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#2 Joe Lauzon – UFC debut September 23rd, 2006
Considering he was initially brought into the UFC as an apparent softball opponent for former lightweight champion Jens Pulver, it’s crazy that Joe Lauzon still remains part of the promotion’s roster almost 15 years later.
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For those who’ve forgotten, Lauzon proved his doubters wrong in his octagon debut at UFC 63, knocking out Pulver in the first round and ruining his big return. A stint as part of the TUF 5 cast followed, although ‘J-Lau’ avoided the irony of being coached by Pulver on the show.
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Lauzon then returned to the octagon with a win over Brandon Melendez, and from there, he hasn’t looked back. He now holds a UFC record of 15-12 and has picked up wins over fighters like Melvin Guillard, Michael Chiesa and Diego Sanchez.
More to the point, though, the Boston native has become renowned as one of the most exciting fighters in UFC history.
No other lightweight can match his number of finishes inside the octagon (13), and he also holds the record for the most’ Submission of the Night’ honors, as well as the second-most post-fight bonus awards in UFC history.
At the age of 37 and with a record of 1-3 in his last four fights, Lauzon may well be coming towards the end of his storied tenure in the promotion – particularly as he hasn’t fought since October 2019. But given he won that fight by knockout, it’s likely he’ll be back at least once more.
#1 Ed Herman – UFC debut June 24th, 2006
The longest-tenured fighter currently on the UFC roster is 40-year-old veteran Ed Herman, who has been part of the promotion for over 15 years.
Holding a UFC record of 13-10, ‘Short Fuse’ first entered the octagon after starring in the third season of The Ultimate Fighter. Herman made the middleweight finals of that season, only to fall to Kendall Grove in an instant classic in the finale.
In the years that have followed, like his fellow long-tenured veterans Clay Guida and Joe Lauzon, Herman has never really come close to being in UFC title contention. However, he has picked up some huge wins, defeating the likes of Tim Boetsch, Rafael Natal and David Loiseau.
‘Short Fuse’ has competed on UFC pay-per-views and has appeared on various television channels, including the Versus network, the Fox network, Spike TV and ESPN+.
He was even loaned to StrikeForce in 2013 for a clash with Ronaldo Souza, earning him plenty of credit with UFC brass.
Perhaps the most incredible thing about this long-tenured veteran? Despite being 40 years old, Herman is showing few signs of slowing down. Right now, he’s on a three-fight winning streak in the octagon – something he hasn’t managed to do since 2012.
