5 best UFC fighters who are not champions

#4. Islam Makhachev - UFC lightweight

Islam Makhachev holds a record of 22-1

Islam Makhachev has been looking more and more like the second coming of Khabib Nurmagomedov in recent times. His grappling is of a ridiculously high-level and, as a result, he has picked up 10 straight wins in one of the deepest divisions in the UFC.

One negative that can be said about Makhachev is that he did suffer one KO loss during his early run in the promotion. He's also yet to face elite opposition. While there might be some substance to those criticisms, by recent form, there may not be a more dangerous man on the roster.

Makhachev has been mauling his recent opponents and now seems to be in with a chance of securing a title shot. At the very most, the Dagestani will only need one more win to rubber stamp his position as the number one contender. Perhaps a lengthy reign atop the division could follow shortly after.

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#3. Max Holloway - UFC featherweight

Max Holloway holds a record of 23-6

Despite not currently holding a belt, Max Holloway is in the conversation as one of the best featherweights of all time. He defeated Jose Aldo in 2017 to become the undisputed featherweight champion and will have an opportunity to regain the belt in July.

At first glance, you might suggest that Holloway's consecutive losses to Alexander Volkanovski indicate that he is not competing at a championship level. However, both those fights were incredibly close, with many feeling the wrong man was given the nod, particularly in the rematch.

Since then, Holloway has once against demonstrated his class with impressive performances against tough competition in Calvin Kattar and Yair Rodríguez. Should he win back the title in July, Holloway could easily wind up being considered the greatest featherweight of all time by the end of his career.