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The nature of mixed martial arts dictates that stars come and go. Injuries, burnout, contract issues and illness make it so that few fighters can dominate for a long period of time. But there have been a few who have stayed at or near the top of the pile for the past decade. As part of Yahoo! Sports' look back at the past ten years in sports, here are the top ten mixed martial artists of the decade.
10. Matt Hughes: Though he's faded in recent years, Hughes was one of the UFC's most successful champs. His win over MMA pioneer Royce Gracie signaled a change of the guard, and he defended his welterweight belt eight times. Hughes also has wins over both B.J. Penn and Georges St. Pierre.
9. Tito Ortiz: The "Huntington Beach Bad Boy" ended the decade on a weird note, with a decision loss to Forrest Griffin. Before his exile from the UFC, Ortiz was the longest reigning UFC champ with wins over Wanderlei Silva, Vitor Belfort and a trilogy of wins over nemesis Ken Shamrock.
8. Wanderlei Silva: In his prime -- which covered the bulk of the decade -- no one could stop "The Axe Murderer." His reign over Pride's 205-lb. division lasted for four years and included two epic wins over Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.
7. Georges St. Pierre: GSP represents the new guard in MMA, the type of fighter who sticks to a strategy, blends together different disciplines, and gets sponsored by huge companies like Gatorade and Under Armour. He's also the sort of guy who avenges his only two losses, and puts together a 19-2 record over his career.
6. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira: Fighting in both Pride and the UFC, Big Nog has wins over Randy Couture, Tim Sylvia, Josh Barnett, Fabricio Werdum, Mirko Filipovic, Dan Henderson and Mark Coleman. His bout with Couture was one for the ages, and out of his five losses, two are to Fedor Emelianenko, and two were later avenged.
10. Matt Hughes: Though he's faded in recent years, Hughes was one of the UFC's most successful champs. His win over MMA pioneer Royce Gracie signaled a change of the guard, and he defended his welterweight belt eight times. Hughes also has wins over both B.J. Penn and Georges St. Pierre.
9. Tito Ortiz: The "Huntington Beach Bad Boy" ended the decade on a weird note, with a decision loss to Forrest Griffin. Before his exile from the UFC, Ortiz was the longest reigning UFC champ with wins over Wanderlei Silva, Vitor Belfort and a trilogy of wins over nemesis Ken Shamrock.
8. Wanderlei Silva: In his prime -- which covered the bulk of the decade -- no one could stop "The Axe Murderer." His reign over Pride's 205-lb. division lasted for four years and included two epic wins over Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.
7. Georges St. Pierre: GSP represents the new guard in MMA, the type of fighter who sticks to a strategy, blends together different disciplines, and gets sponsored by huge companies like Gatorade and Under Armour. He's also the sort of guy who avenges his only two losses, and puts together a 19-2 record over his career.
6. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira: Fighting in both Pride and the UFC, Big Nog has wins over Randy Couture, Tim Sylvia, Josh Barnett, Fabricio Werdum, Mirko Filipovic, Dan Henderson and Mark Coleman. His bout with Couture was one for the ages, and out of his five losses, two are to Fedor Emelianenko, and two were later avenged.
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