UFC president Dana White has ranked four fighters ahead of Khabib Nurmagomedov in the ‘best ever’ debate – including Kamaru Usman and Jon Jones. The Russian star reigned undefeated during his time in the UFC’s lightweight division and has entered some people’s mind as the greatest ever fighter in the promotion.
He defeated the likes of Conor McGregor and Justin Gaethje during his reign before hanging up his gloves in 2020. However Dana White has also named Anderson Silva and Georges St Pierre on his list ahead of the Russian admitting that the Brazilian “did more” during his career.
“I picked Jon Jones, Kamaru Usman, Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva,” White told Yahoo Sports when asked about his ‘best ever’ fighters. “Anderson just did more and he was there longer. The dominance of Khabib is unbelievable and like you say it is a different day and era with different levels and skills.”
Nurmagomedov had an illustrious career at lightweight and was responsible for the highest selling pay-per-view event in the history of the UFC alongside bitter rival McGregor.
However he has been placed below a number of fighters including Jones who is planning on making a return to the sport in the heavyweight division.
‘Bones’ reigned as two-time light-heavyweight champion during his UFC career and has fought some of the biggest names including Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, Chael Sonnen, Alexander Gustafsson and Daniel Cormier.
Jones has also been placed in the UFC’s hall of fame after his famous fight with Gustafsson and is looking to eclipse his legacy further at the top weight. Silva reigned as middleweight champion in addition to making 10 successful defences of his crown while also competing at light-heavyweight.
St Pierre was a tremendous two-division champion winning titles at both middleweight and three times at welterweight with many considering him the best fighter in UFC history.
Current welterweight Usman has reigned as an undefeated champion since 2019 defeating the likes of Jorge Masvidal, Gilbert Burns and Colby Covington as he continues to be unchallenged at the top table.
The Nigerian is also currently ranked as the sport’s leading pound-for-pound fighter and is well on his way to cementing his name as one of the sport’s most dominant fighters ever.
White has previously spoken of Usman’s sensational record and is confident that he could go down as one of the best welterweights ever.