Conor McGregor is the second greatest MMA fighter of all time… according to Conor McGregor

The recent release of The Last Dance, Netflix’s docu-mini series on NBA super star Michael Jordan and his final season with the Chicago Bulls…

By: Zane Simon | 4 years ago
Conor McGregor is the second greatest MMA fighter of all time… according to Conor McGregor
Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

The recent release of The Last Dance, Netflix’s docu-mini series on NBA super star Michael Jordan and his final season with the Chicago Bulls has provided a perfect platform to reignite the longstanding water cooler debate of all sports fans: who is the greatest of all time.

Baseball has Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, and Barry Bonds. For hockey, there’s Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Bobby Orr. Michael Jordan battles for his claim alongside Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and LeBron James among many others.

For a sport as young as MMA, though, the pantheon of all-time legends is much less settled. Georges St-Pierre just got his UFC Hall of Fame spot, and Anderson Silva & Jon Jones seem like shoo-ins, even if both men come with a potential asterisk. Conor McGregor is unquestionably the most popular star MMA has ever seen. And recently, the former two-division champion took to social media to put together his own MMA Mount Rushmore—one that, unsurprisingly, features him in prominent position.

McGregor did add a bit of a footnote on his feelings about potential PED use and drug test failures, something that has plagued both Jones’ & Silva’s recent careers. With those things in consideration, he feels there’s no other option than to place himself as MMA’s unquestioned GOAT.

Some fans may be wondering, however, ‘What about Demetrious Johnson?’ ‘What about Khabib Nurmagomedov?’ ‘Mighty Mouse’ holds claim to the longest string of consecutive title defenses in UFC history. But, to McGregor’s way of thinking, the depth simply isn’t there.

And as for Nurmagomedov—the man who dominated McGregor to a 4th round submission win back in 2018? Apparently, the ‘Eagle’ has a lot more work to do if he wants a spot on this list.

It’s all subjective, clearly, but it’d be nice to see a little love thrown Fedor Emelianenko’s way. After all, back in the early 2000s, he seemed like MMA’s unquestioned greatest of all time—even if he’s picked up a few losses in the decade since.

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About the author
Zane Simon
Zane Simon

Zane Simon is a senior editor, writer, and podcaster for Bloody Elbow. He has worked with the website since 2013, taking on a wide variety of roles. A lifelong combat sports fan, Zane has trained off & on in both boxing and Muay Thai. He currently hosts the long-running MMA Vivisection podcast, which he took over from Nate Wilcox & Dallas Winston in 2015, as well as the 6th Round podcast, started in 2014. Zane is also responsible for developing and maintaining the ‘List of current UFC fighters’ on Bloody Elbow, a resource he originally developed for Wikipedia in 2010.

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