The 10 Best MMA fighters from the 2000s

6. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua may be best known by casual MMA fans for his impressive run in the UFC’s light heavyweight division, but he made a name for himself when he won the Pride Middleweight Grand Prix back in 2005.

In the first round of the Grand Prix, Rua broke Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s ribs and followed up with soccer kicks to the face to earn a first-round finish. Jackson would later go on to say that Rua was the best fighter that he ever competed against during his career. He would then earn wins over eventual UFC standouts Alistair Overeem and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira before dominating Ricardo Arona for the tournament championship.

At Pride 32, he also submitted former UFC heavyweight champion Kevin Randleman before Pride was eventually bought out by the UFC.

Despite losing his promotional debut to Forrest Griffin at UFC 76, Rua went on to earn back-to-back knockouts over Chuck Liddell and Mark Coleman. After losing a tough decision against Lyoto Machida, he would get his revenge at UFC 113, blitzing Machida en route to a knockout finish to earn the light heavyweight title.

Rua would go on to lose the belt to the legendary Jon Jones in his first title defense but still picked up solid wins afterward over the likes of Griffin, Corey Anderson, and Brandon Vera.

Rua’s fight with Dan Henderson at UFC 139 would get him inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame’s “fight wing” in 2018. He also tied Jones for the most fight-night bonuses with eight standout performances in the light heavyweight division.

In his prime, Rua was one of the most terrifying athletes to ever enter the octagon. His ferocious style combined with a solid ground game made him a matchup nightmare for most of his opponents. Rua will go down as an all-time great in MMA history.