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The UFC has hosted some absolute wars over the years. The golden rule of the fight game is simple: hit and don't get hit. However, we would be lying if we said we didn't enjoy watching fighters stand and trade blows. Some of the most memorable fights have been those with maximum violence. While the recipe for an exciting fight is a mixture of skill, heart, and fight IQ, the secret ingredient is a fighter's chin.
The durability of a fighter and his opponent is really what makes for incredible combat sports action. While we love watching one-punch and walk-off KOs, perhaps what we love even more is to see a fighter endure and continue after taking a thorough beating. There is something primal about the art of fighting, but as the Rocky movies have so aptly demonstrated, the inspiration we draw from the heart of a fighter can never be overstated.
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The UFC has seen some incredible martial artists over the years, and we could talk about legendary chins for days, starting with UFC 1. However, in the interest of time, we will only discuss fighters in recent history for now.
5 fighters with the best chins in recent UFC history:
5) Tony Ferguson
Tony 'El Cucuy' Ferguson had amassed a 12-fight win streak in the lightweight division, which includes winning the interim lightweight title. After four unsuccessful attempts, El Cucuy was set to face Khabib Nurmagomedov in the main event of UFC 249 on April 18th, 2020. However, the pandemic ruined our hopes of watching this fight for the fifth time. The champion Khabib Nurmagomedov was stuck in Russia owing to worldwide lockdowns, and Tony Ferguson was instead offered to fight Justin Gaethje for an interim title.
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Ferguson accepted, and the first UFC event amidst the pandemic happened on May 10th, 2020. UFC 249 was a shocker, to say the least. Justin Gaethje punished Tony Ferguson for five rounds before being awarded a TKO victory. The most shocking part of it all wasn't the fact that Ferguson lost, but that he was still standing when the fight was stopped. Justin 'The Highlight' Gaethje has lived up to his cage name by knocking the lights out of people with a few shots. He dropped bombs on Tony Ferguson repeatedly for five rounds, and 'El Cucuy' was still standing.
The MMA world was in shock, with some even calling for Ferguson's chin to be awarded the 'Performance of the Night' bonus.
4) Khabib Nurmagomedov
'The Eagle' retired with an undefeated record of 29-0 after his fight with Justin Gaethje at UFC 254. Khabib Nurmagomedov walked away as the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world but has one of the most underrated chins in recent UFC history. Facing elite-level strikers like Edson Barboza, Michael Johnson, Conor McGregor, and Dustin Poirier, Nurmagomedov wasn't dropped a single time. We have never even seen this man bleed in what is arguably the most violent sport in the world; this is unheard of.
After watching what Justin Gaethje did to Tony Ferguson, almost everyone believed this could be the first time that we'd watch Nurmagomedov get knocked down, or at the very least get cut. How wrong we were. 'The Eagle' took Gaethje's best shots and kept coming forward, eventually submitting 'The Highlight' in round two.
It's worth mentioning that Nurmagomedov also took a couple of clean shots from Conor McGregor at UFC 229, but they didn't seem to faze him at all.
3) Yoel Romero
If the tweet above doesn't give you an idea of Yoel Romero's chin, let us elaborate. The MMA community has jokingly said for a long time that Romero is probably made out of metal. This is not just because of the man's incredible levels of fitness, but his chin that seems to be able to withstand absolutely anything. Romero has faced powerful strikers like Lyoto Machida, Robert Whittaker, and Paulo Costa, but has never been knocked out. He has eaten everything from uppercuts and hooks to head kicks, never to be stopped.
2) Max Holloway
Max 'Blessed' Holloway is one of the most entertaining fighters on the UFC roster. Known for being a high-volume striker, Holloway recently shattered records as he landed 445 significant strikes against Calvin Kattar at UFC Fight Night on January 16th, 2021. Calvin Kattar was on his feet after 5 rounds of punishment, which says a lot about his chin, too. But Max Holloway has faced much more elite competition in the UFC than Kattar, with eight of his last nine bouts being title fights.
'Blessed' stepped up to face Dustin Poirier for the interim lightweight title at UFC 236, and the two men put on an absolute show. In 24 UFC fights, Max Holloway has not been dropped a single time, despite facing a prime Conor McGregor, Jose Also, and Dustin Poirier.
1) Jon Jones
Of all the fighters on the current UFC roster, perhaps no one has a resume like Jon 'Bones' Jones. Controversies aside, Jon Jones is arguably one of the best fighters in history, if not the very best. While his fight IQ has always been a talking point, his chin is as durable as they come.
Jon Jones became the youngest champion in UFC history, winning the light heavyweight title from Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua. He went on to fight against some of the biggest names and hardest hitters in the history of the sport; from Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson, Lyoto Machida, and Rashad Evans to Alexander Gustafsson and Daniel Cormier. Not only did Jones beat all of them, but he also has never been knocked out in his entire career.
A lot can be said about some of his controversial wins, but Jon Jones has one of the best chins the sport has ever seen. Whether this holds up against Francis Ngannou is something we can only ever know if the fight materializes.
It's important to mention some iconic names from further back in UFC history: Roy Nelson, Dan Henderson, BJ Penn, Mark Hunt, and Daniel Cormier are some fighters who had absolute granite chins. Current active welterweight Carlos Condit is also a very worthy inclusion.
While these fighters may not be in the limelight today, their careers, and specifically their chins, are legendary. We highly recommend looking them up if you haven't watched these warriors in action.
