30 greatest UFC fighters of all time [UPDATED]

16. Cain Velasquez

It’s a shame time and injuries slowed down Cain Velasquez’s career because, at his peak, he was the scariest man in the UFC, if not MMA itself. Velasquez went 12-3 with the UFC (4-2 in title fights) and had four performance bonuses.

Velasquez joined the UFC in 2008, going 7-0 on his way to the UFC heavyweight championship, which included wins over Cheick Kongo, Ben Rothwell, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and champion Brock Lesnar. Velasquez lost his belt to Junior dos Santos but bounced back on a four-fight win streak against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva and dos Santos, winning back his belt and defending it, becoming a two-time heavyweight champion.

Velasquez would lose his belt in 2015 to Fabricio Werdum and would go 1-1 after that, his last fight being against Francis Ngannou. Velasquez retired from MMA in 2019 and last year was arrested on attempted murder charges which are still ongoing.