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MMA fighters often come from different backgrounds and martial arts, not all of which are Olympic sports. However, the most famous base in mixed martial arts is wrestling, which is among the oldest combat sport to be welcomed into the legendary annals of the Olympics.
Similarly, Judo, one of the most iconic traditional martial arts in the world, is also highly regarded in the Olympics. So it comes as no surprise that in the UFC, and indeed all of MMA, there have been fighters whose backgrounds in certain martial arts saw them compete in the Olympics before their transition to mixed martial arts.
In fact, some of these fighters even won medals in their respective sport, with one or two of them making history in some form. So with all that being said, this is a list of seven mixed martial artists who competed in the Olympics.
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#7 Dan Henderson, retired MMA welterweight/middleweight/light heavyweight/heavyweight
Dan Henderson became the first man in MMA to become a simultaneous two-division champion in a major organization when he captured the welterweight and middleweight titles in PRIDE. While the second half of his career was defined by his knockout power, things were once different.
Before his dreaded 'H-bomb' of a right hand was decapitating the Michael Bispings of the world, 'Hendo' used his wrestling, and there was good reason for it. He was a highly accomplished Greco-Roman wrestler and competed in both the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics, placing 10th and 12th respectively.
#6 Daniel Cormier, former MMA light heavyweight/heavyweight
It is arguable that there has never been a greater wrestler in heavyweight MMA than Daniel Cormier, or at least, there's never been a better one in the UFC's 265-pound weight class. 'DC' became famous for his high-crotch single-leg slam, and the former UFC double champion always expressed deep pride in his wrestling.
Cormier was a highly accomplished folkstyle and freestyle wrestler. Unfortunately, Olympic glory always eluded him. He competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics, where he finished just shy of a medal, ending his campaign in fourth place, before being withdrawn from the 2008 Olympics after suffering from kidney failure.
#5 Ronda Rousey, former women's MMA bantamweight
There was a time when there was no star in the UFC that shone brighter than Ronda Rousey. She was an unbeaten phenom and the reigning UFC women's bantamweight champion, who had reached the peak of global superstardom in a manner experienced by few.
Part of fame was due to her Olympic past. Rousey's background was in Judo, and in 2008, she set foot in Beijing, China to compete in the Summer Olympics. There, she made history by becoming the first American woman to win a medal in Olympic Judo, when she won bronze.
#4 Sara McMann, women's MMA bantamweight
Sara McMann once had a decent amount of hype behind her due to the comparisons she drew with Ronda Rousey. After all, the UFC had only signed her due to the intrigue between both women, as they were both undefeated and Olympic-level athletes in two different grappling arts.
While Rousey was a legendary judoka, McMann was a highly credentialed freestyle wrestler. The peak of her wrestling career happened in 2004, when she competed in the Summer Olympics and came within an inch of capturing gold, managing to take a silver medal back to American soil.
#3 Yoel Romero, MMA middleweight/light heavyweight
Perhaps the most freakish athlete to ever enter the sport, Yoel Romero is a multi-time title challenger who parlayed his one-of-a-kind explosiveness and nuclear knockout power into one of the most terrifying runs in UFC middleweight history. Strangely, however, he never made much use of his wrestling.
'The Soldier of God' had a long wrestling career, twice competing in the Olympics, where he represented Cuba. In 2000, he finished as high as second, winning a silver model in freestyle wrestling. Unfortunately, his 2004 campaign was not as successful as he finished in fourth place.
#2 Kevin Jackson, former MMA heavyweight
Modern-day fans may not remember Kevin Jackson, as he had a short-lived MMA career consisting only of six fights, which yielded a record of four wins and two losses. He famously fought Frank Shamrock for the inaugural UFC light heavyweight title, losing via submission.
However, what he failed to accomplish in MMA, he more than accomplished in freestyle wrestling, where he became a two-time World Champion and even won Olympic gold in the 1992 Summer Olympics, marking himself as one of the few gold medalists to have transitioned to mixed martial arts.
#1 Henry Cejudo, MMA flyweight/bantamweight
According to Henry Cejudo, he is the greatest combat sports athlete of all time. In the UFC, he is one of the promotion's few simultaneous two-division champions, having beaten Demetrious Johnson to capture flyweight gold, and subsequently finishing Marlon Moraes to win the vacant bantamweight title.
His other great accomplishment, which he upholds as his greatest, was his Olympic triumph in Beijing back in 2008. A dedicated freestyle wrestler, Cejudo won gold for the United States, and in doing so, became the then-youngest American in history to win an Olympic gold medal in freestyle wrestling.
