Fighters who would be GOAT if not for one other fighter

[blaseblase]

Max would be on a legendary title run at 145 if not for Volk

DC at 205 without Jones. He already beat the toughest matchups of his era and showed what he can do when Jones isn't there.

Joseph Benavidez at 125 without DJ? He never fought Dodson but that's the only threat I think he would have until Cejudo reached title contention.

 

[Black9]

As much hate as he's getting now, Colby before Leon came around would have been champion without Usman.

 

[Luthien]

Miesha Tate if it wasn't for Ronda would have dominated

 

[Black9]

Tony if Khabib wasn't there.

 

[blaseblase]

As much hate as he's getting now, Colby before Leon came around would have been champion without Usman.

He would have held the title, not been GOAT. And he likely would have lost before Leon, he spent Usman's title reign ducking other contenders.

 

[HavokHarmon]

Not GOAT certainly but Fitch could have had a pretty long run if it hadn’t been for GSP. I think he would have beaten either Hughes or Serra at the time of his title shot, I don’t know that Kos would have fought him and he has wins over Alves already so it’s safe to say he’d have beaten him. I don’t think he would’ve replicated GSPs run but I definitely think he could have gotten a few defenses as champion and thus be looked at very differently historically.

 

[Get To Da Choppa]

Max would be on a legendary title run at 145 if not for Volk

DC at 205 without Jones. He already beat the toughest matchups of his era and showed what he can do when Jones isn't there.

Joseph Benavidez at 125 without DJ? He never fought Dodson but that's the only threat I think he would have until Cejudo reached title contention.

If it wasn't for Fedor, Big Nog would likely be considered the HW GOAT

Not only did he lose twice to Fedor, the beating he took from Fedor also took a heavy toll on him. The young mentally sharp and no eye problem Minotauro had excellent boxing and speed for a HW

 

[TheChance]

Rich Franklin would have had a long run if Silva hadn't had his number.

 

[Typrune Goatley]

If Fedor never existed, Nog would be seen as the Heavyweight GOAT. He was already champ for about a year and a half before Fedor dethroned him. Nog actually has even more impressive wins after he lost the title. Nog had so many tough fights and beat so many good fighters!


Matt Hughes would still be seen as the greatest welterweight ever if GSP didn't exist. Hughes was 9-2 in UFC title fights with 8 finishes! He really should be 10-2 with 9 finishes but Riggs missed weight.


I also think Hendo would have been seen as the Middleweight GOAT if he could have managed to beat Anderson Silva or if Anderson never existed. Hendo was already the MW GOAT at that point (he was top 185 guy in the world for a few years, proved it with a TKO over Bustamante, the UFC 185 champ, although they fought each other at 205 the first time.) Hendo was already old in 2008 but I think he could have defended the belt at least a few times and considering his overall body of work in 3 weight classes, I would have considered him the greatest Middleweight ever.

 

[Taric]

Nogueira is the most obvious example. He would've been the #1 ranked HW from 2001-2008, with a minor 3 month blip of losing and then beating Barnett in there, if it wasn't for Fedor. He even beat all the same, or better, competition Fedor did.

7 years at the top is a long ass time.

 

[FreddieRoachsVoice]

Jon Fitch is definitely who came to mind first. He was 21-1-1 across an 8 year span with his 1 loss being to GSP. He EASILY could have been the long term WW champion.

 

[RonDante]

As much hate as he's getting now, Colby before Leon came around would have been champion without Usman.

I dont know, I don’t even think he beat RDA to be honest. I don’t know who would have been champ if usman wasn’t there, maybe it would have been colby cause I think he beats any version of woodley, but I don’t know if he would hold it for long and he certainly wouldn’t be a goat

 

[Striker Fox]

Whittaker basically cleaned out the division outside of Adesanya

 

[rear naked ankle pick]

BJ Penn if 12 fighters didnt exist

 

[TankAbbott4Eva]

Whittaker basically cleaned out the division outside of Adesanya

Yep thought of him as well, Cormier would be the other obvious one. I think Cain also cost Cormier a bit too, maybe he just fights at HW if Cain wasn't around, he'd be at least the UFC HW GOAT if he had done that imo.

 

[FreddieRoachsVoice]

As much hate as he's getting now, Colby before Leon came around would have been champion without Usman.

I have my doubts about that. Colby's best win was who? An inflated LW with a long history of losing to wrestlers in RDA? Even at the time this was not some great feat. Colby's best performances were in losses to Usman but that hardly means he would clear out the division; styles make fights after all.

He has beaten 1 opponent who wasn't coming off of a loss in the last 7 years... most of which were on multi-fight skids. He has also been so inactive since he became a contender that there is hardly a clear read on his skill set so I am highly skeptical of how truly "elite" he ever was.

 

[FreddieRoachsVoice]

Yep thought of him as well, Cormier would be the other obvious one. I think Cain also cost Cormier a bit too, maybe he just fights at HW if Cain wasn't around, he'd be at least the UFC HW GOAT if he had done that imo.

This. Cain cost Cormier more than Jones did IMHO. HW was ripe for the taking and Cain was one of the worst champions in MMA history. It is an absolute shame that Cormier couldn't have just stayed at HW and ended the injury/JDS/Bigfoot Silva carousel which plagued us for YEARS. Cormier vs Werdum would have been a dream fight

 

[Ozze]

My choice is also DC.

If Jones didn't exist he would've been an easy LHW champ, with many defenses, and also a good record as a HW.

 

[djacobox372]

Hungry Conor Mcgregor if not for Silk-Sheets Conor Mcgregor

 

[RichardHarrow]

Maybe not Goat but Dos Santos getting whooped by Cain didn’t help.