Warning: contains spoilers from the UFC 200 Greatest Fighters of All-Time series on Fight Pass.
Irish fans may only be able to check out the first two parts of the original series ranking the 200 best to ever grace an Octagon on Fight Pass, but those lucky SOBs stateside received it all in its entirety prior to the landmark UFC 200 card.
The list was compiled by a team of journalists, commentators, and other experts, with any fighter who has competed inside the Octagon from UFC 1 up until UFC 200 being eligible for consideration. However, fighters are being judged on their entire body of work in mixed martial arts, not just their time in the UFC.
Contributing factors in the decision included championship reigns, their professional record, the standard of opponent they faced, the era in which they competed, athletic innovation and historic relevance.
Obviously, this programme has been in the works for a long time, so events in recent weeks haven’t been taken into consideration. This is probably why Stephen Thompson doesn’t feature in the top 100, while Jon Jones, who’s staring down the barrel of a potential two-year ban after failing a pre-fight drug test before UFC 200, takes the number one spot.
Irish fans will be happy to see Conor McGregor coming in at an impressive 38th, despite having only spent three years in the promotion, and at just 27 years old, probably hasn’t even hit his peak yet.
The featherweight champion came in ahead of some legends of the sport including arguably the P4P greatest female fighter ever, Cyborg, and a host of former champions such as Josh Barnett, Jens Pulver, Renan Barao and Rafael dos Anjos.
Check out the top 100 first reported by Bloody Elbow’s Mookie Alexander below:
100. Gabriel Gonzaga 99. Matt Lindland 98. Edson Barboza 97. Miguel Torres 96. Roy Nelson
95. Demian Maia 94. Josh Koscheck 93. Antonio Silva 92. Khabib Nurmagomedov 91. Glover Teixeira
90. Ronaldo Souza 89. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira 88. Mark Kerr 87. Diego Sanchez 86. Alexander Gustafsson
85. Pedro Rizzo 84. Nate Marquardt 83. Thiago Alves 82. Shane Carwin 81. Jake Shields
80. Murilo Bustamante 79. Evan Tanner 78. Kenny Florian 77. Marco Ruas 76. Anthony Johnson
75. Ricco Rodriguez 74. Holly Holm 73. Eddie Alvarez 72. Donald Cerrone 71. Maurice Smith
70. Sean Sherk 69. Matt Serra 68. Joseph Benavidez 67. Tim Sylvia 66. T.J. Dillashaw
65. Stipe Miocic 64. Miesha Tate 63. Gilbert Melendez 62. Johny Hendricks 61. Joanna Jedrzejczyk
60. Kevin Randleman 59. Cris Cyborg 58. Takanori Gomi 57. Alistair Overeem 56. Nate Diaz
55. Rory MacDonald 54. Don Frye 53. Anthony Pettis 52. Jens Pulver 51. Carlos Condit
50. Renan Barao 49. Josh Barnett 48. Rafael dos Anjos 47. Luke Rockhold 46. Mirko Cro Cop
45. Nick Diaz 44. Andrei Arlovski 43. Benson Henderson 42. Michael Bisping 41. Ken Shamrock
40. Daniel Cormier 39. Kazushi Sakuraba 38. Conor McGregor 37. Dan Severn 36. Chris Weidman
35. Brock Lesnar 34. Junior dos Santos 33. Forrest Griffin 32. Rashad Evans 31. Pat Miletich
30. Fabricio Werdum 29. Urijah Faber 28. Mark Coleman 27. Robbie Lawler 26. Frank Mir
25. Bas Rutten 24. Lyoto Machida 23. Quinton Jackson 22. Tito Ortiz 21. Mauricio Rua
20. Cain Velasquez 19. Wanderlei Silva 18. Rich Franklin 17. Ronda Rousey 16. Frankie Edgar
15. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira 14. Dominick Cruz 13. Frank Shamrock 12. Dan Henderson 11. Vitor Belfort
10. Royce Gracie 9. Demetrious Johnson 8. Jose Aldo 7. B.J. Penn 6. Randy Couture
5. Chuck Liddell 4. Matt Hughes 3. Georges St-Pierre 2. Anderson Silva 1. Jon Jones
If you’d like to see numbers 200-101, you can check out the first two parts on Fight Pass now.
