Who is the greatest MMA fighter of all time?

[BornagaininUES]

Jones is the GOAT based on fighting the longest at a championship against the best competition. If he wins HW eventually, then it won’t even be close.

Khabib is very close as well due to his complete dominance. Just hasn’t had the opponents. If he gets past Justin, then a retirement fight with GSP would be an AMAZING way to end a career.

Peak GOAT, man I don’t think I have ever been more “wowed” by anyone more than Anderson.

LOL wut, Khabib competition was way better than Jon's

Jon mainly dominated aging LHWs at tail end of their careers

[mk2kh]

LOL wut, Khabib competition was way better than Jon's

Jon mainly dominated aging LHWs at tail end of their careers

Jones has also used roids...

[kusok]

After Jones looses a few times and some years pass people will move him down in GOAT rankings, and some new guy will take over

I saw this pattern repeat for decades... I’m old.

But it’s funny that Fedor, going back to 2003 always has 1st place or same or second place votes as whoever is the hot fighter at the moment (Jones today), this should tip you off as to who is the GOAT.

It’s like in boxing, everyone always asks Tyson VS Ali, how about Lennox Lewis VS Tyson at their primes!? How about whoever is the top boxer today VS Tyson in his prime? Who wins? Well... you just answered your own question, because only one name keeps repeating... Tyson. There is a reason for that. He is the measuring stick. The standard by which everyone else is judged. Now it’s Jones VS Fedor, 10 year ago it was Machida VS Fedor or Saku VS Fedor or Royce VS Fedor or GSP VS Fedor. Well, LOL there is your answer.

Prime GSP was asked who is the best pfp, and he promptly said Fedor. Didn’t Jones once say the same when asked who the GOAT is? 99% of MMA fighters say Fedor.

[bartosh]

After Jones looses a few times and some years pass people will move him down in GOAT rankings, and some new guy will take over

I saw this pattern repeat for decades... I’m old.

But it’s funny that Fedor, going back to 2003 always has 1st place or same or second place votes as whoever is the hot fighter at the moment (Jones today), this should tip you off as to who is the GOAT.

It’s like in boxing, everyone always asks Tyson VS Ali, how about Lennox Lewis VS Tyson at their primes!? How about whoever is the top boxer today VS Tyson in his prime? Who wins? Well... you just answered your own question, because only one name keeps repeating... Tyson. There is a reason for that. He is the measuring stick. The standard by which everyone else is judged. Now it’s Jones VS Fedor, 10 year ago it was Machida VS Fedor or Saku VS Fedor or Royce VS Fedor or GSP VS Fedor. Well, LOL there is your answer.

Prime GSP was asked who is the best pfp, and he promptly said Fedor. Didn’t Jones once say the same when asked who the GOAT is? 99% of MMA fighters say Fedor.

It's pretty clearly Fedor and Khabib is the only one that has/had a chance of beating him. Khabib with a few more defenses would solidify him but as he stands now, nope. Best 155er of all time and current p4p #1 but not p4p goat

[Swept]

Jones is the GOAT, Khabib has been more dominant. You can literally go 7 deep into Jon's resume before you find someone better that Khabib beat


Cormier, Evans, Gustafsson, Machida, Rua, Belfort, Bader all better than anyone Khabib beat

[BalkanPrince]

In terms of pure dominance - Prime Jon Jones and Prime Khabib

In terms of accomplishment - GSP joins the discussion.

It is really hard to conclude this because how do you define GOAT? There really is no such thing. I think it is best to look for best champs in weight divisions and not some general GOAT.

[kusok]

The fact that Khabib got 6 more votes in one day after he won one fight tells you all about the idiocy and ignorance of MMA fans in general LOL.

They probably weren’t even alive, many of them, when Igor had like a 30 fight win streak back when fighters had to actually fight in MMA, including often with biting, headbutts and other inappropriate stuff involving groin... Not just lay on each other for points or eye poke and take roids to beat up people half their size. But now such legendary fighters from the past are not even in the poll, because the thread starter and many of the voters probably were born about 12 years ago. Just LOL

I remember such threads where Machida was getting 1st or 2nd place...

[superman704]

Khabib.

[Deathstroke]

Jon Jones
Anderson Silva
Ronda Rousey in WMMA

[EidFnatic]

Ronda Rousey in WMMA

If I was still MOD, I swear on me mums, I'd slap a perm on yo ass.

[akmerle]

LOL wut, Khabib competition was way better than Jon's

Jon mainly dominated aging LHWs at tail end of their careers

Are you trolling? Honest question. Jones has been champ since before khabib even joined the UFC.

At the time of fighting them, please show me which of his opponents since he became the champ a DECADE ago were over 32 or at the tail end? Look at the names, their ages, their past championships and championship fights.

While incredibly dominant, in his 9 years of only 12 UFC fights and only 4 title fights his competition is VASTLY lower. Like not even close lower.

[MiniManletBrah]

Either Khabib or Jones (career comes into question due to PEDs)

Khabib has:
1. Most 10-8 rounds in UFC history. By far the most dominant fighter in the Octogon.
2. It's debatable if he even lost a round in a golden era in the most stacked division.
3. Has never been made to drop a single drop of blood in the Octogon or had a black eye or dropped in a fight ever.
4. Top MMA World class coaches who produced no less than 20 world champions tried but failed to have him defeated. (Trevor Wittman, Mike Brown. John Kavanagh. Ray Longo. Mark Henry. Henri Hooft. Rafael Cordeiro.)
5. Beat 4 UFC champions in their prime in the best era of the of the lightweight division (RDA, Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje)
6. Never cheated with steroids.
7. Was promised a title shot by the UFC way back in 2016, was sent a contract in to fight Alvarez for the title in Sept 2016 but was used as a pawn in negotiations and the lightweight title shot was given to featherweight Mcgregor. Mcgregor beat Alvarez and held the belt hostage for 2 years without defending it, further delaying Khabib's rightful title shot. So had to win 10 straight fights (in the most stacked division) to finally get his title shot whereas GSP got it in 3 fights and Jones got it in 7. Yet he still managed to get in 3 title defences. (How many defences would he have if he got his title shot in 2016? 5-6).
8. Was out for 2 years and came back from career threatening injuries without any ring rust and was still as dominant as ever. Dominated Michael Johnson with a 9 mm hernia in his spine. Fought Justin Gaethje with two broken toes.
9. A true champion by being a good representation of the sport. Humble and hard working - the values of mixed martial arts. Didn't need to trash talk to sell fights.
10. The greatest 3-fight stretch in UFC history when talking about opponent quality and method of victory

[Henry2001x]

even with all the PEDs in the world, Jones would still lose to a prime Fedor. Stay mad copers.

[Schnitzl]

It's hard to argue against JJ being the GOAT imo.

GSP has so many decision wins but he was the smartest fighter out of all of them.

Khabib is mauling and dominating everyone but his stand-up is the weakest link.

JBJ has everything. Fought the toughest competition. Insane striking and fight IQ. Great ground game. Title defences for days.

[Abzu]

Do you see it?

Jones does this often from top position.

If Jones took down Fedor or Nog they would capitalize on this recurring mistake.

As far as the GOAT goes, it's Fedor, did what Khabib did but at HW and he has elite skills in every facet of the game. Khabib can't strike with the best of them(insert Connor gif) and he has no excuse for not fighting Tony.

If he thinks he's the GOAT at 32 years old, taking one more fight against your strongest competition in the division shouldn't be an issue.

I'm Black and I used to wrestle, if I'm biased then I would say Silva or Khabib but I'm not, it's Fedor.

[Rai9]

It's Fedor. Anyone that's watched MMA since the PRIDE days won't even argue it. The real debate is who's #2 in the GOAT debate and I'd say it's probably anyone from Anderson, GSP, and I guess Khabib is in the mix, but I'd go with Anderson.

[ClevageGobbler]

Chael Sonnen

[Schnitzl]

It's Fedor. Anyone that's watched MMA since the PRIDE days won't even argue it. The real debate is who's #2 in the GOAT debate and I'd say it's probably anyone from Anderson, GSP, and I guess Khabib is in the mix, but I'd go with Anderson.

You're 26 breh lmao. I watched fedor since early 2000s and while he is one of my favourite fighters of all time and ONE of the GOAT's of all time, he isn't THE goat

[MuslimBrahSwag]

A caught steroid user with massive reach and size advantage over his opponents fighting in the weakest division can not be considered GOAT.

Khabib simply doesn’t have the long enough streak yet to be considered.

Anderson is #2 GOAT, he too enjoyed size and reach advantage in the weakest division at the time. He walks as heavy as 230 lbs! Basically Fedor size, but we all know how Anderson would do at HW, as does Anderson So he stayed in Middleweight for easier wins, and he can’t be blamed, but he also can’t be GOAT that way.

Silva got popped for PED's too mate lol.

[kusok]

Silva got popped for PED's too mate lol.

Yes, so Fedor #1 is obvious, then come the steroid users.

Fed got too much going for him in this discussion, he is the only one who didn’t cut weight (aka bully smaller men because can’t hang with people your own size), the only one who didn’t pop for steroids, the only one who dominated the Golden Age of MMA, biggest promotion at the time AND flagship weight class with all the top talent being in one place at that time. And where it comes to excitement of the fight itself nobody comes close to Fedor, he didn’t lay on people (GSP) or eye poke (JJ) or run away while striking (Spider), he went all in with the most exciting looking fights: the first Coleman armbar, Randleplex, 1st round VS Crocop, the GNP VS Nog 1, the brutal slaughter of Gary and Ogawa, those are immortal MMA moments, Jones simply doesn’t have those. You can’t make a HL reel of Jones like you can of Fedor. There will never be another. Refs and other fighters all agree he is GOAT. 99% of them do.

[JustinGigolo]

Yes, so Fedor #1 is obvious, then come the steroid users.

Fed got too much going for him in this discussion, he is the only one who didn’t cut weight (aka bully smaller men because can’t hang with people your own size), the only one who didn’t pop for steroids, the only one who dominated the Golden Age of MMA, biggest promotion at the time AND flagship weight class with all the top talent being in one place at that time. And where it comes to excitement of the fight itself nobody comes close to Fedor, he didn’t lay on people (GSP) or eye poke (JJ) or run away while striking (Spider), he went all in with the most exciting looking fights: the first Coleman armbar, Randleplex, 1st round VS Crocop, the GNP VS Nog 1, the brutal slaughter of Gary and Ogawa, those are immortal MMA moments, Jones simply doesn’t have those. You can’t make a HL reel of Jones like you can of Fedor. There will never be another. Refs and other fighters all agree he is GOAT. 99% of them do.

GSP wasn't popped for roids either.
Fedor and him are #1 and 2.

[Gainzzz]

Yes, so Fedor #1 is obvious, then come the steroid users.

Fed got too much going for him in this discussion, he is the only one who didn’t cut weight (aka bully smaller men because can’t hang with people your own size), the only one who didn’t pop for steroids, the only one who dominated the Golden Age of MMA, biggest promotion at the time AND flagship weight class with all the top talent being in one place at that time. And where it comes to excitement of the fight itself nobody comes close to Fedor, he didn’t lay on people (GSP) or eye poke (JJ) or run away while striking (Spider), he went all in with the most exciting looking fights: the first Coleman armbar, Randleplex, 1st round VS Crocop, the GNP VS Nog 1, the brutal slaughter of Gary and Ogawa, those are immortal MMA moments, Jones simply doesn’t have those. You can’t make a HL reel of Jones like you can of Fedor. There will never be another. Refs and other fighters all agree he is GOAT. 99% of them do.

It's hard when you're trying to compare little guys to big guys in GOAT discussions because there are so many variables. It's very subjective.

Prime Jones destroys prime Fedor. He would be too big, too creative, too smart, too athletic.

No one smaller than Jones can compete with his accomplishments. Level of competition he faced, style in which he won, number of title defenses, etc.

Therefore, Jones is the greatest fighter of all time in MMA.

[Rai9]

You're 26 breh lmao. I watched fedor since early 2000s and while he is one of my favourite fighters of all time and ONE of the GOAT's of all time, he isn't THE goat

Been watching MMA since 05 when I start BJJ. Listen, I'm not gonna claim I'm so fuking MMA guru that knows everything about everything, but let's use some common sense. Fedor is a natural middleweight who probably could have cut to 170lbs if he got ripped and cut water weight. Instead, he fought at HW and dominated a stacked division for 10 years better than GSP and Anderson did (both who cut to fight at lower weightclasses). It's a no brainer. Anderson is taller with a better reach advantage and didn't fight at LHW let alone HW (also, Anderson got busted for roids). Don't even bring up JJ to me fellas. A guy that big with a reach advantage that dwarfs everyone else... c'mon how hasn't he fought at HW yet. Not to mention every time JJ fights guys that he doesn't absolutely dwarf he usually has a hard time with.

Prime Fedor fuks everyone up. No doubt in my mind and every top MMA fighter agrees. No one had the invincible aura Fedor did back in the day.

[skinnyfat88]

Take away the 2nd win over DC and Jones still wins.
But yes his reign is tainted due to his issues out of the cage and the fact he was popped for PEDs.

IMO GSP has the 2nd best resume next to Jones. At the time the guys he faced all looked like very legit contenders. Shame he didn't stick around to face the next crop of WW's as they had their way with the guys he beat.

Khabib was prob 1 or 2 more top 5 wins away from equaling the resume of GSP but 0 losses of course means something too.

[kusok]

It's hard when you're trying to compare little guys to big guys in GOAT discussions because there are so many variables. It's very subjective.

Prime Jones destroys prime Fedor. He would be too big, too creative, too smart, too athletic.

No one smaller than Jones can compete with his accomplishments. Level of competition he faced, style in which he won, number of title defenses, etc.

Therefore, Jones is the greatest fighter of all time in MMA.

No way breh lol, Nobody who fights or spars full contact regularly would agree that JJ beats Fedor if both were in their primes. There is reason JJ didn’t fight at HW. The thought that JJ would beat prime Crocop is already laughable. I think prime Nog would also sub prime JJ. HW is a different ballgame, JJ would not enjoy massive reach and size advantage over these guys, they hit harder, their grip is stronger, your punches do less (if anything) to them. There is a big difference in fighting Machida or fighting Shane Carwin. But you must spar and fight on decent level to fully appreciate the massive difference size makes, weight classes exist for a reason.


Prime Fedor VS prime JJ fight is a slaughter. Quick body lock, Sambo trip from a 235 lbs multiple time world Sambo Champion, GnP for a dominating win.

[Coach McGuirk]

Idk the order but

Silva
Fedor
Khabib
GSP
Jones
Cormier

Imo

[Casser1242]

GSP on paper is the best to ever do it.

Khabib is not the GOAT on paper, in terms of H2H, he beats anyone.

[Gainzzz]

No way breh lol, Nobody who fights or spars full contact regularly would agree that JJ beats Fedor if both were in their primes. There is reason JJ didn’t fight at HW. The thought that JJ would beat prime Crocop is already laughable. I think prime Nog would also sub prime JJ. HW is a different ballgame, JJ would not enjoy massive reach and size advantage over these guys, they hit harder, their grip is stronger, your punches do less (if anything) to them. There is a big difference in fighting Machida or fighting Shane Carwin. But you must spar and fight on decent level to fully appreciate the massive difference size makes, weight classes exist for a reason.


Prime Fedor VS prime JJ fight is a slaughter. Quick body lock, Sambo trip from a 235 lbs multiple time world Sambo Champion, GnP for a dominating win.

I didn't mention Jones fighting Cro Cop, Nog, or anyone else other than Fedor lol. Because then obviously size IS a factor, and then you have to compare accomplishments/overall skill (which obviously Jones wins against any of those guys)

Jones probably weighs ~225lbs on fight night, Fedor ~235lbs

You can compare Jones to Fedor because size isn't a factor. Jones is obviously much bigger in height and reach. Fedor fought as the smaller man for most of his career. Weight would be negligible at that size.



Jones (in his prime) showed nothing but exceptional wrestling, strength, timing, and distance control. The idea that Fedor would simply be able to walk up to Jones, body lock him and ragdoll him on the floor is laughable lol.

Far more likely is Jones stays on the outside and hits Fedor with chit he has never seen before.

MMA evolved and advanced massively from Fedor's prime days to Jones' prime days, and Jones was at the forefront of that evolution.

You'll never agree but that's ok.

[OttomanEmpire]

Is this going by how they dominate in fights or their resume?



Jones: “I understand most people have never been number one in their community, state, let alone the world. My competitive nature won’t allow me to just stand by and see someone ask to be considered the best. I’ve sacrificed too much blood!”

Khabib: “No one has ever made me sacrifice any blood!”

[kusok]

I didn't mention Jones fighting Cro Cop, Nog, or anyone else other than Fedor lol. Because then obviously size IS a factor, and then you have to compare accomplishments/overall skill (which obviously Jones wins against any of those guys)

Jones probably weighs ~225lbs on fight night, Fedor ~235lbs

You can compare Jones to Fedor because size isn't a factor. Jones is obviously much bigger in height and reach. Fedor fought as the smaller man for most of his career. Weight would be negligible at that size.



Jones (in his prime) showed nothing but exceptional wrestling, strength, timing, and distance control. The idea that Fedor would simply be able to walk up to Jones, body lock him and ragdoll him on the floor is laughable lol.

Far more likely is Jones stays on the outside and hits Fedor with chit he has never seen before.

MMA evolved and advanced massively from Fedor's prime days to Jones' prime days, and Jones was at the forefront of that evolution.

You'll never agree but that's ok.

You have to ask yourself then why Jones didn’t fight at HW. Simple answer which you KNOW is that Jones would have a much harder time dealing with people 50 and in some case 100 lbs bigger than himself.

Try to roll with a smaller purple, then roll with a 300 lbs lifter with next to zero skills, weight classes exist for a reason. Jones’s best bet was to cut weight to get the biggest possible reach and size advantage over his opponents, and it worked amazingly! Props to him, one of the greatest fighters of all time, but there is only one GOAT. GSP and just about every other fighter stated who that GOAT is. Just in case some MMA fans have a short memory.

Think of Crocop from 2005-2006 VS Jones... Not a good fight for Jones, well Fedor walked him down, first round Fed basically matched him and even got the better of him in what looked like a K1 stand-up fight. Submission-wise Jones is not on the level to defend submissions from top HWs, Werdum would have ripped his arm off if he had him in the position Vitor had Jones in. HW is a different ballgame.

At HW Jones also looses a lot of his speed and cardio, you have to remember that.