Ben Askren shares 7 fighters he believes are in the MMA GOAT conversation

Ben Askren has named the top 7 fighters he thinks could all make a case for the GOAT of MMA.

The “Greatest Of All Time” fighter in MMA has been a hot topic of discussion recently after Conor McGregor named his top picks. “The Notorious” listed Anderson Silva as the number 1 GOAT, following himself who he listed behind in close second. Read his full MMA GOAT rankings below.

“GOAT THREAD. The array of finishes, across 2 divisions, with champion status in 1, Anderson Silva is No.1 MMA GOAT,” said McGregor. “My array of finishes, across 3 divisions, with champion status in 2, I’m No.2. If not tied 1. However still active, No.1 is fully secured by career end. And easily.”

GOAT THREAD.
The array of finishes, across 2 divisions, with champion status in 1, Anderson Silva is No.1 MMA GOAT.
My array of finishes, across 3 divisions, with champion status in 2, I’m No.2. If not tied 1.
However still active, No.1 is fully secured by career end. And easily.

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) May 23, 2020

GSP is in at 3. Much less array of finishes but champion status in 2. He is far behind though. Reasons = Left 170 after much damage taken+questionable decision. Never re-engaged 170lb successors. Bottled Anderson fight. Only moved when one eyed fighter presented. Played safe.

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) May 23, 2020

“GSP is in at 3. Much less array of finishes but champion status in 2. He is far behind though. Reasons = Left 170 after much damage taken + questionable decision. Never re-engaged 170lb successors. Bottled Anderson fight. Only moved when one eyed fighter presented. Played safe.”

McGregor also named the current light heavyweight champion Jon Jones but questioned his recent performances.

“Jon is 4. Maybe tied 3. More array of finishes than 3 and still active, but champion status in just 1. Reasons = Multiple lacklustre decision performances + questionable decision win. Attempting to safe play HW entry/avoiding its champion.”

Jon is 4. Maybe tied 3. More array of finishes than 3 and still active, but champion status in just 1. Reasons = Multiple lacklustre decision performances + questionable decision win. Attempting to safe play HW entry/avoiding its champion.

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) May 23, 2020

Now the former ONE and Bellator welterweight champion, Ben Askren has name-dropped his top MMA GOAT picks. However, he decided not to rank them in a particular order.

“7 People in discussion for MMA GOAT. Some have much better cases than others, but all have cases. Fedor and BJ would have had cases had they retired earlier. GSP [Georges St Pierre], Anderson [Silva], DJ [Demetrious Johnson], Khabib [Nurmagomedov], Jon Jones DC [Daniel Cormier, and Henry [Cejudo].” 

7 People in discussion for MMA GOAT. Some have much better cases than others, but all have cases. Fedor and BJ would have had cases had they retired earlier.

GSP
Anderson
DJ
Khabib
Jon Jones
DC
Henry

— Funky (@Benaskren) May 25, 2020

Some notable names that Ben Askren mentioned who didn’t make McGregor’s list included Demetrious Johnson, Daniel Cormier, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Henry Cejudo. It is unsurprising that McGregor didn’t mention Nurmagomedov given their long embittered rivalry, but many fans were surprised that he didn’t name Johnson as an MMA GOAT.

Which fighter’s MMA GOAT list do you agree with? Let us know in the comments below.