Fedor Emelianenko
Daniel Cormier
Stat by stat
Bars are scaled to the leader in this list.
The verdict
Fedor Emelianenko leads 2 of 4 categories. Our all-time ranking places Fedor Emelianenko at #7 and Daniel Cormier at #10.
The case for Fedor Emelianenko
'The Last Emperor' was the consensus best heavyweight in the world through the mid-2000s and the defining icon of Japan's PRIDE era. A master of combat sambo, he combined unorthodox looping punches with slick submissions and an unshakable calm, going undefeated for nearly a decade — a run of 28 fights without a legitimate loss from 2000 to 2010. As PRIDE heavyweight champion he beat Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mirko Cro Cop, Mark Coleman and a young Andrei Arlovski, whom he stopped with a flying-punch knockout. He never competed in the UFC, which fuels endless debate about his placement, and his level of competition in some later fights is questioned. But at his peak, against the best heavyweights alive, he was untouchable, and he retired around 40-7 as one of the most beloved and mythologized figures the sport has produced.
The case for Daniel Cormier
A two-time Olympic wrestler and 2008 U.S. team captain, 'DC' translated elite grappling into a two-division championship career, holding both the light heavyweight and heavyweight belts. He captured the vacant light heavyweight title against Anthony Johnson at UFC 187 in 2015, defended it against Johnson again and Alexander Gustafsson, then moved up and knocked out the great Stipe Miocic to take the heavyweight crown at UFC 226 in 2018. His stellar record of 22-3 carries an asterisk that defines his career: every one of his losses came against Jon Jones, and one of those was overturned to a no-contest after Jones failed a drug test. Endlessly durable, technical and cerebral, Cormier would likely be remembered as an all-time great champion in any era that did not also contain his one impossible rival.