The UFC’s 30th anniversary date has come and gone, and in the build-up to the milestone date, MMA Junkie counted down its 30 greatest fighters of all time to compete for the promotion.
There was plenty of debate about the entire list from top to bottom, and one of our big talking points was the inclusion of pioneers.
The final list was tabulated through a points system after voting from MMA Junkie’s 12-person staff. Guys considered to be pioneers who made our list were [autotag]Randy Couture[/autotag] (No. 11), [autotag]B.J. Penn[/autotag] (No. 12), [autotag]Royce Gracie[/autotag] (No. 14), [autotag]Chuck Liddell[/autotag] (No. 18), [autotag]Matt Hughes[/autotag] (No. 21), and [autotag]Tito Ortiz[/autotag] (No. 25).
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On a special edition of “Spinning Back Clique,” the majority of our staff members came together to discuss and debate the finer points of the list. Did enough fighters who paved the way for the modern era make our list?
Check out the discussion in the video above, or watch the entire 30 greatest UFC fighters of all time podcast below.