MMA Fighter of the Year of each year since 1993. (1993-2025)

[Fedorgasm]

At a glance, Ken Shamrock winning in 1995 would be my biggest issue with the list.

He had 2 draws and a loss that year. A couple of his wins are against nobodies. He did beat Bas and Severn so he deserves credit, but there has to be someone with a better year than he had.

I'd probably rank Bas and Severn both above Ken, even though he beat them both that year, it was the only loss for each man, and Ken lost that year too.

Also Severn won 2 single night tournaments that year. And Bas beat a ton of good fighters in Pancrase.

 

[STAY GOLD]

MMA Fighter Of The Year For Each Year

2008 - Gegard Mousasi [6-0 & Won the 2008 Dream Middleweight Grand Prix] (Runner Up: Anderson Silva)

No. Anderson Silva.

 

[fendertach]

How is GSP never on this list??!!

No GSP and no Anderson makes this list null and void.

 

[CombatSports55]

How is GSP never on this list??!!

Because it's a Fighter of the Year list and not a p4p list.
P4P is only one criteria.
GSP only fought once or a twice a year and usually won by decision. (Same for Volk, Khabib and Nunes)

I have him as a runner up in 2009 for making Prime BJ Penn quit on the stool.

 

[CombatSports55]

No GSP and no Anderson makes this list null and void.

It's not a p4p list.
GSP typically fought once or twice a year.

Anderson Silva would have amazing performance and underwhelming ones in the same year.
For example, he would have a stinker with Thales Lates and then a show stopping one with Forrest in the same exact year

Silva almost won 07-08 but only fought twice 08
Both made runner ups. MMA is a deep sport

 

[Takes Two To Tango]

MMA Fighter Of The Year For Each Year

1993 - Royce Gracie
1994 - Royce Gracie (8 Wins all by sub!)
1995 - Ken Shamrock (Runner Up: Bas Rutten)
1996 - Igor Vovchanchyn (14 finishes!) or Dan Severn (6-0) or Mark Coleman (5 finishes this year and wins title next year)
1997 - Randy Couture or Igor Vovchanchyn (Runner Ups: Vitor Belfort & Mark Kerr)
1998 - Frank Shamrock (3 title defenses)
1999 - Igor Vovchanchyn (7 wins) or Pat Miletich (4-1 with 2 title defenses)
2000 - Randy Couture
2001 - BJ Penn or Tito Ortiz or Matt Hughes or Wanderlei Silva
2002 - Matt Hughes or Wanderlei Silva
2003 - Fedor Emelianenko (Runner Up: Randy Couture)
2004 - Fedor Emelianenko or BJ Penn or Wanderlei Silva
2005 - Maurício Shogun Rua (5-0 against elite comp. 2005 Pride Grand Prix winner.)
2006 - Chuck Liddell (3 title defenses)
2007 - Rampage Jackson [3-0, Won UFC Belt and then won Unification] (Runner Up: Randy Couture & Anderson Silva)
2008 - Gegard Mousasi [6-0 & Won the 2008 Dream Middleweight Grand Prix] (Runner Up: Anderson Silva)
2009 - José Aldo (Runner Up: Lyoto Machida or Georges St-Pierre or Gegard Mousasi)
2010 - Frankie Edgar
2011 - Jon Jones (Close Runner Up: Dan Henderson) (3rd: Nick Diaz)
2012 - Benson Henderson (3 title defenses)
2013 - Demetrious Mighty Mouse Johnson (Runner Up: Cain Velasquez)
2014 - Robbie Lawler (Runner Up: Max Halloway)(3rd & 4th: TJ Dillashaw & Luke Rockhold)
2015 - Conor McGregor (Runner Ups: Luke Rockhold & Ronda Rousey)
2016 - Stipe Miocic (Runner Up: Conor McGregor)
2017 - Max Halloway (Runner Ups: Rose Namajunas & Demetrious Johnson)
2018 - Daniel Cormier
2019 - Israel Adesanya (Runner Up: Jorge Masvidal) (3rd: Usman)
2020 - Deiveson Figueiredo
2021 - Kamaru Usman
2022 - Alex Pereira
2023 - Islam Makhachev
2024 - Alex Pereira (Runner Up: Ilia)
2025 - Merab Dvalishvili (so far)

I don't agree with everything you said. But it's a fascinating topic and list. So kudos to you.

 

[HI SCOTT NEWMAN]

1995 for sure its Dan Severn, became UFC champion, and then later on went on to dominate the Ultimate Ultimate the tournament for the greatest fighters ever in UFC history.

 

[JPOMMA]

2007 was a great year for Anderson Silva no doubt. 3 wins all finishes

I gave it to Rampage because of the level of opponents.
The 2007 Marvin Eastman ko is whatever but he went on to ko Prime Liddell and then beat the Pride Champion Dan Henderson.
So technically, Rampage was the UFC champion and the Pride FC Champion at the same time. Which is a very prestigious accolade.

Prime Liddell and Prime Henderson are better wins then Travis Lutter, Nate Marquardt or Prime Rich Franklin

Randy Couture captured Heavyweight gold after beating Tim Sylvia and then defended the title against Gabriel Gonzaga by TKO, which he did at 44 years old which is insane. Which is why I put Couture as runner up.

But I'm adding Anderson Silva to runner up spot as well now that you mention it.

Anderson Silva went on to choke out Dan Henderson the next year of 08. He would have been my pick for 07 if that fight happened earlier.

For me “fighter of the year” has a less analytical and more sporting basis. It has to be the fighter I would point to a non-MMA friend for that year to say “this is the best you can see in our sport”. I wouldn’t show them Rampage or Couture over Silva. The latter epitomizes the highest level of skill in the sport and displayed the full arsenal in his fights in 2007.

Otherwise such a list becomes Chat-GPT-ish and loses touch with reality. That’s why it’s nonsense that Khabib, who was peak MMA in 2018 and broke the biggest star in the sport, is not even listed. And I don’t even like him, but I would put him in a 2018 time capsule over crying Cormier. Same with GSP and Ronda - unfathomable that they don’t have a year.

Computers and real life are different. I think I’d rather see a list that’s “here is who I remember as the best fighter for that year”. Maybe that’s already your list, or maybe not. AI may try to write its own history but our memories live on.

 

[JoeBobbaLou2]

MMA Fighter Of The Year For Each Year

1993 - Royce Gracie
1994 - Royce Gracie (8 Wins all by sub!)
1995 - Ken Shamrock (Runner Up: Bas Rutten)
1996 - Igor Vovchanchyn (14 finishes!) or Dan Severn (6-0) or Mark Coleman (5 finishes this year and wins title next year)
1997 - Randy Couture or Igor Vovchanchyn (Runner Ups: Vitor Belfort & Mark Kerr)
1998 - Frank Shamrock (3 title defenses)
1999 - Igor Vovchanchyn (7 wins) or Pat Miletich (4-1 with 2 title defenses)
2000 - Randy Couture
2001 - BJ Penn or Tito Ortiz or Matt Hughes or Wanderlei Silva
2002 - Matt Hughes or Wanderlei Silva
2003 - Fedor Emelianenko (Runner Up: Randy Couture)
2004 - Fedor Emelianenko or BJ Penn or Wanderlei Silva
2005 - Maurício Shogun Rua (5-0 against elite comp. 2005 Pride Grand Prix winner.)
2006 - Chuck Liddell (3 title defenses)
2007 - Rampage Jackson [3-0, Won UFC Belt and then won Unification] (Runner Up: Randy Couture & Anderson Silva)
2008 - Gegard Mousasi [6-0 & Won the 2008 Dream Middleweight Grand Prix] (Runner Up: Anderson Silva)
2009 - José Aldo (Runner Up: Lyoto Machida or Georges St-Pierre or Gegard Mousasi)
2010 - Frankie Edgar
2011 - Jon Jones (Close Runner Up: Dan Henderson) (3rd: Nick Diaz)
2012 - Benson Henderson (3 title defenses)
2013 - Demetrious Mighty Mouse Johnson (Runner Up: Cain Velasquez)
2014 - Robbie Lawler (Runner Up: Max Halloway)(3rd & 4th: TJ Dillashaw & Luke Rockhold)
2015 - Conor McGregor (Runner Ups: Luke Rockhold & Ronda Rousey)
2016 - Stipe Miocic (Runner Up: Conor McGregor)
2017 - Max Halloway (Runner Ups: Rose Namajunas & Demetrious Johnson)
2018 - Daniel Cormier
2019 - Israel Adesanya (Runner Up: Jorge Masvidal) (3rd: Usman)
2020 - Deiveson Figueiredo
2021 - Kamaru Usman
2022 - Alex Pereira
2023 - Islam Makhachev
2024 - Alex Pereira (Runner Up: Ilia)
2025 - Merab Dvalishvili (so far)

pretty hard to disagree with Merab

 

[BowserJr]

Factoring Criteria for my list

1. Quality of the win
2. How you win the fight
3. How sensational you are
4. Breaking Records
5. Overcoming adversity
6. How great/entertaining the fight is / FOTY candidate
7. Activity

FOTY is not to be confused for P4P best fighter of the year.
That's only one aspect of my criteria.

Feel free to give constructive criticism for any year.

If thats the criteria how are GSP and Especially Silva not in there at least once

 

[JPOMMA]

If thats the criteria how are GSP and Especially Silva not in there at least once

My guess is that it’s because it’s a Chat-GPT-generated list rather than a personal MMA knowledge-based list. That’s why it’s missing the most obvious fighters. But TS can correct me if I’m wrong.

Edit: this one here is more like a human-based, fan-made list. Of course one can disagree on the choices but the names are more like what any MMA fan would choose as fighter of the year:

Thread 'Who was the best fighter in MMA every year since 1993.'

Aug 2, 2025

This is a rough estimate only.

Btw subject to change.

Feel free to do yours.

Updated changes below.

1993 - Royce Gracie
1994 - Ken Shamrock
1995 - Bas Rutten
1996 - Bas Rutten
1997 - Masakatsu Funaki
1998 - Frank Shamrock
1999 - Frank Shamrock
2000 - Tito Ortiz - Antonio Nogueira
2001 - Antonio Nogueira
2002 - Fedor Emelianenko - Matt Hughes
2003 - Fedor Emelianenko - Matt Hughes
2004 - Fedor Emelianenko
2005 - Fedor Emelianenko
2006 - Fedor Emelianenko - Chuck Liddell
2007 - Fedor Emelianenko - Anderson Silva
2008 - Fedor Emelianenko - Anderson Silva
2009 - Fedor Emelianenko - GSP...

• Takes Two To Tango
• Replies: 87
• Forum: UFC Discussion

• 

 

[Dagestanaev]

MMA Fighter Of The Year For Each Year

1993 - Royce Gracie
1994 - Royce Gracie (8 Wins all by sub!)
1995 - Ken Shamrock (Runner Up: Bas Rutten)
1996 - Igor Vovchanchyn (14 finishes!) or Dan Severn (6-0) or Mark Coleman (5 finishes this year and wins title next year)
1997 - Randy Couture or Igor Vovchanchyn (Runner Ups: Vitor Belfort & Mark Kerr)
1998 - Frank Shamrock (3 title defenses)
1999 - Igor Vovchanchyn (7 wins) or Pat Miletich (4-1 with 2 title defenses)
2000 - Randy Couture
2001 - BJ Penn or Tito Ortiz or Matt Hughes or Wanderlei Silva
2002 - Matt Hughes or Wanderlei Silva
2003 - Fedor Emelianenko (Runner Up: Randy Couture)
2004 - Fedor Emelianenko or BJ Penn or Wanderlei Silva
2005 - Maurício Shogun Rua (5-0 against elite comp. 2005 Pride Grand Prix winner.)
2006 - Chuck Liddell (3 title defenses)
2007 - Rampage Jackson [3-0, Won UFC Belt and then won Unification] (Runner Up: Randy Couture & Anderson Silva)
2008 - Gegard Mousasi [6-0 & Won the 2008 Dream Middleweight Grand Prix] (Runner Up: Anderson Silva)
2009 - José Aldo (Runner Up: Lyoto Machida or Georges St-Pierre or Gegard Mousasi)
2010 - Frankie Edgar
2011 - Jon Jones (Close Runner Up: Dan Henderson) (3rd: Nick Diaz)
2012 - Benson Henderson (3 title defenses)
2013 - Demetrious Mighty Mouse Johnson (Runner Up: Cain Velasquez)
2014 - Robbie Lawler (Runner Up: Max Halloway)(3rd & 4th: TJ Dillashaw & Luke Rockhold)
2015 - Conor McGregor (Runner Ups: Luke Rockhold & Ronda Rousey)
2016 - Stipe Miocic (Runner Up: Conor McGregor)
2017 - Max Halloway (Runner Ups: Rose Namajunas & Demetrious Johnson)
2018 - Daniel Cormier
2019 - Israel Adesanya (Runner Up: Jorge Masvidal) (3rd: Usman)
2020 - Deiveson Figueiredo
2021 - Kamaru Usman
2022 - Alex Pereira
2023 - Islam Makhachev
2024 - Alex Pereira (Runner Up: Ilia)
2025 - Merab Dvalishvili (so far)

Great list, but you forgot TRT Vitor, GSP and Anderson? Maybe Hendo?

And before 1993, Marco Ruas, Rickson Gracie and Funaki

 

[Dagestanaev]

Nice throw away account....

It's Luffy

 

[ultra321]

It's Luffy

that asshole..... FFS...

 

[KoalaBear]

silva is da best. awesome style and a sick run. he made mma fun. id say the only guy you could compare him to now is maybe peirera

 

[wufabufa]

99-00 Dave Menne.

Tons of fights with some really great wins, especially in 2000.

 

[Nimrod]

Legend has it in Igor Vovchanchins village there was a bell in the town Square.

When Igor got frisky they used to ring the bell to get everybody indoors.

So..

IGOR INSERTS INTO ALL YEARS FROM HIS BIRTHDATE INTO INFINITY.

 

[Bullitt68]

Cro Cop at least deserves a shout-out for winning the 2006 PRIDE Open-Weight Grand Prix tournament.

At a glance, Ken Shamrock winning in 1995 would be my biggest issue with the list.

He had 2 draws and a loss that year. A couple of his wins are against nobodies. He did beat Bas and Severn so he deserves credit, but there has to be someone with a better year than he had.

I'd probably rank Bas and Severn both above Ken, even though he beat them both that year, it was the only loss for each man, and Ken lost that year too.

Also Severn won 2 single night tournaments that year. And Bas beat a ton of good fighters in Pancrase.

1995 for sure its Dan Severn, became UFC champion, and then later on went on to dominate the Ultimate Ultimate the tournament for the greatest fighters ever in UFC history.

Ken is so clearly the Rodney Dangerfield of MMA, he never gets any respect. For anyone who knows anything about the sport's history, Ken's "loss" in 1995 to Minoru Suzuki was a work. Pancrase didn't want him fighting in the UFC while the champion of their organization, so to focus on the UFC he dropped his King of Pancrase title to Minoru Suzuki. And then he choked out Dan Severn after having defeated Bas Rutten for the second time shortly before, and you two think that they're more deserving than the guy who beat them both?

 

[Fedorgasm]

Cro Cop at least deserves a shout-out for winning the 2006 PRIDE Open-Weight Grand Prix tournament.




Ken is so clearly the Rodney Dangerfield of MMA, he never gets any respect. For anyone who knows anything about the sport's history, Ken's "loss" in 1995 to Minoru Suzuki was a work. Pancrase didn't want him fighting in the UFC while the champion of their organization, so to focus on the UFC he dropped his King of Pancrase title to Minoru Suzuki. And then he choked out Dan Severn after having defeated Bas Rutten for the second time shortly before, and you two think that they're more deserving than the guy who beat them both?

That's what sucks about Pancrase. Sometimes I don't want to include any those fights because A) you don't know how many were works, and B) it has such unusual rules that it's damn near a different sport. It certainly muddies the waters though.

One time I looked up the weights of everybody Ken fought in Pancrase and the vast majority of them were way smaller than him, which makes his Pancrase wins less impressive even if they were legit.

 

[CombatSports55]

For me “fighter of the year” has a less analytical and more sporting basis. It has to be the fighter I would point to a non-MMA friend for that year to say “this is the best you can see in our sport”. I wouldn’t show them Rampage or Couture over Silva. The latter epitomizes the highest level of skill in the sport and displayed the full arsenal in his fights in 2007.

Otherwise such a list becomes Chat-GPT-ish and loses touch with reality. That’s why it’s nonsense that Khabib, who was peak MMA in 2018 and broke the biggest star in the sport, is not even listed. And I don’t even like him, but I would put him in a 2018 time capsule over crying Cormier. Same with GSP and Ronda - unfathomable that they don’t have a year.

Computers and real life are different. I think I’d rather see a list that’s “here is who I remember as the best fighter for that year”. Maybe that’s already your list, or maybe not. AI may try to write its own history but our memories live on.

You're thinking of pound for pound FOTY.
General FOTY is just taking a single calendar year and rating how sensational a particular fighter was.
P4P is just one aspect.
For example, if you have Person A who is clearly the most skilled person in the sport but he only fought once the entire year and won via boring decision... How can you possibly make him fighter of the year over Person B who fought 3-6 times all by finishes or earned fight of the night/year candidate?

Listed all my criteria in post 2.