How Khabib ranks among MMA’s greatest fighters after retirement with Georges St Pierre, Jon Jones but no Conor McGregor
UFC president Dana White hailed Khabib Nurmagomedov as the Greatest of All Time after his retirement from the sport.
Yet according to fans, the undefeated Russian just misses out on the top five MMA fighters behind Georges St Pierre and Jon Jones.
Conor McGregor recently ranked himself as No2 in a self-devised GOAT list – with Anderson Silva the only man he deems above him as yet.
But ranking site Tapology have the Notorious down at a lowly 16th with the Spider having to settle for a third-placed finish.
The Irishman is arguably the face of the UFC after establishing himself as a global superstar in recent years, having won 22 of his 26 professional fights.
Amanda Nunes surprisingly enters the list one behind McGregor at 17th – despite UFC president White hailing her as the greatest female fighter ever.
And Chuck Liddell – who would break out as the promotion’s leading star in the 2000s – is just edged out of the top ten at number 11.
Here SunSport takes a look at the greatest ever…
1. Georges St Pierre
The legendary Canadian – who was a two-division champion in UFC at welterweight and middleweight – takes the top spot.
GSP, who retired as the reigning welterweight king in 2013, racked up 26 wins and only two losses and was named in the UFC Hall of Fame this year.
Ironically, St-Pierre named Royce Gracie as his GOAT earlier this month despite fans having the UFC 1 champion down at number 29.
2. Jon Jones
Following Khabib’s retirement, Bones hailed himself as the best P4P around and it’s hard to argue.
Jones became the UFC’s youngest-ever champion at just 23, and has beaten all comers (26-1-1NC) with a blend of unique striking and dominant wrestling.
His many records in the promotion include most title defences, with his only ever official loss a controversial disqualification against Matt Hamill in 2009.
3. Anderson Silva
The popular Brazilian still boasts the record for the longest title reign in UFC history spanning from 2006 to 2013 with 16 consecutive victories in the middleweight division.
Spider has also earned plaudits – not least from McGregor – for the array of finishes to his fights in his 34 win career.
Anderson Silva still boasts the record for the longest title reign in UFC history[/caption]4. Demetrious Johnson
Mighty Mouse captured the UFC inaugural flyweight championship back in 2012 and successfully defended the title 11 times.
The 34-year-old (30-3-1) – who is also the One Championship Flyweight Grand Prix Champion – co-holds the unique feat of the latest finish in UFC history with a submission win over Kyoji Horiguchi at 4:59.
5. Fedor Emelianenko
The Russian legend is the first man on this list who has never fought in the UFC and yet his achievements catapult him into the GOAT conversation.
The 44-year-old came close to appearing in the promotion back in 2012 against Brock Lesnar, with Dana White revealing it was the ‘one fight he wanted that he was never able to make.’
The Last Emperor (39-6-1NC) went 28 fights unbeaten from 2001 to 2010, and was also voted fighter of the decade by Sports Illustrated.
Khabib just misses out on the top five while rival Conor McGregor is down in 16th[/caption]6. Khabib Nurmagomedov
The Eagle is latest claim to be crowned the MMA GOAT.
The UFC lightweight champion stretched his unbeaten record as a pro to 29-0 in the cage on Saturday night with victory over Justin Gaethje.
Dana White has hailed him as the best following his shock announcement that he would be retiring undefeated after UFC 254 – with a potential super-fight against GSP now off the table.
7. Daniel Cormier
DC claimed ahead of his decision defeat to Stipe Miocic that he deserved to be in the GOAT conversation and it seems fans agree.
The 41-year-old became the first UFC fight to defend titles in two divisions after he was crowned only the second ever two weight champion.
The UFC commentator (22-3-1NC) also holds the accolades of Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion and King of the Cage Heavyweight Champion outside Dana White’s promotion.
8. Jose Aldo
The Brazilian dominated all before him in the UFC featherweight division and was well on his way to GOAT status after an undefeated decade run of 18 fights.
Yet he was dramatically finished in 13 seconds by McGregor in 2015 and Aldo Junior has since struggled to bounce back.
The 28-7 fighter suffered successive losses to Max Holloway and was KO’d by Petr Yan at UFC 251 in July.
9. Randy Couture
The Natural was a six-time UFC Champion and the UFC 13 Heavyweight Tournament winner during his historic run under Dana White.
The 19-11 American is the only fighter to win a belt after becoming a Hall of Famer and has competed in a record 16 title bouts.
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Stipe Miocic
Dana White had claimed the 38-year-old to be the GOAT of the heavyweight division after winning the trilogy fight against Daniel Cormier.
Miocic has bested 20 opponents and only suffered three defeats in his career and is the current heavyweight king.
Both Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier made fans picks for the top ten[/caption]