Best non champions

yourdeadwright

So who are the best fighters in the UFC history never to be champions in the UFC ?


My picks

Nick Diaz
Dan Henderson
Yoel Romero

MrStuffins

Great topic.

Because you include Hendo, I assume you're talking non-UFC Champs?

First name that comes to mind:

Urijah Faber - Was the WEC Champ when that was the "legit" belt, but never got over the line in the UFC despite challenging 3-4 times.

Alex Gustafsson - Has anyone ever come as close.... twice?

Overeem - Just never happened for him

yourdeadwright

MrStuffins wrote: »

Great topic.

Because you include Hendo, I assume you're talking non-UFC Champs?

First name that comes to mind:

Urijah Faber - Was the WEC Champ when that was the "legit" belt, but never got over the line in the UFC despite challenging 3-4 times.

Alex Gustafsson - Has anyone ever come as close.... twice?

Overeem - Just never happened for him

yes non UFC

Once there was no Uberreem he had no chance

xtal191

Rory Mcdonald

Damian Maia

Moussasi

Benavidez

MrStuffins

xtal191 wrote: »

Rory Mcdonald

Damian Maia

Moussasi

Benavidez

McDonald definitely. I'd say that there were times when he was the best WW in the World, he just never got his hands on the belt.

I haven't watched it in a while but I remember thinking he was 3-1 up against Robbie Lawlor in their epic. So close!

Joey B is another Faber. A real nearly man.

yourdeadwright

xtal191 wrote: »

Rory Mcdonald

Damian Maia

Moussasi

Benavidez

Benavidez is a very good call ,

mdwexford

Wonderboy deserves a mention.

Love to see him get one more shot.

dashoonage

ah lads Tony " how long must i wait" Ferguson


* interim doesn't count

ShaneU

Some of my favourite Fighters to watch were never ufc champion

Mark Hunt
Wanderlei Silva
Cro Cop
Hendo
Cowboy
Wonderboy

Eoinbmw

Poirer
Reem
Ferguson
Lobov :P

Mjolnir

I've never agreed with so many people on boards at once.
A fair few of the guys mentioned are cases of had one guy not been there.

Gus was so close, you had to feel for him.
Ubereem was never making it without the uber,
Hendo
Yoel,
Nick
Urijah,
Cro cop

Sonnnen, he damn near beat Silva until he choked in the last round

MrStuffins

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Sonnnen, he damn near beat Silva until he choked in the last round

Madness!

Also an honorable mention to the fact that he beat Paulo Filho, who was unbeaten at the time and in many places considered the #2 MW in the world behind Silva (although, to be fair was in the throes of a substance abuse problem at the time), in a fight which should have been for the WEC belt but wasn't because Filho missed weight.

One of the sport's great nearly men!

Mjolnir

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Sonnnen, he damn near beat Silva until he choked in the last round

Excuse you sir uncle Chael has never lost, not even a round. I've always loved sonnen, one of those guys that just couldn't get his hands on gold.

Can't believe I forgot about fedor.

ASOT

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Sonnnen, he damn near beat Silva until he choked in the last round

He only tapped because he thought that meant he lost the round and would have won the fight 4-1.

Mr. CooL ICE

Gonna throw TJ Grant into the mix. The guy looked like a beast when he dropped to LW and had some serious momentum before injury put him out of contention and he eventually retired.

He was more of a "what if" than a non-champion though

yourdeadwright

Mr. CooL ICE wrote: »

Gonna throw TJ Grant into the mix. The guy looked like a beast when he dropped to LW and had some serious momentum before injury put him out of contention and he eventually retired.

He was more of a "what if" than a non-champion though

Great shout

I just check ant his last fight was 8 years ago, How in the world was that 8 years , time flys

Ush1

Carlos Condit.

chopperbyrne

"The Immortal" Matt Brown

In terms of Win/Loss record, he's nowhere near contention, but if he was ever on a card, I made sure to watch.

Carlos Condit (if only style won fights), Nick (if only attitude did) and Yoel (if only 10 years younger :pac: ) for me.

Mjolnir

Cali_girl wrote: »

Carlos Condit (if only style won fights), Nick (if only attitude did) and Yoel (if only 10 years younger :pac: ) for me.

When you have a name like natural born killer you know you're a bad ass.

Nick is a beast, to be fair when Silva, gsp, condit and the muscle shark are your most notable losses, you're hard-core. Am I the only one that loved watching nick and just not a nate fan.

Yoels refusal to use his wrestling is so frustrating, he really has the Cuban wrestling mentality too. Love him but his own worst enemy.

derfderf

Rumble Johnson. Look what Glover's doing in the LHW division today, and look at how highly regarded Gus is, and then remember what he did to both of them.
Anyone with doubts about DC should remember he handled him twice when Rumble was wrecking the rest of the division.

mailburner

rory...looked only a matter of time at one point

wonderboy could anyone have come closer without doing it

Gus That hurt

Romero same as wonderboy

Carwin at one point looked unstoppable and beat the piss outa brock for one round and the rest is history