If Alex Pereira becomes UFC's first 3-division champ, does that make him the GOAT?
Let’s break down the cases for the legitimate contenders for MMA GOAT.
In the mid-2010s, after the UFC had reached the drinking age of 21, the MMA GOAT discussion burned with white-hot intensity. There were essentially three strong convictions at the time, with a few Ross Perot types that might steal a ballot of two. Those three names were Georges St-Pierre (who retired in 2017), Anderson Silva (who last fought in the UFC in 2020) and Jon Jones (who retires far more often than he fights).
Demetrious Johnson, the lord of the flyweights who quietly went about breaking all of Anderson Silva’s records, was essentially Perot in such arguments. A radical token pick that hipsters would roll out as a thoughtful counter to the consensus. The oldheads might argue for Fedor Emelianenko or B.
J. Penn or Randy or Chuck, but they were quickly put in their place. The game was different in the aughts.
After the UFC turned 30 and began to settle down, new names entered the conversation. Now we have Khabib Nurmagomedov in the center of the discussion, on the strength of his 29-0 record. He last fought in 2020.
Continue to the original source for the full article.