Conor McGregor, while acknowledging the pioneers of MMA, named Rickson Gracie, Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock, Chuck Liddell, and Bas Rutten as his top five greatest MMA fighters of all time, notably excluding himself from the list.
Conor McGregor has a deep respect for the pioneers of MMA.
“The Notorious” was recently featured on a live stream hosted by Duelbits, an online gambling site. During the session, he answered various questions, including who he considers to be the five greatest MMA fighters of all time.
Without hesitation, McGregor listed four names that any fight fan would recognize. However, he took a moment to come up with the fifth name.
“Top-5 MMA GOATS,” McGregor began. “Rickson Gracie, Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock, Chuck Liddell… how many is that? Three, four? Four? The OGs… Bas Rutten. Bas Rutten, yeah. Europe’s own. Europe’s first is Bas Rutten. What a man Bas Rutten is.”
“Serious shape he’s in now. Bas, I’m right behind you, bro. I see you, Bas. I see you, Bas. I’m right behind you.”
A former kickboxer, Rutten became the first UFC champion from the Netherlands when he defeated Kevin Randleman via split decision in May 1999 to claim a heavyweight title. Sadly, injuries kept Rutten from ever defending his belt.
However, that victory was the exclamation point of an impressive fighting career: 28-4-1 with notable wins over Frank Shamrock, Maurice Smith, Guy Mezger, and Tsuyoshi Kohsaka.
Rutten was inducted into the UFC Hall Fame Pioneer Wing in 2015.
McGregor’s other choices were also pivotal to MMA’s rise to mainstream popularity. Royce Gracie arguably stands as the most important figure in MMA history as the face of the earliest UFC events.
Rickson Gracie is renowned for his mythical—if often undocumented—martial arts feats. Shamrock took the UFC to another level of popularity.
And Chuck Liddell? He became the promotion’s first superstar of the modern era.
Surprisingly, McGregor left himself off the list. The braggadocious Irishman remains MMA’s biggest box office draw and once held titles in both the UFC’s featherweight and lightweight divisions.
The 36-year-old’s recent career output has been less impressive. He has only one win since defeating Eddie Alvarez for the 155-pound title back in 2016 and hasn’t fought since losing to Dustin Poirier in July 2021.