10 Best Win-Loss Records In UFC History, Ranked

Highlights

• It’s tough to stay at the top in MMA, as even the best like Whittaker face losses.
• Fighters like Poirier aim for solid win-loss records in the UFC to avoid taking a loss.
• Max Holloway’s remarkable win-loss ratio proves his dominance in the Featherweight division.

Having a career as a mixed martial artist is a tough choice, as fighters need to be in peak condition and at the top of their game, so they can guarantee a victory. Even the greatest of all time suffer a loss here and there for a multitude of reasons. Achieving a solid win-loss record in the UFC is something that every fighter hopes to have, as nobody wants to take a loss.

Not only considering the number of fights someone has had, but also the challengers they faced, the number of title/major fights, and the length of their career, here are some of the most prestigious win-loss records in UFC history.

10 Robert Whittaker Represents New Zealand & Australia

Fights In The Middleweight Division

Former UFC Middleweight Champion, Robert Whittaker made his UFC debut as a member of Team Australia in the 2012 season of The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes. Whittaker would go on to win the Welterweight bracket when he beat Brad Scott on the December 15th, 2012 UFC on FX: Sotiropoulos vs. Pearson event. This marked Whittaker’s UFC debut and first victory, something he would continue in the future.

Whittaker currently holds a 70+ percent win-loss ratio in 21 fights, only suffering losses to names like Stephen Thompson, Israel Adesanya, and Dricus du Plessis. Adesanya would also be the only person to hand Whittaker more than one loss, as Whittaker dropped the UFC Middleweight title to him and later lost a rematch for the belt.

9 Louisiana’s Own, Dustin Poirier

Fights In The Lightweight Division

The man who handed Conor McGregor two consecutive TKO losses, unsurprisingly, has a pretty solid win-loss record. Taking seven losses and a single no-contest due to some illegal knees leaves Poirier with a 73.33% win-loss ratio in 30 fights. Dustin Poirier made his UFC debut all the way back at the beginning of 2011 by scoring a unanimous decision victory over Josh Grispi. Since then, Dustin has been awarded numerous Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night awards, but barely coming short of finding UFC gold.

Two shots at the UFC Lightweight Championship saw Poirier on the losing side against names like Charles Oliveiria and Khabib Nurmagomedov. Another chance for the title against current champion Islam Makhachev is scheduled for UFC 302, and if Dustin can finally get his first lineal UFC title is yet to be seen.

8 The Hawaiian Legend, Max Holloway

Fights In The Featherweight & Lightweight Divisions

A fighter with countless records in the UFC, such as most knockouts, finishes, and wins in the Featherweight division, it doesn’t come as a shocker that Max Holloway would have a great win-loss record. Currently tying with Dustin Poirier, minus the no-contest, Holloway squeaks past with a 75.86% ratio. The “Blessed” is coming hot off an insane victory over Justin Gaethje which saw Holloway be crowned the UFC ‘BMF’ Champion.

Holloway’s few losses came to greats such as Alexander Volkanovski, Connor McGregor, and Dustin Poirier, while securing wins over names like Frankie Edgar, Charles Oliveria, and Jose Aldo to name a few.

7 New York’s DQ Champ, Aljamain Sterling

Fights In The Featherweight Division

A history maker when he became the first UFC fighter to capture a title via disqualification, Aljamain Sterling makes up for the odd title win as he has a great win-loss record. With 20 fights under his name, only four men have been able to beat Sterling, with two losses coming from KO/TKO and two from split decisions. Sterling also proved to be a solid champion as he broke the record for most consecutive title defenses in the Bantamweight division.

A TKO loss to Sean O’Malley saw Sterling lose his title and, shortly after, make a move up to the Featherweight division. His most recent fight saw him beat Calvin Kattar via unanimous decision at the historic UFC 300 PPV.

6 The Stylebender Of Nigeria, Israel Adesanya

Fights In The Middleweight Division

Despite some of the controversy that Israel has had surrounding his name over the years, the former champion has done a lot to prove he can be considered one of the greatest UFC fighters of his time. Only three men have been able to pick up victories over the Stylebender, those being Sean Strickland, Alex Pererira, and Jan Blachowicz.

Adesanya’s second UFC Middleweight Championship reign also placed him in a rare class of fighters who have won the same title more than once.

5 The Women’s Division GOAT, Amanda Nunes

Fought In The Women’s Bantamweight & Featherweight Divisions

The Lioness of the UFC solidified herself as the absolute greatest women’s fighter in the promotion after capturing two division championships while defending both. Amanda Nunes did all of that while also managing to maintain a record of 16 wins and two losses, only getting beaten by Cat Zingano and Julianna Pena.

During Nunes’ run in the UFC, she beat many of the top fighters in the Bantamweight division, including Miesha Tate, Holly Holm, and Ronda Rousey, while also moving to the Featherweight division and beating names like Cris Cyborg and Felicia Spencer. Nunes retired as a double-champion and vacated both of her titles on June 20th, 2023, ten days after her last fight at UFC 289.

4 The Number One Welterweight, Georges St-Pierre

Fought In The Welterweight & Middleweight Divisions

Another fighter who found multi-divisional success is the legend, Georges St-Pierre. With his official retirement in 2019, St-Pierre was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame due to his incredible career which saw a 90% win rate over names like B.J. Penn, Matt Hughes, and Michael Bisping. GSP’s time in the Welterweight division is considered one of the most dominant runs in the UFC, with him achieving nine successful title defenses.

GSP also maintains many UFC records when it comes to his ground game, such as most control time and most top position time. Only one other fighter has had as many fights as GSP and maintained a similar win-loss ratio.

3 Islam Makhachev Continues Dagestan’s Fighting Legacy

Fights In The Lightweight Division

So far, Islam Makhachev has picked up where his long-time friend and UFC Hall of Famer, Khabib Nurmagomedov left off. Approaching his 17th fight in the UFC, Islam has only suffered one loss, that being his second UFC fight against Adriano Martins at UFC 192 in 2015. The loss remains the only blemish on Islam’s near-perfect MMA record, including his eleven wins outside the UFC.

Proving himself in every aspect of fighting, Islam has managed to secure wins via knockout and submission en route to becoming the UFC Lightweight Champion.

2 The Undefeated, Khabib Nurmagomedov

Fought In The Lightweight Division

Being undefeated for as many fights as Khabib Nurmagomedov has is quite an accomplishment. Taking into account his pre-UFC fights, Khabib went 29-0 with most of his fights ending via knockout or submission. His UFC Lightweight Championship win over Al Laquinta and subsequent defenses against Conor McGregor, Poirier, and Justin Gaethje proved that Khabib is one of the greatest to step into the octagon.

Khabib’s family and friends are also paving their own winning legacies, with Khabib’s cousins Umar and Usman both being undefeated in the UFC and Bellator and the previously mentioned Islam Makhachev taking over the UFC Lightweight title in Khabib’s absence.

1 The Best Pound For Pound Fighter, Jon “Bones” Jones

Fights In The Heavyweight & Light Heavyweight Divisions

Jon Jones’ record in the UFC is a point of much contention as only two fights stand out as blemishes on his otherwise perfect record, those being a disqualification loss to Matt Hamil, a fight that both Dana White and Hamill argue should not be considered a DQ and a no-contest that was overturned after Jones tested positive for Turinabol (an anabolic steroid).

Despite these two hiccups in his career, Jones has proved that he is easily one of the best in UFC history, as he has yet to truly lose a fight, even when going up against greats such as Daniel Cormier, Vitor Belfort, Rashad Evans, and Lyoto Machida.