5 greatest MMA fighters in the world today
MMA had quite an introduction to mainstream culture. The very first UFC event in 1993 was marketed with slogans like "there are no rules" and "two men enter, one man leaves."
Despite the outright brutality of its marketing campaign, the tournament was ultimately won by talented and highly technical martial artist Royce Gracie. The world was introduced to the idea of how skill and technique can beat strength and brute force.
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Three decades later, the sport has come a long way since bearing witness to Gracie's jiu-jitsu mastery. Skill levels have increased, and fighters with more holistic skillsets have emerged. With every generation that followed, we were treated to some of the most exceptional and transcendent MMA athletes. They effectively mixed almost every discipline flawlessly and embodied the blueprint for future fighters to aspire to be.
In 2021, we are looking at mixed martial artists who practice the sport in perhaps its most complete iteration. On that note, this article tries to do the extremely difficult task of listing the five best MMA fighters active today.
#5. Bibiano Fernandes, the best MMA champion outside the UFC
One can make the argument that Bibiano 'The Flash' Fernandes can beat any MMA fighter in his weight class anywhere, anytime. The former jiu-jitsu world champion has effectively translated his grappling genius to the MMA cage.
The current ONE bantamweight champion has the record for most title defenses in the promotion (7). He drowns his opponents on the ground with aggressive submission attempts and a heavy top game.
The threat of his world-class grappling opens up Fernandes' opponents to his underrated striking. Simply put, he's becoming a puzzle that's nearly impossible to solve.
It would be interesting to see Fernandes face off against current UFC 145-pound king Alexander Volkanovski. The Brazilian has proven to be far ahead of his competition in ONE. So the only world left to conquer is the one across the oceans, the UFC.
In his last outing, Bibiano Fernandes sealed his trilogy with Kevin Belingon. After losing the first fight, Fernandes picked up two victories on the trot to take his trilogy score to 2-1.
He is now scheduled to face John Lineker on December 5 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.