BEST UFC FIGHTERS OF ALL TIME – LIGHTWEIGHTS

UFC lightweight is always considered the most stacked division of all time. It’s one of the most active divisions and also has many fighters coming and going. It has had many amazing fights over the years. The division has given many legendary fighters to the UFC and the list continues to go on. The Lightweight Championship was known as the Bantamweight Championship before UFC 31 (May 4, 2001). The Strikeforce Lightweight Championship was unified (perhaps unofficially) with the Lightweight Championship on April 20, 2013, when Benson Henderson defeated Gilbert Melendez at UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Melendez. 

TOP 10 UFC LIGHTWEIGHTS 

10 JENS PULVER

Pulver won the title by unanimous decision, becoming the first UFC Lightweight Champion. He defended his title twice before leaving the organization due to contractual problems. Pulver’s first title defense came against Dennis Hallman and the second one came against BJ Penn.

9 NATE DIAZ

Diaz was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 5, which exclusively featured lightweights, fighting on Jens Pulver’s team. Nate won The Ultimate Fighter 5. Diaz was set as a replacement to face Conor McGregor on March 5, 2016, at UFC 196, filling in for an injured Rafael dos Anjos. With Diaz only having eleven days’ notice, the fight took place at welterweight (170 lbs) due to lack of time to cut weight. Diaz won the fight via submission in the second round.

8 CONOR MCGREGOR

Conor McGregor Eddie Alvarez for the Lightweight Championship on 12 November at UFC 205. After dropping Alvarez multiple times throughout the first round, McGregor landed a multiple-punch combination to stop his opponent via technical knockout in the second round. This result marked the first time a competitor had held UFC championships in two different weight classes.

7 DONALD CERRONE

 In October 2010, World Extreme Cagefighting merged with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As part of the merger, all WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC. After winning eight fights in a row in under two years, Cerrone earned his first lightweight title shot. He faced Rafael dos Anjos in the main event at Fox 17 on December 19, 2015. Cerrone lost the fight via TKO just 66 seconds into the first round.

6 FRANKIE EDGAR

Frankie Edgar fought against Lightweight Champion B.J. Penn. The fight was a long, back-and-forth, predominantly standing fight, the judges’ scorecards were called on for a decision. The scores were (50–45, 49–46, and 48–47) in favor of Edgar. The unanimous decision win awarded him the UFC Lightweight Championship.

5 BENSON HENDERSON

Henderson faced Frankie Edgar on February 26, 2012, at UFC 144. Henderson defeated Edgar via a unanimous decision to become the new UFC Lightweight Champion. A rematch with Edgar took place on August 11, 2012, at UFC 150. In a bout that was very tightly contested, Henderson defeated Edgar again, this time via split decision.

4 DUSTIN POIRIER

After the UFC/WEC merged, newly crowned Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo was set to make his first defense against No. 1 contender Josh Grispi at UFC 125. Aldo then had to withdraw from the bout due to a back injury on November 23, 2010. Poirier agreed to step in and face Grispi at the event on January 1, 2011. Dustin won the fight by unanimous decision. Poirier faced Featherweight Champion Max Holloway for the Interim Lightweight Championship on April 13, 2019, at UFC 236. He won the back-and-forth fight by unanimous decision to earn the title and breaking Holloway’s thirteen-fight win-streak.

3 TONY FERGUSON

Ferguson officially made his UFC debut at the Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale against Ramsey Nijem to determine the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 13. Ferguson defeated Nijem by knockout in the first round to win a contract. He also held one of the longest streaks in the division of 12 fights. Ferguson faced Kevin Lee on October 7, 2017, at UFC 216 for the interim Lightweight Championship. He won the bout by triangle choke submission in the third round.

2 BJ PENN

BJ PENN is a former UFC Lightweight Champion and UFC Welterweight Champion, he is the second of seven fighters in UFC history to win titles in multiple weight classes. Through his tenures as champion, Penn unofficially unified the UFC Lightweight Championship (against Sean Sherk) and broke the all-time lightweight title defense record. In 2015, Penn was the inaugural inductee into the Modern-era wing of the UFC Hall of Fame.

1 KHABIB NURMAGOMEDOV

Khabib is regarded as the greatest lightweight fighter and the most dominant fighter in the history of the promotion. A two-time Combat Sambo World Champion, Nurmagomedov has a background in the disciplines of sambo, judo, and wrestling. Nurmagomedov was ranked no. 1 in the men’s pound-for-pound rankings at the time of his retirement, until being removed following his title vacation in March 2021. In his debut, on 20 January 2012 at UFC on FX 1, Nurmagomedov defeated Kamal Shalorus via submission in the third round. In his first title fight, he fought Al Iaquinta for the vacant lightweight championship. Nurmagomedov dominated the fight and won via unanimous decision to become the Lightweight Champion. He went on to defend the title three times. He defended the belt against Mcgregor, Poirier, and Gaethje.