The 20 greatest UFC fighters of the Zuffa era (10-1)

With UFC 200 just around the corner and Zuffa, LLC reportedly on the verge of selling the world's foremost MMA organization, it's time to look back at the history made during the Zuffa era*.

*includes UFC events dating back to Feb. 23, 2001 (UFC 30), World Extreme Cagefighting events dating back to Jan. 20, 2007 (WEC 25), and Strikeforce events dating back to April 9, 2011 (Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley)

Best of the Zuffa era

• The 10 most stunning knockouts
• The 10 most amazing submissions
• The most memorable moments
• The most furious fights
• The 20 greatest fighters (20-11)
• The 20 greatest fighters (10-1)

For the final leg of our lead-up to UFC 200, we take stock of the best fighters to ever grace the Octagon.

Because this is a celebration of the Zuffa era, it saves us the trouble of measuring the modern UFC fighter against the legends of the early "no-holds-barred" days.

This means no Gracies, no Ken Shamrock, and no Art "One Glove" Jimmerson.

What that leaves us with is the cream of the crop within mixed martial arts, 20 fighters who stand above their peers based on their dominance, peak performances, and longevity.

These are the greatest fighters of the Zuffa era.

10. Dan Henderson

Light Heavyweight/Middleweight
UFC record: 9-8
MMA record: 32-14
Biggest victories: Michael Bisping, Fedor Emelianenko, Rich Franklin, Hector Lombard, Mauricio Rua (2)
Notable losses: Vitor Belfort (2), Daniel Cormier, Rashad Evans, Quinton Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Anderson Silva

The only fighter on this list to have not held a UFC title, Henderson has to be recognized for his resilience, his versatility, and that unholy "H-bomb" right hand.

After winning a UFC tournament in 1998, Henderson went on to become a star for Japan's PRIDE promotion before it was purchased by Zuffa in 2007. He came back to the Octagon sporting a light heavyweight and middleweight belt, but failed to win unification bouts against Jackson and Silva.

Henderson remained a top middleweight, and likely would have challenged for a title again if he hadn't departed as a free agent after two years with the UFC. He would come back a third time to defeat "Shogun" Rua, a win that re-established him as one of the best fighters at 205 pounds.

Add in his knockout of Emelianenko that happened in the Strikeforce promotion after it was acquired by Zuffa, and you have a resume that's as good as it gets.

9. Demetrious Johnson

Bantamweight/Flyweight
UFC record: 12-1-1
MMA record: 24-2-1
Biggest victories: Joseph Benavidez (2), Henry Cejudo, John Dodson (2), Miguel Torres
Notable losses: Dominick Cruz, Brad Pickett

The UFC instituted the 125-pound division four years ago and "Mighty Mouse" Johnson hasn't looked back since.

At times, it's hard to appreciate how untouchable Johnson has been as a champion, but one could argue the only reason the rest of the flyweight division has failed to impress is because he's willed it to be so with his championship performances.

Johnson's goal is to become the greatest champion in UFC history and with eight straight title defenses already, he might just pull it off.

8. Dominick Cruz

Bantamweight
UFC record: 5-0
MMA record: 22-1
Biggest victories: Joseph Benavidez, T.J. Dillashaw, Urijah Faber (2), Demetrious Johnson
Notable losses: Urijah Faber

Don't let the lack of highlight-reel finishes fool you: Cruz will break your spirit.

Taking into account his World Extreme Cagefighting run, Cruz is 12-1 under the Zuffa banner with that only loss coming in a featherweight bout with Faber. He's never lost at 135 pounds, a run that includes a pair of Faber rematches.

Keep in mind, Cruz recently had years of his prime taken away by injuries to his knees and he still came back to reclaim and defend the bantamweight belt.

There's a reason he's called "The Dominator."

7. Chuck Liddell

Light Heavyweight
UFC record: 16-7
MMA record: 21-8
Biggest victories: Randy Couture (2), Tito Ortiz (2), Kevin Randleman, Wanderlei Silva
Notable losses: Randy Couture, Rashad Evans, Rich Franklin, Quinton Jackson, Mauricio Rua

Liddell's career is defined by a seven-fight stretch from April 2004-December 2006 where he knocked out everybody he faced.

During that insane run, Liddell won the UFC light heavyweight title and twice conquered rivals Couture and Ortiz. Every sensational KO he recorded elevated not only his stature, but the sport itself as it was on the cusp of breaking through to mainstream acceptance.

Adding to Liddell's aura was his beer-belly physique and his penchant for landing decisive blows while seemingly on the backfoot.

We can argue for days about how effective Liddell would be in today's MMA landscape, but it's much better to remember him as an innovator of "sprawl-and-brawl" and one hell of a fun fighter to watch.

6. Matt Hughes

Welterweight
UFC record: 18-7
MMA record: 45-9
Biggest victories: Royce Gracie, Carlos Newton (2) B.J. Penn, Sean Sherk, Georges St-Pierre, Frank Trigg (2)
Notable losses: B.J. Penn (2), Georges St-Pierre (2)

Hughes' rural upbringing belies the fact he was one of the strongest, most confident fighters the MMA world has ever seen.

There was no secret to the wrestler's success. Hughes was going to get his hands on you at some point, try to slam you through the mat, and then pound on you until you were unconscious or so badly hurt you'd give him an arm or a leg so he could submit you.

As simple as that strategy sounds, nobody could stop it as Hughes won 35 of his first 38 professional bouts. 18 of those came in the UFC, the second most in company history.

Even though he would be surpassed by St-Pierre and Penn, Hughes can claim a victory over both, a reminder he was the litmus test for the division's elite.

5. Jose Aldo

Featherweight
UFC record: 7-1
MMA record: 25-2
Biggest victories: Frankie Edgar, Urijah Faber, Kenny Florian, Chad Mendes (2)
Notable losses: Conor McGregor

Before Aldo suffered one of the worst knockout losses in UFC title fight history at the hands of McGregor, he was a featherweight phenom and arguably the most dominant champion the sport had seen.

For a decade, Aldo decimated the competition, going 25-1 with a combined 15-1 record across the WEC and UFC. In his first WEC title defense, he made Faber look like an amateur, and that wizardry carried over to his UFC career where he took out Florian, Edgar, and Mendes.

Aldo's mixture of jiu-jitsu expertise and mystifying striking had him lauded by fans and critics alike, giving him a legitimate claim as the pound-for-pound best fighter at his peak.

4. B.J. Penn

Welterweight/Lightweight
UFC record: 12-9-2
MMA record: 16-10-2
Biggest victories: Kenny Florian, Matt Hughes (2), Jens Pulver, Diego Sanchez, Sean Sherk
Notable losses: Nick Diaz, Frankie Edgar (2), Matt Hughes, Rory MacDonald, Jens Pulver, Georges St-Pierre (2)

A glance at Penn's record could draw a shrug from the uneducated fan, but buried in those 23 UFC fights is a wealth of classic encounters in which he proved he was truly willing to fight anyone.

Nicknamed "The Prodigy," Penn made it all look so easy as a 22-year-old making his debut in the UFC. He knocked out his first three opponents inside of a round, almost making you forget he fancied himself a grappler as opposed to a conventional boxer.

Penn defied conventional wisdom when he moved up to welterweight to challenge Hughes in 2004. The smaller Penn was like an octopus as he controlled the larger Hughes and choked him out for his first taste of UFC gold.

Later, he would return to lightweight to become the division's first dominant champion and one of two men to win titles in different classes.

His biggest weakness might be not knowing when to quit. Penn is set come out of retirement in 2016.

3. Anderson Silva

Middleweight
UFC record: 16-3
MMA record: 33-7
Biggest victories: Vitor Belfort, Rich Franklin (2), Forrest Griffin, Dan Henderson, Chael Sonnen (2)
Notable losses: Michael Bisping, Chris Weidman (2)

If this list was defined strictly by who had the most spectacular in-cage performances, there would be no beating "The Spider."

During his run as middleweight champion, Silva laid waste to the division to the point that he found himself having to take fights at light heavyweight just to keep busy.

And by "keep busy," we mean embarrassing former champion Griffin.

His front kick KO of Belfort, his last-minute triangle choke of Sonnen, his brutal Muay Thai destruction of Franklin (twice!), there are almost too many famous finishes to count.

The competition at 185 pounds was occasionally lacking, but if you want to argue the man who holds the UFC record for most consecutive title defenses is the greatest of all time, you have plenty of ammunition.

2. Jon Jones

Light Heavyweight
UFC record: 16-1
MMA record: 22-1
Biggest victories: Vitor Belfort, Daniel Cormier, Rashad Evans, Alexander Gustafsson, Quinton Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Maurico Rua, Chael Sonnen
Notable losses: None

When it's all said and done, Jones will likely be considered the best ever to step foot in the Octagon.

"Bones" put himself on the championship path early, obliterating six of his first seven UFC opponents (his only blemish a disqualification loss to Matt Hamill). He finished Rua to become the light heavyweight champion and he kept on cruising from there.

"Rampage" Jackson, Machida, Evans, all of these 205-pound standouts fell at the hands of the impossibly talented Jones.

Blessed with long limbs and a sponge-like ability to absorb new techniques, the sky is the limit for Jones as he prepares to make history in a rematch with Cormier at UFC 200.

1. Georges St-Pierre

Welterweight
UFC record: 19-2
MMA record: 25-2
Biggest victories: Carlos Condit, Nick Diaz, Jon Fitch, Matt Hughes (2), B.J. Penn (2), Sean Sherk, Jake Shields
Notable losses: Matt Hughes, Matt Serra

For St-Pierre, MMA was always about the challenge.

No champion has ever faced a more diverse and more accomplished set of opponents. World-class strikers, jiu-jitsu masters, All-American wrestlers, many of whom had won titles in other major promotions, all lined up to try to remove "GSP" from his throne.

He welcomed and then conquered them all.

Often maligned for a safe style that some consider boring, all St-Pierre did was completely neutralize the deadliest human beings in the world.

Whether it was with his immaculately timed takedowns or perfectly spaced striking, round after round after round belonged to St-Pierre. Just because his opponents were not finished, doesn't mean there was ever any doubt who the better fighter was.

He retired in 2013, presumably to pursue new challenges after having accomplished everything possible in the sport of MMA.