Sherdog’s Top 10: Greatest Combat Athletes

Welcome again folks, this time to Sherdog's list of the greatest MMA combat athletes. That's a mouthful, so let me explain. Many fighters come to MMA having already excelled in other combat sports, many more go on from MMA to do great things on the mats or in the ring, and some even manage to dominate in multiple disciplines at the same time. This list ranks MMA fighters based on their overall success across all combat sports. That includes MMA as well as anything else they were involved in, whether it be wrestling, boxing, kickboxing, judo, etc. This was compiled as an average of many different Sherdog contributors' lists, and I will note where my own views deviated considerably. Personally though, the appeal of any such list isn't the exact ordering, or who was included or excluded, but the actual discussion of each entry. Anyone can come up with a list with no further commentary and it's no more “right” than another. However, the best such lists have entertaining and informative explanations, which is a goal I hope to accomplish.

This was a unique list with many variables, especially how much to weigh accomplishments in each combat sport, MMA included. Also, since many of these fighters have had their MMA accomplishments discussed on past lists, I will focus on what they did in other sports. With that in mind, let us begin.

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