Rank

Fighter

Comments

1.

Quinton Jackson

2.

Lyoto Machida

His fighting style and personality will never be exciting enough to land him a coaching gig on The Ultimate Fighter, but in his wins over top competition like Rich Franklin and B.J. Penn, and his hype-crushing choke-out of Rameau Sokoudjou, he’s proven himself to be a fighter too technically perfect to ever make a mistake. Nobody has figured out how to beat him yet. Maybe Rampage could overwhelm him - maybe not.

3.

Chuck Liddell

4.

Forrest Griffin

He might be too unpolished to be champion quite yet. But time and time again, Forrest Griffin has displayed unparalleled heart and an admirable willingness to take abuse. His shocking choke-out of Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 76 proved that he can hang on an elite level. Underestimate this man at your own peril.

5.

Keith Jardine

6.

Mauricio Rua

7.

Thiago Silva

8.

Vladimir Matyushenko

If not for a decision loss to Tito Ortiz at UFC 33 in 2001, he would have been the UFC’s light-heavyweight champion. Instead, “The Janitor” found his way to the IFL, where he went on a 5-0 killing spree and took the title there. Unfortunately, without higher-caliber competition, we don’t see Matyushenko going much higher on this list.

9.

Wanderlei Silva

10.

Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou