5 best middleweight UFC fighters ever

Being legally blind in one eye didn’t stop Michael Bisping from becoming one of the greatest middleweights ever. The first great English fighter suffered a detached retina in a loss to Vitor Belford, but he still went on to hold gold after beating Luke Rockhold at UFC 199.

Bisping was more of a perennial contender than a dominant champion, but he did successfully defend his belt against Dan Henderson. Bisping’s 16 middleweight wins are tied for the most ever, and he only trails Sean Strickland in significant strikes landed (1,384).

The Count was viewed as a gatekeeper of sorts for much of his career, but a late-career breakout means he will forever be known as a champion. Bisping is now one of the leading broadcasters for the UFC, but during his fighting days, he went to battle with aggression, volume, and an impressive gas tank.

4. Dricus du Plessis

The current Middleweight Champion has been unstoppable in the UFC so far. Dricus de Plessis is 9-0 in the UFC and 23-2 overall. While the top fighters on this list were/are technical strikers, du Plessis’ fighting style is a chaotic mess, but opponents can’t seem to figure out how to stop it.

Du Plessis recently bested a volume striker twice in Strickland as well as a patient kickboxer in Israel Adesanya. Stillknock’s next opponent could be his toughest yet as he is slated to take on Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319. Another title win or two could boost du Plessis into the top three of the best middleweights ever.

3. Chris Weidman

Chris Weidman didn’t have great longevity in the UFC, but his prime was the stuff of legend. The All-American won each of his first nine fights in the promotion, including championship victories over Anderson Silva, Lyota Machida, and Belford.

Silva was widely viewed as unstoppable until Weidman beat him not once but twice. Unfortunately, it went downhill for Weidman’s career after his championship reign. He lost eight of his last 11 fights and retired in January of 2025. That stretch did include an admirable comeback to the sport after what could have been a career-ending broken leg.

2. Israel Adesanya

Israel Adesanya’s career is likely coming to an end soon. He has lost four of his last five fights, including two championship bouts against Strickland and du Plessis and most recently in a Fight Night headliner against Nassourdine Imavov. The Last Style Bender had an impressive run before that, though.

Adesanya won 12 of his first 13 UFC fights and has a 24-5 record overall. The timing on his punches is perfect, and the accuracy on his kicks is precise. Adesanya won eight title fights in total and was the biggest star in the UFC for a period of time.

1. Anderson Silva

Anderson Silva was unstoppable during his prime and was clearly one of the greatest UFC fighters ever, regardless of weight class. His 16 straight victories are a UFC record, and he is the middleweight leader in knockouts (eight), title fight wins (11), fight night bonuses (12), and knockdowns (13).

Silva mastered the art of counter striking. He has some of the best combination boxing displays the sport of MMA has ever seen, and he was also elite when it came to head movement and dodging punches.

Before Silva’s famous 16-fight UFC winning streak, which included a victory before then in Cage Rage, Silva had a separate nine-fight winning streak during his time with PRIDE and Meca.

Silva’s reign as unbeatable wasn’t ended until he foolishly showboated against Weidman and suffered the consequence of a knockout. He then broke his leg on a calf kick in the rematch against the man who took his belt. Silva fell off after the losses, the first of which was avoidable. He then beat Nick Diaz, but officials ruled the fight a no-contest after Silva tested positive for steroids.

The Spider then lost to Bisping in controversial fashion after returning from suspension. Silva thought he won via a flying knee knockout at the end of round three, but he did not beat the buzzer, and the fight ended up going five rounds to the distance.

Ultimately, Silva only ended up with one victory on his record in his last nine fights. It was avoidable, too, if it wasn’t for his cockiness against Weidman. The late-career struggles and the losses to everybody on this list, except for du Plessis, don’t change what was a great career, though. Silva finished his career with a 34-11 record, and some still view him as the MMA GOAT.