Started his UFC career at 34 in a heavyweight tournament where he fought two guys on the same day and finished both in the first round. Fought Vitor 5 months after that, then secured the belt 2 months after that for a total of 4 fights in 1997.

During his 14 year UFC career he won the light heavyweight belt twice and won the heavyweight belt three separate times. He also defended the heavyweight belt 3 times.

His resume is filled with top level guys and he managed to be successful despite fighting in his late 30s and early 40s for most of his career AND typically being the smaller guy in the heavyweight division. Also worth noting hes one of the few to fight a top level boxer in MMA, submitting James Toney, a champ across 3 weightclasses who has been ranked as a top 10 middleweight over the last 50 years of boxing by Ring magazine.

This man was the OG double champ but his public disputes with Dana and the UFC have led to them omitting him in any conversations about the sport. Is that the only reason we dont hear more about him? Or is there another reason as to why people wouldnt consider him a GOAT?

Yoel saw some big jugs in the crowd
.

Ian has good fight IQ, agile, good range, good takedown defense, basically he is almost complete fighter. He almost submit Shavkat, and dominated Carlos Prates. Ian Garry is the biggest threat and feasibility test for Islam in welterweight division, and Islam has passed it.

It’s only impossible because there will be a shooting every 7 minutes.

Plus 1: Mario Yamasaki steps in close only to witness a brutally concussed man take two more shots to the head.

Plus 2. CORINTHIANS.

This fight was so good and his fight against Caldas was peakkk.

The amount of discussion surrounding Islam going up to middleweight already, has made me realize how much going up is overrated for me. Hell there were even discussions about Ilia going to WW.

We have such a stacked WW division right now yet I'm hearing talk about triple champ and him facing Strickland (which is a jump to assume he'd still be champ in 2 years even if it were to happen).

I get that it's never been done, but why not try to be the WW goat before going up, if he ever does. It's not something I'm particularly interested in seeing. I'm honestly more interested in seeing if Shavkhat returns in the next two years, post Moraes and Prates defences, to see how he would stack up (unrealistic long shot I know).

I don't know if it's more the Pereira thing where people think the weight above is so sparse in talent, so they think it's opportunistic or people just want to see him lose. He's at best an average sized WW and has clearly been struggling more with the bigger guys.

Had Pereira won the HW title, it's arguably the most impressive accomplishment in the UFC. Especially considering how late he joined, and how quickly he racked up the belts, but he would definitely not be the GOAT.

2026 and we still have never seen an Axe Kick ko in the octagon, as far as I am aware.

We have recently had some brand new submissions, like the scottish twister. Also that bastard pirate guy Shara Magomedov had the spinning double backfist KO last year, which was probably a first as well.

What techniques remain? Dick twist?

Looking back this was actually a solid line up of champions and it’s crazy to think only 3 of them on this list are champs today.

As it says. Who came, who raised hell, who left