Fansided

30 greatest UFC fighters of all time

By Richard Ferraina

UNIVERSAL CITY, CALIFORNIA - JULY 08: Henry Cejudo's UFC Championship belt is displayed at "Extra" at Universal Studios Hollywood on July 08, 2019 in Universal City, California. (Photo by Noel Vasquez/Getty Images)
UNIVERSAL CITY, CALIFORNIA - JULY 08: Henry Cejudo's UFC Championship belt is displayed at "Extra" at Universal Studios Hollywood on July 08, 2019 in Universal City, California. (Photo by Noel Vasquez/Getty Images) /
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Daniel Cormier (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
Daniel Cormier (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images) /

8. Daniel Cormier

Decorated Olympic and NCAA wrestler Daniel Cormier ventured into MMA in 2009 and when entering the UFC at 11-0, took on veterans Frank Mir, Roy Nelson, fellow wrestler Patrick Cummins, and Dan Henderson.

At 15-0, Cormier was awarded a title shot against light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. This started the Cormier/Jones rivalry, one plagued with controversy and vacant titles. When Jones was stripped of his title, Cormier faced Anthony Johnson and became the new champion. Cormier defended it against Alexander Gustafsson and then Johnson again, fitting a non-title bout with Anderson Silva in the mix.

At UFC 214, Jones beat Cormier to become champion again, but the decision was overturned after Jones failed a drug test. Cormier would defend that title against Volkan Oezdemir and then vacate, moving back up to heavyweight to face champion Stipe Miocic. Cormier defeated Miocic for the belt and became a multi-division and simultaneous champion, one of only five in UFC history and the first fighter to defend titles in two divisions. Cormier would enter a trilogy with Miocic to end his career, going 6-3 in title fights and becoming one of the best fighters in the higher-weight divisions.

Cormier was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame last year and is a color commentator for the organization. Cormier went 11-3 in the UFC five performance bonuses.

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