5 legendary former UFC champions who could still succeed today

#2. Anderson Silva – former UFC middleweight champion

If Anderson Silva were in his prime, there's little doubt he'd still dominate the middleweight division

Despite the great accomplishments of current UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, ‘The Last Stylebender’ still has a long way to go before he surpasses the great Anderson Silva in the division’s overall pantheon.

Not only did ‘The Spider’ hold the middleweight title for the best part of seven years, but he made a total of 10 successful defenses. He also put together the longest winning streak in the promotion’s history with 16 victories in a row.

Of course, though, the Brazilian’s title reign took place almost a decade ago now. So could Silva’s skills still translate into success in the modern era?

Based on what Adesanya has achieved, the answer is absolutely yes. Even ‘The Last Stylebender’ would probably be happy to admit that his style inside the octagon – with his pinpoint accurate strikes, unorthodox movement and perfect timing – is largely based on Silva’s.

However, there are a handful of questions around Adesanya’s ground game, questions that were most notably raised when he lost to Jan Blachowicz in 2021. On the other side, there were definitely none around Silva’s.

Sure, ‘The Spider’ could be taken down, but off his back he was a highly dangerous Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who was able to submit top grapplers such as Chael Sonnen and Travis Lutter.

Therefore, if Adesanya could dominate the rest of the division today, so could Silva in his prime. If anything, at his best, ‘The Spider’ would’ve been favored against ‘The Last Stylebender’. After all, he pushed him hard in their clash in 2019 despite being 43 years old at the time.

---

#1. Georges St-Pierre – former UFC welterweight champion

In his prime, the great Georges St-Pierre was basically unbeatable

Widely recognized as the greatest MMA fighter of all time, former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre essentially dominated the 170-pound division from when he first claimed the title in 2006 through to his initial retirement in 2013.

The likes of Tyron Woodley and Kamaru Usman have attempted to surpass the great Canadian’s legacy in the octagon, but to date, nobody has achieved it. At his best, though, could GSP dominate today’s best fighters like Usman and his great rivals Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal? It’s basically a sure thing that he could.

While Usman’s wrestling is absolutely fantastic – his takedown defense is almost impenetrable and he’s seemingly capable of overpowering any opponent – St-Pierre was able to dominate wrestlers like Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch on the mat, both of whom had stronger credentials than ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’.

While it’s probably fair to suggest that Usman carries more power in his hands than St-Pierre did, at his peak, GSP’s boxing was arguably the very best that the UFC had to offer. Not only was he remarkably quick on his feet, but he possessed a ramrod jab that he often used to pick his opponents apart.

Add in the fact that GSP rarely, if ever, became tired in his fights, and at his best, he was essentially as unbeatable a fighter as the octagon had ever seen.

Therefore, if prime GSP were still competing today, it’s not only likely that he’d be capable of holding the title he never actually lost, it’s likely that he’d dominate today’s best fighters just as he did to the best a decade ago.