One of these is Nassourdine Imavov<\/a>, who moved to the country at age nine before pursuing his dream of fighting in the octagon.<\/p>\n He is the #2-ranked Middleweight in the UFC today, and a win at UFC Paris<\/a> could hand him a world title opportunity against Khamzat Chimaev<\/a>.<\/p>\n However, he is not quite on the level of the top five French MMA fighters of all time, including a former Heavyweight title contender and a \u201cGod of War\u201d in the octagon.<\/p>\n While some may put Imavov above Benoit Saint-Denis<\/a>, there have been few fighters as entertaining in the octagon in the past four years as the \u201cGod of War\u201d.<\/p>\n The French fighter has excelled since moving to Lightweight in 2022, picking up numerous bonuses for his impressive finishes against a litany of fighters.<\/p>\n Of his 14 career wins, Saint-Denis has never gone the distance. Whether it be by impressive head kick KOs, like against Thiago Moises, or brutal submission wins, Saint-Denis has found a way to end a fight against almost anyone he\u2019s come up against.<\/p>\n While a loss to Dustin Poirier in 2024 moved Saint-Denis<\/a> further away from challenging for gold, the Lightweight has the ability to pick himself up and climb the rankings once again.<\/p>\n 4. Francis Carmont<\/p>\n Championship glory may have escaped him, but Francis Carmont is still a massive name in the history of French fighters in the UFC.<\/p>\n \u201cLimitless\u201d amassed a record of 16-7 before signing for the UFC in 2011, debuting with a win over Chris Camozzi at UFC 137.<\/p>\n This began a six-fight winning streak for Carmont, where he impressed with a number of submission finishes with the rear-naked choke to move up the Light Heavyweight rankings.<\/p>\n While three losses in a row saw him move over to Bellator, Carmont found relative success by making it to the final of the Light Heavyweight tournament in 2015, retiring a year later.<\/p>\n 3. Manon Fiorot<\/p>\n While she may not be an obvious choice for one of the greatest French fighters in history, Manon Fiorot\u2019s<\/a> record is as good as anybody else on this list, or better.<\/p>\n The French Flyweight had a dominant five-year spell after losing her first MMA bout, winning 12 fights in a row to rise to the top of the UFC rankings.<\/p>\n Using her background in karate, kickboxing, and Muay Thai, Fiorot uses her impressive size and striking ability to control fights, often winning via unanimous judges\u2019 decision rather than going for the spectacular finish.<\/p>\n Fiorot\u2019s sole loss in the UFC came at the hands of Valentina Shevchenko<\/a>, but the Frenchwoman still ranks #4 in the women\u2019s pound-for-pound rankings, and will no doubt be back for another shot at the belt before too long.<\/p>\n 2. Ciryl Gane<\/p>\n Ciryl Gane<\/a> made history in 2021 by becoming the first-ever French UFC champion, although it was the interim version of the belt and not the undisputed version.<\/p>\n![\"Benoit](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2069330063-1024x713.jpg\")
Photo by Chris Unger\/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images5. Benoit Saint-Denis<\/p>\n