Image: Wiki Commons by Lance Cpl. Stephen McGinnis
About This Quiz
While many sports have been around for decades or even hundreds of years, MMA (mixed martial arts) is quite new to the scene. In fact, MMA wasn't officially a sport until 1980, and even then it took another two decades or so to really start to get popular with the growth of the UFC and other huge brands and organizations.Â
Sure, individual martial arts have been around for longer, but MMA as a sport on its own is newer than nearly every other popular sport out there. Also, unlike other sports, there are no "teams" in MMA. The fighters and athletes themselves are what makes the sport great. It is their skills and abilities that have helped MMA grow from an underground phenomenon to a legitimate sport with multi-million dollar TV and broadcasting deals.Â
Speaking of the fighters, just how many of them do you know? Can you name the current UFC Heavyweight champion just by seeing a picture of him? How about the fighter with the most UFC wins ever? If so, or you want to challenge yourself, this quiz is right up your alley.
Without any further ado, wrap your wrists and put on your fight shorts and get ready to go toe to toe with our quiz on naming popular MMA fighters.Â
Andrei Arlovski
Daniel Cormier
Daniel Cormier is without a doubt one of the best and most talented MMA fighters of all time. He has beaten nearly everyone in his path, and as of the writing of this quiz, is the current UFC heavyweight champion of the world.
Jon Jones
Nick Newell
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Carla Esparza
Holly Holm
Ronda Rousey
Ronda Rousey will go down as one of the biggest female stars that the UFC has ever seen. Her judo and grappling game were the best ever, and while she no longer fights in the UFC, she still remains in combat sports as a WWE wrestler.
Amanda Nunes
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Terry Etim
John Hathaway
Dan Hardy
Michael Bisping
Michael Bisping only recently announced his retirement and has already been nominated to enter the Hall of Fame. He is a former champion who has 20 wins in the UFC, which is currently good for second all-time.
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Rory MacDonald
Mitch Clarke
Georges St. Pierre
Georges St. Pierre has been one of the most famous and successful UFC fighters in history. He has 20 UFC wins compared to only two losses and won titles in two different divisions during his career.
Brad Katona
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Conor McGregor
If you were to pick one MMA fighter that is the most popular in the sport, the choice would probably be Conor McGregor. The Irishman has done brilliantly well at marketing himself and is a fantastic fighter to back it up.
Nate Diaz
Frankie Edgar
Dennis Siver
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Joseph Benavidez
Henry Cejudo
Before Cejudo even came to the UFC, he was already a combat sports superstar, winning a gold medal in freestyle wrestling. He has had an amazing UFC career so far and shows no signs of slowing down.
TJ Dillashaw
Mike Jackson
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Jim Miller
Nate Diaz
Tyron Woodley
Anderson Silva
While Anderson "The Spider" Silva hasn't had the best track record as of late, there was a period where he was arguably the greatest and most exciting fighter on the planet. His elbows, knees and kicks were lethal.
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Sage Northcutt
Jon Jones
Despite his legal troubles and failed drug tests, many still believe Jon Jones is the best fighter who ever lived. He has won nearly every fight he has ever been in, most in dominant fashion. When all is said and done, he could be the best who ever lived.
Demian Maia
Brad Tavares
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Amanda Nunes
Ever since losing to Cat Zingano back in 2014, Amanda Nunes has been on a tear. She has won eight straight fights, many of which were either winning or defending a world title. She is looking to cement herself as the best female MMA fighter ever.
Miesha Tate
Raquel Pennington
Sara McMann
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Royce Gracie
Tito Ortiz
Randy Couture
While he has long been retired, original fans of the UFC are well aware of the impact that Randy Couture had on the sport of MMA. He competed in both Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight and found success in both divisions.
Carlos Newton
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Elias Theodorou
Forrest Griffin
Forrest Griffin was a fan favorite in the UFC, partly due to the fact he won the very first Ultimate Fighter competition. Not only that, but his fight with Stephan Bonnar was a fight that introduced UFC to many new fans.
Matt Serra
Colton Smith
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Chad Mendes
Ricardo Lamas
Jose Aldo Junior
While he has had more losses than wins from 2015-2019, Jose Aldo will always be remembered for his dominance when the UFC brought in the Featherweight division. He defended the title 7 straight times, not counting his championship wins in World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC).
Chang Sung Jung
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Cain Velasquez
While Cain Velasquez has only fought three times since 2015, there was one point when he was the scariest man on the planet. His cardio and gas tank was something we had never seen at Heavyweight.
Brock Lesnar
Derrick Lewis
Bob Sapp
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Junie Browning
Travis Browne
Anthony Johnson
Frank Shamrock
Frank Shamrock won the first champion of the Light Heavyweight division of the UFC (originally called the Middleweight title). He won the title in 1997 and held it for almost two years before relinquishing the title after leaving the UFC.
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Alexis Davis
Liz Carmouche
Amanda Nunes
Holly Holm
Holly Holm shocked the world back in 2015 when she knocked out Ronda Rousey with a vicious head kick. Many thought Rousey couldn't be beaten, but Holm proved otherwise. Before becoming an MMA fighter, Holly Holm was one of the best female boxers of all time.
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Clay Guida
B.J. Penn
While his last few years have seen him fall from grace a little, B.J. Penn was once arguably the biggest star in the UFC. He was a well-rounded fighter who was incredibly tough and resilient. He helped popularize MMA in Hawaii in a big way.
Urijah Faber
Dan Miller
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Gegard Mousasi
Ross Pearson
Todd Duffee
Alexander Gustafsson
While he never won a world title, Alexander Gustafsson has been one of the best Light Heavyweight fighters in the sport for years. Not only that, but he also gave Jon Jones the most difficult fight of his career.
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Jim Miller
Anthony Smith
Martin Kampmann
Donald Cerrone
Donald Cerrone has been one of the most active fighters in the UFC for years. He has accumulated 23 wins during his UFC career, which is three more than the next closest. While many fighters may fight two times a year, Cerrone has fought in at least three fights every year since 2013.
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Rose Namajunas
Rose Namajunas is one of the most tenacious fighters we have ever seen in the UFC. Despite going up against Joanna Jedrzejczyk, who many thought was the best female fighter on the planet, she defeated her not only once, but twice in a row.
Tecia Torres
Paige VanZant
Angela Hill
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Thiago Alves
Sam Alvey
Ben Henderson
Chuck Liddell
If you liked to watch the UFC during its rise to popularity, there is a good chance Chuck Liddell was your favorite to watch. He threw extremely heavy punches and was always in incredibly exciting fights with his opponents.
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Wanderlei Silva
Brian Stann
Vitor Belfort
Mark Hunt
While Mark Hunt's record in MMA certainly isn't the best, he is beloved for his attitude and fighting style. He hits as hard as anyone in the world and is not afraid to put his body on the line for a great fight.
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Robbie Lawler
A pro fighter since 2001, Robbie Lawler bounced around a number of organizations before coming to the UFC in 2013. His fighting style and willingness to leave it all on the line led him to be a part of some of the best fights in recent memory.
Ryan Bader
Chael Sonnen
Pete Sell
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Khabib Nurmagomedov
Khabib Nurmagomedov is currently 27-0 in his UFC career and has utterly dominated most of the people he has fought. His suffocating style and huge gas tank make it tough for anyone to keep up with him.
Mauricio Rua
Frankie Edgar
Johnny Case
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Cindy Dandois
Cris Cyborg
Cris Cyborg rose to prominence in 2009 and since then has been one of the most devastating strikers in female MMA. She has knocked out nearly every opponent she has beaten, beating many in no more than a few minutes.
Mackenzie Dern
Michelle Waterson
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Matt Serra
Tank Abbott
Ben Askren
For years, Ben Askren was dominating the competition in organizations like Bellator and One Championship. Finally, after years of speculation, Askren was brought to the UFC in late 2018 and is 1-0 in the organization so far.
Leon Edwards
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Gilbert Melendez
Nick Diaz
Kevin Lee
Quinton Jackson
Quinton Jackson goes by the nickname Rampage, and that fits him perfectly. While his style and technique weren't always the cleanest, you could be sure he would look to take out his opponents with every single punch and kick.
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Renato Moicano
Yair Rodriguez
Chan Sung Jung
Chan Sung Jung began his MMA career in 2007 and made it to the UFC in 2011. Unfortunately, he didn't fight at all from 2013 to 2017 due to the mandatory military service in South Korea. He has since returned and is looking to come back to being one of the best on the planet.
Yushin Okami
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Curtis Blaydes
Kamaru Usman
While many don't love the style of fighting he does, there is no doubting the skill that Kamaru Usman has. He has been nearly unstoppable during his MMA career, which culminated in him winning the UFC Welterweight Championship in early 2019.
Francis Ngannou
Rashad Evans
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CM Punk
Frank Mir
Tim Sylvia
Brock Lesnar
Brock Lesnar might be one of the most famous faces in combat sports history. He began his career in the WWE, then decided to give MMA a try. He was quite good and ended up winning a UFC title before ultimately going back to the WWE.
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Evan Tanner
Israel Adesanya
Despite Israel Adesanya only coming to the UFC in 2018, he is already the interim Middleweight champion. Not only that, but he is also a perfect 17-0 in his MMA career, a career that only began in 2012.
Junior Dos Santos
Chris Weidman
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Erik Koch
Frank Trigg
Duane Ludwig
Matt Hughes
Matt Hughes grew up on a farm in Illinois and as a result, did a lot of manual labor from a young age. His strength quickly drew him to wrestling, which ultimately led him to the UFC. He spent over a decade in the organization.
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Anthony Smith
Ovince St. Preux
Sean Sherk
While many new fans of MMA might not know him, if you were around during the rise of the sport, you know all about Sean Sherk. He was a small but incredibly powerful Lightweight, who had an amazing career with a record of 36-4-1.
Mirko Cro Cop
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Melvin Guillard
Max Holloway
Max Holloway might go down as the best Featherweight fighter of all time. After a rough start to his UFC career, Holloway would go on to win 13 straight fights before ultimately losing when deciding to go up a weight class.
Joseph Duffy
Brendan Schaub
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Kelvin Gastelum
Not only is Kelvin Gastelum the youngest winner of the Ultimate Fighter ever, but he has created a pretty good career since then. He lost only four fights in his career against some of the best in the entire world.
Uriah Hall
Diego Sanchez
Josh Koscheck
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Mark Coleman
Dustin Poirier
Dustin Poirier has been near the top of the Lightweight division in the UFC for well over half a decade and in 2019, finally won his first championship in the promotion. He and Max Holloway had a fight for the ages.
Dan Henderson
Anthony Pettis
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Rich Franklin
Derrick Lewis
Bigfoot Silva
Tyron Woodley
In addition to being jacked out of his mind, Tyron Woodley is also an incredible fighter. He only has three losses in his UFC career and defended the Welterweight championship on numerous occasions.
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Demetrious Johnson
Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson will likely go down as the greatest Flyweight fighter of all time. During his time with the UFC, he defended his championship belt a ridiculous 11 times in a row, which is a UFC record.
Edson Barboza
Don Frye
Paul Craig
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Donald Cerrone
Dominick Cruz
When healthy, Dominick Cruz is arguably the most talented and unique fighter on the planet. Unfortunately, multiple significant injuries have hurt his career and took numerous years away from his prime as an athlete.
Renato Sobral
Bobby Lashley
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Kenny Florian
Steve Bosse
Alistair Overeem
Tito Ortiz
While Tito Ortiz loved playing the bad guy, you could not doubt his skills in the cage. He was strong, a great wrestler and had underrated hands. He will go down as one of the most polarizing figures in the sport.
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Paul Felder
Jeremy Horn
Dan Henderson
Dan Henderson is a true legend in MMA. He won championships at multiple different promotions and was known for his powerful overhand right. He is remembered as a legend in not only the UFC, but Strikeforce and Pride.
Nikita Krylov
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