Zoro is one of the most Badass characters in the One Piece universe. The vice-captain of the Straw-hat pirate is arguably the second most powerful character of the crew after the captain Monkey D. Luffy. This three sword style user has given us many action-packed battles with many of the strongest villains of One Piece.
Dreaming to become the strongest swordsman in the world, former Pirate Hunter Zoro has brought us many insane fights. Watching a sword battle is a treat in itself, but a battle with three swords, it is just Superrrrrr. Following is the list of all the strongest opponents Zoro has faced till now, ranked by how strong the opponent was.
10 Daz Bones
Daz bones or better known as his codename Mr 1, was the strongest fighter under Crocodile’s Baroque Works. Similar to Zoro, Daz was a former bounty hunter. He was the main opponent for Zoro during the Alabasta Arc.
For Zoro, Daz was more than a random insignificant fight that he needed to win. It was more of an internal fight as well. Daz Bones is the user of Dice Dice devil fruit which turns his body into steel. So to win against him, Zoro had to learn to cut steel. It was a much-needed win for Zoro after being defeated by Mihawk as promising to never lose again.
9 Hody Jones
Hody Jones is a former soldier of Neptune's army and the captain of the new Fishman pirates. He is a great white shark Fishman and a strong follower and admirer of Arlong’s ideologies. He detests all humans and doesn’t want the Fishmans to have any relation with humans.
Hody Jones in the normal form can't be considered as a powerful character but the use of energy steroids pill exponentially increases his powers. His transformation surely earned a spot on this list. Zoro was able to overpower Hody even inside the water and wound him with a slice of the sword.
8 Pica
The spade seat holder of the Donquixote Pirates, Pica is one of the three top officers. He has a muscular build and is shown to be a capable Armament haki user. Pica has the power of Ishi Ishi no mi, a paramecia type devil fruit through which he can control and manipulate any stone structure into the form he desires.
He was seen as a formidable opponent in the Dressrosa but Zoro made quick work of him without having to struggle much. He might not have been tough for Zoro but undoubtedly was one of the strongest opponents Zoro had to face.
7 Basil Hawkins
The Captain of the Hawkins Pirates, Basil Hawkins is a Pirate of the worst generation. With his ability to predict the future also poses the power of Wara Wara no Mi. It is shown that through his devil fruit he can steal the life of others and can transfer any fatal damage to other people.
During the fight against Luffy and Zoro, Basil was able to fight toe-to-toe with the post time skip Zoro even dealing some damage with his nails. Later his technique was cut down by Zoro's two-sword style but Hawkins, most likely, wasn't using his full powers.
6 Bartholomew Kuma
Bartholomew Kuma is a former Shichibuki, a spy of the revolutionary army, and a former king of Sorbet kingdom. Kuma has the power of Nikyu Nikyu no Mi, a Paramecia-class Devil Fruit. With his devil fruit power, he can repeal physical harms from the body of Luffy which saved him, he was also who saved the Straw Hats from the admiral Kizaru.
The face-off against Kuma and Zoro was less than a fight but mercy shown my Kuma towards the Straw Hats. With the power on his devil fruit, Kuma gave to choice to Zoro to save his Captain and take all the pain inside him. This gave rise to the most badass moments in One Piece "Nothing Happened".
5 Fujitora
Even though blind, Fujitora is not a person you pick a fight with. This marine admiral with his keen sense of justice. He is shown to be a noble character, unlike other admirals. Fujitora uses Zushi Zushi no mi, a paramecia type devil fruit, and is shown to be very adept in using his devil fruit powers.
In the Dressrosa arc, he was able to drop a meteorite towards his enemies and in his first fight with Zoro, he was able to bury Zoro with his power. He sure is a strong swordsman, with an impressive devil fruit and even more impressive Observation haki.
4 Kizaru
Kizaru, also known as Borsalino, is one of the three original Navy Admirals introduced in the series. He is a user of a Logia type devil fruit known as Pika Pika no Mi. With the help of his devil fruit, he can both use short-range and long-range attacks. In addition to that, he can move in the speed of light which makes him very fast and very, very dangerous.
During the Sabaody Archipelago arc, the insane abilities of Kizaru were brought to LIGHT. He overpowered the entire Straw Hats who needed the help of Raleigh and Kuma to even survive.
3 Kuzan
Kuzan is a former marine admiral better known as Aokiji. He is one of the strongest logia users out there. His ability to use his devil fruit, the Ice Ice fruit, is amazing. He can freeze up a huge part of the ocean in a few moments.
During the Long Ring Lond Land Arc, Aokoji showed the monster trio the power of an admiral is nothing to mess with. Luffy was left half-frozen and Sanji and Zoro could do nothing against Aokoji. This was the first time the Straw Hats realized how powerless they were in front of an Admiral.
2 Ryuma
The Sword God Ruma, the original master of the black blade Shusui, is one of the legendary samurai and the hero of Wano. It is said that he once cut the head off a flying dragon with his sword Shusui.
Though the Ryuma Zoro fought wasn’t the complete version of the sword god Ryuma, he is one of the strongest characters Zoro has fought. Installed with Brook’s soul and revived through the power of Kage Kage no me, he was an even match for Zoro even though the fighting style was not of his own. But at his peak power, Ryuma might have been the strongest swordsman ever.
1 Mihawk
Known as the Strongest Swordsman in the world, Dracule Mihawk is in no doubt the most powerful character that Zoro has ever cashed his swords with. Not knowing the difference in power between the two of them, Zoro recklessly challenges the infamous swordsman only to be defeated with a small blade while not even being able to put a single scratch to his body even with his secret move ‘Three thousand worlds’. Mihawk is one of the most revered characters in the One Piece universe and deserves the number one spot on the list.
