José Aldo
Daniel Cormier
Stat by stat
Bars are scaled to the leader in this list.
The verdict
José Aldo leads 3 of 4 categories. Our all-time ranking places José Aldo at #8 and Daniel Cormier at #10.
The case for José Aldo
The greatest featherweight of all time, Aldo went undefeated for roughly a decade — an 18-fight win streak from 2005 to 2015 — while reigning as WEC and then inaugural UFC featherweight champion. His leg kicks were the most feared in the sport, memorably crumpling Urijah Faber and reducing opponents to hobbling targets, and he paired them with sharp boxing and elite takedown defense. He defended the featherweight crown repeatedly against the division's best before Conor McGregor stunned him with a 13-second knockout at UFC 194 in 2015, one of the most shocking moments in MMA history. He rebuilt himself as a top bantamweight contender in his thirties, challenging for that title too, and retired from MMA around 31-8. For pure divisional dominance over a sustained period, few careers rival his prime.
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.