Most Iconic UFC Fighter of All Time in Every Weight Class

The UFC has been in existence for nearly 18 years, and there have been many legends who have entered the ultimate proving ground for fighters: the Octagon.

There are currently seven fighters in the UFC Hall of Fame—Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock, Dan Severn, Randy Couture, Mark Coleman, Chuck Liddell and Matt Hughes—and an eighth is likely to be inducted at the next UFC fan expo.

Those seven fighters are some of the most iconic fighters in the history of the UFC, but who are the most iconic fighters of all time in every weight class?

Only one way to find out.

Bantamweight: Dominick Cruz

The bantamweight division is one of the new divisions in the UFC, and since it has only had one champion, I decided to take WEC champions into account, too, just for argument's sake.

Even when taking that into account, Dominick Cruz is still the most iconic bantamweight champion, with Miguel Torres being a close second.

Cruz gets a boost due to being the only UFC bantamweight champion, but a casual fan is more likely to know who Cruz is as opposed to Torres.

Featherweight: Urijah Faber

Another one where I counted WEC championships, except this one influenced my decision in the end.

Urijah Faber was the poster boy of the WEC and is easily the most iconic featherweight champion in Zuffa history.

Jose Aldo could soon become the most dominant featherweight champion, but he still has a lot to do if he hopes to overtake Faber as the most iconic.

Faber was the face for the entire organization. Aldo will probably never reach that level.

Lightweight: B.J. Penn

This one was pretty easy to call, as B.J. Penn is heralded by most as the best lightweight fighter ever and is obviously an iconic fighter.

His battles with Joe Stevenson, Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez were huge for his career, and it cannot be forgotten that he is one of only two to hold UFC titles in two different weight classes.

Penn is one of the best fighters ever and was the face of the lightweight division for a long time.

Welterweight: Georges St-Pierre

This one was tough to call between Georges St-Pierre and Matt Hughes.

GSP gets the edge because of his more consecutive defenses and because he won the trilogy with Hughes.

Not only that, but GSP is also the face of the UFC at a time when the popularity is much higher than when Hughes was champion.

GSP has beaten some of the best in the sport, and he has earned his spot on the list of top pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

Middleweight: Anderson Silva

This one had to be the easiest to decide.

Anderson Silva is the only middleweight champion of the UFC who has more than two defenses.

Not only does he have more than two, but he has an unimaginable eight consecutive title defenses, and has ventured up to light heavyweight and made things look easy there.

Silva is, and will be for a very long time, the face of the middleweight division.

Light Heavyweight: Chuck Liddell

This one was tougher to call than you'd think.

It came down to Chuck Liddell versus Tito Ortiz.

Ortiz had one more defense of his title than Liddell did, but Liddell also beat Ortiz twice.

Oh yeah, and Liddell made MMA even more mainstream during his tenure as light heavyweight champion, whereas Ortiz was champ during the "dark ages."

Heavyweight: Randy Couture

You can't have a list of iconic fighters without having Captain America himself!

Of course, Randy Couture is known as one of only two fighters to win championships in two different weight classes, the other being B.J. Penn.

Couture is the only three-time champion in UFC history, having won the heavyweight title on three separate occasions.

The trilogy between Couture and Chuck Liddell opened many eyes to the sport of MMA, and so did their coaching stint on The Ultimate Fighter. 

If not for Couture, the UFC would not be nearly what it is today.

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