The 20 greatest UFC fighters of the Zuffa era (20-11)

With UFC 200 just around the corner and Zuffa, LLC reportedly on the verge of selling the world's foremost MMA organization, it's time to look back at the history made during the Zuffa era*.

*includes UFC events dating back to Feb. 23, 2001 (UFC 30), World Extreme Cagefighting events dating back to Jan. 20, 2007 (WEC 25), and Strikeforce events dating back to April 9, 2011 (Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley)

Best of the Zuffa era

For the final leg of our lead-up to UFC 200, we take stock of the best fighters to ever grace the Octagon.

Because this is a celebration of the Zuffa era, it saves us the trouble of measuring the modern UFC fighter against the legends of the early "no-holds-barred" days.

This means no Gracies, no Ken Shamrock, and no Art "One Glove" Jimmerson.

What that leaves us with is the cream of the crop within mixed martial arts, 20 fighters who stand above their peers based on their dominance, peak performances, and longevity.

These are the greatest fighters of the Zuffa era.

Honourable Mention: Joseph Benavidez, Daniel Cormier, Rashad Evans, Urijah Faber, Lyoto Machida, Frank Mir, Tito Ortiz, Mauricio Rua.

20. Conor McGregor

Featherweight
UFC record: 7-1
MMA record: 19-3
Biggest victories: Jose Aldo, Max Holloway, Chad Mendes
Notable losses: Nate Diaz

When McGregor burst onto the scene in April 2013, his brash persona and exciting fighting style made it easy to see why the company was quick to get behind him. It also made him a target for criticism.

There's no questioning his quality of competition. Of his seven wins, five have come against fighters ranked in the top 10 of his division, including his 13-second knockout of Aldo, the presumptive greatest of all time at 145 pounds.

His ability to talk the talk may have earned him some undue opportunities, but his ability to walk the walk means he's made the most of them.

19. Robbie Lawler

Welterweight
UFC record: 12-4
MMA record: 27-10
Biggest victories: Carlos Condit, Johny Hendricks, Rory MacDonald (2)
Notable losses: Nick Diaz, Johny Hendricks

The most unlikely fighter to make this list, "Ruthless" Lawler was at one time a lost soul in the MMA world.

Lawler embarked on a lukewarm middleweight run after leaving the UFC in 2004, and nobody could have predicted he would someday capture championship gold.

UFC president Dana White even said he only brought Lawler in for a second stint as gift to himself, due to Lawler's penchant for exciting fights.

Lawler gave him more than he bargained for, going 8-1 over the past three years against the cream of the crop at 170 pounds to capture the welterweight title, then defending it in two of the greatest fights in the history of the sport against MacDonald and Condit.

18. Michael Bisping

Light Heavyweight/Middleweight
UFC record: 19-7
MMA record: 29-7
Biggest victories: Luke Rockhold, Anderson Silva
Notable losses: Vitor Belfort, Dan Henderson, Tim Kennedy, Wanderlei Silva, Chael Sonnen

For the majority of Bisping's career, he was known as the guy who couldn't win the big one.

Just looking at his notable losses, it seems unfathomable that Bisping could stand among the sports' giants, and yet he kept chipping away at the championship mountain, thriving time and time again while others faded away.

With his stirring knockout of Rockhold at UFC 199, Bisping claimed his first world title, tied the record for most UFC wins, and cemented his reputation as an all-time great.

17. Ronda Rousey

Women's Bantamweight
UFC record: 6-1
MMA record: 12-1
Biggest victories: Sara McMann, Miesha Tate (2), Cat Zingano
Notable losses: Holly Holm

For all intents and purposes, Rousey is the modern Royce Gracie.

Like Gracie, the women's bantamweight star has out-classed almost all opponents, turning Olympic gold medalists and jiu-jitsu champions into glorified training dummies.

Even if you believe that her success has come against an underdeveloped division, the ease with which she has dispatched her foes speaks to how advanced she is compared to her peers.

Prior to the Holm loss, Rousey was on a run in which she won four straight title fights in an average of 33 seconds. The definition of dominance, no matter the competition.

16. Cain Velasquez

Heavyweight
UFC record: 11-2
MMA record: 13-2
Biggest victories: Brock Lesnar, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Junior dos Santos (2)
Notable losses: Junior dos Santos, Fabricio Werdum

Years of his prime have been wasted by injuries, so it's easy to forget just how good Velasquez is.

Blessed with unreal speed and an endless gas tank, "Cardio Cain" simply overwhelms other heavyweights, most of whom are larger than him.

And he doesn't just grind them down either. Of his 11 UFC wins, nine have come by way of knockout.

His legacy is defined by a hard-fought championship trilogy with Dos Santos, though fans are hoping he eventually gets healthy enough to add to it.

15. Vitor Belfort

Light Heavyweight/Middleweight
UFC record: 14-8
MMA record: 25-12
Biggest victories: Michael Bisping, Rich Franklin, Dan Henderson (2), Luke Rockhold, Wanderlei Silva
Notable losses: Randy Couture (2), Jon Jones, Chuck Liddell, Anderson Silva, Ronaldo Souza, Chris Weidman

Where you stand on Belfort depends on where you stand on his well-documented history with performance enhancers.

It's difficult to ignore Belfort being busted in the past for steroids and his later use of testosterone replacement therapy, a procedure that unquestionably gave him a physical boost even if it wasn't prohibited at the time.

That lingering cloud threatens to obscure the striking brilliance he's exhibited throughout his career. Some of the sport's most well-known names crumbled under his blessed fists, but we'll never know how much was his skill and dedication, and how much he benefited from outside substances.

14. Fabricio Werdum

Heavyweight
UFC record: 8-3
MMA record: 20-6-1
Biggest victories: Fedor Emelianenko, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Cain Velasquez
Notable losses: Stipe Miocic, Alistair Overeem, Junior dos Santos

Werdum will always be known as the first man to legitimately beat Emelianenko, but he made sure that was just the beginning of his renaissance.

"Vai Cavalo" peaked from 2012-2015 with a six-fight win streak that was capped off by a brilliant performance against Velasquez. His submission of Velasquez gave him his first UFC title at age 36.

The championship win combined with his vanquishing of Emelianenko gives Werdum a legitimate argument to be considered the greatest heavyweight of the Zuffa era.

13. Frankie Edgar

Lightweight/Featherweight
UFC record: 14-4-1
MMA record: 19-4-1
Biggest victories: Gray Maynard, Chad Mendes, B.J. Penn (2)
Notable losses: Jose Aldo, Benson Henderson (2), Gray Maynard

Edgar is usually the smallest man in the cage and almost always the baddest.

Competing at lightweight, Edgar out-wrestled, out-struck, and out-hustled opponents in fights where he was regularly giving up double-digit poundage. His crowning achievement was a pair of decision wins over MMA legend Penn.

Edgar heads into UFC 200 as the No. 1 contender at featherweight, meaning he can lay claim to being one of the top two fighters in two of the sport's deepest weight classes, a rare feat no matter who you are.

12. Quinton Jackson

Light Heavyweight
UFC record: 8-5
MMA record: 36-11
Biggest victories: Dan Henderson, Chuck Liddell (2), Lyoto Machida, Wanderlei Silva
Notable losses: Rashad Evans, Forrest Griffin, Jon Jones, Wanderlei Silva (2)

At times a world beater, at other times a disinterested mercenary, there are few fighters more frustrating than "Rampage" Jackson.

That said, at his best, Jackson was a force of nature. Combining a strong wrestling base with wicked knockout power, Jackson threatened to blow away any light heavyweight who dared to cross him.

"Rampage" stopped Liddell when "The Iceman" was tearing up the light heavyweight division, and he followed that up with a successful title defense against a prime Henderson.

He was as good as anyone on this list when he wanted to be.

11. Randy Couture

Heavyweight/Light Heavyweight
UFC record: 16-8
MMA record: 19-11
Biggest victories: Vitor Belfort (2), Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Tim Sylvia
Notable losses: Josh Barnett, Brock Lesnar, Chuck Liddell (2), Lyoto Machida

One of only two men to hold UFC titles in two divisions, Couture set a standard of excellence that fighters are still trying to match today.

Not much was expected of "The Natural" when he stepped in as an alternate at UFC 13 on May 30, 1997. He'd also been an an alternate for the Olympic wrestling team, but even then, how successful could he be entering a new sport at age 33?

Thirteen years, 15 title fights, and five world championships later, the answer was pretty damn successful.