Honestly man, it’s tough.

I was saying earlier ITT that I sometimes feel I have JDS too low because he’s got such a sick resume—and I have him pretty high at #5.
One of the key differences between us that I saw when you listed Nog’s resume is that you seemed to look at common opponents, whereas I don’t look at that really. Example: you mentioned that JDS beat Nelson, whereas Nog got KOed by Nelson. Nelson wasn’t in his greatest form in 2014, but Nog was one fight from retirement. I mean, he won the PRIDE belt in late 2001, he was wayyy past it by 2014. Even by 2010 when Cain beat him, he was declined. The Cain fight was Nog’s 41st fight. Cain only has 17 total, and that was enough to wreck Cain’s body. And does a loss like that negate a whole body of work?
I also think that whatever method one uses should work across all weight classes and divisions. One time, someone asked why I have Joanna above Namajunas. After all, Rose beat her twice. Plus, Rose beat Weili twice, and Weili beat Joanna twice.
Case closed?
Well, Joanna whooped the dog snot out of Esparza, and Esparza beat Rose twice. Joanna also beat Karolina, and Rose lost to Karolina. Joanna beat Andrade, but Rose lost to Andrade, but Rose also beat Andrade…
Ranking that way is a mess. My answer is that Joanna ranked higher because her overall resume and accomplishments are better than Rose’s. And I say that as a big Rose fan.
The question to me here would be, is JDS’s overall body of work better than Nogueira’s? That’s tough to answer, but I don’t quite think so.