Top 25 UFC Fighters of All Time. The Ultimate Fighting Championship started from humble beginnings when it held UFC 1 in the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado in November 1993. During that first tournament, eight fighters sq. 10 Best Heavyweight Title Fights of All-Time. Arguably the biggest rematch in UFC history (at the time), the heavyweight title unification bout between Lesnar and Mir was the perfect bout to.

Founded in the early 1990s, the relatively-new combat sport has gripped the attention of fight fans across the world.

Twenty seven years after its creation, MMA-focused website Tapology has formed a list of the 100 best fighters that have ever graced the UFC.

Tapology says its rankings 'compiles our member lists, then updates in real time for up-to-the-minute information.'

So without further ado, here are the top 100 fighters to ever grace the Octagon.

100-81

100 - Holly 'The Preacher's Daughter' Holm - 13-5-0

99 - Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson - 15-4-1

98 - Don 'The Predator' Fyre - 20-9-1, 1 NC

97 - Ryan 'Darth' Bader - 27-5-0, 1 NC

96 - Valentina 'Bullet' Shevchenko - 19-3-0

95 - Nate 'The Great' Marquardt - 35-19-2

94 - Matt 'The Terror' Serra - 11-7-0

93 - Masakatsu Funaki - 40-13-1

92 - 'The Muscle Shark' Sean Sherk - 36-4-1

91 - Joseph 'The Beefcake' Benavidez - 28-5-0

90 - Mike Brown - 26-9-0

89 - Murilo Bustamante - 15-8-1

88 - Rory 'Red King' MacDonald - 21-6-1

87 - Jon Fitch - 32-7-2, 1 NC

86 - Alexandre Franca 'Pequeno' Nogueira - 18-6-3

85 - Demian Maia - 28-9-0

84 - Igor 'Ice Cold' Vovchanchyn - 55-10-1, 1 NC

83 - Miguel Torres - 44-9-0

82 - Brock Lesnar - 5-3-0, 1 NC

81 - Kamaru 'The Nigerian Nightmare' Usman - 16-1-0

100-81 Summary

Despite being the first names on this list, it's still a remarkable achievement to be considered in the top 100 of UFC fighters of all time.

There will no doubt be some serious movers over time, with the likes of Holly Holm, Valentina Shevchenko and Kamaru Usman no doubt heading further up the rankings with the more fights they have.

Still, considering how many fighters have graced the Octagon, to make the top 100 is a serious achievement.

80-61

80 - Tim 'The Maine-iac' Sylvia - 31-10-0, 1 NC

79 - Joanna Jedrzejczyk - 16-3-0

78 - 'Little Evil' Jens Pulver - 27-19-1

77 - Rickson Gracie - 11-0-0

76 - Nate Diaz - 20-12-0

75 - 'The Croatian Sensation' Pat Miletich - 29-7-2

74 - Johny 'Big Rig' Hendricks - 18-8-0

73 - Dustin 'The Diamond Poirer - 25-6-0, 1 NC

72 - Yoel 'Soldier of God' Romero - 13-4-0

71 - Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza - 26-8-0, 1 NC

70 - Forrest Griffin - 19-7-0

69 - Shinya 'Tobikan Judan' Aoki - 44-9-0, 1 NC

68 - Andrei 'The Pitbull' Arlovski - 28-19-0, 2 NC

67 - Chael Sonnen - 30-17-1

66 - Robert 'The Reaper' Whittaker - 20-5-0

65 - Jake Shields - 33-11-1, 1 NC

64 - Gilbert 'El Nino' Melendez - 22-8-0

63 - Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone - 36-14-0, 1 NC

62 - Frank Mir - 19-13-0

61 - Dan 'The Beast' Severn - 101-19-7

80-61 Summary

For the eagle-eyed UFC fans, they will notice that Nate Diaz is in 76th - with the former Conor McGregor opponent being further down the list than some expected.

Dustin Poirer and Donald Cerrone also accompany Diaz in this section with some UFC Hall of Famers such as Pat Miletich and Rickson Gracie.

60-41

60 - Renan 'The Baron' Barao - 34-9-0, 1 NC

59 - 'The Natural Born Killer' Carlos Condit - 30-13-0

58 - Luke Rockhold - 16-5-0

57 - Nick Diaz - 26-9-0, 2 NC

56 - 'The World's Dangerous Man' Ken Shamrock - 28-17-2

55 - 'The Fireball Kid' Takanori Gomi - 36-15-0, 1 NC

54 - Mark 'The Hammer' Coleman - 16-10-0

53 - 'Suga' Rashad Evans - 19-8-1

52 - 'Rowdy' Ronda Rousey - 12-2-0

51 - Henry 'The Messenger' Cejudo - 15-2-0

50 - Eddie 'The Underground King' Alvarez - 30-7-0, 1 NC

49 - Rich 'Ace' Franklin - 29-7-0, 1 NC

48 - Cris Cyborg - 22-2-0, 1 NC

47 - 'The Warmaster' Josh Barnett - 35-8-0

46 - Anthony 'Showtime' Pettis - 22-10-0

45 - Frank 'The Legend' Shamrock - 23-10-2

44 - Gegard 'The Dreamcatcher' Mousasi - 46-7-2

43 - 'Smooth' Ben Henderson - 28-8-0

42 - Alistair 'The Demolition Man' Overeem - 45-18-0, 1 NC

41 - Rafael dos Anjos - 29-13-0

60-41 Summary

The second Diaz has established himself further down this list, the eldest brother is considered a pioneer of the sport and competed in UFC, Pride and Extreme Cagefighting to name just a few.

At one point, Ronda Rousey was simply unstoppable and could be considered a pioneer herself, but for women in the sport. However, her career somewhat fell apart at the back end of her time inside the Octagon.

On the other hand, Alistair Overeem could be considered a legend of MMA and has established himself as a heavyweight champion in multiple organisations. Moreover, Overeem has competed in over 60 professional fights.

40-21

40 - 'The Gracie Hunter' Kazushi Sakuraba - 26-16-1, 2 NC

39 - Michael 'The Count' Bisping - 30-9-0

38 - Chris 'All American' Weidman - 14-5-0

37 - TJ Dillashaw - 16-4-0

36 - Tony 'El Cucuy' Ferguson - 25-3-0

35 - Tyron 'The Chosen One' Woodley - 19-4-1

34 - Junior 'Cigano' dos Santos - 21-7-0

33 - Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson - 38-14-0

32 - 'Ruthless' Robbie Lawler - 28-14-0, 1 NC

Best Heavyweight Ufc Fighters Of All Time

31 - Vitor 'The Phenom' Belfort - 26-14-0, 1 NC

30 - 'El Guapo' Bas Rutten - 28-4-1

29 - 'The California Kid' Urijah Faber - 35-11-0

28 - 'The Huntington Beach Bad Boy' Tito Ortiz - 21-12-1

27 - Mirko 'Co Crop' Filipovic - 38-11-2, 1 NC

26 - Fabrício Werdum - 23-8-1

25 - Mauricio Rua - 26-11-1

24 - Royce Gracie - 15-2-3

23 - Amanda 'The Lioness' Nunes - 19-4-0

22 - Lyoto 'The Dragon' Machida - 26-9-0

21 - Cain Velasquez - 14-3-0

40-21 Summary

For English MMA fans, you can't help but think that a sense of outrage will fill the minds of these supporters. Michael Bisping was the first British fighter to compete in a UFC main event and 'The Count' went on to crown himself as the middleweight champion.

Tony Ferguson sits one behind Tyrone Woodley, however, 'El Cucuy' is rated as the number one lightweight fighter. On the other hand, Woodley also tops his division as the number one welterweight.

With this division in mind, Robbie Lawler is ranked 32nd on this list and is a former welterweight champion of the UFC.

20-1

20 - 'The Axe Murderer' Wanderlei Silva - 35-14-1, 1 NC

19 - Antonio Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueria - 34-10-1, 1 NC

18 - Frankie 'The Answer' Edgar - 23-8-1

17 - 'The Notorious' Conor McGregor - 22-4-0

16 - Max 'Blessed' Holloway - 21-5-0

15 - Stipe Miocic - 19-3-0

14 - Dominick 'The Dominator' Cruz - 22-2-0

13 - 'The Prodigy' BJ Penn - 16-14-2

12 - Dan 'Hendo' Henderson - 32-15-0

11 - Matt Hughes - 45-9-0

10 - Chuck 'The Iceman' Liddell - 21-9-0

9 - Randy 'The Natural' Couture - 19-11-0

8 - Khabib 'The Eagle' Nurmagomedov - 28-0-0

7 - Jose Aldo 'Junior' - 22-2-0

6 - 'DC' Daniel Cormier - 22-2-0

5 - 'The Last Emperor' Fedor Emelianeko - 36-9-0

4 - Demetrious 'Mighty Mouse' Johnson - 30-3-1

3 - Anderson 'The Spider' Silva - 34-10-0

Best Light Heavyweight Mma Fighters Of All Time

2 - Jon 'Bones' Jones - 26-1-0

1 - Georges 'Rush' St-Pierre - 26-2-0

20-1 Summary

As you can see, UFC has been blessed with some serious talent since it began way back in the 90s.

Just looking at some of the names to make the top 20 puts together no end of possible dream fights that could've happened, and that could still happen.

However, it's George St-Pierre that takes the crown of being the GOAT of UFC.

No doubt there will be movement over time, especially considering a lot of the top 20 are still active competitors, so St-Pierre can enjoy the crown for now, but who knows how long he'll have it for.

We've now seen new school, old school and old, old school in the UFC's Octagon. Strikers to wrestlers to grapplers. Heavyweights to flyweights. The promotion has seen its share of incredible talent during the last 20 years, with no shortage of personality types to go with it.

The following is ESPN.com's list of the absolute best of the best. The trailblazers for sure, but also very simply the guys you wouldn't want to bet against the night of a fight. It takes a special kind of athlete with a special kind of mindset to thrive in the cold environment of a steel cage. Nobody did it better than these men.

No. 10 (tie) Mark Coleman: The first UFC heavyweight title fight ended in less than three minutes with a submission victory for 'The Hammer.' A UFC Hall of Famer, Coleman fought the absolute best of his era.

No. 10 (tie) Tito Ortiz: He won the UFC light heavyweight championship at age 25. Feuds with rival Chuck Liddell and president Dana White became a focus of his story, but Ortiz was also an outstanding fighter. His 27 UFC appearances remains a company record.

No. 9 Royce Gracie: One of the most influential figures in the history of martial arts. Gracie still holds the record for most UFC wins by submission with 11, and his record four victories in one night of work at UFC 2 will never fall.

No. 8 Frank Shamrock: The first UFC light heavyweight champion (known as middleweight champion at the time). His greatest win in the Octagon was ultimately his last, an upset finish over rising star Tito Ortiz at UFC 22.

No. 7 Randy Couture: Couture won the UFC heavyweight title just four fights into his professional career. He fought 24 times inside the Octagon, with a record 15 of those being title fights. He remains the oldest athlete to hold a UFC title at 45.

No. 6 B.J. Penn: The greatest lightweight of all time. Penn is one of the most recognizable UFC champions ever and widely regarded as perhaps the most naturally talented of them all. He is one of two men to win UFC titles in different weight classes.

No. 5 Chuck Liddell: Credited for carrying the UFC into mainstream consciousness, Liddell amassed a spectacular highlight reel in the Octagon. From 2004 to 2006, he cemented his legacy, recording seven consecutive knockouts -- five for the UFC title.

No. 4 Matt Hughes: A two-time welterweight champion with seven total defenses, Hughes is currently tied with Georges St-Pierre as the all-time leader in UFC wins with 18. He will forever be remembered as one of the promotion's most dominant champions.

No. 3 Jon Jones: He's defeated five former UFC titleholders, but the best is still to come for the 26-year-old champion. He is arguably already the top light heavyweight in UFC history, and his skills should eventually translate well at heavyweight.

No. 2 Georges St-Pierre: A perfect combination of athleticism and work ethic. St-Pierre has been exposing the weaknesses of his fellow UFC welterweights for nearly a decade. At one point, he won 33 consecutive rounds in the Octagon.

No. 1 Anderson Silva: The absolute best martial artist to ever step in the Octagon. No other fighter has consistently made talented competition look so average. His career will continue to be measured until it's over, but as of now, he's the best of all time.