The UFC’s bantamweight division has seen some great champions over the last decade.
At 135lbs, there’s arguably no fighter greater than current champ Merab Dvalishvili, who puts his world title on the line for a second time this year at UFC 316.
After defeating Umar Nurmagomedov earlier this year, Dvalishvili is set to meet Sean O’Malley in a rematch in the main event of UFC 316 on Saturday.
Ahead of his title fight with O’Malley, Dvalishvili is already being regarded as ‘the greatest bantamweight of all time’ by Henry Cejudo for his 12-fight win streak and four wins over former champions.
Of course, Dvalishvili isn’t the only fighter in the bantamweight ‘GOAT’ conversation.
Bloody Elbow ranks the top 5 greatest UFC bantamweights of all time.
5. Renan Barao
A champion often forgotten about in UFC history, Renan Barao once had a 32-1 record in his prime.
Barao was the second UFC bantamweight champion, following in the footsteps of Dominick Cruz while he was injured. In 2012, Barao won the interim title from Urijah Faber in Cruz’s absence and defended the belt twice before he was promoted to undisputed champion.
The Brazilian had the second-longest interim title reign in UFC history, only behind Tom Aspinall, who recently surpassed him during his wait for Jon Jones.
Barao went on a nine-fight win streak between WEC and UFC before he lost the title to TJ Dillashaw in a massive upset.
Barao defeated the likes of Urijah Faber (twice), Eddie Wineland, Michael McDonald, Scott Jorgenson, and Brad Pickett during his heyday.
4. TJ Dillashaw
The man to bring Barao’s title reign to an end is #4 on our list.
TJ Dillashaw was a +650 underdog to beat Barao at UFC 173. Dillashaw utterly dominated Barao across five rounds, closing out the show with a headkick and punches to become the champion in 2014.
Dillashaw defended the title twice before losing to a returning Dominick Cruz two years later.
Dillashaw’s time at the top wasn’t done, however, as the former champion put together back-to-back wins for a crack at then champion Cody Garbrandt in 2017. Dillashaw TKO’ed Garbrandt twice in a row to cement his legacy as a two-time bantamweight champion.
In 2019, the UFC stripped Dillashaw of the title. Dillashaw was suspended by USADA for a positive drug test for the performance-enhancing drug EPO, stemming from his flyweight title fight vs. Henry Cejudo.
3. Aljamain Sterling
Aljamain Sterling’s title reign could have gone better but there’s no denying Aljo is one of the greatest bantamweights of all time.
Sterling is the only champion in the UFC to win their title by disqualification, after receiving an illegal knee from Petr Yan in 2021. No matter, ‘Funkmaster’ redeemed himself when he defeated Yan across five rounds in their rematch.
Sterling defended the title three times in total. The American absolutely dominated an injured Dillashaw for a second-round TKO and defeated former two-division champion Cejudo by split decision in his last successful title defense before dropping the belt to Sean O’Malley in 2023.
Outside of his title fights, Sterling beat the likes of Cory Sandhagen, Renan Barao, Pedro Munhoz and Jimmie Rivera.
2. Dominick Cruz
For years, Dominick Cruz was the consensus greatest bantamweight of all time.
But, nothing lasts forever and Cruz’s resume, while hard to beat, has likely met its match with Dvalishvili’s current run.
The inaugural UFC Bantamweight champion and former WEC champion went undefeated for 8 years and has seven title wins between both promotions. Cruz beat Dillashaw, Faber (twice), Joseph Benavidez (twice) as well as UFC flyweight GOAT Demetrious Johnson.
Cruz’s UFC career was plagued by injuries, surgeries and long layoffs. One of Cruz’s greatest feats was when he came back after two years of inactivity to win the title off of Dillashaw in 2016.
Following another title defense over Faber, Cruz lost the belt to Cody Garbrandt later that year.
1. Merab Dvalishvili
Merab Dvalishvili has simply looked unstoppable since dropping his first two UFC fights.
A pressure-heavy wrestler with cardio for days, Dvalishvili has decisioned the likes of hall of famer Jose Aldo, Yan, Cejudo, O’Malley and Umar Nurmagomedov in his last five fights.
Dvalishvili attempts to go for his thirteenth-straight victory against O’Malley this weekend. ‘The Machine’ has already cleared the top 3 contenders in the bantamweight division.
Ahead of the matchup, Sean O’Malley’s coach Tim Welch has called Dvalishvili ‘the best bantamweight ever right now’ for the unique skill set he possesses.