Top 140 mma fighters of all time

Georges St-Pierre was born on 19 May 1981 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He is an actor and producer, known for Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Cartels (2016) and Kickboxer: Vengeance (2016).

Jon Jones was born on 19 July 1987 in Rochester, New York, USA. He is an actor, known for The Cage (2024), UFC 285 Embedded: Vlog Series (2023) and New York Mixed Martial Arts (2011). He is married to Jessie Moses. They have three children.

Anderson is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and former UFC Middleweight Champion. Silva was the UFC's longest reigning champion and also holds the longest winning and title defense streak in UFC history, with 16 consecutive wins and 10 title defenses, and is the consensus No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world according to ESPN, Sherdog, Yahoo! Sports and other publications. Silva holds notable victories over former champions Carlos Newton, Hayato Sakurai, Chris Leben, Rich Franklin(x2), Dan Henderson, Forrest Griffin and Vitor Belfort. UFC president Dana White has called Silva "the greatest mixed martial artist ever. Anderson Silva was born April 14, 1975, a middle child of four. The son of a poverty stricken family, Silva spent the majority of his childhood with his aunt and uncle, an officer with the Curitiba police force. Silva has three sons and two daughters with his wife, Dayane. Silva appeared in Never Surrender in 2009 and a documentary about his life in the UFC called Like Water, released in 2011.

Silva first began training Jiu Jitsu with neighborhood kids who could afford lessons. By the age of 12, his family was able to set aside enough money to start him in Tae Kwon Do lessons, from which he moved on to Capoeira, before finally settling on Muay Thai at the age of 16.

Before he began his career as a professional fighter, Silva worked at McDonalds, and also as a file clerk. He also considers Spider-Man a personal hero, and has a stated love of comic books and comic book heroes. Film and television is one of his greatest passions and he can see himself heavily immersed in the industry in the future.

Khabib Abdulmanapovich Nurmagomedov born 20 September 1988 is a Russian former professional mixed martial artist. He competed in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he was the longest-reigning UFC Lightweight Champion, having held the title from April 2018 to March 2021. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time. With 29 wins and no losses, he retired with an undefeated record.

A two-time Combat Sambo World Champion, Nurmagomedov has a background in the disciplines of Sambo, Judo and Wrestling. Nurmagomedov was ranked #1 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings at the time of his retirement, until being removed following his title vacation in March 2021. Fight Matrix ranks him as the #1 lightweight of all time.

Hailing from the Republic of Dagestan in Russia, Nurmagomedov is the first Muslim to win a UFC title. He is the most-followed Russian on Instagram, with more than 33 million followers as of February 2022. He is also a mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter, known for promoting the Eagle Fighting Championship (EFC). Since retirement, he has transitioned to a mixed martial arts coach and corner-man.

Daniel Cormier, a relatively short Heavyweight, has met success against bigger opponents in freestyle wrestling and later in Mixed Martial Arts. Cormier was raised in Lafayette, Louisiana where he was raised by his mother and stepfather. Cormier became a pro wrestling fan by age 10, which he watched on TV often. When he was 11, a coach introduced him to wrestling after breaking up a parking lot fight with him and a friend. He attended Louisiana High School where he won his first medals, thrice winning a Division I All-American and State championships. Cormier also played the linebacker position in football, and was offered a scholarship to play at Louisiana State University. He chose wrestling instead, and in 1997 he went to Colby Junior College in Kansas where he attended for two years, then transferred to Oklahoma State University (OSU). It was at OSU that he became a roommate and friend of King Mo. In 2001 he was a runner-up in the NCAA Division I Collegiate Championship and NCAA Big 12 Conference. Cormier won a gold medal at the 2002 at the Pan American Games, and another in 2003 during the Pan American Games. In 2007, he won bronze medals at the FILA Wrestling World Championships, and the FILA Wrestling World Championships.

While preparing to audition for the Olympics team, Cormier's 3 1/2 month daughter,Kaedyn Imri Cormier , died in a car accident on June 14, 2003 in Austin, Texas. The car she was in was hit by a 18 wheeler truck. Severely afflicted by the loss, Cormier stopped wrestling. After some time off, he made the 2004 US Olympics team in Athens, where he finished 4th. Cormier declined an offer from World Wrestling Entertaiment, and to try for the Olympics again. Due to a kidney failure he sustained from cutting weight to 211.5 pounds, Cormier withdrew from the US Olympic wrestling team in 2008, a day before he was to compete in the Beijing Olympics. Cormier could not train for a year, which ended his wrestling career.

In 2009, Cormier started to train in Mixed Martial Arts out of San Jose's American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) , training with King Mo, Cain Velasquez, and Luke Rockhold. Injuring his ribs a week before, Cormier fought fellow OSU alumni, Gary Frazier, in his first bout at Strikeforce Challengers 3 (2009). Cormier kept the fight standing by defending a takedown, landing a knee and taking control of Frazier's back and dominating him on the ground for a portion of the round. After exchanging punches in the second round, Cormier failed to get the takedown after numerous attempts when Frazier held the fence. Cormier gets the better of the stand-up by landing right punches and uppercuts. Frazier missed a knee strike and slipped, which Cormier took advantage of and gets top to land multiple punches to the head and won by TKO. Cormier got his first knockout at Strikeforce Challengers 7 (2010), defeating John Devine in the first round.

Cormier remained active outside of Strikeforce (2006) in July 2010, initiating the busiest weeks of his MMA career by taking a fight against Lucas Browne in the Australian promotion Xtreme MMA, replacing injuring teammate Mike Kyle with two days notice. In a bout for the XMMA Heavyweight Championship, Cormier took Brown e to the ground early, and won with devastating striking in four and a half minutes, resulting in Browne receiving up to one hundred stitches. Cormier returned to the United States two weeks later to challenge Tony Johnson Jr. for the King of the Cage Heavyweight Championship, instead of competing at Strikeforce Challengers 10 (2010) as planned. Johnson attacked with punches which put Cormier on the defensive. To stop Johnson's offense, Cormier clinches with him and held him against the cage. Johnson gets a double-leg takedown and is reversed with Cormier on top. Cormier controls Johnson on the ground, controlling his back and going for his neck. Johnson struggled to get Cormier off his back until the rear-naked choke is completely secured for the submission win. It was Cormier's second championship win in two weeks. Eight days after winning the King of the Cage title, Cormier fought Jason Riley at Strikeforce: Houston (2010). Riley defended a single-leg take-down by Cormier then clinched with him against the fence. Cormier went for another take-down which Riley evaded. A right hand from Cormier stuns Riley and he was easily taken to the ground via double-leg. Further strikes forced Riley to submit by tapping the mat with his right hand. Cormier won the bout in just over a minute, making it his quickest fight.

Cormier returned to Sydney, Australia to defend the Xtremme MMA Heavyweight Championship against Soa Palelei at XMMA 3 in November 2010. It was a successful title defense for Cormier, who submitted Palelei by way of punches. Cormier took on Devin Cole at Strikeforce Challengers 13 (2011). He tossed Cole to the ground in round one, and landed an assortment of kicks, including a powerful overhand right, more kicks and a take-down trip to the ground. Cormier hit Cole with a leg kick in the second round, then a hip toss which Cole quickly stood up from. Cormier quickly defended against his grounded opponent and got full mount. Cole briefly stood up before he was taken down by Cormier again, who attempted a rear-naked choke. Cole attacked from his back with an attempted kimura on Cormier's left arm until the round ended. Cormier landed a leg kick, then battled for position against the cage while on the feet. The fighters were separated and Cormier defended a takedown try by Cole. Cormier controlled his grounded opponent who stood up at they fought against the fence again. Cormier took Cole to the ground with a body lock and landed punches until the round expired, and won by unanimous decision.

Cormier was to have fought Shane Del Rosario in an alternate bout for the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament, but injuries from a car accident took Del Rosario from the fight. Jeff Monson replaced him at Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum (2011). Cormier and Monson engaged with punches in round one, and Cormier connected with kicks and more punches. Cormier landed more kicks in round two, and did not follow Monson--known for his submission abilities--to the ground. Cormier reversed against the cage, landed more strikes and tossed his opponent to the ground and backed away. In the final round, a determined Monson tried taking down Cormier, whom instead struck with punches, knees, and a leg trip. Cormier won by unanimous decision. In August 2011, with his recent win over Monson, Cormier was promoted from alternate to compete in Strikeforce's Heavyweight Grand Prix Tournament by replacing Alistair Overeem. Cormier proceeded to Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov (2011) where he met Antonio Silva in a semi-final Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix fight.

Silva hit his body with a right kick and Cormier reacted with a right leg kick. Silva threw a barrage of punches, some of which connected on Cormier. Cormier hit Silva with a overhand right, allowed him to stand and defended against a takedown attempt which lead to Silva on his back again. The fight was stood up and Cormier connected with a left jab and "Bigfoot" Silva hit him with punches. Silva is put down for a second time when Cormier caught a right leg kick from him, then kicks away his left leg. Cormier backs away for the second time to allow Silva up, hit him with left jabs and a right uppercut which stunned him. Cormier finishes with a right hammer-fist then a left hammer-fist to win by knockout in the first round. Cormier advanced to the tournament finals with Josh Barnett, who submitted Sergei Kharitonov in the main event of the same card. Cormier re-injured his right hand fighting Silva in September 2011--then hurt it again in December 2012--postponing the final Grand Prix from March to May 2012.

Cormier fought Barnett for the Strikeforce World Grand Prix Championship at Strikeforce: Heavyweight Grand Prix Final (2012). He evaded Barnett's jabs and countered with kicks. Barnett struck him with a knee. Cormier him with a barrage of punches. Barnett lands left knee to side of Cormier's face to end the round. In round two Barnett hit Cormier with a left low kick, Cormier punches him in the face. Barnett pushes forward and Cormier hits him with a right uppercut. He gets a single-leg takedown on Barnett who tries a triangle choke and Cormier easily avoids it then an arm-bar. Cormier walks out of a leg-lock submission then landed more punches and elbows from the top. Barnett pushes Cormier against the fence after round three started. Cormier defends the takedown attempts, then grabs Barnett's left leg and picks him up and slams him to the ground on his back. Cormier gets side control but Barnett manages to get up. Cormier lands more punches, then later hit Barnett with a right head kick after a failed takedown. He hit Barnett with knees to end the round. Barnett started of championship round four by hitting Cormier with a left knee, who retaliates with a left hook. Cormier connects with left and right head kicks then get a takedown by holding a leg and tripping Barnett's other one. Barnett attempts submissions on Cormier's right leg/foot. Cormier escapes and control the action from top. In the fifth and final round, an aggressive Barnett hits a right body kick and continued with knees and punches on Cormier against the fence. Barnett lands another knee and a punch when the fight is resumed off the fence. Barnett lands a left hook, body kick and more punches. Cormier connects with two punches and Barnett misses a spinning back fist. Cormier takes him to the ground, and Barnett fought his way to the feet and prevented being slammed by Cormier. Cormier won unanimously on all the judge's score cards to be crowned the Strikeforce World Grand Prix Heavyweight Tournament Champion.

As the tournament champion, Cormier was obligated by Strikeforce (2006) 's TV partner, Showtime Networks, to have one more bout in the promotion. UFC fighter Frank Mir agreed to fight Cormier until a knee injury a month before forced him out of the scheduled November 2012 card. The entire card was cancelled after an injury prevented Strikeforce Middleweight World Champion Luke Rockhold from defending the title against Lorenz Larkin. Cormier was later matched against Dutch fighter Dion Staring at the promotion's final event, Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine (2013). Cormier controlled Staring for much of the first round after tripping him twice and landing strikes from the full mounted position to end the round. Staring went after Cormier with punches in the second round and both fought for control against the fence. Cormier resumed his dominance when he tripped Staring with his left leg and controlled him on the ground and attacked from various angles with punches until a technical knockout stoppage with under a minute left in the round. Cormier remained undefeated in all 11 of his MMA fights, with 8 of those wins happening in Strikeforce (2006).

Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko (born September 28, 1976) Fedor is a Russian heavyweight mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter. He is the current World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts Heavyweight Champion and the last holder of the Pride Heavyweight Championship, Pride 2004 Grand Prix winner, four time World Combat Sambo champion. Fighting out of Stary Oskol, Belgorod, Russia, from Red Devil Sport Club team. Fedor is #1 Heavyweight fighter in the world.

José Aldo da Silva Oliveira Júnior, commonly anglicized as Jose Aldo, is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. He competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in the Bantamweight division. He also competed at Featherweight, and was the fourth and final WEC Featherweight Champion. He became the first UFC Featherweight Champion following the UFC/WEC merger.

Demetrious Johnson is an American mixed martial artist. Johnson began his career in mixed martial arts (MMA) in 2007 and won his professional debut via first-round knockout. Johnson then appeared on multiple local shows and won his next 8 fights, including four in a row by submission. Johnson fought at the Alaska Fighting Championships in Anchorage and won via head kick KO, which earned him a deal with the WEC.

Charles David Liddell is an American former mixed martial artist who was the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Liddell had 23 fights in the UFC. He is widely credited with helping bring MMA into the mainstream of American sports and entertainment. On July 10, 2009, he was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. Liddell was born in Santa Barbara, California, of partial Irish descent. He was raised by his single mother and maternal grandfather, who taught Liddell and his siblings boxing techniques from a very young age. Liddell began studying Koeikan karate at the age of 12; the tattoo on his scalp reads "Koei-Kan".

Matt Hughes was born on 13 October 1973 in Hillsboro, Illinois, USA. He is an actor, known for Kingdom (2014), UFC 25 Years in Short (2018) and UFC 200 Greatest Fighters of All Time (2016).

Randy Couture is a collegiate wrestler and fighter turned actor from Everett, Washington. He served as a four time US Olympic wrestling team alternate as a soldier in the U.S. Army, and is also a 6 time world heavyweight and light heavyweight UFC champion and Hall of Famer. He is a graduate of Oklahoma State University with a bachelor's degree in foreign language literature and is also fluent in German. Randy's current girlfriend is actress Mindy Robinson. He is best known for starring in all three of The Expendables, Ambushed, and The Scorpion King 2.

Dan Henderson was born on 24 August 1970 in Apple Valley, California, USA. He is an actor, known for No Rules (2005), Dragon Eyes (2012) and Breakout (2016).

Penn was born to Jay Dee Penn, an Irish American and Loraine Shin, a third generation Korean-American. At the age of seventeen, Penn began training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu after being introduced to it by his neighbor, Tom Callos. Callos had put up fliers in local gyms looking for people to train with, and B.J.'s father Jay Dee Penn had called Callos and said his boys were interested. Callos then taught B.J. and his brother what he knew. Shortly thereafter, B.J. moved to San Jose, California to begin training at AKA with Dave Camarillo and Bob Cooke, who he lived with and became close friends with. It was here during his time in San Jose that he decided to pursue a career in martial arts (albeit not mixed martial arts at the time).

Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira was born in Salvador, Brazil. Better known as Minotauro, is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist known for his technical mastery of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He competed in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion. He won most of his fights via submissions.

Rickson Gracie is considered one of the greatest Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighters in history. A native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, he comes from the legendary fighting Gracie family. Along with brothers Royce, Royler, and Rorion Gracie, and his father Hélio, Rickson Gracie has won countless tournaments and championships. A master at submissions, Rickson has defeated such fighters as Japanese jiu-jitsu champion Yoshinori Nishi, kick boxing champion Bud Smith, Pankration champion Masakatsu Funaki, and Japanese wrestling champion Nobuhiko Takada. In 1980, Rickson became a legend by defeating famed vale tudo fighter Rei Zulu, who had an alleged record of 140-0. Rickson is said to have a record of 410 wins and no defeats. However, this record is not without controversy. Gracie is reported to have been defeated in the early 1990s in Oklahoma City losing to Dr. Ron Tripp in a Sambo tournament. In addition, critics often cite the fact he has failed to face any recent champions or truly credible opponents. Regardless, Rickson Gracie will always be ranked among the great jiu-jitsu practitioners. He just may be the greatest jiu-jitsu fighter in history, only time will tell.

Conor Anthony McGregor is an Irish mixed martial artist who competes in the featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He began his professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career in 2008 after leaving his job as a plumber. In 2009, he attended UFC 93 and was so inspired by the experience that he began pursuing a dream, of one day having a career in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. On 9 March 2008, Conor McGregor made his professional MMA debut at Cage of Truth 2, defeating Gary Morris by second round TKO.

Dominick Cruz was born on 3 September 1985 in San Diego, California, USA. He is an actor, known for UFC 1 on 1 (2014), The Ultimate Fighter on FX (2012) and UFC: The Walk (2019).

Royce Gracie, of the legendary Gracie family, is one of the most prolific and influential MMA fighters in history. He became an 'underdog' hero while changing the landscape of combat sports and revolutionizing martial arts forever. After winning the first UFC Tournament(s) (UFC1, UFC2, UFC4), he proved that with the knowledge of his father's fighting style (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) a "David" could beat a "Goliath". Royce is the only fighter in history to defeat four opponents in the same night; unlike today, these tournaments had no weight divisions, no time limits and no real rules. In Brazil they were called "Vale Todo" in America it became 'no-holds-barred' and was quickly ruled illegal throughout most of the U.S. In 2003, Royce was the first fighter inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. His record of 'victories via submissions' remain untouched. Today he's considered an icon, a pioneer, and "The Godfather" of a sport that will be celebrating it's 20th anniversary, November 12th 2013.

Frankie Edgar was born on 16 October 1981 in Toms River, New Jersey, USA. He is an actor, known for The Bastard Sons (2023), UFC 200 Greatest Fighters of All Time (2016) and UFC 302: Makhachev vs. Poirier (2024).

Cited by film producer Jeff Most as "The next Vin Diesel", Tito delivers the audience as well as the sheer acting talent. The most electrifying Ultimate Fighting competitor alive today, as intimidating as Tito is in the ring, outside he is an unparalleled fan favorite. A dynamic speaker, Tito's popularity with the fans made for a natural move into other media. He frequently appears on talk shows and in magazine articles and stars in the popular video game, "UFC: Tapout" on Xbox. Having made a cameo appearance in Jet Li's Cradle 2 the Grave (2003), Tito recently delivered a breakout performance with his first starring role, opposite Edward Furlong, David Boreanaz, and Dennis Hopper, in The Crow: Wicked Prayer (2005), scheduled for release in early 2005.

But life for "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" wasn't always this good, and even as he soars to the top, Tito has never forgotten his roots. The child of two drug-addicted parents, in high school Tito chose wrestling over drugs and gangs, and excelled. He went on to compete at the college level and earned two consecutive titles as California State Wrestling Champion before making the shift to Ultimate Fighting...where he became the world champion less than two years after entering the sport.

Today, as he balances his time between fighting, acting, running his clothing line, "Punishment Athletics", and developing his new game for Xbox, Tito also regularly prioritizes working with inner city children; motivating kids to stay in school, to stay away from drugs and gangs, and to pursue their dreams, no matter what their current situation; and, through his foundation, Tito supports children's charity initiatives and raises money to establish better after-school athletic programs in neighborhoods like the one he came from.

Wanderlei Silva was born on 3 July 1976 in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil. He is an actor, known for Here Comes the Boom (2012), Abestalhados 2 (2022) and Nagurimono (2005).

Bas Rutten is a world-renowned mixed martial artist who has also made a name for himself outside the ring as an actor, host, and television personality.

As an actor Rutten can be seen co-starring in the Kevin James feature film Here Comes the Boom (2012) for Columbia Pictures. Rutten previously appeared in Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009) and lent his talents to the voice cast of Zookeeper (2011).

Rutten is the co-host of the weekly MMA news program Inside MMA on HDNet, and he can be seen this fall hosting the self-defense show Punk Payback for Fuel TV. Rutten has provided color commentary for several fight organizations including the former Pride Fighting Championships.

Rutten is a former three-time King of Pancrase World Champion and UFC Heavyweight Champion. Born and raised in Holland, his devotion to martial arts began after sneaking into a movie screening of Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon. First known as a devastating stand up striker with 11 career wins by knockout, Rutten also dominated with 14 wins by submission and went undefeated in his final 22 fights.

Stipe Miocic was born on 19 August 1982 in Independence, Ohio, USA. He is an actor, known for Acts of Violence (2018), American Violence (2017) and Billions (2016). He has been married to Ryan Marie Carney since 2016. They have one child.

Max Holloway was born on 4 December 1991 in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. He is an actor, known for Den of Thieves (2018), Hawaii Five-0 (2010) and Untitled Max Holloway Documentary Project.

Kazushi Sakuraba was born on 14 July 1968 in Japan. He is an actor, known for Nagurimono (2005), Wrestle-1 Events (2013) and Baton (2009).