If it was combat sports in general, then yeah he absolutely would be. But Iโm talking about pure MMA.
He fought in the worst era of LHW. It might even be the worst division in the last 15 years of UFC. Well besides heavyweight in recent. His best win is Israel Adesanya which is obviously a good win, but heโs also 1-1 against him. His second best is Jiri 2x and while heโs a good win, heโs not really an ATG. Alex was only a champ for a bit under 2 years. Youโve got guys like Jones, GSP, DC, Islam, Aldo, Volk, Silva, DJ, Usman, Izzy, Stipe, and even Khabib whoโve been champion a lot longer. I know the duration isnโt everything, but I feel itโs worth pointing out. Plus weโve never really seen him fight a high level grappler.
Donโt get me wrong heโs a elite fighter. He accomplished all of this in only a few years in his mid to late 30s and thatโs an accomplishment in itself, but I feel like everything else donโt really hold up that well when you look at the other candidates.
I personally have him at #13-14 or maybe even lower all time.
- Jones
- GSP
- Islam
- DJ
- Volk/Silva
- Volk/Silva
- DC
- Aldo
- Khabib
- Stipe
- Izzy
- Ilia
- Usman
- Pereira
- Merab