The 5 best UFC fighters from the USA

#3 Matt Hughes

Matt Hughes ruled over the Welterweight division with an iron fist

Prior to the emergence of Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva and Demetrious Johnson, Matt Hughes was widely recognised as the most dominant champion in UFC history. A no-frills type of fighter who utilised a powerful wrestling game with a brutal mix of submissions and ground-and-pound, Hughes first won the UFC Welterweight title in 2001 with a controversial win over Carlos Newton.

Five successful defences followed – including a dominant win over Newton in a rematch – before Hughes was upset in a fight with BJ Penn that most expected him to win handily.

When Penn walked out on the UFC following the win, Hughes recaptured his title by defeating a young GSP and then got right back to his usual dominance – defending his title against Frank Trigg and beating Joseph Riggs and Royce Gracie in non-title fights.

When Penn returned to the UFC in 2006, Hughes avenged that loss too by becoming the first man to stop ‘The Prodigy’ in a fight. His next defence was not so successful, though – he was crushed by GSP, the man who would soon surpass Hughes as the UFC’s greatest 170lber.

Even after the loss to St-Pierre, though, Hughes was a formidable challenge for anyone. He defeated solid opponents such as Matt Serra, Ricardo Almeida, Chris Lytle and Renzo Gracie before losses to Penn – in their trilogy fight – and Josh Koscheck finally forced him to call time on his career.

Far less flashy than some of the other fighters on this list, Hughes earned his spot with sheer dominance over a long period of time. Rather than bounce around and try to test himself against bigger opponents, Hughes chose to stick to 170lbs and beat all the challengers that came at him. He was a genuinely legendary champion.