The UFC’s Top 25 All-Time Fighters, Part 3 — The Top Five

Twenty-five years into the experiment that promised to determine the most effective martial art, the question is all but expired. Evolution has repeatedly proven that a melding of existing styles and a willingness toward adaptability will continually redefine the potent methods of the moment. It is always shifting, changing, developing; a living art form.

In that quarter-center, the UFC has welcomed thousands of fighters to the cage, all with the intent of rising to the top. A scant few have gotten there, able to call themselves a UFC champion. But an even smaller subset remain the best of the best; the most important fighters ever to step foot into the Octagon. While any list is subjective,…