The 5 best UFC fighters from the USA

Despite the UFC being a US-based promotion, and the United States producing the majority of the UFC’s champions over the years, it’s interesting to note that the two fighters that most observers would say were the UFC’s best ever – Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva – came in from Canada and Brazil respectively. Discounting them, though? Only a fool would deny that the US has produced some of the absolute best UFC fighters of all time.

So many, in fact, that they’re quite hard to rank. Of the UFC’s current ten divisions, nine of the first-ever champions hailed from the USA. Of course, some stand out above the others, although there are clearly arguments to be made for multiple fighters. Here are my top five UFC fighters from the USA.

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Honourable Mentions:

Tito Ortiz – The Huntington Beach Bad Boy was once the UFC’s biggest star and his PPV sales backed that up as he sold untouchable numbers for years during Zuffa’s early years. He also managed an impressive five successful defences of his Light-Heavyweight Title, but history hasn’t really been kind to his record and he lost a lot of fights on his way down, keeping him out of the top five.

Ronda Rousey – Just two years ago, Rowdy Ronda was seen as the sport’s most dominant champion, as she’d been destroying her opponents – ranked fighters like Cat Zingano and Sara McMann – in a matter of seconds to defend her Bantamweight Title. But her loss to Holly Holm knocked her off her perch, she took a year off only to be destroyed by Amanda Nunes, and at this point, she’s looking more and more like the female version of Royce Gracie – a pioneer in a developing area – than a female GSP or Anderson Silva.

Dominick Cruz – Cruz brought the Bantamweight Title over from the WEC where he’d already made two successful title defences, and in the UFC he defended against Urijah Faber and Demetrious Johnson before a litany of serious injuries sidelined him for the best part of three years and forced him to relinquish his title. He was able to use his unique style to recapture his title almost four years after giving it up but then lost it to Cody Garbrandt in a fight that seemed to indicate his prime years were over. Could’ve made the list had he been more active, though.

Frank Shamrock – The UFC’s first 205lbs champion, Shamrock was a man before his time – he could strike, grapple and wrestle and also had better cardio than all of his foes. He defended his title successfully on four occasions, even beating the much larger Tito Ortiz in a war of attrition. But he chose to retire in his prime and never returned to the UFC once it exploded in popularity, meaning he’s since been surpassed.

#5 BJ Penn

BJ Penn is one of the most talented fighters of all time

If we were going on pure talent, there could perhaps be an argument for BJ Penn being top of this list. The Hawaiian – nicknamed ‘The Prodigy’ – earned his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in just three years, and then went on to become the first non-Brazilian to win the BJJ World Championship.

In 2001, he entered into the UFC with no professional fights but instantly made his mark by stopping Joey Gilbert, Din Thomas and Caol Uno. The surprising thing? He barely used his grappling game to do so, instead destroying his opponents with a brutal and brilliant striking game.

Despite his fast start, Penn showed his vulnerable side by failing to win the UFC Lightweight title in his first two attempts, dropping a decision to Jens Pulver and then going to a controversial draw with Caol Uno in a fight most thought he won.

He did eventually capture UFC gold, but surprisingly it came a weight class up, as he defeated longtime champ Matt Hughes for the Welterweight title. A contract dispute followed though, and Penn found himself out of the UFC for a while. When he returned, he failed to recapture the belt he relinquished upon leaving.

That wasn’t the end, though – he dropped back to 155lbs and went on the best run of his career, capturing the Lightweight crown that had eluded him previously and destroying Sean Sherk, Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez in dominant fashion.

After two years, his title reign came to an end at the hands of Frankie Edgar and following that, success was fleeting for Penn, who ended up damaging his legacy somewhat with a questionable run at 145lbs. Despite some clear missteps in his career, however, Penn earns his spot on this list by being the second man in UFC history to win world titles in two different weight classes.

#4 Randy Couture

Randy Couture won UFC titles on five occasions

The first man to win UFC titles in two different weight classes, ‘Captain America’ was undoubtedly helped by being in the right place at the right time on a couple of occasions.

Despite that though, you can’t really argue with some of his accomplishments – he beat much bigger men at Heavyweight to win and defend the title there, and then took out two of the greatest 205lbers of all time to capture the title in that weight class as well. The most impressive part? His best accomplishments came after he’d turned 40.

Debuting in the UFC as basically a pure wrestler back at UFC 15, Couture first won the Heavyweight title by defeating kickboxer Maurice Smith at the promotion’s first show in Japan. A contract dispute forced him to relinquish his title, but he returned at UFC 28 to recapture it from the younger Kevin Randleman.

Two successful defences against Pedro Rizzo followed, but losses to Josh Barnett and Ricco Rodriguez – as well as the fact that he was in his late 30’s – seemed to suggest he was coming to the end of his career. Not so.

When Light-Heavyweight champ Tito Ortiz decided to step back and refused to fight top contender Chuck Liddell, in stepped Randy to upset ‘The Iceman’ in a match for an Interim title. Ortiz then returned, but found himself on the wrong end of a beatdown from Couture as well, as Randy captured his third full UFC crown.

This title run was spoiled by a fluke loss to Vitor Belfort, but Couture quickly avenged that loss for his fourth title win. This one was ended in a rematch against Liddell, and after another loss, Couture decided to retire.

The retirement lasted just a year as he returned and in a huge upset, defeated Tim Sylvia for the Heavyweight title – his fifth title win in the UFC. A contract dispute again stopped his momentum though, and when he returned he dropped the title to the much larger Brock Lesnar.

Although he did win three of his final five fights, he never came close to another title run. But for his insane accomplishments and for pulling some of the biggest upsets in UFC history, he clearly belongs on this list.

#3 Matt Hughes

Matt Hughes ruled over the Welterweight division with an iron fist

Prior to the emergence of Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva and Demetrious Johnson, Matt Hughes was widely recognised as the most dominant champion in UFC history. A no-frills type of fighter who utilised a powerful wrestling game with a brutal mix of submissions and ground-and-pound, Hughes first won the UFC Welterweight title in 2001 with a controversial win over Carlos Newton.

Five successful defences followed – including a dominant win over Newton in a rematch – before Hughes was upset in a fight with BJ Penn that most expected him to win handily.

When Penn walked out on the UFC following the win, Hughes recaptured his title by defeating a young GSP and then got right back to his usual dominance – defending his title against Frank Trigg and beating Joseph Riggs and Royce Gracie in non-title fights.

When Penn returned to the UFC in 2006, Hughes avenged that loss too by becoming the first man to stop ‘The Prodigy’ in a fight. His next defence was not so successful, though – he was crushed by GSP, the man who would soon surpass Hughes as the UFC’s greatest 170lber.

Even after the loss to St-Pierre, though, Hughes was a formidable challenge for anyone. He defeated solid opponents such as Matt Serra, Ricardo Almeida, Chris Lytle and Renzo Gracie before losses to Penn – in their trilogy fight – and Josh Koscheck finally forced him to call time on his career.

Far less flashy than some of the other fighters on this list, Hughes earned his spot with sheer dominance over a long period of time. Rather than bounce around and try to test himself against bigger opponents, Hughes chose to stick to 170lbs and beat all the challengers that came at him. He was a genuinely legendary champion.

#2 Jon Jones

He might be a villain, but Jon Jones is a great fighter too

While history may not look too kindly on ‘Jonny Bones’ thanks to his most recent infractions – positive tests for both performance enhancing drugs and cocaine, as well as some terrible out-of-cage behaviour – you simply can’t argue against his unbelievable record when it comes to MMA.

Jones came into the UFC in 2008 at just 21 years old and had only been fighting professionally for four months, but right away you could tell he had some special talent. Dominant wins over the likes of Stephan Bonnar, Jake O’Brien and Ryan Bader followed, with the only blemish on his record being an odd disqualification against Matt Hamill.

In 2011 he stepped in to replace Rashad Evans in a Light-Heavyweight title fight with Mauricio Rua, and in what was one of the most one-sided UFC title fights of all time, Jones destroyed the champion to capture the title.

And thus followed a reign of terror the likes of which had never been seen before at 205lbs. World-class opponents like Lyoto Machida, Rampage Jackson, Rashad Evans and Chael Sonnen were destroyed in devastating fashion, with the only man to truly test him being Alexander Gustafsson.

Jones didn’t lose his title in the cage – it was stripped following a 2015 hit-and-run incident that saw him suspended for a long period of time, and when he returned with a win over Ovince St. Preux, he soon found himself shelved again due to a positive test for a banned substance.

Upon his return though, he put on one of the best performances of his career to re-take the title from arguably his toughest opponent in Daniel Cormier. A positive test for steroids after that fight has landed him in more hot water, though, and now it seems that the only opponent who can truly defeat him might be himself.

In terms of the calibre of opponents he’s beaten, the way in which he beat them and for the longevity of his reign atop the Light-Heavyweight division, you could probably argue for Jones topping this list, but due to the controversy surrounding his use of PEDs, he only comes in at the second spot.

#1 Demetrious Johnson

Demetrious Johnson is the world's best pound-for-pound fighter

Currently sitting atop the pound-for-pound rankings, ‘Mighty Mouse’ has risen from relatively humble beginnings in the UFC’s least-loved division to become widely recognised as one of – if not *the* - greatest fighters in MMA history.

He’s perhaps the most well-rounded fighter that’s ever lived, blending wrestling, submission grappling, striking and clinch work together with a brand of speed and power that’s simply unmatched at his preferred 125lbs. If you want evidence of his worth in a pound-for-pound sense, don’t forget he bested the likes of Miguel Torres and Kid Yamamoto as an undersized 135lber, too.

Since he won the Flyweight title in 2012 with a close decision over Joseph Benavidez, Johnson has turned back a record eleven challengers, including the likes of John Dodson, Ali Bagautinov, Henry Cejudo and Wilson Reis.

Whether it’s been strikers, BJJ artists, world-class wrestlers or a mix of them all, Mighty Mouse has been able to overcome them all. And the most impressive part? He’s somehow been improving constantly along the way. His first two fights with Joseph Benavidez and John Dodson were relatively close, but both men were thoroughly whitewashed in rematches.

From his first successful defence over Dodson to his most recent one – that ridiculous German suplex-into-armbar finish of Ray Borg – Demetrious Johnson has been absolutely perfect. And – unlike Jon Jones – he’s been the consummate professional at all times, closer in style to Georges St-Pierre than a trash talker like Conor McGregor.

It’s a style that might not sell as many pay-per-views or draw as many fans to discussion, but it’s also a style you’ve got no choice but to respect at this stage of the game. When this dominant run finally comes to an end – and it will, at some point – then people will likely look back on Demetrious Johnson as one of the greatest fighters of all time in all possible categories. That’s why he’s the best fighter ever produced by the USA.