Jon Jones
Amanda Nunes
Stat by stat
Bars are scaled to the leader in this list.
The verdict
Jon Jones leads 3 of 4 categories. Our all-time ranking places Jon Jones at #1 and Amanda Nunes at #6.
The case for Jon Jones
Widely regarded as the most complete fighter the sport has produced, Jones holds a record of 28-1 with the lone loss a controversial 2009 disqualification for illegal downward elbows against Matt Hamill — a fight he was dominating. He became the youngest UFC champion in history at 23 by stopping Shogun Rua at UFC 128 in 2011, then ruled light heavyweight for nearly a decade, beating Daniel Cormier, Alexander Gustafsson, Lyoto Machida, Vitor Belfort, Glover Teixeira, Thiago Santos and Dominick Reyes. In 2023 he moved up to heavyweight and submitted Ciryl Gane for the vacant title at UFC 285, then stopped former champion Stipe Miocic with a spinning back kick to the body at UFC 309 in 2024. His unmatched reach, creativity and fight IQ are shadowed only by suspensions and legal issues outside the cage.
The case for Amanda Nunes
The greatest female fighter in history, 'The Lioness' is the first woman to hold two UFC titles simultaneously, reigning over both bantamweight and featherweight. She dismantled an entire generation of stars: a 48-second knockout of Ronda Rousey at UFC 207 in 2016, a 51-second knockout of the previously unbeaten Cris Cyborg at UFC 232 in 2018, plus wins over Miesha Tate, Holly Holm, Germaine de Randamie and two victories over Valentina Shevchenko. The only blemish in her prime was a shocking submission loss to Julianna Peña at UFC 269 in 2021, which she emphatically avenged with a one-sided decision at UFC 277 in 2022. She retired as the reigning double champion at 23-5, having beaten more current or former champions than any woman in the sport and settling the female GOAT debate for a generation.