5 best active UFC fighters from the UK

2022 has seen the UFC make the most inroads into the UK since the heyday of Michael Bisping and Dan Hardy around a decade ago. The promotion is already planning to return to London this summer.

It stands to reason that right now, the UFC has a number of excellent fighters hailing from the UK. There’s probably a major debate over who is the best.

With both hot prospects and high-level contenders from the UK currently competing in the octagon, it can’t be long before we see another British fighter follow Bisping by claiming gold.

With that in mind, here are the five best active UFC fighters from the UK.

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#5. Jack Shore – UFC bantamweight contender

Jack Shore is currently 5-0 in the octagon

If this list was being judged purely on the record of the fighters named, then bantamweight prospect Jack Shore would probably be No.1. After all, the Welshman currently sports an unbeaten record of 16-0, dating back to 2016, and has picked up five wins in the octagon.

However, it’s probably fair to say that despite all of his obvious talents, ‘Tank’ hasn’t quite been tested by an elite-level opponent just yet, so it’d be unfair to rank him any higher than this.

Quite why Shore hasn’t been given a step up in competition yet is a bit of a mystery, although that should change when he faces No.12-ranked Ricky Simon in July. The most likely explanation is that due to his unbeaten nature and excellent skills, top fighters have probably wanted to avoid him.

That’s understandable in many ways. Shore has shown phenomenal ability both on the ground and on the feet, but the thing he’s proven himself to be best at is nullifying the offense of his opponents. This has meant that some of his fights haven’t been all that exciting.

Despite that, it seems clear that he’s destined for the top. If he continues to perform the way he’s been doing when he fights better opponents, he could climb both a list like this, and the UFC’s bantamweight rankings quickly.

#4. Darren Till – UFC middleweight contender

At 29, Darren Till still has time to make it to the top of the UFC

It’s probably safe to say that a couple of years ago, Darren Till would’ve almost certainly been at the top, or near the top of this list. Back in 2018, ‘The Gorilla’ was still unbeaten in the octagon, he’d picked up huge wins over Donald Cerrone and Stephen Thompson, and seemed to be on a path to becoming the UFC welterweight champion.

However, Till fell to Tyron Woodley in his title shot, and a knockout loss to Jorge Masvidal then sent him out of the welterweight division and up to 185lbs. Since then, the Liverpool native has won just one fight, edging out Kelvin Gastelum in late 2019.

To write ‘The Gorilla’ off would be a major error. Till certainly didn’t look bad in his bout with Robert Whittaker, holding his own with the former champion on the feet and only coming out on the wrong end of a close decision.

His defeat at the hands of Derek Brunson was more disappointing. He showed that he needs a lot of work on his ground game if he wants to reach the top at 185lbs. Since then, he’s been working with a high-level wrestler in Khamzat Chimaev, which should give him hope for the future.

Overall, Till is still one of the most battle-tested UK-based fighters in the UFC right now. At the age of 29, he’s still got plenty of time to make a further impact in the promotion too.

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#3. Tom Aspinall – UFC heavyweight contender

Tom Aspinall might be the hottest fighter in the UFC's heavyweight division right now

Right now, it’s safe to say that there are few hotter fighters in the UFC’s heavyweight division than Tom Aspinall. The Liverpool native is currently ranked at No.6 in the division. There’s a chance that he could climb even higher if he can get past Curtis Blaydes in July.

A huge fighter who stands at 6’5” and weighs around 250lbs, Aspinall has been with the UFC now for less than two years. He’s already made a huge impact in that time, and has already defeated five straight opponents, taking his record to 12-2 overall.

Initially compared to the great Frank Mir thanks to his reputation as a dangerous grappler, Aspinall’s striking gave him his first couple of wins. He took out Jake Collier and Alan Baudot in impressive fashion on the feet.

Since then, though, we’ve seen glimpses of his talents on the ground too. 2021 saw him choke out Andrei Arlovski and, earlier this year, he picked up his biggest win to date by submitting Alexander Volkov with a straight armbar.

To this point at least, we haven’t seen any weaknesses from Aspinall, although Blaydes is certain to push him to the limit when they meet. For now, though, it’s definitely fair to call him one of the best UK-based fighters currently active in the octagon.

#2. Arnold Allen – UFC featherweight contender

Arnold Allen appears to have a good chance of capturing gold inside the octagon

While he’s certainly not the most vocal fighter on the UFC’s roster, there’s no denying that featherweight contender Arnold Allen is one of the most effective. With an MMA record of 18-1 and nine wins in the octagon, ‘Almighty’ is definitely one of the best active fighters to hail from the UK.

For a long time, it looked like Allen was destined to fly under the radar as, despite picking up big wins over the likes of Gilbert Melendez and Nik Lentz, he remained largely on the undercard of the events he was competing on.

However, 2021 saw him given some of the spotlight when he fought Sodiq Yusuff in the co-headliner of the UFC’s second show on the ABC network. When he outpointed ‘Super Sodiq’, it was suddenly hard to ignore him.

Since then, Allen has picked up the biggest win of his career by knocking out Dan Hooker. Given that he’s ranked No.6 in the 145lbs division, it’s easy to imagine him claiming a shot at the UFC featherweight title at some point in the near future.

So could ‘Almighty’ emulate Michael Bisping by winning gold in the octagon? It definitely won’t be easy for him, but he’s got as good a chance as anyone.

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#1. Leon Edwards – UFC welterweight contender

Leon Edwards is currently the best active fighter from the UK

Despite the talents of fighters like Arnold Allen and Tom Aspinall, it’s probably safe to say that the most accomplished active fighter from the UK right now is Leon Edwards. ‘Rocky’ is battle-tested, has beaten plenty of elite fighters, and is likely to compete for the UFC welterweight title in the near future.

It’s not exactly been an easy journey to the top for Edwards, either. When he debuted in the octagon back in 2014, he looked largely like a one-dimensional striker, but his loss in 2015 to current welterweight champ Kamaru Usman seemed to inspire a huge improvement.

Since that loss, ‘Rocky’ has not fallen to defeat again. He’s reeled off nine victories, including huge wins over Nate Diaz, Donald Cerrone and Rafael dos Anjos. The only black mark on his ledger came in a 2021 No Contest with Belal Muhammad following an accidental eye poke.

Overall, Edwards is still an excellent striker, but he’s now capable of punishing opponents from inside the clinch and on the mat too, meaning he’s essentially a fighter with no weaknesses. Can he really beat Usman? That remains to be seen, but right now, he’s definitely the best active fighter from the UK.