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It seems hard to believe now, but if you rewind to just 15 years ago, Australian fighters had barely made a dent in the UFC, with only one or two ever competing in the octagon.
These days, there are plenty of Australian fighters competing in the UFC, with a number of notable fighters from Down Under having found success in the octagon in the past before departing, too.
Sure, Australia hasn’t produced as many champions and top-level fighters as, say, Brazil, but with MMA still developing Down Under, it’s likely that the country will continue to churn out high-level talent in the years to come.
For now, here are the 10 greatest Australian UFC fighters – ranked.
#10. Elvis Sinosic – former UFC light heavyweight contender
While it’s fair to say that his UFC record was pretty awful by the time he finally hung up his gloves, it’s only fair to give Elvis Sinosic some recognition when it comes to the greatest Australian fighters of all time.
After all, ‘The King of Rock N’ Rumble’ was the first fighter from Down Under to ever enter the octagon, and the first Australian to challenge for a UFC title, too.
That title shot was earned when Sinosic pulled off a huge upset in his octagon debut, submitting the highly touted Jeremy Horn in early 2001. While he suffered a bad beating against light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz, he remained part of the promotion’s roster for years afterwards.
Sure, Sinosic never won another bout in the octagon, suffering six straight defeats between 2001 and 2007, but he still gave the likes of Forrest Griffin and Michael Bisping a relatively tough test.
More to the point, while he was never the greatest fighter (despite his excellent grappling skills), he was a firm fan favorite wherever he went, and deserves a spot on this list purely for his work as a pioneer of Australian MMA.
#9. Tyson Pedro – UFC light heavyweight contender
The son of John Pedro – who promoted the King of the Cage organization in Australia – Tyson Pedro has now been part of the UFC’s roster for nearly six years. It’s fair to say that in that time, he’s made an impact.
Debuting in late 2016 with an upset win over Khalil Rountree, the talented light heavyweight has also picked up wins over Paul Craig and Ike Villanueva. He has also fought highly ranked opponents such as Shogun Rua and Ovince St. Preux too, although he came up short against them.
A hugely aggressive fighter with skills in all areas, Pedro’s major weakness is perhaps his overzealousness, as all of his defeats have seen him put himself in danger in his attempts to finish his foes.
However, at the age of 30, now that he’s recovered from a serious knee injury, it’s likely that he’s reaching his athletic peak and appears to still be improving.
Based on his two wins in 2022, we still haven’t seen the best of him, and so if he can continue to develop – and refine his skills to be a little less reckless - Pedro may end up in title contention in the near future. As it is, his accomplishments thus far make him one of the better Australian fighters to enter the octagon.
#8. Casey O’Neill – UFC flyweight contender
While she clearly hasn’t peaked just yet – and may need time to reach that peak following a serious knee injury – it’s pretty clear that Casey O’Neill is a very special talent. In fact, the Scottish-born, Australian-based prospect may be the trickiest fight out there for current flyweight champ Valentina Shevchenko.
‘King Casey’, the daughter of a professional kickboxer, moved to Australia at the age of 10, but by that point her martial arts training had already begun. She moved into the world of MMA as a teenager and turned professional in 2019. From there, it didn’t take her long to make an impact.
After reeling off five wins in a row on the regional circuit, less than two years after her professional debut, she was signed by the UFC. From there, things have only gotten better for her.
O’Neill has beaten four opponents in the octagon thus far, including top 10-ranked fighters Antonina Shevchenko and Roxanne Modafferi, and she’s done it all in highly impressive fashion.
With nine wins to her name, no obvious weaknesses, and a ruthless killer instinct, she could well end up becoming Australia’s next titleholder in the octagon – an achievement that would rocket her up this list.
#7. Dan Kelly – former UFC middleweight contender
While he came to the UFC very late in his athletic career, making his octagon debut at the age of 37 in late 2014, Dan Kelly made enough of an impact during his tenure with the promotion to be listed here.
A former judoka who competed at four different Olympic Games for Australia, Kelly initially turned to MMA in 2006 before his judo career ended, but really stepped into the sport in 2012.
After achieving seven wins, he found himself cast as part of Team Australia on 2014’s TUF: Nations series. Although he failed to make an impact there, losing to Sheldon Westcott, he won his octagon debut and quickly began to climb the ladder at 185lbs using both his grappling skills and a surprisingly good boxing game.
Despite appearing to be past his athletic prime throughout his UFC career, something that earned him the nickname ‘Dadbod’, Kelly picked up six wins in the octagon, peaking when he outpointed former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans in early 2017.
Although his career then plummeted, with three straight losses signaling an end to his career in 2018, the fact that he defeated a former champion means he deserves a spot on this list. Had he arrived in the octagon in his prime, who knows what he could’ve achieved?
#6. Jake Matthews – UFC welterweight contender
Despite looking more like Justin Bieber than a professional fighter when he made his UFC debut in 2014 at the age of just 19, hopes were always high for Melbourne’s Jake Matthews. ‘The Celtic Kid’ was a fantastic athlete and appeared to be a natural born fighter, too.
In the near-decade that has followed, while Matthews hasn’t quite climbed into title contention at either lightweight or welterweight, he’s been a staple of events, putting together a strong record of 11-5, and he’s also beaten some notable opponents, too.
While his run at lightweight ended in disappointing fashion, it’s fair to say he’s done far better at 170lbs. There, ‘The Celtic Kid’ has defeated the likes of Li Jingliang, Diego Sanchez and Emil Meek, and most recently returned from a hiatus to look better than ever in a win over Andre Fialho.
Right now, Matthews is not ranked in the top 15 at 170lbs, but based on how good he looked against Fialho, there’s a chance he could achieve that in the future, especially as he’s only 28 years old. As it is, he’s clearly one of the best fighters to ever hail from Australia.
#5. George Sotiropoulos – former UFC lightweight contender
If you rewind back a decade, it’s probably fair to say that the best Australian fighter to ever step into the UFC by that point was George Sotiropoulos.
Sure, by 2012 the former TUF 6 contestant was past his prime and was in the midst of a losing streak, but prior to that, he’d come closer than any other Australian fighter since Elvis Sinosic to claiming a title shot in the octagon, in arguably the UFC’s deepest division, too – lightweight.
Initially, Sotiropoulos rolled over lower-level opponents like Jason Dent and George Roop, but when he beat the likes of Joe Stevenson and Joe Lauzon, it was hard to overlook him as a genuine title threat as 2011 began.
Unfortunately for him, the title picture at 155lbs was logjammed at that stage, meaning he was unable to reach a shot at the gold. A loss to Dennis Siver derailed him entirely and sent his career into freefall.
At his peak, though, Sotiropoulos was a fantastic grappler and a highly underrated striker, despite not being the most natural athlete. There’s absolutely no doubt that he belongs on any list of the greatest Australian fighters to compete in the octagon.
#4. Tai Tuivasa – UFC heavyweight contender
Right now, there are few hotter Australian fighters in the UFC than heavyweight contender Tai Tuivasa. If he can find a way to get past former interim champ Ciryl Gane in Paris this weekend, he could find himself in line for a title shot.
While his rise to the top has been somewhat unexpected given the struggles he faced a couple of years ago, ‘Bam Bam’ was always singled out for potential greatness even in his early days with the promotion.
Labeled as the “new Mark Hunt” upon his octagon debut in 2017, Tuivasa pulled off two knockout wins against overmatched opponents. He then defeated former champion Andrei Arlovski to pick up the biggest win of his career to that point in 2018.
However, when he lost to Junior dos Santos in his first headline bout, and then dropped two more fights, it appeared that he’d probably hit his ceiling.
Since then, though, ‘Bam Bam’ has won five bouts in a row, all via KO or TKO, culminating in his win this year over former title challenger Derrick Lewis.
With an iron chin, knockout power, underrated athleticism, and a trademark celebration – the infamous ‘shoey’ – Tuivasa is already a cult favorite with UFC fans and he’s also one of the most accomplished Australian fighters to step into the octagon. If he wins this weekend, he could climb even higher in the future.
#3. Mark Hunt – former UFC heavyweight contender
Despite being born in New Zealand, Mark Hunt always represented Australia whenever he competed in the octagon, meaning that unlike Israel Adesanya, ‘The Super Samoan’ is eligible for this list.
Strangely enough, when he arrived in the UFC in late 2010, it seemed highly doubtful that Hunt would make any kind of impact at all, despite his fantastic striking skills.
While the former K-1 champion had done well in PRIDE, beating the likes of Mirko Cro Cop and Wanderlei Silva, he’d never fully rounded out his game and always looked limited on the ground. He was submitted in his octagon debut by fellow debutant Sean McCorkle and seemed destined to wash out of the promotion quickly.
Incredibly, though, Hunt stuck with it and then went on an unlikely four-fight win streak, beating the likes of Cheick Kongo and Stefan Struve to move into title contention – becoming a cult hero in the process thanks to his patented ‘walk-off’ knockouts.
‘The Super Samoan’ arguably peaked in 2014 when he faced Fabricio Werdum for the interim heavyweight title. While he fell to defeat, his wins over Frank Mir, Bigfoot Silva, Derrick Lewis and Roy Nelson mean that he’s widely considered as one of the best big men of his generation. It’s clear that in any list of great Australian fighters, he belongs near the top.
#2. Robert Whittaker – former UFC middleweight champion
While he’s no longer the top middleweight in the world – that spot belongs to New Zealand’s Israel Adesanya – Robert Whittaker remains one of the greatest Australian fighters in UFC history and one of the best middleweights to ever compete in the octagon, period.
‘The Reaper’ initially emerged from 2012’s TUF: The Smashes as a high-level welterweight prospect, defeating three opponents to win the season. However, after two straight losses at 170lbs, Whittaker decided to reinvent himself as a 185lber in 2014.
Despite looking slightly small for the weight class, the decision was an immediately successful one. Whittaker retained all of the punching power he had as a welterweight, but enjoyed a speed advantage over most of his opponents, and seemed to have improved technically, too.
Eight wins in a row followed, culminating in a 2017 victory over Yoel Romero for the interim middleweight title, which ended up being upgraded to the undisputed title in early 2018 when Georges St-Pierre vacated and retired.
‘The Reaper’ did end up losing his title to Adesanya in 2019, but despite losing the gold, he remains the second-best middleweight in the world thanks to his wins over Darren Till, Jared Cannonier and Kelvin Gastelum.
Even if he never regains his title, it’s safe to say that it’ll take something special from one of the fighters listed below him here to see him drop from the No.2 spot in this countdown.
#1. Alexander Volkanovski – UFC featherweight champion
At this stage, there’s absolutely no doubt that Alexander Volkanovski is the greatest UFC fighter to ever hail from Australia. In fact, ‘Alexander the Great’ is probably the greatest 145lber to ever step into the octagon, period.
The fact that Volkanovski competes at such a low weight is remarkable in itself, as he once weighed over 200lbs during his career as a semi-professional rugby player. However, once he moved to MMA in 2012, he began to drop weight, eventually arriving in the UFC in 2016 as a lightweight with an impressive 13-1 record.
Incredibly, despite fighting in the octagon on 12 times, ‘Alexander the Great’ has still not tasted defeat there. After rolling over a few lower-level foes, he began to climb the ladder at 145lbs, and really made a splash in late 2018 when he knocked out former title challenger Chad Mendes.
From there, things have basically snowballed for the Australian. He’s beaten every top featherweight of his era, from Jose Aldo and Brian Ortega to Max Holloway on three occasions, and has now made four successful title defenses after claiming the gold from Holloway in 2019.
With a phenomenal striking game, brilliant takedown defense and essentially no weaknesses, it seems likely that Volkanovski will rule over the 145lbs weight class for some time yet – and it’s unlikely that he’ll be supplanted as the greatest Australian fighter ever any time soon.
