April 20, 2018
By Ryan Porzl
The UFC has been around since 1993 where it's been consistently the number one North American MMA promotion and since 2007, the number one in the world. Since UFC became the top promotion, many fans and the media have constantly said for someone to be "for real" or mean something, they had to be in the UFC. However, that isn't and never should be the case. Many fighters have had great careers with a lot of them becoming legends without ever stepping foot inside the octagon. Here now are MMA stars and/or legends who never fought in the UFC. For the record, I won't include Fedor Emelianenko because everybody already knows he hasn't and he's usually the first person people think of.
Igor Vovchanchyn
MMA Record: 55-10, 1 No Contest
Accomplishments: WVC 5 Tournament Winner, WVC 6 Superfight Champion, WVC 7 Superfight Champion, 2000 PRIDE Openweight Grand Prix Runner Up, 1996 Ukrainian No Rules Championship Winner, 1995 Honour of the Warrior Runner Up, 1996 Mr. Strongman SEKAI Tournament Winner, 1996 International Fighting Championship 1 Winner, 1996 Ukrainian Octagon Champion, 1996 Ukrainian Octagon 2 Champion, 1997 1st Absolute Fighting World Cup Pankration Champion, 1997 Absolute Fighting Championship 2 Superfight Champion, 1997 Absolute Fighting Russian Open Cup 3 Champion, InterPride 1999: Heavyweight Final Champion, IAFC Absolute Fighting Champion I Elimination Tournament Runner Up
Notable Wins: Paul Varleans, Gary Goodridge 2x, Carlos "Cariao" Barreto, Kazushi Sakuraba, Enson Inoue, Mark Kerr, Gilbert Yvel, Valentijn Overeem, Dan Bobish, Kazuo Takahashi, & Yuki Kondo
Perhaps the best way to describe Igor Vovchanchyn was somewhat a combination of Fedor Emelianenko & Mirko Cro Cop. Like Emelianenko and Cro Cop after him, Vovchanchyn was a dominant Eastern European fighter going unbeaten for years all the while scoring highlight reel finishes and fighting both heavyweight & super heavyweights who had height and reach advantages along with being 100 to 200 pounds heavier. From his debut in October 1995 to November 1997, Vovchanchyn fought 30 fights and competed in many tournaments. During this time, he mostly competed in the International Absolute Fighting Council winning their 1st Absolute Fighting World Cup Pankration Tournament and became the Absolute Fighting Championship 2 Superfight Champion, the Absolute Fighting Russian Open Cup 3 Champion all in 1997, and the runner up in the Absolute Fighting Championship I Elimination tournament in 1995. He also won the Mr. Strongman SEKAI Tournament in 1996, the first two Ukrainian Octagon Tournaments for Donetsk No Rules Fighting, the International Fighting Championship 1 Tournament in International Fighting Championship, and the Ukrainian No Rules Championship Tournament in 1996 & was runner up in the Honour of the Warriors tournament in 1995. While it is true Vovchanchyn fought tomato cans during this time with his only notable win being over UFC 7 Tournament Runner Up Paul Varleans, Ice Cold more then made up for it with one of the busiest and most ridiculous schedules in MMA history that even Donald Cerrone wouldn't touch. In his busiest year (1996), Ice Cold fought fourteen times including nine fights in March 1996 and didn't fight less than five fights a year until 2002. From 1998-1999, Vovchanchyn competed in the Brazilian based World Vale Tudo Championship winning the WVC 5 Tournament and becoming the WVC 6 & 7 Super Fight Champion. From 1998-2005, he then competed in PRIDE Fighting Championships making it to the finals of the 2000 PRIDE Openweight Grand Prix while holding wins over Gary Goodridge, former IVC Champion Carlos "Cariao" Barreto, and a no contest to former two time UFC Tournament Winner Mark Kerr. Vovchanchyn entered the 2000 Openweight Grand Prix as a favorite and defeated Goodridge & Kazushi Sakuraba before losing to Mark Coleman in the finals which snapped his 38 fight unbeaten streak which was the second longest in MMA history (behind Travis Fulton). From 2000-2001, Vovchanchyn continued to score good wins over Kerr, former RINGS Openweight Champion & WVC Superfight Champion Gilbert Yvel, former Shooto Heavyweight Champion Enson Inoue, & 2000 RINGS King of the Kings Tournament Runner Up Valentijn Overeem but did suffer some big upset losses to Tra Telligman & Mario Sperry. By 2002, he largely began to decline and largely lost to the next generation of stars like Heath Herring, Rampage Jackson, & Mirko Cro Cop with the latter being considered a passing of the torch. He eventually bounced back with some wins including one over former KOTC Super Heavyweight Champion & UFC 14 Heavyweight Tournament Runner Up Dan Bobish. Vovchanchyn finished his career dropping down to Middleweight (205 pounds) where he defeated first ever Pancrase Heavyweight Champion Kazuo "Yoshiki" Takahashi before entering the 2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix where he defeated Mult-divisional Pancrase Champion and former UFC Light Heavyweight Championship contender Yuki Kondo but lost to Alistair Overeem in the quarterfinals and then retired after losing a reserve match to Kazuhiro Nakamura at PRIDE Final Conflict. Vovchanchyn has been considered one of the greatest fighters to have never competed in UFC as well as of all time and of the 1990s. His 55 MMA wins and 38 fight unbeaten streak (37 wins & 1 no contest) are some of the biggest in MMA history. He competed in the second most fights in PRIDE history at 27, has the second most wins in PRIDE history at 18 tying with Mirko Cro Cop & Kazushi Sakuraba (behind Wanderlei Silva's 22), and third most TKO/KO wins in PRIDE history at 10 (behind Cro Cop's 14 & Silva's 15). Vovchanchyn has also won over nine tournaments and two superfights, fightmatrix.com considered him a top ten heavyweight from April 1996 to January 2001, and he received votes in 2011 & 2017 on Sherdog's "All Time Great Heavyweight" list.
Kiyoshi Tamura
MMA Record: 32-13-3
Accomplishments: 2x RINGS Openweight Champion, 1997 RINGS Mega Battle Tournament Winner, 1996 RINGS Mega Battle Tournament Runner Up, 1999 RINGS Mega Battle Tournament Semifinalist
Notable Wins: Patrick Smith, Maurice Smith, Mikhail Ilyukhin 2x, Tsuyoshi Kohsaka, Valentijn Overeem, Dave Menne, Renzo Gracie, Jeremy Horn, Pat Miletich, Ikuhisa Minowa 2x, Hideo Tokoro, Masakatsu Funaki, & Kazushi Sakuraba
Like a lot of Legendary Japanese fighters, Tamura started out as a wrestler competing for Fighting Network RINGS when it was still a shoot style wrestling promotion and transition to MMA as the promotion was along with specializing in the art of catch wrestling. Tamura debuted at K-1 Hercules on December 9, 1995 defeating UFC 2 Tournament Runner Up Patrick Smith before fighting in RINGS where he competed from 1996-2001. During his time in RINGS, Tamura accumulated quite the hitlist defeating future UFC Heavyweight Champion Maurice Smith, IAFC Absolute Fighting Eurasian Championship Tournament Winner Mikhail Ilyukhin, Future UFC Heavyweight Championship contender & Pancrase Super Heavyweight Champion Tsuyoshi Kohsaka, two time RINGS tournament winner Volk Han, 2000 RINGS King of Kings Tournament runner up Valentijn Overeem, Future KOTC Light Heavyweight Champion & two time UFC Light Heavyweight Championship contender Jeremy Horn, Renzo Gracie, then UFC Welterweight Champion Pat Miletich, and future UFC Middleweight Champion Dave Menne. Tamura also went to a draw with Frank Shamrock in 1999 which was at a time when Shamrock was the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and considered one of the best fighters in the world. Tamura was also a former two time RINGS Openweight Champion & the only two time winner while also being the inaugural champion and won the 1997 RINGS Mega Battle Tournament. Tamura then competed in PRIDE Fighting Championships from 2003-2006 where he scored two wins over Ikuhisa Minowa while becoming a PRIDE World Middleweight Championship contender challenging Wanderlei Silva but would otherwise have a lackluster run. Besides the two wins over Minowa, none of Tamura's PRIDE wins were over anyone notable while he lost every big fight he had including failing to win the Middleweight Championship from Silva, getting squashed by Bob Sapp, losing to Hidehiko Yoshida in the first round of the 2003 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix, and lost to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Tamura eventually finished out his career in K-1 HERO'S & DREAM from 2007-2008 losing to Taiei Kin but won his last three fights defeating DREAM Grand Prix winner Hideo Tokoro and then won two big dream fights against fellow Japanese MMA Pioneers Masakatsu Funaki & Kazushi Sakuraba with the latter being years in the making.
Ricardo Arona
MMA Record: 14-5
Accomplishments: RINGS Middleweight Champion, 2001 RINGS Middleweight Tournament Winner, 2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Runner Up
Notable Wins: Jeremy Horn 2x, Guy Mezger, Murilo Rua, Dan Henderson, Kazushi Sakuraba, Wanderlei Silva, & Alistair Overeem
The Brazilian Tiger was one of the top fighters in Japan during the early to late 00s. A member of Brazilian Top Team when it was one of the premiere fight gyms, Arona specialized in grappling having won medals in the Abu Dhabi Combat Club submission wrestling championships as well as in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournaments. Arona debuted in RINGS and competed there from 2000-2001 becoming the first and only RINGS Middleweight Champion along with winning a tournament to become the champion while scoring two wins over Jeremy Horn with his only loss being against Fedor Emelianenko. From 2001-2007, Arona competed in PRIDE immediately scoring wins over UFC 13 Lightweight Tournament Winner & former King of Pancrase Guy Mezger, Dan Henderson, & future EliteXC Middleweight Champion Murilo "Ninja" Rua before falling to Rampage Jackson with one of the most famous finishes in MMA history as Jackson countered Arona's triangle choke with a powerbomb to knock him out. Arona then peaked in 2005 where he was the runner up in the 2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix scoring wins over Dean Lister & Kazushi Sakuraba before scoring a massive upset over Middleweight Champion and 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix Winner Wanderlei Silva which was Silva's first loss at 205 in five years though he eventually fell to Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in the finals. Arona then challenged Silva for the PRIDE World Middleweight Championship at Shockwave 2005 but lost a close split decision. Arona finished up in PRIDE with a win over Alistair Overeem at PRIDE Final Conflict Absolute in September 2006 and a loss to Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou at PRIDE's final event PRIDE 34 in April 2007. After PRIDE closed, Arona disappeared from MMA not signing with the UFC or anywhere else and outside of a win over former KOTC champ Marvin Eastman at Bitetti Combat MMA 4 on September 12, 2009, Arona has not competed in MMA since as of 2018. To this day, Arona still pops up from time to time claiming he will return one day but it hasn't happened yet with Arona having failed negotiations with the UFC and turning down a Bellator contract due to his desire to recover from injuries.
Sergei Kharitonov
MMA Record: 26-6
Accomplishments: Brilliant 2 - Yalta's Brilliant 2000 Tournament Winner, Tournament of Real Men 8 Winner, 2004 PRIDE Heavyweight Grand Prix Semifinalist, 2011 Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Semifinalist
Notable Wins: Murilo Rua, Semmy Schilt, Pedro Rizzo, Fabricio Werdum, Alistair Overeem, Tatsuya Mizuno, Andrei Arlovski, Kenny Garner 2x, & Rameau Theirry Sokoudjou
Fedor wasn't the only Russian fighter not to go to the UFC. The Paratrooper began his career on August 11, 2000 where he competed in the Brilliant 2: Yalta's Brilliant 2000 tournament which he won. After a three year absence, Kharitonov returned to fighting by winning the Tournament of Real Men 8 on February 20, 2003. From 2003-2007, Kharitonov competed in PRIDE Fighting Championships where he enjoyed solid success. After winning his first two fights, Kharitonov entered the 2004 Heavyweight Grand Prix scoring good wins over Murilo "Ninja" Rua (with Kharitonov's knockout being famous for being very brutal and possibly giving Rua brain damage) & Semmy Schilt before losing in the semifinals to Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera. Kharitonov would finish his PRIDE run with a 5-2 record scoring wins over former WVC Superfight Champion and three time UFC Heavyweight Championship contender Pedro Rizzo, future UFC Heavyweight Champion Fabricio Werdum, & future UFC fighter Mike Russow while losing to Alistair Overeem and Alexander Emelianenko. After PRIDE, Kharitonov defeated Overeem at K-1 HERO'S in September 2007 which would be the last time Overeem lost an MMA fight until his upset against Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva at UFC 156 in February 2013. Kharitonov then briefly competed in DREAM going 2-1 with a win over 2010 DREAM Light Heavyweight Grand Prix Runner Up and future DEEP Middleweight Champion Tatsuya Mizuno while his loss was to former UFC Heavyweight Championship contender Jeff Monson. After a few years away, Kharitonov then competed in Strikeforce in 2011 where he participated in their heavyweight grand prix where he again made it to the semifinals scoring a highlight reel knockout over Andrei Arlovski before losing to Josh Barnett. Kharitonov then competed sporatically in MMA over the next few years in his native Russia mostly for M-1 Global where he scored two wins over former M-1 Global Heavyweight Champion Kenny Garner. In 2016, Kharitonov joined Bellator going 1-1 where he suffered a sixteen second knockout loss to Javy Ayala in a massive upset but then defeated former Titan FC Heavyweight Champion and former UFC fighter Chase Gormley. He's since returned to M-1 defeating Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou and Geronimo Dos Santos.
Gina Carano
MMA Record: 7-1
Accomplishments: None
Notable Wins: Rosi Sexton, Julie Kedzie, Tonya Evinger, & Kaitlin Young
Though her career was short and we likely never saw her at her best, nobody can deny that Gina Carano made her mark. Carano first began in the indy circuit where she went 2-0 and scored a win over then Cage Warriors Women's Bantamweight Champion Rosi Sexton. She then competed once in Strikeforce before heading to EliteXC where her popularity grew and she became one the faces of the promotion. During this time, she then scored wins over 2005 HOOKnSHOOT Women's Grand Prix Winner Julie Kedzie, future Invicta FC Women's Bantamweight Champion & future UFC Women's Featherweight Title contender Tonya Evinger, and 2007 HOOKnSHOOT Women's Grand Prix Winner Kaitlin Young. After EliteXC went under, Carano competed in Strikeforce where she competed for the Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Championship but lost to Cris Cyborg which would be her first loss. Since then, Carano left MMA and took advantage of her newfound popularity by embarking on a Hollywood career. Like Arona, there have been rumors and negotiations for her to return with Strikeforce announcing her return in 2011 but nothing came of it and she hasn't fought since. While Carano didn't last long in MMA, she still was a big part in the growth of Women's MMA and while some like Ronda Rousey were big enough to finally get Women's MMA in the UFC, Carano planted the seed years before as her popularity got people buzzing on whether UFC would ever began having Women's MMA fights. Carano became a pioneer in Women's MMA despite not only never having competed in UFC but at a time when Dana White vowed women would never compete in the octagon and she helped get the ball rolling for women in American MMA.
Masakatsu Funaki
MMA Record: 39-13-9
Accomplishments: 2x King of Pancrase, 1996 King of Pancrase Tournament Winner, 1994 King of Pancrase Tournament Semifinalist
Notable Wins: Kazuo Takahashi, Bas Rutten, Vernon White 3x, Ken Shamrock, Minoru Suzuki, Frank Shamrock, Guy Mezger 2x, Yuki Kondo 2x, and Semmy Schilt
Funaki started out as a professional wrestler who then transitioned to shoot style wrestling before going into MMA. Funaki, along with wrestler Minoru Suzuki, founded Pancrase in 1993. Like most Japanese wrestlers who go into MMA, Funaki specialized in catch wrestling. Despite originally stumbling in the beginning by losing to Ken Shamrock in the main event of their debut show Pancrase - Yes, We Are Hybrid Wrestlers 1 in September 1993, he quickly bounced back and by 1996, was considered one of the best fighters in the world. Funaki fought in Pancrase for most of his career from September 1993 to September 1999 where he became a two time King of Pancrase & the first fighter to win the championship twice while scoring wins over Ken Shamrock, Frank Shamrock, Minoru Suzuki, Kazuo "Yoshiki" Takahashi, Semmy Schilt, Guy Mezger, Yuki Kondo, future KOTC Light Heavyweight Champion Vernon White, & Bas Rutten. As would be the case with Pancrase fighters from that era, Funaki had a ridiculous schedule competing in 49 fights in six years with 1994 being his busiest as he fought eleven times. After losing to Rickson Gracie in a fight with special rules (no knees or elbows allowed) at Colosseum 2000 in March 2000, Funaki largely retired for a few years. He eventually had a short return from 2007-2008 for K-1 HERO'S & later DREAM where he lost a dream fight to Kazushi Sakuraba at K-1 Premium 2007 Dynamite!! on New Year's Eve then lost another dream fight to Kiyoshi Tamura in DREAM's Middleweight Grand Prix at DREAM 2 in April 2008 and then defeated Minowaman at DREAM 6 that September before retiring and returning to pro wrestling. Funaki fought one more time when he took on RINGS legend Volk Han on December 16, 2012 in Han's retirement fight at RINGS/The Outsider: Volk Han Retirement Match which went to a majority draw. As mentioned, Funaki was one of, if not, the most successful fighter in Pancrase history racking up a 38-10-1 record while becoming the first two time King of Pancrase Champion. He's also the only fighter to have defeated both Shamrock brothers as well as Rutten. Sherdog.com ranked him the #1 fighter in the world in 1996 & 1997 while considering him a top 4 pound-for-pound fighter from 1993 through 1998 and he's been praised by legends such as Josh Barnett, Frank Shamrock, & Guy Mezger. Funaki was also a successful promoter as a co-founder of Pancrase which has not only been one of MMA's greatest promotions but also one of their first with only few promotions like Shooto coming before it. Pancrase even predates the UFC by two months.
Bibiano Fernandes
MMA Record: 22-3
Accomplishments: DREAM Featherweight Champion, DREAM Bantamweight Champion, 2009 DREAM Featherweight Grand Prix Winner, 2011 DREAM Bantamweight Grand Prix Winner, ONE Bantamweight Champion, ONE Interim Bantamweight Champion
Notable Wins: Takafumi Otsuka 2x, Masakazu Imanari, Joe Warren, Hiroyuki Takaya, Joachim Hansen, Antonio Banuelos, Yoshiro Maeda, Koetsu Okazaki, Soo Chul Kim, Masakatsu Ueda, Kevin Belingon, & Martin Nguyen
Not only is Fernandes one of the best fighters to never compete in UFC but he could be considered the greatest bantamweight in MMA History. Fernandes originally fought on and off from 2004-2008 during which time he racked up a 3-2 record and while he didn't beat a really big name, his two losses were to top competition in MMA Legends Urijah Faber & Kid Yamamoto with the Faber fight seeing Fernandes challenging for the KOTC Bantamweight Championship and even coming close at one point upsetting The California Kid. From 2009-2012, Fernandes competed in DREAM where his career exploded. He quickly achieved huge success winning DREAM's 2009 Featherweight Grand Prix and became the inaugural DREAM Featherweight Champion scoring wins over former DEEP Bantamweight Champion Takafumi Otsuka, two divisional DEEP champion Masakazu Imanari, future two divisional Bellator champion and tournament winner Joe Warren, and 2003 Shoot Lightweight Rookie Tournament Winner Hiroyuki Takaya. Fernandes then successfully defended the title against former DREAM Lightweight Champion Joachim Hansen before losing it to Takaya in a rematch. Fernandes then dropped to Bantamweight where his success continued as he entered the 2011 DREAM Bantamweight Grand Prix and eventually won it while becoming the first and only DREAM Bantamweight Champion. During this time, Fernandes defeated Otsuka in a rematch, former WEC North American Bantamweight Champion Antonio Banuelos, and former Deep Bantamweight & former King of Pancrase Featherweight Champion Yoshiro Maeda. After DREAM closed, Fernandes has competed in ONE Championship where he won the ONE Interim Bantamweight Championship by defeating former Shooto Featherweight Champion (132 pounds) Koetsu Okazaki and then won the ONE Bantamweight Championship from inaugural champion and future ROAD FC Bantamweight Champion Soo Chul Kim. Since then, Fernandes has successfully defended against former Shooto Featherweight Champion and 2013 ONE Championship Bantamweight Grand Prix Winner Masakatsu Ueda, former URCC Flyweight Champion and 2013 ONE Championship Bantamweight Grand Prix Semifinalist Kevin Belingon, and more recently, against current ONE Featherweight & Lightweight Champion Martin Nguyen. Along with his titles and wins, Fernandes has also made history and holds records as he was both the inaugural DREAM Bantamweight Champion & DREAM Featherweight Champion while also being only one of two (the other is Gegard Mousasi) to have won a DREAM Championship & a DREAM Grand Prix in two weight classes. He currently also holds the record for most successful title defenses both in Bantamweight & overall in ONE's History with seven.
JZ Cavalcante
MMA Record: 21-12-1, 1 No Contest
Accomplishments: Shooto Americas Welterweight Champion, 2006 K-1 HERO'S Middleweight Grand Prix Winner, 2007 K-1 HERO'S Middleweight Grand Prix Winner, Titan FC Lightweight Champion
Notable Wins: Michihiro Omigawa, Hidetaka Monma, Hiroyuki Takaya, Rani Yahya, Caol Uno, Nam Phan, Vitor Ribeiro, Katsunori Kikuno, Bobby Green, Tyson Griffin, & Pat Healy
Cavalcante is a mixed bag as he achieved good success and build a good MMA career but his biggest issue was his prime didn't last very long thanks largely to injuries. In spite of that, Cavalcante still won his share of titles and grand prixes while defeating many good to great fighters. Despite being Brazilian, Cavalcante began as a journeyman fighting in promotions like HOOKnSHOOT, Shooto, Cage Warriors, and Cage Rage from 2001-2005 during which time he became the first and only Shooto Americas Welterweight Champion in 2005 while defeating future UFC fighter & future 2009 Sengoku Featherweight Grand Prix Runner Up Michihiro Omigawa in 49 seconds. Cavalcante peaked from 2006-2007 competing in Japan's K-1 HERO'S where he won the 2006 & 2007 HERO's Middleweight Grand Prix (165.3 lbs.) becoming the only two time Grand Prix Champion and scored wins against 2002 Pancrase Neo Blood Tournament Winner Hidetaka Monma, future DREAM Featherweight Champion Hiroyuki Takaya, future UFC fighter & WEC Bantamweight Championship contender Rani Yahya, former Shooto Lightweight Champion and UFC Lightweight Championship contender Caol Uno, future King of Pancrase Featherweight Champion & former Strikeforce Lightweight Championship contender Nam Phan, and a win over former Cage Rage Lightweight Champion & former Shooto Lightweight Champion Vitor Ribeiro. Along with his wins, Cavalcante also won in devastating fashion defeating Phan in 26 seconds, Ribeiro in 35 seconds, Takaya in 35 seconds, & Yahya in 39 seconds. Sadly, by the end of 2007, Cavalcante began suffering injuries which began to derail his career as he suffered a knee ligament injury with more to come over the years. Since 2008, Cavalcante has become a journeyman competing in promotions like DREAM, Strikeforce, WSOF, & Titan FC with lackluster results but to be fair, he scored some good wins while a lot of his losses are to top competitions for the most part with his losses include Shinya Aoki, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Justin Gaethje, future WSOF Lightweight Title contender Luis Palomino, Josh Thomson, and an aging Melvin Guillard while the Thomson loss has been considered controversial. Meanwhile, Cavalcante has scored wins over then DEEP Lightweight Champion Katsunori Kikuno, current UFC fighter & former two divisional KOTC champion Bobby Green, former UFC fighter Tyson Griffin, and former Titan FC Lightweight Champion Pat Healy. Cavalcante also became a champion again winning the Titan FC Lightweight Championship in 2016. Since then, Cavalcante has dropped the title and has entered another slump. While Cavalcante's prime didn't last long, he made up for it with good wins and winning many honors.
Shinya Aoki
MMA Record: 39-8, 1 No Contest
Accomplishments: Shooto Welterweight Champion, DREAM Lightweight Champion, ONE Lightweight Champion, WAMMA Lightweight Champion, DEEP clubDEEP West Chofu Tournament Winner, 2008 DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix Runner Up
Notable Wins: Akira Kikuchi 2x, Joachim Hansen 2x, JZ Cavalcante, Caol Uno, Eddie Alvarez, Vitor Ribeiro, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Marcus Aurelio, Rob McCullough, Satoru Kitaoka, Antonio McKee, Kotetsu Boku, Koji Ando, & Kazushi Sakuraba
Despite never having competed in the UFC, it should be impossible to think of the greatest lightweights in MMA history without considering Shinya Aoki. Though he is largely one dimensional with striking that leaves a lot to be desired but world class grappling, Aoki has an impressive trophy case and hitlist that could make just about any lightweight jealous. Aoki first started in Deep in 2003 and went 3-1 winning the DEEP clubDEEP West Chofu Tournament and scored a win over future DEEP Welterweight Champion Seichi Ikemoto. His career then took off when he competed in Shooto from 2005-2007 where he captured the Shooto Welterweight Championship (154 pounds) and scored two wins over former Shooto Champion Akira Kikuchi (the first was to win the title and the second was a successful title defense). Aoki would also competed in PRIDE during their last year where defeated former Shooto Champ Joachim Hansen. Aoki peaked during his four year run in DREAM from 2008-2012 where he became one of, if not, the face of the promotion and by 2010 was considered a top 5 lightweight. While in DREAM, he became the second and final DREAM Lightweight Champion (a title he never lost), became the one & only WAMMA (World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts) Lightweight Champion, and the 2008 DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix runner up. Aoki would also score wins over JZ Cavalcante, former Shooto Lightweight Champion & UFC Lightweight title contender Caol Uno, future Bellator and UFC Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez, Vitor Ribeiro, then Sengoku Lightweight Champion & future Road to UFC Japan Featherweight Tournament Co-Winner Mizuto Hirota, former Shooto Lightweight Champion Tatsuya Kawajiri, then Sengoku Lightweight Champion Satoru Kitaoka, former PRIDE Lightweight title contender Marcus Aurelio, former WEC Lightweight Champion Rob McCullough, and former MFC Lightweight Champion Antonio McKee. Since 2012, Aoki has largely competed in ONE Championship and while it wasn't as big as his Shooto and DREAM, he has enjoyed success by winning the ONE Lightweight Championship while scoring wins over inaugural ONE Lightweight Champion & former Shooto Welterweight Pacific Rim Champion Kotetsu Boku and retained against former LEGEND FC Lightweight Champion Koji Ando. Since then, Aoki moved up to welterweight to defeat a washed up Kazushi Sakuraba, lost the ONE Lightweight Championship to longtime ONE fighter Eduard Folayang, and moved up again to welterweight to challenge Ben Asken for the ONE Welterweight Champion in Askren's retirment fight but lost. Along with all of this, Aoki has earned many honors as fightmatrix.com considered him the Lineal MMA Lightweight Champion, was considered 2000s Grappler of the Decade by Bleacherreport.com, won Inside MMA's 2008 Bazzie Award for Submission of the Year (vs. Katsuhiko Nagata from June 15, 2008), Sherdog.com's 2006 Submission of the Year (vs. Joachim Hansen on December 31, 2006), and part of their 2011 All Violence Third Team.
Megumi Fujii
MMA Record: 26-3
Accomplishments: Smackgirl 2008 World ReMix Grand Prix Finalist, Bellator Season 3 Women's Strawweight Tournament Runner Up
Notable Wins: Mika Nagano 2x, Lisa Ellis 2x, Seo Hee Ham, Saori Ishioka, Carla Esparza, Emi Fujino, & Mei Yamaguchi
Fujii is not only an all time great in MMA never to have competed in UFC, she is one of the first pioneer's in Women's MMA long before Ronda Rousey, Gina Carano, Miesha Tate, or Chris Cyborg began fighting. Fujii was another Japanese grappler specializing in Sambo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu where she won or did very well in competitions along with competing in the ADCC while also being trained by Josh Barnett in MMA. Fujii made appearances in HOOKnSHOOT and Shooto while making her home in Smackgirl. During this time, she scored wins over DEEP Jewels 2009 Rough Stone Grand Prix Winner Mika Nagano, future DEEP Women's Lightweight Championship contender Lisa Ellis, Future DEEP Jewels Atomweight Champion & ROAD FC Women's Atomweight Champion Seo Hee Ham. Fujii would also compete in Smackgirl's 2008 World ReMix Grand Prix and made it to the finals but the promotion shut down before the finals happened. Fujii then competed in Shooto & Jewel's winning four fights including over future DEEP Jewels Atomweight Title contender Saori Ishioka. Fujii then went to Bellator in 2010 and entered the Season 3 Strawweight Tournament to crown a first ever Bellator Strawweight Champion. She would defeat future Invicta Strawweight Champion & inaugural UFC Women's Strawweight Champion Carla Esparza and Lisa Ellis in a rematch but suffered her first loss to Zoila Frausto Gurgel by a close and controversial split decision in the finals. Fujii bounced back in Japan winning three fights including a second over Nagano and one over future DEEP Jewels Strawweight Title contender Emi Fujino. Fujii finished her career going 1-2 losing to future WSOF Women's Strawweight Champion Jessica Aguilar in Bellator by another controversial decision, then bounced back with a win over future DEEP Jewel's Champion & ONE Women's Atomweight Contender Mei Yamaguchi, and then retired with a loss to Aguilar in yet another controversial decision losing via technical majority decision after Fujii was unable to continue due to an eye injury from two accidental eye pokes. While Fujii never won a tournament or title in her career and fought in the early years of WMMA so the competition wasn't stacked, she still had her moments as she has gotten good wins in her career and many believe the Bellator Tournament final loss was controversial while it can be argued she could've won the Smackgirl tournament had the finals happened. Fujii also went unbeaten in 22 fights and six years with few achieving this. Her 22 wins make her only the second fighter be it male or female to start a career with that many wins (not sure who was the first). Fujii also became well known and a top pound-for-pound fighter without ever fighting in UFC and at a time when no one even considered women would eventually fight in the octagon.
Joachim Hansen
MMA Record: 23-14-1
Accomplishments: Shooto Welterweight Champion, DREAM Lightweight Champion, 2008 DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix
Notable Wins: Takumi Nakayama, Rumina Sato, Takanori Gomi, JZ Cavalcante, Caol Uno, Masakazu Imanari, Yves Edwards, Kotetsu Boku, Shinya Aoki, Hideo Tokoro, Mitsuhiro Ishida
Hellboy was another who largely achieved his biggest success in the Land of the Rising Sun as well as his native Europe. After getting his start in Europe going 3-1-1, Hansen began fighting in Shooto quickly enjoying big success by defeating future King of Pancrase Featherweight Champion & future King Of The Cage Lightweight Champion Takumi Nakayama, future Shooto Pacific Rim Lightweight Champion Rumina Sato, and then defeated Takanori Gomi to win the Shooto Welterweight (154 pounds) Championship all the while handing The Fireball Kid his first loss. After losing the title to Vitor Ribiero, Hansen bounced around promotions scoring wins over JZ Cavalcante and Caol Uno. From 2005-2007, Hansen competed in PRIDE where he defeated Masakazu Imanari in his debut and then entered the 2005 PRIDE Lightweight Grand Prix defeating Yves Edward in the quarterfinals before losing to eventual runner up Hayato "Mach" Sakurai in the semifinals. From there, Hansen went in a slump failing to regain the Shooto Welterweight Title from Tatsuya Kawajiri and came up short against Shinya Aoki. In 2008, Hansen joined DREAM upon it's launch and experienced a comeback. He entered DREAM's Lightweight Grand Prix defeating Kotetsu Boku in the first round before losing to Eddie Alvarez. However, he won a reserve bout over Kultar Gill and got back in the tournament after Alvarez went down with an injury which gave him the opportunity to defeat Aoki in the finals to avenge the previous loss and become both the 2008 DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix Winner as well as the inaugural DREAM Lightweight Champion. While he later declined afterwards losing the title to Aoki, failing to win the Featherweight Title against Fernandes, and losing to Hiroyuki Takaya & Kawajiri, Hansen still had some decent wins defeating DREAM Grand Prix Champion Hideo Tokoro and former Shoot Pacific Rim Welterweight Champion Mitsuhiro Ishida. He's since become a journeyman competing in ROAD FC, Shooto, and Superior Challenge.
King Mo Lawal
MMA Record: 21-6, 1 No Contest
Accomplishments: Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion, 2013 Bellator Summer Series Light Heavyweight Tournament Winner, 2015 Rizin Heavyweight Tournament Winner, 2015 Bellator Dynamite Light Heavyweight Tournament Finalist, Bellator Season 10 Light Heavyweight Tournament Runner Up
Notable Wins: Travis Wiuff, Ryo Kawamura, Mark Kerr, Gegard Mousasi, Roger Gracie, Mikhail Zayats, Cheick Kongo, Linton Vassell, Satoshi Ishii, & Rampage Jackson
Mo began his career in Japan for Sengoku going 4-0 where he defeated long time journey man and future 2012 Bellator Summer Series Light Heavyweight Tournament Runner Up Travis Wiuff and former multi divisional champion Ryo Kawamura. After one fight in M-1 where he destroyed an aging Mark Kerr, Mo went to Strikeforce where his success continued as he defeated Gegard Mousasi in his second fight to win the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship and snapped Mousasi's fifteen fight win streak. After losing the title in his first defense against Rafael Cavalcante, Mo bounced back with a win over future ONE Light Heavyweight Champion Roger Gracie. After a suspension due to a positive drug test (which overturned his win over Lorenz Larkin) and battling a staph infection, Mo signed with Bellator and has competed there since 2013. While it can be said that Mo's time in Bellator is somewhat disappointing since he was a shoo-in to win the Bellator Light Heavyweight Championship but never did along with suffering the massive upset loss to Emanuel Newton in the semifinals of the Season 8 Tournament, he still has enjoyed solid success. Mo did win the 2013 Bellator Summer Series Light Heavyweight Tournament and many have argued that he should've won the Season 10 Light Heavyweight Tournament with his loss in the finals to Rampage Jackson being controversial. Along with this, he was a finalist of the Bellator Dynamite Light Heavyweight Tournament (he missed the finals due to injury) and was a semifinalist in the Season 8 Light Heavyweight Tournament. Along with this, Mo has grown his hitlist scoring wins over former M-1 Global Light Heavyweight Championship contender & Bellator Season 8 Light Heavyweight Tournament Runner Up Mikhail Zayats, moving up to heavyweight to beat Cheick Kongo (currently Mo is only one of two to beat Kongo in Bellator with the other being then Heavyweight Champion Vitaly Minakov), two time Bellator Light Heavyweight Championship contender Linton Vassell, Olympic Gold Medalist Satoshi Ishii, and moving up to heavyweight to avenge his loss to Jackson. Along with Bellator, Mo competed in Rizin and won their first tournament in the 2015 Rizin Heavyweight Grand Prix defeating future BAMMA World Heavyweight Champion Brett McDermott (McDermott replaced then World Heavyweight Champion Mark Godbeer), BUSHIDO Europe Light Heavyweight Champion Teodoras Aukstuolis, and Jiri Prochazka. He did return for Rizin's 2016 Openweight Tournament as a replacement to Wanderlei Silva but came up short against eventual winner Mirko Cro Cop. Along with all of this, Mo has also deserves credit for other things as he hasn't been afraid to move up in weight despite being a small heavyweight as he usually fights below 220 pounds and is scheduled to participate in Bellator's Heavyweight Grand Prix for the vacant Heavyweight Championship. He's also shown to have a busy schedule as he tries to fight more than three times a year and the only years he's fought once or twice was either due to his debut being late in 2008 or due to injuries. In 2009, he fought five times in 2009, 2013, & 2015, four times in 2014, and three in 2016. Meanwhile, his 2015 schedule saw him fight and win in the Rizin Heavyweight Grand Prix which meant he won three fights in 48 hours with two in one night which is impressive.
Vitor Ribeiro
MMA Record: 20-5
Accomplishments: Shooto World Welterweight Champion, Cage Rage World Lightweight Champion, 2007 HERO'S Middleweight Grand Prix Semifinalist
Notable Wins: Takumi Nakayama, Joe Hurley, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Ryan Bow, Joachim Hansen, Mitsuhiro Ishida, & Chris Brennan
Shaolin is another Brazilian who specialized in grappling and competed in many Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitions and ADCC competitions before embarking in MMA. Ribeiro started in promotions like World Fighting Alliance and HOOKnSHOOT where he scored wins over Takumi Nakayama and KOTC Tournament Winner Joe Hurley. He would then go to Shooto where his career grew as he scored wins over Tatsuya Kawajiri, Superbrawl Tournament Winner Ryan Bow, Joachim Hansen, and Mitsuhiro Ishida while becoming Shooto World Welterweight (154 pounds) Champion. After losing the title to Kawajiri, Ribiero worked in Rumble in the Rock scoring a win over former Superbrawl Tournament Winner Tetsuji Kato before competing in Cage Rage where he won the Cage Rage World Lightweight Championship and made two successful title defenses including one over future DEEP Lightweight Champion Daisuke Nakamura before the promotion shut down which meant Ribeiro never lost the title. He then fought in K-1 HERO'S where he competed in the 2007 Middleweight Grand Prix but lost in the semifinals to eventual winner JZ Cavalcante. Ribeiro eventually finished his career at 1-3 defeating Katsuhiko Nagata (brother of wrestling legend Yuji Nagata) before going on a three fight losing streak to Shinya Aoki, Lyle Beerbohm, and Justin Wilcox.
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