A discussion has emerged in Russian MMA media regarding a Top 10 greatest UFC fighters list that excluded Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor. The original list by Vlad Matveev focused on criteria like valuable opposition, title defenses, finishing power, and longevity. Critics argue that additional criteria should include popularization of MMA, peak form, fight dominance, commercial impact, and records. The alternative list places Jon Jones first, followed by Georges St-Pierre, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Jose Aldo, Alex Pereira, Anderson Silva, Demetrious Johnson, Islam Makhachev, and Amanda Nunes. The debate centers on whether greatness should be measured solely by championship performance or also by broader impact on the sport.
A debate over how to define greatness in the UFC has surfaced in Russian MMA media, centered on a top-ten all-time list that left out both Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor.
The original list, compiled by analyst Vlad Matveev, weighted criteria such as quality of opposition, number of title defenses, finishing ability, and career longevity. Critics pushed back, arguing that those metrics alone are too narrow and that any serious ranking must also account for a fighter's peak form, dominance within bouts, commercial impact, and contribution to the broader popularization of MMA.
The alternative list produced by those critics places Jon Jones at the top. Jones, 38, carries a 28-1-0 record and stands six-foot-four with an 84-inch reach. He lands 4.38 significant strikes per minute at a striking accuracy of 58 percent, numbers that reflect his sustained technical excellence across multiple divisions and title runs.
Khabib Nurmagomedov slots in at third on the alternative ranking. The 37-year-old Russian retired undefeated at 29-0-0, averaging 5.32 takedowns per 15 minutes throughout his career — a grappling rate that underscores the suffocating style he made famous at lightweight.
The full alternative top ten reads: Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Jose Aldo, Alex Pereira, Anderson Silva, Demetrious Johnson, Islam Makhachev, and Amanda Nunes.
Why it matters
- The disagreement highlights a long-running tension between purely statistical measures of championship performance and the wider cultural footprint a fighter leaves on the sport.
- Including commercial impact and MMA popularization as criteria would almost certainly elevate McGregor, who transformed the UFC's global reach, and Khabib, whose undefeated record made him a phenomenon well beyond the fight world.
- The composition of any all-time list carries real weight in how fighters are remembered and how future rankings conversations are framed within MMA media.
