Why Dana White won’t do an NBA-style collab and bring together the top 30 fighters of the past three decades for the UFC’s 30th anniversary

November 2023 will mark the 30th year in UFC history. Formed in 1993, the UFC is the largest professional mixed martial arts promotion in the world. Although the organization has helped MMA become a global sport, it is still a very young sport.

The success of the UFC certainly goes to Dana White, the outstanding management and team that turned a despised sport into an unstoppable machine. However, the fighters are the most essential part of this organization.

As the NBA celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, one of the top reporters has pitched an idea for the UFC to celebrate its UFC 30th anniversary next year by having the top 30 fighters of the past 3 decades on a single scene.

Although MMA journalist Ariel Helwani has had a painful relationship with UFC President Dana White lately, he often comes up with great ideas for the growth and development of fighters and the organization. The 11-time MMA Journalist of the Year has always stood up for fighters.

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Even though his thought process behind the initiative is excellent, the execution is where the problem lies.

Who are the top 30 UFC fighters of the past 3 decades, and is it possible for Dana White to put them on the same stage?

Compiling a list of the best UFC fighters would be a haptic task for anyone. Over the past three decades, fighters have become much more complete. So the UFC is no longer a sport, where a welterweight Brazilian Jiujitsu ace beats heavyweight fighters. With modern technology, fighters have grown tremendously. Given this, sports legends may struggle to make the list.

During the build-up to UFC 200, the UFC compiled a list of the top 200 fighters; The top 10 of this list was:

1. Jon Jones
2. Anderson Silva
3. Georges St-Pierre
4. Matt Hughes
5. Chuck Liddell
6. Randy Couture
7. BJ Penn
8. Jose Aldo
9. Demetrieux Johnson
10. Royce Grace

Even though these fighters had done an exceptional job with the competition available at the time, could they hold on to today’s top 10 fighters?

Additionally, an important factor to consider is these legends’ relationship with the UFC. Not all share a good relationship with UFC President Dana White.

Some fans also reacted with similar sentiments to Helwani’s post. A user wrote, “Dana is not on good terms with most of them, unfortunately”

Another user said, “Half of them hate Dana, so I doubt that’s possible.” This user received a response on what Dana White would do to deal with the situation. “It’s always possible, Dana will just pretend they don’t exist and bring out 30 more fighters.”

In conclusion, compiling a list of the greatest fighters of the last three decades is very subjective. Even if a list is compiled, getting the fighters on the same stage would be a difficult task. However, it all depends on the boss, Dana White.

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Would you accept this idea? What does your list of the 30 greatest fighters look like? Let us know in the comments section below.