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With the UK’s Leon Edwards claiming the UFC welterweight title from Kamaru Usman, Islam Makhachev about to challenge for the lightweight title, and the promotion’s first visit to France coming up, it’s safe to say that European fighters are en vogue in the UFC right now.
Over the years, we’ve seen a number of excellent European fighters in the UFC, including numerous titleholders – but who is the best of them all?
With fighters from the UK, Poland and Russia amongst the best, it’s a tough call to decide on who belongs at the top.
Here are the ten best European fighters in UFC history – ranked.
#10. Alistair Overeem – former UFC heavyweight contender
While he failed to win the UFC heavyweight title, it’s safe to say that Alistair Overeem still had a hell of a run with the promotion between 2011 and his departure in 2021. A former K-1 Grand Prix champion, Strikeforce champion, and PRIDE FC standout, ‘The Demolition Man’ clearly belongs on a list like this.
Had things been slightly different, there’s a chance that the native of the Netherlands could’ve won the heavyweight title.
After stopping former champ Brock Lesnar in his octagon debut, a questionable drug test resulted in him being suspended for a year, causing him to miss out on a planned title shot against Junior Dos Santos.
It took Overeem some time to regain his best form when he returned a year later, as he lost three of his next four bouts. However, a return to form soon followed, and after reeling off four wins, the Dutchman was finally granted a shot at the gold – only to come up short against Stipe Miocic.
After this, though, ‘The Demolition Man’ remained close to the top of the division for another half-decade, defeating the likes of Mark Hunt, Fabricio Werdum and Sergei Pavlovich with his vaunted striking game.
In total, Overeem defeated no fewer than five former heavyweight champions during his time in the octagon, making him a worthy entry on this list.
#9. Ciryl Gane – former interim UFC heavyweight champion
It was clear from the moment that he arrived in the UFC that French heavyweight Ciryl Gane was destined for greatness, and sure enough, three years later, he’s definitely lived up to the hype.
‘Bon Gamin’ came into the promotion with a huge reputation based on his days as a kickboxer, and despite having a small amount of MMA experience – with just three professional fights to his name – he shocked observers by winning his first two bouts by submission.
It didn’t take him long to demonstrate his high-level striking, though. After knocking out former champion Junior Dos Santos with a brutal elbow, he picked apart three top strikers in a row, dominating Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Alexander Volkov before knocking out Derrick Lewis to claim the interim heavyweight title.
While the Frenchman failed to unify the titles when he was defeated by Francis Ngannou in January, it’s probably fair to suggest that we still haven’t seen the best of him yet. Therefore, there’s still a chance that Gane – who is set to headline the first UFC event in Paris next month – could claim more gold in the future, and rise up this list in the process.
#8. Alexander Gustafsson – former UFC light-heavyweight contender
Europe has produced two UFC light-heavyweight champions to date, with Poland’s Jan Blachowicz and the Czech Republic’s Jiri Prochazka claiming gold. However, while both men are excellent fighters, neither has quite achieved what Alexander Gustafsson was able to achieve in his prime.
While ‘The Mauler’ never won gold inside the octagon, it’s probably fair to suggest that were it not for Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier – two generational talents who stand amongst the greatest fighters of all time – he definitely would’ve been a champion at some point.
The native of Sweden burst onto the scene in the late 2000’s, taking out his early opponents with ease before opening everyone’s eyes with his big wins over Thiago Silva and Shogun Rua.
Those wins moved him into title contention, and while he came up short against Jones, their fight was quickly recognized as one of the greatest in UFC history. His second failed title shot – this time against Cormier – was almost as good, too.
Even after a severe back injury derailed his career, Gustafsson was still able to overcome two future champions – Blachowicz and Glover Teixeira – before a slide saw him lose four bouts in a row before his retirement.
Overall, with no clear-cut weaknesses, excellent striking, and underrated grappling, ‘The Mauler’ should easily be recognised as the greatest 205lber produced by Europe.
#7. Petr Yan – former UFC bantamweight champion
Russia has produced a number of excellent UFC fighters over the years, but the majority of them – from Khabib Nurmagomedov to Islam Makhachev and Magomed Ankalaev – have been largely wrestling-based.
A big outlier in that sense is former bantamweight champion Petr Yan, who relies on his deadly combination striking to take out his opponents in the octagon.
While ‘No Mercy’ is no longer at the top of his division, the accomplishments he’s managed thus far definitely warrant him a spot on this list. Thus far into his tenure with the promotion, he’s gone 8-2, with his only losses – one via disqualification - coming at the hands of current champ Aljamain Sterling.
It was clear from the off that Yan had serious talent, but it was only when he began to defeat top-ranked contenders like John Dodson and Jimmie Rivera that everyone’s eyes were opened. By the end of 2019, ‘No Mercy’ had positioned himself as the top contender at 135lbs after a knockout win over Urijah Faber.
2020 saw him knock out the legendary Jose Aldo to claim the title vacated by Henry Cejudo, and while he then dropped it to Sterling when he used an illegal knee to knock ‘The Funk Master’ out, he was able to beat Cory Sandhagen to claim an interim title just months later.
Sure, Yan came up short in his rematch with Sterling – failing to unify the titles – but given he’s still only 29 years old, there’s a chance we still haven’t seen the best of him inside the octagon.
#6. Andrei Arlovski – former UFC heavyweight champion
If this list were to be ranked purely on longevity, there’s no question that former heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski would definitely be at the top. After all, ‘The Pitbull’ has somehow been around the UFC now for over two decades, after debuting in the octagon back in 2000.
It’s probably fair to say that the native of Belarus peaked in 2005. That year saw him defeat Tim Sylvia for the heavyweight title and then defend it successfully against Justin Eilers and Paul Buentello before losing it back to Sylvia in 2006.
Arlovski then departed the promotion in 2008, and while he had some success elsewhere, a four-fight slide seemed to signal the end of his career as a top-level fighter.
However, stunning everyone, ‘The Pitbull’ went on another winning run and earned a return to the UFC in 2014, and after defeating four opponents – including a former champion in Frank Mir – he inexplicably found himself back in title contention.
Arlovski didn’t quite make it as far as a title shot – even losing five bouts in a row between 2016 and 2017 – but since then he’s continued to find success, winning a total of nine bouts. Right now – at the age of 43 – he’s on a four-fight win streak, his best run since 2015.
It’s a huge accomplishment, and it’d be unfair not to label him as one of the UFC’s best-ever European fighters.
#5. Leon Edwards – current UFC welterweight champion
How long his reign as UFC welterweight champion lasts remains to be seen, but for now at least, Leon Edwards should definitely be considered one of the greatest fighters to ever be produced by Europe.
Born in Jamaica, but raised in the UK, ‘Rocky’ took the long road to success in the octagon. Debuting with a loss to Claudio Silva back in 2014, he went 2-2 in his first four fights before making some huge improvements to his game, particularly in his wrestling.
Those improvements led him to a lengthy winning streak that began in May 2016, and took him to victories over the likes of Donald Cerrone and Rafael Dos Anjos. By the end of 2019, he’d won eight fights in a row.
While the COVID-19 pandemic derailed him temporarily, ‘Rocky’ returned to action in 2021, and a win over veteran Nate Diaz set him up for a shot at welterweight kingpin Kamaru Usman just a week ago.
In one of the biggest upsets in MMA history, Edwards stunned Usman by knocking him out with a fifth round head kick – just moments before he looked set to lose a decision.
Even if he loses the title back to ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ in their inevitable rematch, it’s hard to play down exactly what ‘Rocky’ has accomplished in the octagon, and a six-year unbeaten streak alone would grant him a spot here. If he keeps winning, he could well end up at the top when all is said and done.
#4. Michael Bisping – former UFC middleweight champion
The first UFC champion to hail from the UK, Michael Bisping might not have been the most talented fighter of all time, but his career was definitely one of the most storied, and there’s probably an argument for placing him higher on this list.
After all, his middleweight title win over Luke Rockhold in 2016 was essentially the icing on the cake for him. Prior to that win, he’d already been a perennial contender for the best part of a decade, picking up huge wins over the likes of Chris Leben, Yoshihiro Akiyama and Dan Miller.
Frustrating losses to fighters such as Dan Henderson and Chael Sonnen kept him away from an elusive title shot, but after a thrilling win over legendary former champion Anderson Silva, ‘The Count’ agreed to face Rockhold for the title on late notice, and the rest is history.
Overall, Bisping remains one of the most accomplished middleweights to ever compete in the UFC, and the fact that he never backed down from a fight, no matter how tricky, stands as a testament to his heart and toughness.
A true trailblazer, he’s definitely one of the greatest European fighters of all time.
#3. Conor McGregor – former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion
Only four fighters have claimed two UFC titles in two different weight classes simultaneously, and as the first of them, Conor McGregor remains one of the most accomplished athletes in the history of the promotion.
Sure, his star power has more than eclipsed his actual fighting accomplishments at this point, but it’d be completely unfair to overlook exactly what ‘The Notorious’ managed to achieve inside the octagon following his 2013 debut.
A meteoric rise up the ranks saw him take out opponents such as Dustin Poirier and Chad Mendes. The end of 2015 saw him become the first man to ever defeat Jose Aldo in the octagon – in just 13 seconds to boot – to become the new featherweight champion.
The Irishman then went a step further in 2016, as, after splitting two legendary wars with Nate Diaz, he unseated Eddie Alvarez to claim the lightweight title too.
Sure, there have been some big knocks on ‘The Notorious’ and his legacy – most notably that he never defended either of his titles in the octagon – but there’s no disputing that in his prime, he was a truly great fighter.
Would he have achieved more in the UFC had he not become the promotion’s biggest-ever star – garnering him some special treatment and allowing him to box Floyd Mayweather, essentially causing him to miss his prime years? It’s debatable, but it’s also impossible to deny him a spot as one of the promotion’s greatest-ever European fighters.
#2. Joanna Jedrzejczyk – former UFC strawweight champion
The big knock on Conor McGregor and his legacy is that he never defended either of his titles, but the same certainly cannot be said for former UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
After claiming her title from inaugural champion Carla Esparza in early 2015, she defended it successfully on five occasions, defeating Jessica Penne, Valerie Letourneau, Claudia Gadelha, Karolina Kowalkiewicz and Jessica Andrade.
The Polish kickboxer’s run remains a record for the 115lbs division, as there was no subsequent champion – not even Rose Namajunas, who dethroned Jedrzejczyk in 2017 and has claimed the title twice – has managed to defend it more than once.
Jedrzejczyk’s title run was only part of her storied career, though. Even after being dethroned, she was able to defeat top fighters such as Tecia Torres and Michelle Waterson, and came close to reclaiming the gold from Weili Zhang in arguably the greatest women’s fight in UFC history.
The Polish fighter’s career finally came to an end this summer, when she was knocked out by Zhang in a rematch, but it’s safe to say that her legacy is intact, thanks to her incredible run as strawweight champion – and that makes her comfortably one of the best European fighters in UFC history.
#1. Khabib Nurmagomedov – former UFC lightweight champion
Given that he’s widely recognized as one of the greatest fighters of all time, full stop, it’s probably fair to say that Khabib Nurmagomedov stands above the rest as the greatest European fighter in UFC history.
The legendary former lightweight champion hung up his gloves in late 2020 after putting together a phenomenal record of 29-0, with 13 of those victories coming inside the octagon.
Not only did ‘The Eagle’ defeat the greatest 155lbers of his generation, from Rafael Dos Anjos and Conor McGregor to Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje, but he also did it without ever really being tested or put into any trouble.
The secret behind the native of Dagestani Russian’s success was his powerful wrestling. Hardly anybody could stop Khabib’s takedowns, with the 21 takedowns he landed on Abel Trujillo in their 2013 bout still standing as a UFC record.
However, far from being a one-dimensional wrestler, ‘The Eagle’ was also deadly in all areas, finishing five of his opponents by submission and two via knockout.
Add in the fact that, by the end of his tenure as champion, he’d largely transcended the sport – becoming the most popular Russian on Instagram with 33.5m followers – and it’s easy to see why he clearly belongs at the top of this list.
