Conor McGregor has respect for the pioneers of MMA.
“The Notorious” was recently featured on a live stream hosted by online gambling site Duelbits, where he fielded a number of questions, including who he considers to be the five greatest MMA fighters of all time.
Without missing a beat, McGregor rattled off four names that would register with any fight fan, though he needed a moment to come up with the fifth.
“Top-5 MMA GOATS,” McGregor said. “Rickson Gracie, Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock, Chuck Liddell… how many is that? Three, four? Four? The OGs… Bas Rutten. Bas Rutten, yeah. Europe’s own. Europe’s first is Bas Rutten. What a man Bas Rutten is.
“Serious shape he’s in now. Bas, I’m right behind you, bro. I see you, Bas. I see you, Bas. I’m right behind you.”
A former kickboxer, Rutten became the first UFC champion from the Netherlands when he defeated Kevin Jackson via split decision in May 1999 to claim a heavyweight title. Injuries prevented Rutten from ever defending his belt, but the victory was the exclamation point of an impressive fighting career that saw him go 28-4-1 with notable wins over Frank Shamrock, Maurice Smith, Guy Mezger, and Tsuyoshi Kohsaka.
Rutten was inducted into the UFC Hall Fame Pioneer Wing in 2015.
McGregor’s other choices were also integral to the rise of MMA to the mainstream, with Royce Gracie being arguably the most important figure in the history of the business as the face of the earliest UFC events, Rickson Gracie being renowned for his mythical—if often undocumented—martial arts feats, Shamrock taking the UFC to another level of popularity, and Liddell being the promotion’s first superstar of the modern era.
Surprisingly, McGregor left himself off the list. The braggadocious Irishman remains MMA’s biggest box office draw and once held titles in the UFC’s featherweight and lightweight divisions. The 36-year-old’s recent career output has left something to be desired as he has just one win to his name since defeating Eddie Alvarez for the 155-pound title back in 2016 and hasn’t fought since a loss to Dustin Poirier in July 2021.
