Ranking the Best UFC Fighters in the Last Decade

All of a sudden, it's been a long time.

A decade. Or, in this case, a decade-plus a few months.

Back then, when the calendar turned to 2011, the UFC was still in its formative stages and actually opened with a New Year's Day show—UFC 125: Resolution—at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Nearly 150 pay-per-views have followed in the subsequent 10-plus years as the mixed martial arts conglomerate prepares to produce UFC 267 this weekend from its uber-hyped "Fight Island" venue in Abu Dhabi.

All the time that's passed got we B/R writing types thinking about the roster of great fighters that have graced the Octagon in the 3,954 days that have elapsed since lightweights Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard headlined that holiday show in the Nevada desert.

Some have been great for one night, some have been great for several nights, and others have established themselves among the company's all-time best

The latter group is the one we focused on in compiling a list of the 10 best fighters (plus two honorable mentions) who've called the UFC home in the last decade. The criteria were simple. We looked at their best wins, the hardware they compiled and the impact they made on the sport as a whole in their run.

Click through to see what we came up with and feel free to launch a verbal strike of your own in the comments.

Time in UFC: 2015-present

UFC Record: 14-0

Notable Wins: Leon Edwards (UD), Tyron Woodley (UD), Jorge Masvidal (UD and KO)

Perhaps it's a bias toward recent results, but we're willing to suggest that if another list is made with the best fighters from 2020 forward, Usman will be on it.

The muscular Nigerian has been nothing less than a welterweight sensation since beating Edwards back in December 2015, stringing together a preposterous 14 straight wins—including a title win over Woodley and subsequent defenses against Colby Covington, Masvidal twice and Gilbert Burns.

A rematch with Covington headlines UFC 268 on November 6 in New York City.

Time in UFC: 2013-2016

UFC Record: 6-2

Notable Wins: Miesha Tate (SUB), Cat Zingano (SUB),  Bethe Correia (KO)

She's since crossed over into the world of sports entertainment, but no one should forget the impact Rousey made on the MMA world when the sport was still trying to gain mainstream traction.

The "Rowdy" one was a full-on crossover phenom as she mowed down challenger after challenger following her jump from the Strikeforce promotion into the UFC in 2013. Of her six UFC wins, only one went past the first round, and only one of the first-rounders went past 66 seconds.

Some would contend she was exposed in defeats to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes, but without the push Rousey provided to the women's game back then, it might not exist at all these days.

Time in UFC: 2011-present

UFC Record: 12-6

Notable Wins: Chad Mendes (KO and UD), Frankie Edgar (UD), Chan Sung Jung (KO)

Aldo wasn't just the "King of Rio," he was the king of the entire UFC.

The sublimely skilled Brazilian transitioned from the WEC promotion in 2011 and quickly made the Octagon his laboratory, mowing down seven straight foes in three years and establishing himself as both the pre-eminent featherweight and among the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

It ended in an eyeblink KO loss to Conor McGregor at UFC 194 and a 3-5 skid followed, but the now-35-year-old has won two straight while reinventing himself as a bantamweight.

Time in UFC: 2011-present

UFC Record: 14-4

Notable Wins: Fabricio Werdum (KO), Francis Ngannou (UD), Daniel Cormier (KO and UD)

They don't throw the words "best UFC heavyweight in history" at just anybody, and it's clear the humble firefighter from Cleveland has earned the recognition he's gotten.

Miocic worked his way up the ladder with eight wins in 10 fights before capitalizing on the title shot against Werdum at UFC 198 in 2016. He defended three times in the first reign—including a scorecard win over current champ Ngannou—before engaging Cormier in a classic trilogy from 2018-20.

A decision win in their third fight ended the rivalry at UFC 252, and Miocic was dismantled seven months later in an Ngannou rematch, but it'll be a while before anyone challenges his historic status.

Time in UFC: 2012-present 

UFC Record: 18-6

Notable Wins: Anthony Pettis (KO), Jose Aldo (KO and KO), Frankie Edgar (UD) 

It seems impossible, given the depth of his resume, that Holloway is still in his 20s.

The lanky Hawaiian debuted in the UFC as a precocious 20-year-old in 2012, and, after finding his footing following a 3-3 start, reeled off the kind of win streak that Octagonal wannabes only dream about.

Thirteen straight wins from 2014 to 2018 established Holloway as a pound-for-pound stalwart, and the run included a featherweight title reign that actually lasted until 2019 because the streak-ending loss came in a bid for a second belt at 155 pounds.

Time in UFC: 2013-present

UFC Record: 14-1

Notable Wins: Ronda Rousey (KO), Valentina Shevchenko (SD and UD), Holly Holm (KO)

While Rousey blazed a trail for women to be included in the UFC conversation, Nunes proved that they could be legitimate top-of-card commodities based far more on brilliance than novelty.

And that "GOAT" talk? Yes, it's a thing.

The "Lioness" from Brazil has a win streak that's been extended to 12 straight fights and has included dual title reigns at both bantamweight and featherweight.

She blitzed both Rousey and Holm in less than a round apiece, did the same to Miesha Tate and has two wins over the consensus No. 2 female fighter in Shevchenko. Her dominance is so comprehensive these days that her biggest problem is generating interest in the idea that any foe can actually give a legitimate push.

Time in UFC: 2013-present

UFC Record: 10-4

Notable Wins: Max Holloway (UD), Dustin Poirier (KO), Jose Aldo (KO)

Some love him. Some hate him. And there's ample reason for either stance. But no one can argue McGregor has the been the "Notorious" straw that's stirred the UFC drink for the better part of the last 10 years.

He's a polarizing personality. He's an obnoxious trash-talker. But he's also a supremely skilled fighter who's handled two opponents included elsewhere on this list (Aldo and Holloway) and gotten himself on the short list of fighters who've held simultaneous championships in two divisions.

And let's not forget a crossover pay-per-view bonanza that saw him last nearly 10 full rounds with Hall of Fame commodity Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a boxing ring in 2017.

Are there better fighters? Certainly. But no MMA practitioner has been a bigger star.

Time in UFC: 2004-2017

UFC Record: 20-2 (5-0 from 2011-2017)

Notable Wins: Carlos Condit (UD), Nick Diaz (UD), Michael Bisping (SUB)

Let's face it, a list of GSP's notable wins could stretch from here to Montreal and back.

The Canadian welterweight was one of the UFC's biggest stars when it was still producing pay-per-views numbered in the double digits, and he continued his success into the century's second decade, too.

He was already champion at 170 pounds upon beating Jake Shields at UFC 129 in Toronto in 2011, and defended three more times before voluntarily walking away from the sport in 2013.

A return four years later yielded the win over Bisping and a title at middleweight, but illness prompted him to vacate the title, and an inability to secure a big fight in the aftermath ultimately prompted his retirement in 2019.

Time in UFC: 2012-2020

UFC Record: 13-0

Notable Wins: Conor McGregor (SUB), Dustin Poirier (SUB), Justin Gaethje (SUB)

It's hard to argue with perfection. And had Nurmagomedov hung around and stayed successful a while longer rather than announcing his retirement from the UFC in 2020, there's a good chance he'd climb another notch or two on this list.

Still, even with just eight years and four title fights, the Dagestani judo ace made an impact.

He submitted two foes and knocked two others out amid a nine-fight run that preceded a vacant title win early in 2018, but the trio of opponents he handled afterward—Mssrs. McGregor, Poirier and Gaethje, to be specific—instantly elevated him to a list-topping pound-for-pound operator.

The trio was submitted in a combined total of nine rounds by neck crank, rear-naked choke and triangle choke, respectively, and Nurmagomedov voluntarily walked away after the last of the three wins occurred three months after the death of his father in mid-2020.

Time in UFC: 2013-2020

UFC Record: 11-3, 1 No-Contest

Notable Wins: Anderson Silva (UD), Stipe Miocic (KO), Derrick Lewis (SUB)

When you're really good, they call you "Champ, Champ."

That's how good Cormier, who's transitioned nicely to analyst on UFC television broadcasts, was during an Octagonal career that included 15 fights in two weight classes over seven years.

He was on the short end of a pair of bouts with Jon Jones—though the latter was changed to a no-contest—but was a reigning light heavyweight title-holder when he ventured up to score an unlikely first-round KO win over Miocic in a heavyweight title match at UFC 226 in 2018.

The trilogy with the Ohio-based heavyweight defined Cormier's late career, though he did manage a successful defense against Lewis at UFC 230 before dropping two straight fights to Miocic in 2019 and 2020 and retiring to the announce table.

Time in UFC: 2011-2018

UFC Record: 15-2-1

Notable Wins: Joseph Benavidez (SD and KO), Henry Cejudo (KO), Ray Borg (SUB)

It'd be difficult to argue that flyweight wasn't Johnson's division.

Literally.

A scorecard loser in a bantamweight title challenge against Dominick Cruz in 2011, the "Mighty Mouse" was subsequently entered into a tournament for the newly-created 125-pound championship.

He won it by split decision over Benavidez in 2012 and never looked back, defending a UFC record 11 times—including five by submission and two by KO—from 2013 to 2017 before finally losing to Cejudo in a controversial rematch in 2018.

Time in UFC: 2008-2020

UFC Record: 20-1, 1 No-Contest (15-0, 1 No-Contest from 2011-2020)

Notable Wins: Mauricio Rua (KO), Vitor Belfort (SUB), Daniel Cormier (UD)

He's made news, multiple times, for less-than-savory reasons.

But if this list is about what happens inside the cage rather than outside, then there can be little doubt that Jones is a wholly deserving No. 1 based on what he's done against top-shelf competition.

And all he's done, incidentally, is win, win, win. No matter what.

Name a major player in the light heavyweight division over the last 10 years and there's an excellent chance Jones has fought him and beaten him.

In fact, Jones' roll call of victims also includes Rampage Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Chael Sonnen, Alexander Gustafsson and Glover Teixeira—the last of whom will be competing in a title bout on Saturday, seven years after Jones beat him.

Of his 14 title-fight wins, three ended by KO, three ended by submission and seven others ended in unanimous decisions. And only one foe, Thiago Santos, got as close as a split decision.

Case closed.