Sherdog’s Top 10: Greatest Fighters of the 2010s

7. Conor McGregor

The sport’s biggest star ever finishes seventh for what will surely be his finest decade in MMA. As with his other appearances on Sherdog Top 10 lists, ranking him here is difficult. On the one hand, he was the UFC's first ever simultaneous two-division champion and hit some unbelievable highs, as good as those of any fighter ahead of him on this list. On the other hand, he only had one fight in the decade after 2016 and it was a decisive loss. McGregor possesses what is likely the most devastating left cross in MMA, an overwhelming laser that crumpled foe after foe, made more impressive by the fact that this largely occurred at 145 and 155 pounds rather than heavyweight. McGregor has good power in his right hand too, though it doesn't have genuine knockout power, let alone to the degree of his dominant hand. Still, with his ability to string together beautiful combinations, it has set up many finishing sequences as well. McGregor also has overlooked power in his other limbs, including a fine head kick and concussive elbows to the side of the head as opponents grind for a takedown. And one shouldn't forget his bone-crushing leg kicks. While not impenetrable, his takedown defense was also excellent in his prime.

McGregor turned pro in 2008 and boasted a record of 3-1 as the 2010s began. He suffered a 38-second submission loss to Joseph Duffy but then won eight in a row, foreshadowing his UFC achievements by becoming a two-division champ in Cage Warriors Fighting Championship, before being called up to the UFC. Truthfully, he didn't face the best competition before getting a title shot. His victories at featherweight over Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier, the latter a gorgeous knockout in 106 seconds, came against early versions of those fighters, mere shadows of what they would later become. Certainly, Poirier proved this emphatically in his next two meetings with McGregor. Regardless, McGregor then knocked out Dennis Siver and fought for the interim featherweight crown against Chad Mendes, who was competing on only a week's notice, just enough time to cut weight. Despite this, Mendes was dominating and brutalizing McGregor for the first round and a half before his cardio understandably ran out. Would Mendes, with a full six-week training camp, have beaten McGregor that night? Possibly.

Regardless, McGregor then recorded what is by far his greatest feat, as he ended the incredible 10-year, 18-match winning streak of Jose Aldo, whom I consider the greatest fighter ever, in just 13 seconds, with what is easily the greatest left cross thrown in the sport's history. After that, McGregor was shockingly submitted in Round 2 by Nate Diaz at welterweight, exposing some of his limitations with cardio. Pacing himself better, he managed to win a majority verdict—fully deserved, in my opinion—in the rematch, though he struggled in the later rounds. Putting his rivalry with Diaz behind him, McGregor put on a masterful display against then-UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez, playing him like a fiddle from start to finish before knocking him out halfway through Round 2, becoming the UFC's first champ-champ. McGregor then went away to professional boxing for a while before returning for the biggest fight in MMA history, a showdown against Khabib Nurmagomedov in late 2018. The encounter went poorly for McGregor, as not only did Nurmagomedov submit him, but the grappler even managed to knock down and hurt McGregor with an overhand right in Round 2. That was it for him during the decade. A lot of McGregor's greatness is centered around the brilliant 13-second Aldo fight, but then again, how can you possibly improve on knocking out the greatest fighter ever?

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