# Who is the best Muay Thai fighter turned MMA fighter?

> Elbows, knees and checked kicks learned in Thai gyms, carried into the cage. Some became champions, others only borrowed the clinch.

*By YPB Team · Published October 21, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/who-is-the-best-muay-thai-fighter-turned-mma-fighter*

---

## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Valentina Shevchenko** — score 1000/1000
   Former Muay Thai world champion who became UFC flyweight champion with a long title reign.
2. **Jose Aldo** — score 1000/1000
   Brazilian featherweight great whose brutal leg kicks carried him to WEC and UFC titles.
3. **Bas Rutten** — score 647/1000
   Dutch Muay Thai and kickboxing fighter who became Pancrase and UFC heavyweight champion.
4. **Duane Ludwig** — score 647/1000
   Muay Thai-trained striker known as Bang, later a respected MMA coach.
5. **Stamp Fairtex** — score 647/1000
   Thai Muay Thai and kickboxing world champion who moved to MMA and ONE Championship stardom.
6. **Joanna Jedrzejczyk** — score 0/1000
   Polish Muay Thai world champion who became UFC strawweight champion and defended the belt five times.
7. **Wanderlei Silva** — score 0/1000
   Chute Boxe Muay Thai standout who terrorised PRIDE and UFC with relentless aggression.
8. **Donald Cerrone** — score 0/1000
   Cowboy Cerrone, a Muay Thai-trained fighter with record UFC wins and bonuses.

Tags: ufc, fighting, fighters, mma, muay thai