Since its inception, the sport of mixed martial arts has seen a complete revolution. Though MMA is still a young sport, it has seen its fair share of memorable figures.
We have seen fighters who have changed the way fans and analysts view fights through their MMA acumen. We have seen fighters who have entertained fans in and out of the octagon. We have seen fighters who often make press conferences and post-fight interviews more important than the fight itself.
I am going to go through five fighters in no particular order who, in one way or another, have influenced the sport of mixed martial arts.
George Saint Pierre
Embed from Getty ImagesIn an era before the sport’s superstars emerged, there was a French Canadian who took the MMA world by storm. George Saint-Pierre was the first fighter to demonstrate the effectiveness of wrestling as a weapon. Originally from a Karate background, Saint-Pierre mastered the art of wrestling after his loss to Matt Serra. GSP was the perfect example of a mixed martial artist. The welterweight was able to combine pinpoint striking with wrestling in a fashion that no one had seen before.
GSP was the first to display how wrestling could be used as an effective tool in MMA at the highest level. Once Saint Pierre got you down, he was able to dominate and nullify his opponent completely. He was able to defend his title multiple times by implementing his grapple-heavy style.
The majority regard GSP as the best welterweight of all time, with a record of nine title defences, which is yet to be beaten. The French Canadian did this while mastering all forms of martial arts, especially wrestling.
To this day, Saint Pierre casts a large shadow over the welterweight division and will do so for decades to come.
Anderson Silva
Embed from Getty ImagesWhen making his debut in the UFC, much was made of how Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva’s striking was. Many had spoken of how Silva’s standup was revolutionary. Before the UFC, the Brazilian made his name in Pride and Cage Rage, as well as being the Shooto middleweight champion. However, when Silva made his octagon debut, everyone saw it was more than just hearsay. Anderson Silva was a striker, unlike anything fans had ever seen. He was quick, elusive and could stand right in front of you without getting hit.
Silva didn’t have a particularly powerful frame, but his striking acumen, combined with his movement, was a sight to behold. The Brazilian had a long, wiry build but could put the most destructive fighters to sleep. Silva is still seen as the greatest middleweight of all time despite holding eleven losses.
When it comes to striking, Silva is the first name that comes to mind. Fighters such as Israel Adesanya often speak to the influence the Spider had in crafting his style.
To this day, no one has managed to captivate audiences with their flashy, striking style quite like Silva. The Brazilian is regarded as the greatest middleweight of all time and is considered the greatest striker of all time.
Khabib Nurmagomedov
Embed from Getty ImagesWhen it comes to wrestling in Mixed martial arts, one name comes to mind. Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The Russian entered the UFC with a 16-0 record and a reputation for being a formidable wrestler. Being a two-time world champion in combat sambo, Khabib’s ground game was renowned. After his few fights, the Russian’s wrestling was one display, and he never looked back.
Nurmagomedov rag-dolled and dominated every opponent he went up against. Most great fighters face adversity, but Khabib was mostly untroubled in the octagon. The Dagistani had never been dropped or cut and only lost a handful of rounds in his illustrious career. Going your whole career undefeated is one thing, but making every fighter you faced look like they don’t belong in there with you is another accomplishment in itself.
Now, whenever a fighter dominates using his wrestling, it’s referred to as being “Khabib’d”. Whenever a wrestler comes into the UFC with a minor resemblance to the Russian, everyone draws comparisons to the Russian. You only have to look at how large Nurmagomedov’s shadow has loomed over the careers of Islam Makhachev and Khamzat Chimaev. Both are world-class fighters, but neither can fight off comparisons to Khabib.
The Eagle is undoubtedly one of the best talents the MMA world has ever seen.
Conor McGregor
Embed from Getty ImagesWe now come to the man who put the UFC on the map. When Conor McGregor was growing up, fighting in MMA was not seen as a viable career option. As the UFC grew, McGregor dreamed of entering the UFC and making it his source of income.
It is fair to say he turned those dreams into reality.
Conor McGregor is the UFC’s first superstar. He is someone who captivated audiences inside and outside the octagon. Nowadays, it seems every fighter in the sport tries to emulate the Notorious One.
Whether it is through his fighting style or his antics, McGregor’s blueprint is evident throughout the sport. Before the Irishman, no one had tried to be a two-weight world champion, and since then, there have been three. Trash-talking had been largely discouraged, but since McGregor, it has become nearly ubiquitous at press conferences, with some even repeating the Irishman’s lines.
McGregor’s reputation got to a point where there were clamours for him to fight Floyd Mayweather in a multi-million-pound boxing match. While this fight may have put McGregor’s career into a downward spiral, it secured a generational wealth that no one in the UFC had been able to touch. The way the Irishman carried himself made fans tune in time and time again. The top four most popular PPVs in UFC history were all cards with McGregor on them.
The amount of money Conor McGregor earned for the UFC was unprecedented, which is why the Notorious One was allowed to pursue a payday with Floyd Mayweather.
His best days may be behind him, but there is no doubt about the impact that this phenomenon had. Love him or hate him, when discussing the UFC, Conor McGregor’s name will always be on the lips of fans.
Jon Jones
Embed from Getty ImagesWhen it comes to influence among his peers, few hold a candle to Jon Jones. Whilst McGregor may have been the first superstar that the UFC had seen, Jones was the one who got the ball rolling. Winning a UFC title at just 21, the sky was the limit for the light heavyweight. The young American outperformed everyone who stood before him, doing so in a unique style.
Jones defended his light heavyweight title eleven times, and during this reign, he had submissions, knockouts and decision wins.
Bones came into the sport as a wrestler but by the end, became a dynamic striker. The Albuquerque native was able to use his wrestling with a variety of creative strikes. Jones was the first man in the octagon to make use of spinning elbows. He was also the first to use the devastating oblique kick, which damaged the knees of many of his opponents.
Some of the techniques that Jones used are implemented at the highest level of MMA today. Jones is seen as the Michael Jordan of the sport. His influence over his peers is unprecedented. Whenever Bones would enter the cage, there was an inevitability that he would get the win. Like Khabib, he has never been knocked down, like McGregor, he won titles in two different weight classes, like GSP, he had a well-rounded game, and like Silva, he had a truly unique style.
Jones combined some of the most ruthless techniques in MMA with a championship mentality, doing so in his early twenties. The American is seen by many as the greatest Mixed martial artist of all time, and it is not hard to see why.
Jon Jones is truly the definition of a generational talent and is, without a doubt, one of the most influential fighters of all time.