5 active UFC fighters who had to wait years for their first main event

#4. Islam Makhachev - UFC lightweight

It took Makhachev a little over six years from promotional debut to first main event

While much is being made of Bobby Green's first UFC main event finally coming this Saturday, Islam Makhachev also had to wait years for his own. After first debuting with the promotion back in 2015, the Russian did not compete in a main event until the summer of last year.

This streak is remarkable, considering Makhachev only suffered one loss during this time. When his main event did come, it was against Thiago Moises, whom he defeated via submission in the fourth round. He then defeated Dan Hooker in impressive fashion and will now face Bobby Green on Saturday.

That fight will be Makhachev's second main event in three bouts. He could easily extend that streak if he can pick up a tenth consecutive win. In total, it took the Russian 20 professional fights and 9 inside the octagon to earn his first main event with the promotion.

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#3. Vicente Luque - UFC welterweight

It took Luque close to seven years from promotional debut to first main event

Vicente Luque is yet to make his main event debut but is scheduled to do so against Belal Muhammad in April. This may be surprising to some given that Luque has previously fought the likes of Muhammad, Leon Edwards, Stephen Thompson, Tyron Woodley and Michael Chiesa.

Luque made his debut with the promotion back in July of 2015, which he lost via unanimous decision. Since then, he has put together a 14-2 run and has established himself as one of the world's best welterweights.

The upcoming fight with Muhammad is a big one as the pair are ranked No.4 and No.5 in the division, respectively. A win there could see Luque move on to plenty more main events in the future. In total, it took him 29 professional fights and 17 inside the octagon to earn his first main event.