The 16 Greatest Fighters to Win After Turning 40

Twenty years into a career, most fighters are commentating. These ones were still getting their hands raised.

1. 1
   George Foreman

   Won the heavyweight title back at 45, twenty years after losing it in Zaire.
   1000pts
2. 2
   Vitor Belfort

   Knocked out Nate Marquardt at 38 and was still finishing fights past 40.
   1000pts
3. 3
   Dan Henderson

   Knocked out Hector Lombard at 44 and Michael Bisping at 45.
   862pts
4. 4
   Evander Holyfield

   Still beating ranked heavyweights at 43, a decade after the Tyson fights.
   862pts
5. 5
   Bernard Hopkins

   Won a world title at 49, the oldest man ever to hold one.
   764pts
6. 6
   Andrei Arlovski

   Won UFC fights past 43, twenty years after taking the heavyweight title.
   764pts
7. 7
   Anderson Silva

   Stopped Tyron Woodley in the second round in December 2025, aged 50.
   647pts
8. 8
   Wladimir Klitschko

   Defended the heavyweight title six times after turning 40.
   647pts
9. 9
   Randy Couture

   Won the UFC heavyweight title at 43 by outboxing a man twenty years younger.
   503pts
10. 10
    Holly Holm

    Beat ranked bantamweights in her forties, more than a decade after her boxing career.
    503pts
11. 11
    Fedor Emelianenko

    Won four straight fights in his forties, including a knockout of Frank Mir at 41.
    503pts
12. 12
    Aleksei Oleinik

    Kept submitting UFC heavyweights into his mid-forties with the Ezekiel choke.
    503pts
13. 13
    Manny Pacquiao

    Won a welterweight world title at 40 by beating Keith Thurman in 2019.
    0pts
14. 14
    Mark Hunt

    Knocked out Frank Mir and Antonio Silva in his forties on pure hand speed.
    0pts
15. 15
    Roy Jones Jr.

    Won a cruiserweight title at 40 after four world titles in four divisions.
    0pts
16. 16
    Yoel Romero

    Beat Chris Weidman and Luke Rockhold at 39 and 40 in consecutive fights.
    0pts

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