Conor McGregor’s recent list of MMA’s all-time greats has been disputed by US broadcaster CBS who issued their own rankings, though some fans have taken issue with the placement of certain fighters.
McGregor caused a stir online recently after he revealed his personal ‘MMA GOAT’ list in an extended Twitter thread in which he placed former middleweight champion Anderson Silva in the top spot, closely followed by himself in second position.
The list, McGregor explained, was determined by a fighter’s strength of schedule and exploits in numerous divisions, as well as their achievements therein. As with anything from the pen of the notorious Irishman, it generated significant discussion online and prompted similar lists to be published by fighters and media alike.
One such list has been published by US broadcaster CBS, who have deemed that Jon Jones – not Silva or McGregor – is the greatest fighter to ever slip on a pair of 4oz gloves.
And as for McGregor? CBS determined that he is the 9th greatest fighter of all time – behind former foes Jose Aldo and Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Agree or disagree with the list? (@cbssportshq)
Jones and Silva occupy the top two positions, though this is disputed by another man on the list, Daniel Cormier, who told ESPN that for a fighter to be eligible for consideration as the best-ever, they must have a clean record of drug-testing – which neither Silva nor Jones have.
Interestingly, fourth place is taken by Russian legend Fedor Emelianenko despite the former PRIDE heavyweight champion never competing inside a UFC cage and putting forth a series of mixed performances in his latter career.
Fedor’s compatriot, current UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, is two places further down the list in sixth position closely followed by Aldo and Cormier. Former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes takes the tenth spot.
Of course, and as with any list of this type, not everybody is going to agree. We know for sure that McGregor would dispute it, particularly the fact that he is ranked behind the man from whom he seized the UFC’s 145lb title in a 13-second knockout, Jose Aldo, with some people commenting in the Instagram thread that the Dubliner more deserves the fourth or fifth position.
“Conor over Jose 100% he is a better fighter and knocked him out in 13 seconds,” wrote one fan.
“Not even close,” another Instagram user blasted.
Khabib’s undefeated exploits in the UFC aren’t enough for him to be considered the best Russian fighter ever, with that honor going to Emelianenko.
Others have described it as a “bandwagon” list, given that MMA pioneers like Royce Gracie, Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell are not present.
Other notable absentees are the recently-retired ‘Triple C’ Henry Cejudo and B.J. Penn – who won world titles in two different weight classes in the UFC – and women’s great Amanda Nunes.
