#2. Israel Adesanya – UFC middleweight champion
Few fighters have had a quicker rise up the ranks in the UFC than Israel Adesanya. ‘The Last Stylebender’ debuted as an undefeated prospect in early 2018, and by the end of 2019, he’d captured the UFC middleweight title without losing a fight.
Adesanya came into the UFC off the back of a lengthy kickboxing career, and brought an impressive record of 11-0 to the octagon, although he hadn’t really fought anyone that was noteworthy.
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But after he dispatched of Rob Wilkinson, Marvin Vettori, Brad Tavares and Derek Brunson, it was immediately clear that the New Zealand-based fighter was for real.
Just a year after debuting in the UFC, he defeated legendary former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and followed that by beating Kelvin Gastelum for the interim UFC middleweight title. That was enough to earn him a shot at then-champ Robert Whittaker.
And despite Whittaker having far more top-level experience, Adesanya used his pinpoint, sniper-like striking skills to pick him apart en route to a second round knockout win, making him an undefeated UFC champion.
Technically speaking, Adesanya is still undefeated – at middleweight, at least. ‘The Last Stylebender’ suffered a defeat at the hands of UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz this year, ruining his undefeated record, but he has still not tasted a loss at 185 pounds.
#1. Khabib Nurmagomedov – Former UFC lightweight champion
Great fighters like Jon Jones, Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre suffered defeats before they were able to claim UFC gold, while, as we’ve seen, fighters who were undefeated when they won a title weren’t able to remain that way for too long after.
That’s why former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is such a special case, and why ‘The Eagle’ is up there with the greatest fighters of all time.
The Dagestan native took his record to 26-0 when he defeated Al Iaquinta to claim the vacant UFC lightweight title at UFC 223 in 2018.
And unlike his contemporaries, he then retained that undefeated record when he successfully defended his title three times, beating Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje before retiring in 2020.
Already 16-0 when he first entered the octagon back in 2012, there’s probably an argument to suggest that nobody even came close to handing Khabib a career defeat. Essentially, every fighter he faced was whitewashed.
Every fighter usually has to lose at some point, especially in the UFC, but the fact that ‘The Eagle’ was able to win a UFC title and avoid any kind of defeat sets him apart as truly one of a kind.