Ranking the Best Fights of GSP's, Jon Jones' and Anderson Silva's Careers

The triumvirate of dominant champions in the UFC have enjoyed an unheard of level of success inside the Octagon. Georges St-Pierre, Jon Jones and Anderson Silva are all three of the top pound-for-pound fighters.

Interestingly enough, all three men have taken different routes to the top of the mountain.

St-Pierre has used his dominant ground game to completely run through the 170-pound division. Silva has turned into possibly the best UFC fighter of all time by utilizing his impressive Muay Thai and jiujitsu skills. And Jones may eclipse them both by the time his career is over.

Although the men have taken different paths, all of them have had pivotal moments thus far in their career that has defined their championship reigns.

3. Georges St-Pierre vs. BJ Penn II UFC 94

The first meeting between BJ Penn and Georges St-Pierre was a hotly contested decision win in favor of the Canadian. As split-decisions tend to do, the MMA world was up in arms over the fact that Penn had lost.

In the rematch, both men were wearing UFC gold and it was promoted as a true superfight. Penn spent weeks on the UFC Countdown show telling everyone that he was going to run through GSP, while St-Pierre instead chose to reserve his words for after the fight.

By defeating Penn in resounding fashion, St-Pierre solidified himself as one of the top pound-for-pound kings and put to rest his biggest rival outside of Matt Hughes.

2. Georges St-Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck I UFC 74

A forgotten match it seems in the career of Georges St-Pierre is his first encounter with Josh Koscheck at UFC 74.

GSP had just lost his title in MMA's biggest upset at UFC 69 against Matt Serra. St-Pierre promised to show a different side to his game and rededicate himself to the sport. It wouldn't be easy, as Koscheck was riding a five-fight win streak.

In the early going Koscheck was actually able to take GSP down, something virtually nobody had been able to do before or since.

This is easily the second most important bout in St-Pierre's career because this was the time when he could've folded and simply vanished from the history books. Instead, GSP rose to the challenge and would become one of the greatest MMA fighters ever.

1. Georges St-Pierre vs. Matt Serra I UFC 69

While it's easy to point to their rematch as the more important fight given that Georges St-Pierre won in dominating fashion to erase all doubts about Matt Serra's earlier win, this was the fight that defined GSP's career.

Serra was awarded his title shot by winning the fourth season of The Ultimate Fighter and was about as huge of an underdog as a fighter could be. With the odds stacked against him, Serra overcame the heavily favored (and better) fighter in GSP.

The loss sent St-Pierre back to the drawing board and transformed him into the dominant champion he is today.

3. Anderson Silva vs. Dan Henderson UFC 82

After successfully receiving the middleweight torch from Rich Franklin, Anderson Silva was set to square off against former Pride champion Dan Henderson.

Henderson would be Silva's toughest challenge to date, as he possessed Olympic quality wrestling with one-punch KO power.

In the fight, Henderson would use his wrestling to ground the better striker and provide a blueprint for all future challengers. Henderson forgot the gameplan and got into a standup battle with Silva that eventually wound up with "The Spider" securing a rear naked choke.

The fight also unified the UFC Middleweight and Pride Welterweight titles.

2. Anderson Silva vs. Forrest Griffin UFC 101

Anderson Silva's bout with Forrest Griffin was a highlight-reel performance from beginning to end. When people look back on the career of Silva, this will be one of the fights shown to emphasize his greatness over the competition.

Silva moved up a weight class for only the second time and dismantled a former world champion at light heavyweight. The fight was so embarrassing for Griffin that he ran out of the cage instead of waiting for the official decision to be read.

The display of dominance by Silva at UFC 101 will be the showcase for his superior talent compared to the other fighters in the UFC. If anyone ever doubts Silva's ability, point them to this fight.

1. Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen UFC 117

Every champion has a moment in their career where all hope seemed lost. A moment where we thought their reign at the top was at an end only for the champion to emerge victorious in spectacular fashion.

For Anderson Silva, his moment came at UFC 117 against Chael Sonnen.

In the weeks leading up to the fight, Sonnen said virtually anything he could think of to get under the Brazilian's skin. Sonnen not only backed up the talk, he came within minutes of being the UFC champion.

In a move of desperation after being beaten for four-and-a-half rounds, Silva threw up a triangle attempt that forced Sonnen to tap.

The win cemented Silva's legacy as the top fighter in the UFC and created one of the best rivalries in UFC history.

3. Jon Jones vs. Stephan Bonnar UFC 94

Stephan Bonnar had the unfortunate pleasure of being on the receiving end of Jon Jones announcing his arrival to the UFC—multiple times.

Even though it was his second fight in the UFC, the Greg Jackson product was a relative unknown to UFC fans. Jones used his clinch game to throw Bonnar around like he was a lightweight. It was here that he also showcased some of his signature unorthodox striking techniques.

Jones didn't end the fight with a flashy highlight reel maneuver, but that doesn't take away from the fact that he thoroughly dominated Bonnar in their contest.

2. Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida

With the list of title challenger getting slimmer by the day, Lyoto Machida was a name many fans threw around as people who could dethrone the champion, Jon Joes.

Machida had a style that few could figure out and had spent the better part of a year improving his training regimen. Fan couldn't point to any specific area but the Machida supporters believed he had it—that quality to stop another champions run at the top.

Jones took a tough shot in the match, his first in quite some time, and responded by opening up a nasty cut on Machida's forehead before choking him out with a standing guillotine.

The champion put a stamp on a stellar 2011 campaign that will go down in history as one of the best years for a fighter in MMA.

1. Jon Jones vs. Mauricio Rua

Sliding into the title shot formerly held by his teammate Rashad Evans, Jon Jones was set to take on his toughest opponent to date in Mauricio "Shogun" Rua.

The champion was coming off knee surgery but fans were still envisioning the Muay Thai wrecking ball being unleashed on Jones. Instead, Jones dominated Rua in every facet of the game. As a "Shogun" fan, it was sad watching one of my favorite fighters be beaten in such a way.

Besides winning the title that he has yet to lose, the win also sealed the fate of Evans and Greg Jackson. Evans certainly wasn't going to change his career plans for a teammate, and the end result would see the formation of Imperial Athletics a.k.a "The Blackzillians."

Jones winning the title also produced one of the premier rivalries in recent memory between Jones and Evans that will come to a head at UFC 145.