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame and won the UFC welterweight title twice. Participated in fights, at a small show in high school Madonna, in the Chicagoland area. For his debut fight he received only a hundred dollars. A year later, he performed at the same show, winning, just like in his first fight. Then he started performing in different cities and countries: including Great Britain, Japan, Kuwait and Hawaii, etc. When his MMA career began, he won the welterweight title twice and for this he was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. This continued until Georges St-Pierre came to martial arts. Hughes defended his title a record seven times. Matt's most famous fight was against Carlos Newton. greatest fight. He used this opportunity one hundred percent, and knocked out Carlos, receiving the welterweight title.

Dan Henderson

The Dan Henderson phenomenon defies any description. Despite his age and professional injuries, he still takes on younger fighters using his experience and skill. Starting his career in the Pride Fighting Championships, he moved to the UFC, almost immediately becoming a world-class fighter. By participating in Olympic Games, in the middle and welterweight categories, he won titles in both weights. He won the 17th UFC tournament in the middle weight category, and became the first to win the “Pride” championship in 2 weight categories (middle and welterweight). According to Strikeforce, he won the light heavyweight title and won the 1999 Kings of Kings competition. The most decorated fighter in the world, he has so many awards that the media cannot even count their number. He fought and defeated such famous fighters as: Vitor Belfort, Mauricio Rua, Wanderlei Silva, Antonia Rodrigue Nogueira. It is also noteworthy that he defeated the Russian hero – Fedor Emelianenko.

Igor Vovchanchyn

Born in Ukraine, in the city of Kharkov. Igor Vovchanin, according to experts, is the most underrated fighter in the history of mixed martial arts. Having the longest winning streak in this series of disciplines - 37 fights, at his peak, he was the best fighter in the history of MMA. With a small height for MMA (only 174 cm), he won victories over taller opponents, which made his fights something akin to the battle of David and Goliath, with a similar ending. The most interesting victories were over Mark Curry, Edilson Lima (two victories), Kazushi Sakuraba, and Valentin Overeem. Now he is the president of the promotion company “Warrior’s Honor”, ​​holds a tournament of the same name, where he serves as a judge and vice-president of the “Oriental” martial arts association, and has a business in his hometown. He starred in the series “The Supreme Measure” as a fighter who performs in the semi-professional ring. He ended his career only due to a hand injury, but did not give up sports - now he trains young guys.

Fedor Emelianenko

"Terminator", "Russian Experiment", "The Last Emperor" - all these nicknames Fedor received on his sports path. Fedor, according to the majority opinion and the results of social surveys, is the best fighter in MMA. Alexander Karelin is the only one who can compare with Fedor in terms of the number of titles and achievements. For ten years and more than three dozen fights, Emelianenko remains undefeated and began to lose only when his age no longer allowed him to be in the same shape as in his youth. If opponents had met him in the ring a few years ago, the Russian would have shown what an absolute victory is. Heavyweight champion, in several fights, almost killed some champions, after the fight they needed urgent health care. He is considered the king of MMA and the pride of his homeland. Most significant were his victories over Mark Hunt, Pedro Rizz, Andrey Orlovsky, Matt Lynland, Heath Herring, Mark Coleman, Tim Sylvia, Kevin Randleman, Semmy Schilt and many other great athletes.

History remembers many winners who showed themselves in a cage as brave and strong warriors. By no means, not many managed to make such a serious contribution to the development of MMA as the following athletes. We propose to consider the rating, which presents the best MMA fighters throughout history. The list was created taking into account the number of fights, victories and knockouts. At the same time, we took into account the contribution that the fighters made to the development of the UFC. You will see the best MMA athletes in different weight categories.

TOP 10 best MMA fighters of all time!

The fighter was born on July 19, 1987. Under the auspices of the UFC he competed in the light heavyweight division. He is a UFC champion. It is worth noting that he managed to become the youngest winner in the world championship in fights without rules. Received the belt on March 19, 2011. In four years he defended his title 8 times. In April he was arrested due to car accident. He fled the scene of the crime, which is why the UFC federation deprived the champion of his well-deserved belt. The talented fighter was suspended from competition for an indefinite period.

• Fights: 23;
• Wins: 22;
• Defeats: 1.

Weight: Welterweight

The best UFC fighters in history include Matt Hughes, who is a two-time world champion in fights without rules. The American fighter was born on October 13, 1973. In his youth he was engaged in wrestling and grappling. Later, he could amaze the whole world with amazing achievements in mixed martial arts. He was able to defend the title 7 times. Only Georges St-Pierre is better than him in this indicator. In the welterweight division, Hughes showed his worth almost immediately. Actually, for this he is grateful to the excellent student preparation. As part of the university competition, he conquered the entire state without a single defeat in the fight.

• Fights: 54;
• Wins: 45;
• Defeats: 9.

This talented wrestler was born on June 2, 1976. Represented the interests of Brazil. The retired fighter of mixed martial arts was remembered by the world, first of all, thanks to the trilogy with Fedor Emelianenko. He is a master of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. In the heavyweight division he won the World Championship in 2008. He became famous during his performances for the Japanese organization Pride Fighting Championships, having won the champion title in the 93+ weight category. In 2004 he became a finalist in the Pride Grand Prix. In 2006, Odu made it to the semi-finals of Pride. He soon ended his career.

• Fights: 46;
• Wins: 34;
• Defeats: 10;
• Draws: 2.

The most talented MMA fighters include Randy Duane Couture, who was born on June 22, 1963. Attention! It's about about the five-time UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion. Additionally, Randy is famous actor and a showman. He starred in such famous films as “The Expendables.” In addition, he is considered a professional showman. On June 24, 2006, he was enrolled as a member of Zada ​​Slava UFC. During his long career, he was able to defeat such fighters as Chuck Liddell, Tim Sylvia and Tito Ortiz.

• Fights: 30;
• Victory; 19;
• Defeats: 11.

Weight: Light Heavy

On December 17, 1969, another man was born who managed to go down in history as one of the best fighters in the world. The American is a professional kickboxer who competed in the welterweight division. Is a specialist in mixed martial arts. Honored Champion in Mixed Arts from 2005 to 2007. He is an honorary member of the UFC Hall of Fame. Received the status on July 10, 2009. While still in college, he began to get involved in wrestling, but later mastered kickboxing. He also led the American football team.

• Fights: 29;
• Wins: 21;
• Defeats: 8.

Weight: Welterweight

Georges St-Pierre is deservedly one of the best MMA fighters in the history of the sport. The Canadian was born in Saint-Père in 1981. In Canada, he was repeatedly recognized as the best athlete of the year. At the same time, many top publications have repeatedly called him the leading fighter in the history of welterweight. In addition, it is considered one of the best regardless of the category. Wrestling Observer named the best in MMA in 2009. I started learning karate at the age of 7. He claims that he had a difficult childhood. He was often beaten and his clothes were taken away.

• Fights: 27;
• Wins: 25;
• Defeats: 2.

Sebastian Rutten was born in 1965. In the Netherlands he for a long time did kickboxing. During his career, he managed to defeat such outstanding fighters as Frank Shamrock and Maurice Smith. In addition, he defeated Guy Mezger and Minoru Suzuki. In the end, I was able to winning streak out of 22 wins. This is an amazing result. In addition, Bass was remembered for his “crown move”: a blow to the liver. He actively ended fights with this technique with many talented fighters who were well aware of Rutten’s technique, but could not do anything about his fighting style.

• Fights: 32;
• Wins: 28;
• Defeats: 4.

Weight: Medium

One of the most influential figures in the field of MMA is Royce Gracie. Born December 12, 1966. The Brazilian athlete mastered jiu-jitsu and was able to amaze the world with his technique, and along with his fans, his rivals. Thanks to his achievements in the cage, he became an honorary member of the UFC Hall of Fame. He achieved fame by successfully using techniques against opponents who were above his weight. It was his merits that led to the fact that fighters from all over the world began to intensively devote time to wrestling. It was Royce’s techniques that amazed the perception and attitude towards mixed martial arts.