2 days ago Dominick Cruz is Still One of The Best Fighters on The Planet By Brady Briggs 6 seconds ago We had one of the most stacked cards to ever go down last night at UFC 259, and the beautiful thing of it, all of those match ups stayed together, totaling 15 fights from start to finish. Jon Jones was born on July 19, 1987 in Rochester, New York, USA. He is an actor, known for New York Mixed Martial Arts (2011), UFC on Fox (2011) and UFC 200 Greatest Fighters of All Time (2016). He is married to Jessie Moses. They have three children. Who's the greatest of all time? Updated 1 day, 8 hrs ago. It's a source of endless debate: who are the greatest MMA fighters of all time? The consensus ranking compiles our member lists, then updates in real time for up-to-the-minute information.
The middleweights have traditionally been regarded as one of the sport’s true “glamour” divisions, boasting some of the best talent to ever lace ’em up and some of the fight game’s biggest draws. Our ranking here of the very best is restricted to those who fought at or near 160 pounds during most of their prime, thus allowing us to compose the list without worrying about where to fit in greats Ezzard Charles, Sam Langford, Mickey Walker, Billy Conn, and of course the great Sugar Ray Robinson. (Charles, Langford and Conn figure prominently on our list of all-time great light heavyweights, while Robinson and Walker are ranked at welterweight.)
12. Tony Zale: Wins over Al Hostak, Georgie Abrams, Rocky Graziano and Fred Apostoli set “The Man of Steel” apart. One of the best body punchers in boxing history.
11. Bernard Hopkins: While he presided over perhaps the weakest middleweight division in history, no one can dispute the skill and longevity of “The Executioner.”
10. Jake LaMotta: “The Bronx Bull” beat a long list of terrific fighters, including one of the greatest of all middleweights, Ray Robinson. Fritzie Zivic, Tommy Bell, Holman Williams, Marcel Cerdan, George Costner and Tony Janiro are among those LaMotta bested.
LaMotta (right) battles Robinson.
9. Mike Gibbons: He never won the world title, but Gibbons was widely regarded as one of the very best at 160, not to mention one of the sharpest and cleverest boxers around, regardless of weight. His record shows wins over a long list of elite talent including Mike O’Dowd, Ted “Kid” Lewis, Al McCoy, Jeff Smith and Harry Greb.
Mike Gibbons (right) putting on an exhibition with brother Tommy.
8. Tiger Flowers: Competing with Mickey Walker and Harry Greb automatically sets Flowers apart. He gave Greb two tough battles and his loss to Walker was widely viewed as a robbery. Racked up an incredible 118 wins in less than a decade.
7. Freddie Steele: Solid wins over Fred Apostoli, Ceferino Garcia, Gus Lesnevich, Vince Dundee and Babe Risko. Record of 124-6-8. ‘Nuff said.
Freddie Steele
6. Carlos Monzon: The Argentine’s long reign and 14 straight title defenses mark him as one of the very best.
5. Stanley Ketchel: “The Michigan Assassin,” known for his astonishing power and general viciousness, had his career tragically cut short, but not before establishing himself as the terror of the middleweights with wins over Billy Papke, Joe Thomas and Philadelphia Jack O’Brien.
4. Charley Burley: One of the greatest to never win a title, Burley was avoided by many of the top boxers of his time, yet he still scored big wins over Holman Williams, Fritzie Zivic, Archie Moore, Billy Soose and Georgie Abrams.
The great Charley Burley. Drawing by Damien Burton.
3. Marvelous Marvin Hagler: Hagler was the best middleweight in the world for over a full decade, during which he lost only one fight.
2. Bob Fitzsimmons: The great “Speckled Bob” is famous for his exploits at heavier weights and for being boxing’s first triple crown champ. But his amazing punching power, huge win over Jack “The Nonpareil” Dempsey, and the fact Fitz remained near 160 lb for most of his career, guarantee him high standing on this list.
Bob Fitzsimmons. Ink drawing by Damien Burton.
1. Harry Greb: “The Smoke City Wildcat” is forever the greatest of them all at 160 as he rarely weighed more and was clearly the best in the division for years before he finally won the title in 1923. Greb went on to score legendary wins over Mickey Walker and Gene Tunney, losing only eight times in over 300 bouts.
The legendary Harry Greb. Painting by Damien Burton.
Honorable Mentions: Jeff Smith, Dick Tiger, Marcel Cerdan, Mike McCallum, Billy Papke, Gene Fullmer, Tommy Ryan, Kid McCoy, Jack “The Nonpareil” Dempsey, Holman Williams, Mike O’Dowd, Rodrigo Valdez, Joey Giardello, Teddy Yarosz, Marcel Thil, Les Darcy, Emile Griffith, Frank Klaus, Benny Briscoe.
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We've now seen new school, old school and old, old school in the UFC's Octagon. Strikers to wrestlers to grapplers. Heavyweights to flyweights. The promotion has seen its share of incredible talent during the last 20 years, with no shortage of personality types to go with it.
The following is ESPN.com's list of the absolute best of the best. The trailblazers for sure, but also very simply the guys you wouldn't want to bet against the night of a fight. It takes a special kind of athlete with a special kind of mindset to thrive in the cold environment of a steel cage. Nobody did it better than these men.
No. 10 (tie) Mark Coleman: The first UFC heavyweight title fight ended in less than three minutes with a submission victory for 'The Hammer.' A UFC Hall of Famer, Coleman fought the absolute best of his era.
No. 10 (tie) Tito Ortiz: He won the UFC light heavyweight championship at age 25. Feuds with rival Chuck Liddell and president Dana White became a focus of his story, but Ortiz was also an outstanding fighter. His 27 UFC appearances remains a company record.
No. 9 Royce Gracie: One of the most influential figures in the history of martial arts. Gracie still holds the record for most UFC wins by submission with 11, and his record four victories in one night of work at UFC 2 will never fall.
No. 8 Frank Shamrock: The first UFC light heavyweight champion (known as middleweight champion at the time). His greatest win in the Octagon was ultimately his last, an upset finish over rising star Tito Ortiz at UFC 22.
No. 7 Randy Couture: Couture won the UFC heavyweight title just four fights into his professional career. He fought 24 times inside the Octagon, with a record 15 of those being title fights. He remains the oldest athlete to hold a UFC title at 45.
No. 6 B.J. Penn: The greatest lightweight of all time. Penn is one of the most recognizable UFC champions ever and widely regarded as perhaps the most naturally talented of them all. He is one of two men to win UFC titles in different weight classes.
No. 5 Chuck Liddell: Credited for carrying the UFC into mainstream consciousness, Liddell amassed a spectacular highlight reel in the Octagon. From 2004 to 2006, he cemented his legacy, recording seven consecutive knockouts -- five for the UFC title.
No. 4 Matt Hughes: A two-time welterweight champion with seven total defenses, Hughes is currently tied with Georges St-Pierre as the all-time leader in UFC wins with 18. He will forever be remembered as one of the promotion's most dominant champions.
No. 3 Jon Jones: He's defeated five former UFC titleholders, but the best is still to come for the 26-year-old champion. He is arguably already the top light heavyweight in UFC history, and his skills should eventually translate well at heavyweight.
Who Ufc Fighter Of All Time
No. 2 Georges St-Pierre: A perfect combination of athleticism and work ethic. St-Pierre has been exposing the weaknesses of his fellow UFC welterweights for nearly a decade. At one point, he won 33 consecutive rounds in the Octagon.
Who Is The Best Fighter Of All Time Zone
No. 1 Anderson Silva: The absolute best martial artist to ever step in the Octagon. No other fighter has consistently made talented competition look so average. His career will continue to be measured until it's over, but as of now, he's the best of all time.