MMA analyst Kalugin responded to Vlad Matveev's top-10 greatest UFC fighters list, questioning the absence of Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor. Kalugin argues that criteria like influence on popularizing MMA, peak performance, fight dominance, commercial impact, and records should carry more weight when evaluating greatness. He notes that McGregor globalized the sport while Khabib expanded MMA's reach in the Arab world, and both inspired countless followers. Kalugin presented his own subjective top-10 list with Jon Jones first, Georges St-Pierre second, Khabib third, and McGregor fourth. He emphasized that greatness encompasses more than just title defenses and opponent quality, stating that a fighter can have 20 title defenses but contribute less to the sport than someone with only two defenses.
