Most Famous Ufc Fighters
For fighters desperately trying to push themselves into the public eye and become bigger stars, Instagram is arguably the perfect platform – and these 10 UFC fighters have taken advantage of it.
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- Everyone’s favorite underdog until he became one of the greatest fighters in history. Frankie Edgar always looked undersized. But that never stopped him from beating the best lightweights on the.
- Silva unified the UFC and Pride middleweight titles and, at one point, held the record for most successful title defenses with 16. He won the UFC middleweight title in his 2 nd fight with the promotion and dominated for another 2,457 days. Anderson would also go on.
The UFC has been home to some of the fiercest fighters the world has ever seen. Some of them were a huge inspiration to future generations and fighters. Throughout the years, fighters like Jon Jones, Anderson Silva, Max Holloway, and many more have solidified their spot as some of the greatest fighters to ever fight in the Octagon.
UFC events are incredibly popular all over the world. They generate millions of dollars in revenue thanks to pay-per-view broadcasts – millions of fans that can’t get to the arena are willing to pay a lot of money to see the fight live. It’s not hard to see why UFC events are so popular. After all, you have all the best fighters in the Octagon putting their skills to the test in a fight to the (nearly) death. At the same time, UFC events are wildly popular among bettors as well, with bookies providing odds months before the event.
When searching for new betting sites, it is important to find one that suits you best. Some might have great odds on football, but don’t have UFC bouts in their offer. Others will have a small selection of UFC sports markets. It’s fair to say that the process is long and nerve-wracking due to the heavy competition. But, don’t worry – we’ve made things simple for you by finding a list of the best UK betting sites list at freebets.co.uk. The site has a simple interface and lists the top UK bookies and their promotions so you can make an easy choice.
When choosing the best bookie, keep an eye of the free bets and promo codes that they offer. With some free bets, you can earn a handsome profit without betting your own money. You can use your free bet on upcoming UFC events. For example, Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal is the next great fight. Masvidal’s odds are 7/2, while Nate Diaz’s odds are 17/10. Use a free bet on this match or any other and you can turn a profit without spending a dime out of your pocket.
Throughout the years, the UFC has seen hundreds of skilled fighters. Some of the names on the list below can truly be called legends and have propelled the UFC to new heights.
Chuck Liddell
Chuck Liddell is a former UFC Light Heavyweight champion. He was also one of the scariest fighters in the UFC in his prime. Liddell made his debut in 1998 during UFC 17 and he never looked back. Together with another legend, Randy Couture, Liddell is credited with bringing the MMA into the American sports and entertainment mainstream.
He won 21 out of 30 UFC fights in his career and came out of retirement to fight his arch-rival Tito Ortiz. Unfortunately, he was defeated, but that didn’t shake up his legendary status.
Anderson Silva
The Spider is known for his tremendous fighting skills. During his peak, he was one of the best fighters in all UFC divisions. As of right now, Anderson Silva has 45 fights in his career and his record is 34-10-1. He is a master in BJJ, Taekwondo, Capoeira, and Muay Thai. Anderson Silva holds the record for the longest title reign in UFC history (2457 days) as well as the longest win streak (16).
Top 20 Ufc Fighters
Nate Diaz
Nate Diaz of one of the most gangster fighters in the UFC and that is what made the Mexican so famous, even outside of the UFC world. He is known for being ruthless and madly disrespectful to his opponents. There are even tons of videos online of his iconic slap in every fight, which he uses as a way to undermine the opponent’s authority and show him who’s the boss in the cage.
Brock Lesnar
Brock Lesnar made his name during his time in the WWE. He was already a legend there before moving to the UFC. Nobody believed that he can have a successful career among the strongest fighters. However, Lesnar proved everybody wrong.
A one-time heavyweight champion in the UFC (later lost the belt to Cain Velasquez. It is interesting to mention that Lesnar’s son has started following in his father’s footsteps. Those are big shoes to fill.
Connor McGregor
McGregor is the most famous fighters ever that came out of the UFC. His famous trash-talking and fighting skills are what made the Irishman well-known to the public, not just UFC fans. He was even the holder of two simultaneous belts in different divisions and crowned himself “The Champ, Champ”. Sadly, after losing to Khabib Nurmagomedov last year, he announced his retirement.
The sport of MMA has grown tremendously since the UFC burst on the scene in
1993. Over the next two decades, MMA has become a global attraction that has
spawned numerous promotions and dozens of great fighters. Some of these athletic
combatants have gone on to transcend the sport and even help MMA grow to
unimaginable heights.
This list of the most famous MMA fighters is just a starting point; an
entrance into a fight world with personalities and athletes that have become
larger than life. By no means is this a complete or ultimate “All-Time Best”
list. In fact, if you feel that a fighter is missing from below, then reach out
to us.
List of the Most Famous MMA Fighters
Anderson Silva
Anderson “The Spider” Silva was at one point the best pound for pound fighter
in the world. He dominated the middleweight division for nearly seven years and
was the longest reigning champion in the history of the UFC. Some people believe
that Silva is the greatest MMA fighter of all-time, but that’s a debate for
another day and another list.
Silva unified the UFC and Pride middleweight titles and, at one point, held
the record for most successful title defenses with 16. He won the UFC
middleweight title in his 2nd fight with the promotion and dominated
for another 2,457 days. Anderson would also go on to hold multiple striking
records with the promotion.
Silva will also be remembered for his gruesome broken leg suffered during a
rematch fight against Chris Weidman.
Georges St-Pierre
If there’s another fighter on this list that could rival Silva as the
greatest MMA fighter of all-time, it would be Georges St-Pierre. More commonly
known as GSP, the Canadian MMA superstar was a 2-division champion and widely
considered as the greatest welterweight fighter of all-time.
GSP suffered two losses within the first three years of his UFC career.
However, since then, St-Pierre has won every fight. He’s defeated some of the
sport’s all-time greats like BJ Penn and Matt Hughes. He’s taken out some of the
top fighters of this era too, like Nick Diaz and Michael Bisping.
During the peak of his career, GSP was also the top PPV draw for the UFC.
Although others have passed him in this category, GSP will always be remembered
as one of the greatest ever.
Ronda Rousey
You can’t think of women’s MMA without thinking of the name Ronda Rousey. The
two will be synonymous forever. Rousey did more for women’s MMA than anyone
before her. In fact, it will be hard for any female MMA star to surpass Ronda’s
accomplishments.
Rousey was the first-ever American woman to win an Olympic medal in Judo when
she won the bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. In 2010, she turned
professional and had a few successful MMA fights for various promotions. She
would become Strikeforce’s Women’s Bantamweight Champ before moving on to the
UFC in 2012.
In the UFC, Rousey would become the biggest star in the company during her
heyday. She became the company’s first ever female champ and went undefeated for
nearly three years. Rousey had six successful title defenses before finally
losing. During that streak, she was the main event for PPV, patented her arm-bar
submission, and revolutionized the sport for female fighters.
Rousey would become the first ever female fighter to be inducted into the UFC
Hall of Fame. She’s also enjoyed a modest Hollywood career and has gone on to
become a megastar in the WWE.
Randy Couture
I don’t think there’s a fighter at the level of Couture who has retired more
times than Randy has. With that in mind, Couture continued to come out of
retirement and win championships. Randy was one of the first fighters to win
titles in two divisions: the light heavyweight and the heavyweight. Nicknamed
“The Natural,” Couture is a former 3-time UFC heavyweight champ and a former
2-time UFC light heavyweight champ.
Randy is well known for fighting into his late 40’s and doing so at a high
level. In fact, there aren’t many 40-year-olds who have won championships in any
sport, especially MMA. But, Couture did it. His last fight came in 2011. Since
then, Randy has enjoyed retirement.
Couture will go down as one of the greatest heavyweights of all-time. He will
also hold UFC records that will probably never be passed, like winning a fight
at the age of 46. During his retirement, Couture has become a steady actor with
popular roles in The Expendables movie franchise and on the TV show
Hawaii 5-0. It’s clear, whatever the former U.S. Army Sargent sets his mind
to, he succeeds at.
Royce Gracie
In addition to being a UFC Hall of Famer, Gracie is an MMA legend and a
pioneer. He won three of the first UFC tournaments and starred in the first MMA
mega-feud with Ken Shamrock. Gracie and his family went on to perfect Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu. In fact, the Gracie name is synonymous with the popular martial art.
Outside of the UFC, Gracie had one of the most memorable bouts in PRIDE
Fighting as he fought Sakuraba for over 90 minutes. Although the latter fights
of his career didn’t turn out as he and his fans had hoped, the sport and the
UFC would have never gotten off the ground if it weren’t for pioneers like
Gracie.
Ken Shamrock
You can’t mention the name of Gracie without his counterpart, Ken Shamrock.
The two were involved in a bitter feud during the early days of the UFC, which
put the company on the mat and took the MMA sport mainstream. Shamrock was the
first ever Superfight Champ, which would eventually go on to become the
heavyweight championship after the implementation of weight divisions.
Shamrock was also a big star outside of the UFC. He became the first
“foreigner” to win a major championship in Japan when he won the King of
Pancrase. During this period of time, Shamrock was considered the top MMA
fighter in the world.
Shamrock also left his mark on professional wrestling as he was a multi-time
champ in the WWE (WWF when he wrestled). Ken became an even bigger mainstream
star after his run in the WWE. With his famous MMA center known as the Lion’s
Den, Shamrock became one of the most influential MMA fighters of all-time.
Most Popular Ufc Fighter
Brock Lesnar
Although not as accomplished in MMA as other fighters on this list, Brock
Lesnar turned the UFC upside down when he decided to participate in mixed
martial arts. Lesnar came from the WWE world to MMA and fans refused to accept
him at first. In his 3rd fight with the UFC, Lesnar defeated Couture
to win the UFC heavyweight title. Lesnar would go on to have some of the highest
grossing fights in UFC history. He was an instant box office attraction.
Despite having little MMA experience, and a great deal of professional
wrestling experience, Lesnar was actually an accomplished amateur wrestler in
college. For his career, Lesnar went 106-5 in four years at college. He was a
two-time NCAA All-American, two-time Big Ten Champ, and the 2000 NCAA
heavyweight champ.
Oh, and we can’t forget that Lesnar had a brief stint in the NFL after
leaving the WWE for other challenges. Brock continues to be one of the biggest
stars in the WWE and sends shockwaves through the sport of MMA anytime he shows
up in the UFC.
Conor McGregor
Conor McGregor has transcended the sport of MMA like no other. He’s set new
records for UFC gates and PPV buys, while becoming a massive international
superstar. McGregor has become one of the best in the sport at selling a fight
with his words and tends to back it up more times than not. McGregor is one of
only a handful of 2-divisions champs and actually held those two divisional
belts at the same time.
McGregor proved his star power in 2017 when he took on Floyd Mayweather Jr.
in a boxing match. Conor went 10 rounds with one of boxing’s best fighters of
all-time. It’s gone down as the 2ndhighest grossing PPV fight of
all-time.
McGregor is widely considered to still be in his prime, but only time will
tell. Even if he retired tomorrow, McGregor would definitely be remembered for
the way he took the sport of MMA to another level.
Jon Jones
Regardless of his troubles outside of the sport, Jon Jones is regarded as one
of the best MMA fighters of all-time. In fact, some say that if Jones wasn’t his
own worst enemy, he would be the greatest MMA fighter of all-time.
Following the first loss of his pro career, in 2009, Jones would go on one of
the most impressive streaks the sport has ever seen. He won 14 straight fights
before his last one was overturned. Along the way, he beat some of the sport’s
best fighters in Cormier, Sonnen, Belfort, Evans, Rua, Bader, Machida, and
Jackson. His 13-fight win streak in the lightweight division is a record that
will probably never be broken.
At the time of winning the light heavyweight belt in 2011, Jones became the
youngest UFC champ ever. Not only does Jones have one of the most impressive
fight resumes in all of MMA, but he’s also going to go down as the greatest
light heavyweight of all-time; a huge accomplishment in itself.
B.J. Penn
Penn doesn’t have the fight record of other fighters on this list, but his
name is easily recognizable in any MMA circle. Not to mention he has a cool
website that provides some great insight, MMA news, and analysis. However, if it
wasn’t for his success in MMA, nobody would’ve turned to his site in the first
place.
Penn was first noticed in the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship where he became
the first non-Brazilian to win the black-belt division. He also finished high in
other prominent Jiu-Jitsu tournaments, leading to him signing with the UFC. From
there, Penn would take on some of the sport’s all-time greats, like GSP and Matt
Hughes.
B.J. Penn wasn’t afraid to take on other fighters in different weight
classes. He also didn’t have a problem fighting in other promotions. No MMA list
is complete without Penn.
Chuck Liddell
Known as “The Iceman,” Chuck Liddell was the most feared striker on the
planet during his peak. From early 1999 to late 2006, Liddell went 18-2, won the
UFC light heavyweight belt, and defeated fighters like Ortiz, Belfort, Overeem,
and Couture. His feuds with Ortiz and Couture took the UFC to new heights.
Liddell’s personality and look helped him to stand apart from other fighters.
He’s considered one of the promotion’s first true superstars and easily earned
UFC Hall of Fame honors. It’s hard to imagine where the company or the sport
would be without Chuck Liddell. The Iceman certainly did things his way, which
includes going down swinging on his way to retirement.
Most Famous Ufc Fighters 2019
Quinton Jackson
“Rampage,” became a fan favorite due to his exciting fight style and his
colorful personality. He was a star in Pride Fighting, winning the middleweight
title. Jackson had a highly memorable feud with Wanderlei Silva in the Pride
promotion before eventually heading to the UFC in 2006. Within his first few
fights, Jackson KO’d Liddell to win the UFC light heavyweight title. From there,
Jackson became one of the most dynamic fighters in the UFC.
Quinton’s final years with the UFC were up and down due to controversy,
losses, and a few title wins. In 2013, Jackson left for Bellator and helped
establish that promotion as a reputable brand. Additionally, Rampage decided to
try his luck at pro wrestling when he joined TNA in 2013.
Outside of the octagon, Jackson is best known for his role as B.A. Baracus in
the hit movies The A-Team.
Fedor Emelianenko
Unlike the majority of fighters on this list, Fedor had most of his success
prior to entering the UFC. Emelianenko dominated Pride Fighting and also saw
success in M-1 Global and Affliction. For over eight years (2001 through 2009),
Emelianenko went undefeated as he won 28 straight fights. During that span, he
defeated Nogueira, Mirko Filipovic, and Alrovski to name a few. He didn’t need
the UFC to become a superstar. The UFC chased after Fedor because he was already
an international star.
Once he signed with Strikeforce, Fedor lost a few fights, and the mystique
wore off. Eventually, he retired as a legend of the sport. However, like other
MMA legends, Fedor came out of retirement for a few fights in various promotions
before ending up in Bellator. Regardless of his record and latter fights, “The
Last Emperor” was truly one of the last legit international MMA stars outside of
the UFC.
Tito Ortiz
Most Famous Ufc Fighters Ever
“The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” was a force to be reckoned with during his
peak run from 2000 to 2006. Over that period of time, Ortiz wen 11-2 and won the
UFC light heavyweight title and defended it five times. His feud with Liddell is
considered one of the greatest MMA feuds of all-time, right up there with Gracie
vs. Shamrock.
Best Mma Fighters In History
Tito fought during an era where the sport was still growing. Ortiz definitely
helped to bring more fans to the sport and became a star. Tito also had a few
retirements along the way but came back to the sport he loved and was very
successful at.
Ortiz tried his hand at acting and pro wrestling, but nothing really took off
for him in either industry. Outside of his legendary fight career, Tito is also
famous for his relationship with the super popular adult film star Jenna
Jameson.
Most Famous Female Ufc Fighters
Chael Sonnen
World Famous Ufc Fighters
Sonnen has certainly tasted defeat in his career, but it’s his showmanship
that helped Chael stand apart. Furthermore, it’s his trash talking that has
become an art form where other fighters have tried to emulate him. In fact,
Sonnen might be the only MMA star that can out-trash talk Conor McGregor.
Chael might also be the only fighter on this list that’s more famous for his
talking and entertaining than his actual fighting. Chael doesn’t really have any
major titles on his resume, but he always seems to land big fights in every
promotion that he’s a part of.
Sonnen has worked with ESPN for several years as an MMA analyst.
He’s never short on words or insults. If you are questioning why he’s on this
list of famous MMA fighters, go check out some video clips of his greatest
promos.
Honorable Mentions
There are certainly dozens of fighters we could add to the famous MMA
fighters list above, but then we might as well just write a book on this topic.
Other fighters that could be included on this list and any other legit MMA list
are Jose Aldo, Takanori Gomi, Rich Franklin, Matt Hughes, Wanderlei Silva,
Mauricio Rua, Demetrious Johnson, The Diaz brothers, Daniel Cormier, Urijah
Faber, Bas Rutten and many more.