Top 10 MMA fighters of the 2010s

The 2010s, arguably the most important decade in the history of mixed martial arts, is coming to a close. One reason why the years 2010 to 2019 have been so pivotal to the sport is the sheer talent that exists across all divisions – men and women, from flyweight (which didn’t even exist until February 2012) to heavyweight. Simply put, the number of great fighters to grace cages and rings across the world never has been higher.

Here at MMA Junkie, we’ve put together a composite ranking of the top 10 fighters of the past decade. All 14 staff members submitted personal top-10 lists to create our overall list. Rest assured: We took this seriously.

Without further ado, our complete list:

10. Max Holloway

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Decade resume

Record: 21-5
UFC featherweight champion: June 3, 2017-Dec. 14, 2019
13-fight winning streak
Key victories over Anthony Pettis, Jose Aldo (twice), Brian Ortega, Frankie Edgar

9. Jose Aldo

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Decade resume

Record: 12-5
WEC featherweight champion: April 24, 2010-Sept. 30, 2010
UFC featherweight champion: Oct. 28, 2010-Dec. 12, 2015; July 9, 2016-June 3, 2017
9-fight winning streak
Key victories over Urijah Faber, Kenny Florian, Chad Mendes (twice), Frankie Edgar (twice), Chan Sung Jung

8. Khabib Nurmagomedov

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Decade resume

Record: 21-0
UFC lightweight champion: April 7, 2018-present
Key victories: Rafael dos Anjos, Al Iaquinta, Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier

7. Ronda Rousey

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Decade resume

Record: 12-2
Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion: March 3, 2012-Aug. 18, 2012
UFC women’s bantamweight champion: Feb. 23, 2013-Nov. 15, 2015
12-fight winning streak
Key victories: Miesha Tate (twice), Liz Carmouche, Sara McMann

6. Amanda Nunes

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Decade resume

Record: 15-3
UFC women’s bantamweight champion: Dec. 30, 2016-present
UFC women’s featherweight champion: Dec. 29, 2018-present
10-fight winning streak
Key victories: Miesha Tate, Ronda Rousey, Valentina Shevchenko (twice), Cris Cyborg, Holly Holm

5. Conor McGregor

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Decade resume

Record: 18-3
UFC featherweight champion: July 11, 2015-Nov. 26, 2016
UFC lightweight champion: Nov. 12, 2016-April 7, 2018
15-fight winning streak
Key victories: Max Holloway, Dustin Poirier, Chad Mendes, Jose Aldo, Nate Diaz, Eddie Alvarez

4. Georges St-Pierre

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Decade resume

Record: 7-0
UFC welterweight champion: Jan. 1, 2010-Dec. 13, 2013
UFC middleweight champion: Nov. 4, 2017-Dec. 7, 2017
Key victories: Dan Hardy, Josh Koscheck, Jake Shields, Carlos Condit, Nick Diaz, Johny Hendricks, Michael Bisping

3. Daniel Cormier

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Decade resume

Record: 21-2
UFC light heavyweight champion: May 23, 2015-Dec. 28, 2018
UFC heavyweight champion: July 7, 2018-Aug. 17, 2019
15-fight winning streak
Key victories: Josh Barnett, Frank Mir, Dan Henderson, Anthony Johnson (twice), Alexander Gustafsson, Anderson Silva, Stipe Miocic, Derrick Lewis

2. Demetrious Johnson

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Decade resume

Record: 22-3-1
UFC flyweight champion: Sept. 22, 2012-Aug. 4, 2018
ONE championship flyweight grand prix winner
13-fight winning streak, including UFC record for consecutive title defenses (11)
Key victories: Joseph Benavidez (twice), John Dodson (twice), Henry Cejudo, Kyoji Horiguchi, Ray Borg

1. Jon Jones

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Decade resume

Record: 16-0
UFC light heavyweight champion: March 19, 2011-April 28, 2015; April 23, 2016-Nov. 9, 2016 (interim); Dec. 29, 2018-present
Key victories: Ryan Bader, “Shogun” Rua, “Rampage” Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort, Alexander Gustafsson (twice), Daniel Cormier