4. Jose Aldo
I've mentioned in a previous article in this series that I consider Aldo the greatest MMA fighter of all time, so perhaps it won't come as a surprise that he was No. 1 on my list of greatest strikers as well. He was superlative in every aspect of striking. His kicks, especially those aimed at the legs, were the best in MMA history. They were crushingly hard and fast as a whip, with no warning and little wind-up. His knees were sensational, such as the insane shot that finished Cub Swanson in eight seconds and the one that produced one of the greatest knockouts ever in his first encounter with Chad Mendes. Then there is his boxing. One can't imagine a more technically accurate boxer, and he also sported insane punching power for his weight, fantastic combinations, excellent timing and an ability to go to the head or body. And as if that weren't enough, he had very good defense with great instincts and head movement. Eventually, advancing years and the effect of dozens of battles produced losses to all-time great strikers in Max Holloway, Conor McGregor, and Petr Yan (my personal pick for No. 2 overall on this list) but that is inevitable for anyone in MMA, no matter how amazing.
In his prime, Aldo didn't have a single weakness as a striker, and no one could even tread water against him in the stand-up. Over his career, Aldo produced the aforementioned sensational knockouts of Mendes and Swanson, a second-round knockout of Mike Thomas Brown, a clear victory over talented kickboxer Mark Hominick, two dominant verdicts over Frankie Edgar, and one-sided beatings of Chan Sung Jung and Ricardo Lamas. Even after losing his title, Aldo recorded beautiful knockouts of Jeremy Stephens and Renato Carneiro, then incredibly moved down to bantamweight, facing even quicker foes, where he beat up terrific strikers in Pedro Munhoz and Rob Font, and edged out Marlon Vera. For me, he has set an unbelievable standard of achievement in the most highly skilled divisions in MMA that still hasn't been matched and may not for a long time.
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