The Blog

IntroductionChris Weidman is the man who ended Anderson Silva's UFC Middleweight Championship reign. A 6'2" two-time NCAA Division I All-American wrestler out of Hofstra University on Long Island, Weidman knocked out Anderson Silva — the most-defended UFC middleweight champion in history — at UFC 162 on July 6, 2013, ending Silva's 2,457-day reign and ten consecutive title defences. The follow-up UFC 168 rematch in December 2013, which Weidman won by second-round leg break, removed any remaining

IntroductionRich Franklin is the most decorated math-teacher-to-UFC-champion arc in MMA history. A former high school mathematics teacher from Cincinnati, Ohio with a Master's degree in Education, Franklin retired from teaching at age 26 to pursue MMA full-time and became the UFC Middleweight Champion three years later. The June 2005 title win at UFC 53 over Evan Tanner produced one of the most cinematic 'second-career' champion arcs in modern UFC. The two losses to Anderson Silva at UFC 64 and

IntroductionChan Sung Jung — universally known as 'The Korean Zombie' — is the most beloved Korean fighter in UFC history and one of the most cinematically violent featherweights of the modern era. Born March 17, 1987 in Pohang, South Korea, Jung built a 13-year UFC career on a single principle: walk forward, take three punches, throw four back, and refuse to break. The nickname captured the entire ethos. Two title shots, three Fight-of-the-Year nominations, the first twister submission in UFC h

IntroductionCurtis Blaydes is the most decorated wrestling-base UFC heavyweight contender of the modern era to never hold the championship. A 6'4" Naperville, Illinois native who wrestled at Junior College National Championship level for Harper College and Division I level for Northern Illinois University, Blaydes built one of the most consistent UFC heavyweight title-contender careers of the 2017-2024 era. The path included two losses to Francis Ngannou and an interim-title loss to Tom Aspinall

IntroductionCarlos Condit is the most decorated never-undisputed-champion welterweight in modern UFC history. A 6'2" Albuquerque native who trained at Greg Jackson's Jackson-Wink MMA Academy for his entire 15-year professional career, Condit was the final WEC Welterweight Champion before the 2010 UFC-WEC merger and the UFC Interim Welterweight Champion in 2012 after his unanimous-decision win over Nick Diaz at UFC 143. The Natural Born Killer is also the most decorated 'finisher' in modern UFC w

IntroductionAlexander Gustafsson is the most decorated UFC Light-Heavyweight contender to never hold the championship. A 6'5" Swedish striker out of Arboga who trained at Allstars Training Center in Stockholm under Andreas Michael, Gustafsson is best known for one fight — UFC 165 on September 21, 2013, the five-round unanimous-decision loss to Jon Jones that produced 'the closest fight of Jon Jones's career' and shifted the standard for what it would take to challenge the most dominant champion

IntroductionRafael dos Anjos is the most decorated Brazilian to hold the UFC Lightweight Championship in the modern era. A 5'8" BJJ black belt out of Niterói, Rio de Janeiro who moved to Huntington Beach, California in the late 2000s to train at Kings MMA under Rafael Cordeiro, Dos Anjos built a 13-year UFC career across two weight classes that produced one lightweight title reign, four UFC main events at welterweight, and the longest UFC lightweight-to-welterweight contender bridge in modern hi

IntroductionDerrick Lewis is the most prolific knockout artist in UFC heavyweight history. A 6'3", 265 lb striker out of Houston, Texas, with the most knockouts in UFC heavyweight history (15) and tied for the most KO wins in UFC history overall (alongside Vitor Belfort and Anderson Silva), Lewis is the modern UFC's heavyweight cult-hero: the man who finished Travis Browne, Marcin Tybura, Alexander Volkov and Curtis Blaydes with single-punch counterattacks in the final minute of fights he was lo

IntroductionRashad Evans is the most cinematic Ultimate Fighter winner-turned-UFC champion in the show's history. A 5'11" wrestler out of Niagara Falls, New York with a Junior College National Championship and three-year Big Ten Conference run at Michigan State on his amateur resume, Evans entered TUF 2 in 2005 as the smallest man in the heavyweight tournament — and walked out of the live finale with a UFC contract. Three and a half years later, on December 27, 2008, he knocked out reigning UFC

MMA has evolved significantly, driven by influential fighters like Royce Gracie, Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, and Conor McGregor.

IntroductionFabricio Werdum is the most decorated jiu-jitsu black belt to win the UFC Heavyweight Championship. A 3-time BJJ World Champion, 2-time ADCC Heavyweight Champion, and ADCC Hall of Fame member out of Porto Alegre, Brazil, Werdum is best known for two single moments in modern heavyweight history: the June 2010 triangle-choke submission of Fedor Emelianenko at Strikeforce that ended Fedor's 28-fight unbeaten streak, and the June 2015 third-round submission of Cain Velasquez at UFC 188 i

IntroductionGlover Teixeira is the oldest first-time UFC champion in history. A Brazilian-American jiu-jitsu black belt out of Sobrália, Minas Gerais, who emigrated to Connecticut at age 19 to work landscaping jobs and support his family back home, Teixeira built one of the longest, most patient title runs in modern UFC light-heavyweight history. The path was eighteen professional fights and 22 UFC appearances before the championship — a 2014 title-shot loss to Jon Jones at UFC 172 along the way