# The 25 Greatest MMA Heavyweights of All Time

> Knockout artists, submission specialists and a couple of wrestlers nobody could get off them, spread across the PRIDE era and the modern UFC.

*By YPB Team · Published October 29, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-25-greatest-mma-heavyweights-of-all-time*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Fedor Emelianenko** — score 1000/1000
   PRIDE heavyweight champion who went nearly a decade unbeaten and is widely called the greatest heavyweight ever.
2. **Jon Jones** — score 833/1000
   Light-heavyweight great who moved up to win the UFC heavyweight title in two minutes in 2023.
3. **Mark Coleman** — score 750/1000
   The godfather of ground-and-pound, first UFC heavyweight champion and 2000 PRIDE Grand Prix winner.
4. **Bas Rutten** — score 700/1000
   Dutch striker who ended his career on a long unbeaten run as UFC heavyweight champion.
5. **Ciryl Gane** — score 667/1000
   French kickboxer who won the interim UFC heavyweight title and challenged for the undisputed belt twice.
6. **Francis Ngannou** — score 577/1000
   Hardest puncher in MMA history, UFC heavyweight champion and later PFL Super Fights titleholder.
7. **Dan Severn** — score 577/1000
   Pioneering wrestler who won the UFC 5 tournament and the Ultimate Ultimate in the sport's early days.
8. **Tim Sylvia** — score 577/1000
   Towering two-time UFC heavyweight champion of the mid-2000s.
9. **Stipe Miocic** — score 577/1000
   Record three UFC heavyweight title defenses in a row and winner of the Daniel Cormier trilogy.
10. **Alistair Overeem** — score 500/1000
   Held Strikeforce, DREAM and K-1 titles at once and fought in the UFC for over a decade.
11. **Fabrício Werdum** — score 500/1000
   Jiu-jitsu ace who handed Fedor his first real defeat and later became UFC heavyweight champion.
12. **Junior dos Santos** — score 409/1000
   Brazilian boxer who knocked out Cain Velasquez in 64 seconds to win the UFC heavyweight title.
13. **Mark Hunt** — score 409/1000
   Super Samoan whose iron chin and walk-off knockouts made him a PRIDE and UFC cult hero.
14. **Derrick Lewis** — score 409/1000
   The Black Beast holds the record for most knockouts in UFC history.
15. **Frank Mir** — score 409/1000
   Two-time UFC heavyweight champion known for submissions, including breaking Nogueira's arm.
16. **Cain Velasquez** — score 300/1000
   Two-time UFC heavyweight champion whose relentless pace and cardio overwhelmed the division.
17. **Daniel Cormier** — score 300/1000
   Olympic wrestler who reigned as UFC heavyweight champion while also holding the light-heavyweight belt.
18. **Randy Couture** — score 300/1000
   Captain America won the UFC heavyweight title three times, the last at age 43.
19. **Andrei Arlovski** — score 300/1000
   Belarusian former UFC heavyweight champion who holds the record for most UFC heavyweight fights.
20. **Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira** — score 300/1000
   First PRIDE heavyweight champion and later interim UFC heavyweight champion, famed for his submission comebacks.
21. **Kevin Randleman** — score 300/1000
   Explosive wrestler who won the UFC heavyweight title in 1999, knocked out Cro Cop and famously suplexed Fedor.
22. **Ryan Bader** — score 0/1000
   Bellator heavyweight champion who won its Grand Prix by knocking out Fedor in 35 seconds.
23. **Brock Lesnar** — score 0/1000
   WWE star who became UFC heavyweight champion and drove record pay-per-view sales.
24. **Mirko Cro Cop** — score 0/1000
   Croatian kickboxer whose head kicks won the 2006 PRIDE Open-Weight Grand Prix.
25. **Josh Barnett** — score 0/1000
   Catch-wrestling master and former UFC heavyweight champion who starred in PRIDE.

Tags: ufc, fighters, mma, heavyweight