2013-2016 Conor is the greatest peak fighter I've ever seen in MMA

[Gracious Warrior]

I know Conor is a joke nowadays but sometimes it's hard to remember just how good he was at his peak when he took fighting seriously and didn't have all the money and fame he does today.

From 2013 to 2016 Conor went on an insane run beating Holloway, Poirier, Mendes, Aldo, Diaz, and Alvarez all while becoming the first double champ. What's even crazier is that in that period he missed a year after tearing his ACL, but came back and picked up like he never left. It was truly an unreal run, and seems almost fabricated when compared to the washed up drunk he is today. 2013-2016 Conor is as good as it will ever get in the UFC.

 

[KingBarbozaGOAT]

Yes UFC 205 Conor would KO Jones with ease

 

[The_Demon_In_Me]

 

[Davidjacksonjones]

His rise to the top at FW was incredible. Dethroning Aldo and moving up to claim a 2nd belt was a great accomplishment.
His losses to Nate and Khabib and then Porier x2 did hurt his stock, especially since he talked huge trash to them.
I think if he stayed at FW and defended many more times, he would have been viewed in much higher regard

 

[LEWIS540]

He got his timing right, for sure. Good resume, but looks better on paper than it is in reality.

 

[Tweak896]

So funny watching people here dismiss Conor's record. It's crazy the mental gymnastics that go on. Conor's rise to the top was unstoppable and it's easy to overlook because of how he turned out afterwards. Conor used to be dedicated to MMA and probably was the greatest FW of all time when he was in his prime.

 

[capnlarge]

I think he is up there if you include a fighter's ability to market themselves as part of their skillset. Ideally, this would not be a factor in a pure sporting sense but this is prize fighting and it would be hard to rank say... Mighty Mouse ahead of Conor as a prize fighter

 

[Hostile1]

Yep. Started focusing on boxing and that was a wrap for him though.

 

[Bork Neslar]

Maybe. It doesn't matter anymore really.

 

[I_IZ_BACK]

You haven't watched a lot of MMA I guess

 

[Buff]

GOATs defend their titles.

 

[Substance Abuse]

Peak Shogun and Penn were better. I will agree to disagree.

 

[DaQuirkMan]

People just discredit Conor because they don't like him, that's literally it. If Poirier or Max did what he did you'd hear Sherdog screaming they're the best of all time.

 

[Chalky White]

People just discredit Conor because they don't like him, that's literally it. If Poirier or Max did what he did you'd hear Sherdog screaming they're the best of all time.

Nobody would say they’re better than Jones or GSP or Anderson, etc lol.

I can’t disagree with OP, though, because he wrote “that I’ve ever seen”. He’s entitled to his own opinion.

Conor could have furthered his legacy by staying at FW, but moving on to other things helped make him tons of money. Can’t blame anybody for taking the lucrative route.

 

[BigSexy444]

We'll never see another one like him. We should consider ourselves honored we lived at a time were we could watch the magic happen live.

 

[haj02]

Aldo is the only elite win in that list without a major asterix on it. Jon Jones had a waaaay more impressive run.

 

[Diamondsareforever47]

Yeah with NO title defenses and no elite kicking game or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu game.... No elite wrestling...

Dude to be a peak GOAT fighter you need to be well rounded which he is NOT and DEFEND a title.

 

[AmericanMMA]

Conor gets a lot of hate here, but I can't disagree he was absolutely electric from the time period you mentioned. Had a great run.

 

[yekmurat]

145 Conor is awesome for sure

 

[horseshoe_pass man]

Aldo is the only elite win in that list without a major asterix on it. Jon Jones had a waaaay more impressive run.

what asterisks? he beat them all fair and square lol