5 best active UFC fighters from the UK

#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.