From 1993 to the present, these are the fighters who enjoyed the best 365-day periods inside the ring, the cage, or the octagon, a list that will take us from MMA’s infancy to the polished product. We all know and love today. Here is the greatest fighter every year since 1993.
1. 1993, Royce Gracie
What better way to kick off a list of the sport's definitive fighters than to celebrate the trailblazing pioneer that is Royce Gracie as the first ultimate fighting champion. This Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend inspired an entire generation through his dismantling of each of the many fighting styles, he was forced to contend with at UFC one. A true martial artist, who stood as many people’s first introduction to the wild world of mixed martial arts.
2. 1994, Royce Gracie
The dominance of Gracie jiu-jitsu didn’t end with the UFC’s opening event, despite dropping out of UFC 3. After a victory due to fatigue, boys Gracie’s 1994 was highlighted by tournament victories at UFC, 2 and UFC 4. A pair of surging exhibitions that saw him gather up, seven wins between them, and though this year would mark the end of the prime years of hoist’s dominance within the sport, he helped popularize the UFC as we know it today would not be the same without this Hall of Famer’s incredible performances.
3. 1995, Ken Shamrock
1995 was a year of high activity for the legendary ken Shamrock, a man who, despite losing to Menorah Suzuki by way of de-bar in one of his eight fights, managed to partake in some truly iconic clashes, submitting both Bas Rutin and Dan Severn is good enough to make anyone’s ear a standout, but Shamrock also became the first man in 12 fights to survive the great hoist Gracie taking his rival to a draw at UFC 5 in what was the longest fight in UFC history.
4. 1996, Dan Severn
In 1996, the UFC came under new rule as the fresh face that was the beast Dan Severn charged to a 6-0 the year 1996, after tasting defeat at the hands of Royce Gracie and his jiu-jitsu mastery Severn sharpened up his game tremendously. Found a run of form that eventually led him back to another man who had beaten him easily ken Shamrock. However, at UFC 6 it was Severn who edged out the champ, although it certainly wasn’t the most entertaining bout.
5. 1997, Randy Couture
Then came a new face that would stand out to become one of the sport’s defining figures: Randy Couture debuted as a mixed, martial artist in 1997, and would go 4-0 with massive victories over Vitor, Belfor, and Maurice Smith to become the UFC heavyweight champion and though he would later vacate and take A three-year hiatus from the UFC his place as one of the 90s best fighters was already set in stone.
6. 1998 Frank Shamrock
In the early days of the UFC, the promotion’s titles were being passed around between contenders at an astonishing pace. So when Frank Shamrock, the brother of the aforementioned Ken managed to rack up three light heavyweight title defenses in the 1998 calendar year. It was clear that there was a certain maturity coming to the game. Three wins: three defenses and three finishes capped off what was a stellar introduction to the top flight for this veteran.
7. 1999 Pat Miletich
Pat Miletich’s legendary prowess as a coach, was preceded by a standout run through the later part of the 1990s and in the final year of the 20th century. As the inaugural champ of the UFC welterweight division militia went 4-1, losing only once as a lightweight while defending his title twice. He would only go on to fight for three more years full-time, but while he was active, this hall of Famer was Fierce.
8. 2000 Randy Couture
Trust us this won’t be the last time you hear the name Randy Couture on this list. The natural only fought once under the UFC banner in the year 2000 winning two other fights abroad, but through his TKO of the legendary Kevin Randleman, Couture managed to earn his second UFC title. The scary thing about this former Greco-roman Olympic athlete was that he was just getting started.
9. 2001 Tito Ortiz
As one of the most dominant forces of the decade, Tito Ortiz found his way to the 205-pound gold in the year prior besting Wanderlei silva and Yuki kondo in Japan to assert himself upon the division. However, in 2001, the Huntington beach bad boy truly lit up the sport racking up three huge defenses of his belt becoming a crossover superstar for the promotion in the process simply put the light. The heavyweight division was under new management, and Tito Ortiz was as good a fighter as the octagon had ever known.
10. 2002 Matt Hughes
These formative years for the UFC showed a level of stability coming to each of its divisions and for the newly established welterweight division. Matt Hughes was a truly special talent as strong as an ox with a wealth of grappling and wrestling skills at his disposal. The champ scored three decisive TKO finishes as the champion of the 170-pound division. Recording the first three of his five defenses, a long first stint as UFC champion.
11. 2003 Randy Couture
Told you so Randy Couture makes his third appearance on our list, bringing wins over two bona fide MMA icons in the year 2003. Both Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell would fall to Captain America as he stole away both the interim and the undisputed light heavyweight titles. These wins, though, already noteworthy made Couture the first 2-8 world champion in UFC history, leaving his legacy set in stone after just six years In the sport.
12. 2004 Fedor Emelianenko
Taking the spotlight away from the UFC for the first time is the great Fedor Emelianenko, a man who truly hit his stride under the pride banner in 2004, defeating UFC veterans, Kevin Randleman and mark Coleman before entering a legendary duo of Bouts with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira after a cut originally saw their first bout ruled as a no contest.
Fedor stepped up to the plate, a few months later, to definitively declare himself to be the greatest heavyweight on the planet:
13. 2005, Fedor Emelianenko
And again when 2005 came around, it was Fedor Emelianenko who, once again dominated the minds of the sports fan, base his matchup against Mirko Prokop was seen by many as the biggest fight of the decade, a pairing of two seemingly unstoppable heavyweight superstars and though crow cop had some early success as Emelianenko warmed into the contest he began to take over scoring a career-defining victory over one of the sport’s All-Time great strikers,
14. 2006 Chuck Liddell
The iceman cometh three fights three successful title defenses and three knockouts yeah 2006 was the year of Chuck Liddell a major point in his career. That saw him achieve some of his most iconic victories rivalries with Tito Ortiz and Randy Couture were closed out emphatically, as Chuck asserted himself as one of the sport’s dominant champions etching his name in the annals of 205-pound history, forever,
15. 2007 Randy Couture
Guess Who’s back at this point, it would have been easy to dismiss the 43-year-old Couture who returned from retirement as a heavyweight in the hopes of becoming a five-time UFC champion, and yet, despite being dismissed as a threat to Tim, Sylvia’s crown a stunning Early knockdown gave way to a dominant effort for the undersized challenger. A subsequent defense against Gabrielle Gonzaga capped off Randy’s final run as UFC champ before he lost the belt to Brock Lesner the following year.
16. 2008, George St Pierre
After losing his title in one of the biggest, If not the single biggest upset in the history of the sport, the pressure was on George St Pierre to make a big statement as he prepared to rematch Matt Sarah. In early 2008, naturally, GSP put on an absolute clinic completely shutting down his opponent before finding the TKO in the second round later that year, he began his second reign as champ, with a 50-43 shutout of john fitch dominating the wrestler, no matter where the fight took Place
17. 2009, George St Pierre
Any year that sees you comprehensively beat down a prime BJ Pen deserves to be held in the highest of regard and for 2009 turned in by George St Pierre. That victory, along with a UFC 100 win over Thiago Alves, was enough to single him out as the greatest fighter in the sport. This was peak GSP, a seemingly unbeatable, tactically astute operator who melded perfect defense with expert-level offense to say that he was a real handful for his fellow welterweights would be putting it lightly.
18. 2010 George St Pierre
Yep, it’s three years in a row for the dominant welterweight king George St Pierre, who this time managed to secure wins over both dan hardy and josh Koscheck, to extend his win streak to eight straight again. GSP was taking on the best of the best during his finest years, atop the 170-pound pile, but it was how he was able to assert his superiority that pushed him ahead of the pack. A great time of continued success for one of MMA’s, most consistent talents.
19. 2011, Jon Jones
With four wins four finishes, and his coronation as the youngest champion in UFC history. Not only does the light heavyweight great win 2011 by a landslide, but he also managed to pull off one of the greatest one-year stretches in UFC. History wins over Ryan Bader, shogun, Hua, Leota, Machida, and rampage Jackson took this top 10 prospect to dominant champion within 12 months. This was Jones’s true, coming out party a run, a form that would bring about one of the UFC’s all-time great title reigns.
20. 2012, Jon Jones
And once again it’s the light heavyweight icon that is Jon Jones. That takes our pick. A grudge match with Rashad Evans eventually saw the champion, dominate and defend impressively, but for our money, Jones’s shakiest moment inside the cage came when he was forced to dig deep against Vitor Belfort after being caught in the tightest armbar imaginable. This young king decided to allow his arm to be hyper-extended before fighting on and eventually securing the finish. You just cannot teach that type of toughness.
21. 2013, Chris Weidman
Indeed, Chris Weidman has fallen on hard times since, but in 2013, after recording a pair of wins over the legendary Anderson Silva, the all-American was well and truly on the top of the world. And yes, we know the freakish finishes of both fights were odd as hell, but let’s not forget that Weidman was winning both fights, bringing a level of skill and athleticism to the table that made him a nightmare matchup for the spider and a great year that he unfortunately Never managed to top.
22. 2014 TJ Dillashaw
To understand just how special TJ Dillashaw’s title win was you need to appreciate just how dominant Hannan Barrell had been at the helm of the bantamweight division? So, when this young team, alpha male upstart, received a short notice opportunity to fight the champ, the world was stunned, as he completely and utterly dominated the Brazilian. It was one of the biggest upsets in UFC history and something you kind of needed to live through to fully grasp.
23. 2015 Conor McGregor,
Though the peak years of Conor McGregor’s ascent stretched between 2013 and 2016. His single finest 365-day period within the sport came in 2015, after a quick and easy finish of Dennis Seaver in January, a pair of massive championship bouts would follow the first being his thrilling interim title, the matchup against chad, Mendez and the second, his earth-shattering 13-second knockout of Jose Aldo 2015 was Conor McGregor’s year, but that there can be little doubt.
24. 2016 Stipe Miocic,
Stipe Miocic was on an icon-killing war path in 2016, a path that eventually led him to UFC gold. After a stunning stoppage of Fabricio Werdum at UFC 198, the heavyweight division required something of a switch up by the time Stipe made his ascent and, through his victories over the great Andre, Orlovsky doom, and Aleister Overeem. The sport’s most historically significant weight class was finally ready to usher in its new era. A legend-making year of the highest caliber.
25. 2017 Demetrius Johnson
2017, will forever be known as the year in which Demetrius mighty mouse Johnson had us very seriously reconsidering our stance on the ever-present goat conversation, a dominant win over Wilson hayes set the scene for perhaps The most ridiculous finish in UFC history, a fifth-round suplex to armbar or mighty whiz bar pulled off on the uncoachable durable ray borg Johnson, really hit his stride this year, making him an easy pick for the 2017 spot.
26. 2018 Daniel Cormier,
Though he hit a Real low point in 2017, after a harrowing TKO defeat to Jon Jones, Daniel Cormier managed to rebound with a huge 2018 emerging from his rival’s shadow, with a scintillating run of form, three finishes in three fights across two different weight classes saw dc, defend his title against Vulcan Uzdemir shock the world by knocking out the heavyweight king, Stipe Miocic and then dominate Derek lewis to defend his crown as far as year-long stretches of form. Go few have done it better than this stunning effort from Cormier.
27. 2019 Kamaru Usman
Kamaru Usman spent quite some time as the well-avoided boogeyman of the 170-pound division before eventually finding his way into title contention and later, a title shot against the dominant champion Tyron Woodley, Usman on that night was a terrible match-up for the champ besting him handily over the five scheduled rounds before entering an instant classic against Colby Covington later that year, this time winning by brutal TKO a truly excellent fighter in every sense of the word.
28. 2020 Khabib Nurmagomedov,
Though he competed just once in 2020, It would be wrong of us to elevate any fighter’s achievements higher than those of Khabib Nurmagomedov. His lone win over Justin Gaethje wasn’t just a dominant performance against one of the pound-for-pound top 15. It was a clear, definitive confirmation of this Dagestani legend’s greatness, exiting the sport on top in the final year on our list was one that was well and truly defined by the eagle.