5 greatest MMA fighters in the world today

MMA had quite an introduction to mainstream culture. The very first UFC event in 1993 was marketed with slogans like "there are no rules" and "two men enter, one man leaves."

Despite the outright brutality of its marketing campaign, the tournament was ultimately won by talented and highly technical martial artist Royce Gracie. The world was introduced to the idea of how skill and technique can beat strength and brute force.

Three decades later, the sport has come a long way since bearing witness to Gracie's jiu-jitsu mastery. Skill levels have increased, and fighters with more holistic skillsets have emerged. With every generation that followed, we were treated to some of the most exceptional and transcendent MMA athletes. They effectively mixed almost every discipline flawlessly and embodied the blueprint for future fighters to aspire to be.

In 2021, we are looking at mixed martial artists who practice the sport in perhaps its most complete iteration. On that note, this article tries to do the extremely difficult task of listing the five best MMA fighters active today.

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#5. Bibiano Fernandes, the best MMA champion outside the UFC

One can make the argument that Bibiano 'The Flash' Fernandes can beat any MMA fighter in his weight class anywhere, anytime. The former jiu-jitsu world champion has effectively translated his grappling genius to the MMA cage.

The current ONE bantamweight champion has the record for most title defenses in the promotion (7). He drowns his opponents on the ground with aggressive submission attempts and a heavy top game.

The threat of his world-class grappling opens up Fernandes' opponents to his underrated striking. Simply put, he's becoming a puzzle that's nearly impossible to solve.

It would be interesting to see Fernandes face off against current UFC 145-pound king Alexander Volkanovski. The Brazilian has proven to be far ahead of his competition in ONE. So the only world left to conquer is the one across the oceans, the UFC.

In his last outing, Bibiano Fernandes sealed his trilogy with Kevin Belingon. After losing the first fight, Fernandes picked up two victories on the trot to take his trilogy score to 2-1.

He is now scheduled to face John Lineker on December 5 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

#4. Alexander Volkanovski, an MMA legend in the making

Speaking of the Aussie MMA champion, Alexander 'The Great' Volkanovski raised a lot of eyebrows during his latest title defense.

Volkanovski's last outing solidified his throne atop perhaps the most competitive division in the UFC at the moment. Just look at the top ten of the featherweight brackets and you'll see what's in store for the proud father of two.

The role of Volkanovski's last fight in elevating his status to one of the best today cannot be understated. It wasn't the fact that he had to overcome massive adversity to keep the fight alive, but how his relentless pressure and output never waned.

Brian 'T-City' Ortega almost choked out the champ twice, but somehow Volkanovski powered through and continued his ruthless assault. The contest is a Fight of the Year contender and proved that Volkanovski is utterly unkillable.

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#3. Amanda Nunes, the lioness of the MMA jungle

The list of accomplishments Amanda Nunes has achieved in her career is, for the lack of a better term, insane. However, she is not done yet. The scary thing about 'The Lioness' is that she looks to be just reaching her prime at the age of 33.

Amanda Nunes is the lioness of the UFC jungle

At the top of the women's rankings in the UFC, Nunes did what no other champion, past or present, could. She defended titles in two weight classes while still holding both belts. The multi-division queen is, by and large, the true definition of a 'champ-champ.'

She's not just winning these fights; she's dominating them in the most lopsided way. Her last five fights alone - contested across bantamweight and featherweight - didn't look like MMA fights. They were straight assassinations.

Fans would be hard-pressed to name another MMA champion today who is dominating two different weight classes simultaneously. If Nunes decides to hang up the gloves now, her legacy as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters ever would have been cemented already.

#2. Jon Jones, still an MMA god after all these years

After more than a decade in MMA, Jon 'Bones' Jones is still among the very best in the sport.

The only reason he's not No.1 on this list is the fact that he hasn't fought in almost two years. We also don't know how good he'll be in his new division of heavyweights, where behemoth champion Francis Ngannou rules.

Jon Jones is still one of the best

Still, Jones' historic reign as UFC light heavyweight champion was phenomenal, to say the least. He held accolades you might only see in the career mode of UFC 4.

Most UFC title fight wins, most title defenses, and youngest champion ever are just some of his staggering achievements. Whether or not he fairs well at heavyweight, we can be sure that Jones has a very strong argument on being the greatest MMA fighter ever.

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#1. Kamaru Usman, a Nigerian nightmare, rules the land

Kamaru 'The Nigerian Nightmare' Usman is just two triumphs away from tying the record for most consecutive UFC wins. If he comes out victorious at UFC 268, he'll be a step closer to legendary MMA status. That's not to say that he's not a living legend already; The Nigerian-born champion has already surpassed MMA great George St-Pierre's record of most consecutive wins at welterweight.

Ever since aligning with MMA genius Trevor Wittman, Usman has elevated his game from mere wrestler to an overall killer.

He dominated then-champion Tyron Woodley in a near-perfect performance. From there, Usman's four title defenses were as definitive as they could get.

From shutout decision wins to heart-stopping knockouts, Usman exudes an air of invincibility in the cage.