5 UFC fighters who are the only champions from their country

#2. Michael Bisping, England

Michael 'The Count' Bisping is the unlikeliest champion on this list. The first and only English UFC champion, Bisping's career was defined by falling short after working hard to be on the cusp of championship success. Twice, the Brit strung together enough wins to earn himself a title-eliminator before inevitably losing the matchup, first to Dan Henderson in spectacular fashion, then to Chael Sonnen in an uninspiring decision loss.

Following the loss to Sonnen, 'The Count' struggled, failing to build a win streak as he went on a win-loss run for the next 2 years, defeating one foe before losing the subsequent bout. However, upon losing to future middleweight champion Luke Rockhold, Bisping recaptured his confidence and sharpened his skills. He won back-to-back fights for the first time in years, eventually earning a bout with former champion Anderson Silva.

In a stunning Fight of the Night performance, Bisping bested Silva by refusing to bite on the Brazilian's feints while doubling and tripling his jabs to make his foe pay for pulling back at the waist, causing Silva to pull so far back that his own balance failed him, exposing him to follow-up crosses. The win earned Bisping a title fight against Luke Rockhold when Chris Weidman withdrew from the rematch due to injury.

In a shocking upset, Bisping stunned Rockhold with a left hook as his foe dropped his hands upon exiting the pocket. 'The Count' did not relent, knocking his foe unconscious within seconds to become the first and only English UFC champion.

---

#1. Conor McGregor, Ireland

Conor McGregor is a man of many milestones in MMA. He snapped José Aldo's legendary 18-fight win streak, doing so by breaking the record for the fastest knockout in UFC championship history. He is also responsible for the top 5 most successful UFC pay-per-views, as well as being the promotion's first-ever simultaneous two-division champion. He also remains the first and only Irish champion in UFC history.

Upon signing with the promotion, 'The Notorious' immediately declared war on the featherweight division with his inflammatory trash talk and denigration of the skills possessed by his divisional rivals. He often described his foes as being flat-footed before settling on mocking the size disparity between him and the featherweights of yesteryear. While his trash talk was brutal, the Irishman backed it up with his performances inside the octagon.

Undefeated at featherweight, McGregor was at the helm of a 14-fight win streak by the time he clashed with José Aldo. Bouncing back and forth with his wide-bladed stance, McGregor expertly glided out of range as Aldo lunged forward with a combination, sniping the Brazilian legend with a counter-straight left that his foe never saw coming, knocking him out cold in just 13 seconds to become the first and only Irishman to capture UFC gold.