Anderson Silva
Kamaru Usman
Stat by stat
Bars are scaled to the leader in this list.
The verdict
Anderson Silva leads 3 of 4 categories. Our all-time ranking places Anderson Silva at #3 and Kamaru Usman at #9.
The case for Anderson Silva
For seven years 'The Spider' was untouchable, holding the longest title reign in UFC history at 2,457 days and a record 16 consecutive victories with 10 straight middleweight title defenses. His striking looked like something from another sport: the front-kick knockout of Vitor Belfort at UFC 126 in 2011, the matrix-like head movement, the finishes of Rich Franklin, Forrest Griffin, Chael Sonnen and Chris Leben. He fought with his hands down and made elite opponents miss by inches before countering with fight-ending precision, and he twice moved up to light heavyweight and won. His aura finally cracked when Chris Weidman knocked him out at UFC 162 in 2013, and the 2013 rematch ended horrifically when Silva broke his leg on a checked kick. He retired 34-11, but at his peak he was the most artistic finisher the sport has seen.
The case for Kamaru Usman
'The Nigerian Nightmare' built one of the most dominant welterweight reigns in history on a base of relentless, high-level wrestling that evolved into genuine knockout power. He put together a 15-fight UFC winning streak — among the longest ever — and won the welterweight title from Tyron Woodley at UFC 235 in 2019, then defended it five times. He beat Colby Covington twice in grueling wars, avenged an early loss to Jorge Masvidal with a highlight-reel knockout, and outpointed Gilbert Burns and Leon Edwards. His reign ended dramatically when Edwards landed a head kick with under a minute left in their UFC 278 rematch in 2022, erasing a fight Usman was winning. He sits around 20-4, a wrestler who became a finisher and headlined the sport's African golden age alongside Israel Adesanya and Francis Ngannou.