Top 16 Strikers in MMA History

Kickboxers who switched codes, karate stylists, and one or two who just hit very hard. Different answers to the same problem.

1

Anderson Silva

Built a record title reign on counter timing and distance rather than volume.

1000pts

2

Jose Aldo

Muay Thai specialist whose leg kicks ended fights before his hands had to.

660pts

3

Vitor Belfort

Hand speed that stayed dangerous across three decades of competition.

641pts

4

Max Holloway

Holds the UFC record for significant strikes landed and fights in the pocket by choice.

592pts

5

Stephen Thompson

Karate stance and side kicks that welterweights spent a decade failing to solve.

582pts

6

Valentina Shevchenko

Muay Thai world champion before MMA, and the flyweight division's most precise counter striker.

513pts

7

Joanna Jedrzejczyk

Ran the strawweight division on a jab and a straight left for five title defences.

513pts

8

Ilia Topuria

Knocked out two of the greatest featherweights of the era in consecutive fights.

513pts

9

Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic

PRIDE's head-kick specialist, feared enough that opponents fought to avoid his left leg.

434pts

10

Chuck Liddell

The Iceman's looping overhand right defined the UFC's first mainstream era.

434pts

11

Conor McGregor

Left hand that produced the fastest title knockout in UFC history.

434pts

12

Wanderlei Silva

Clinch knees and hooks thrown in a straight line, with no interest in defence.

342pts

13

Alex Pereira

Two-weight UFC champion and former Glory kickboxing champion with a fight-ending left hook.

342pts

14

Lyoto Machida

Shotokan karate stylist who countered from a range nobody else fought at.

342pts

15

Israel Adesanya

Middleweight champion whose kickboxing footwork made him hard to hit cleanly.

233pts

16

Petr Yan

Bantamweight champion who built leads through volume and body work.

233pts