Who is the greatest UFC Lightweight fighter of all time?
Follow Us
Khabib Nurmagomedov, Ben Henderson, Frankie Edgar and B.J. Penn
UFC’s Lightweight division has always been one of the most popular and stacked divisions in the promotion. Over the years it has produced some of the biggest stars in the UFC MMA promotion. But has this question even stuck in your mind, who is the greatest UFC Lightweight fighter of all time?
This division has been a home for some of the biggest UFC superstars such as Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, B.J. Penn, Ben Henderson, and many others. Let’s try to compare some of the greatest UFC Lightweight champions to find out who is the greatest UFC Lightweight fighter.
Comparison between UFC Lightweight champions to find our greatest UFC Lightweight fighter ever
B.J Penn
B.J. Penn is one of the biggest names in UFC who has fought in four different weight categories, i.e. Featherweight, Lightweight, Welterweight, and Middleweight. He was the second out of seven UFC fighters who hold the title in multiple weight classes.
Penn defeated Joe Stevenson at UFC 80 in 2008 to win the UFC Lightweight championship. After that, he defended it three times against Sean Shrek, Kenny Florian, and Diego Sanchez. He held the title for 812 days before he finally lost it in his next fight. This makes him appear in the list of greatest UFC Lightweight fighter.
Frankie Edgar
Frankie Edgar is one of the most decorated UFC fighters, who won the UFC Lightweight champion by defeating B.J. Penn at UFC 112. After it, he defended the title three times, once against B.J. Penn and then two times against Gray Maynard.
Along with this he also fought for the UFC Featherweight championship, three times but he failed to win it even once. Edgar holds the Lightweight title for a total number of 687 days before he finally lost it to our next champion in the list. With three title defenses he also got entry in our list for greatest UFC Lightweight fighter.
Ben Henderson
Ben Henderson became the UFC Lightweight champion by defeating Frankie Edgar at UFC 144 and produced a major upset that night. After this, he also defended his title three times, once against Edgar himself and another one against Nate Diaz and Gilbert Melendez.
Henderson finally lost his title against Anthony Pettis on UFC 164 and kept the title wrapped around his waist for a number of 552 days.
Khabib Nurmagomedov
Khabib Nurmagomedov is one of the biggest names in the UFC Lightweight division and he is the only UFC champion who retired with 0 losses on his MMA record. Khabib held a perfect record of 29-0 before his retirement.
‘The Eagle’ won the UFC Lightweight championship by defeating Al Iaquinta on UFC 223 and after that, he defended it three times, against the biggest names of the division such as Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, and Justin Gaethje.
Khabib Nurmagomedov announced his retirement following his win against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 and left the game on top after holding the title for a total of 1077 days.
Although, all the UFC Lightweight champions we’ve included in the list have defended their titles three times. But only Khabib is the one who has zero losses on his MMA record. That’s why we name Khabib Nurmagomedov as the greatest UFC Lightweight fighter of all time.
Also Read: Who is the greatest welterweight of all time? Georges St Pierre or Kamaru Usman?
Stay Updated!
Shivansh Thakur
(1173 Articles Published)