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In the world of the UFC, remaining undefeated is a near-impossible task for any fighter. Only one combatant – Khabib Nurmagomedov – kept his unbeaten record intact for a lengthy period in the modern era.
Over the years, though, fans have seen a number of excellent UFC fighters who were able to remain undefeated in non-title bouts – only ever falling to defeat with gold on the line.
Naturally, most of these fighters held titles for periods of time themselves, with some even becoming bonafide legends of the octagon.
Here are five UFC fighters who never lost a non-title fight.
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#5. Israel Adesanya – current UFC middleweight champion
Current UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is one of the few fighters to be able to say that they have never lost a non-title bout during their MMA career, and given his current form, it feels unlikely that will change any time soon.
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‘The Last Stylebender’ arrived in the promotion as an undefeated prospect back in 2018, having gone 11-0 on the regional circuit – although it is worth noting that he did lose five bouts in the kickboxing ring.
From there, it didn’t take him long to carve a path of destruction through the middleweight division, as he reeled off five wins – including one over legendary former champ Anderson Silva – before defeating Kelvin Gastelum to claim the interim middleweight title.
Adesanya then unseated Robert Whittaker to claim the undisputed title, and in the years that have followed, he’s gone onto defend it successfully on five occasions, most recently defeating Jared Cannonier.
Thus far, ‘The Last Stylebender’ has suffered just one defeat in his MMA career, falling short against Jan Blachowicz in a failed attempt to claim the light heavyweight title and achieve double-champ status.
Could Adesanya lose his title in his upcoming fight with Alex Pereira? Perhaps, but given how he’s dealt with every other fighter put in front of him, the likelihood of him falling in a non-title fight in the near future seems slim.
#4. Georges St-Pierre – former UFC welterweight champion
Former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre is considered by some fans as the greatest fighter of all-time, and the fact that he only ever lost two fights during his lengthy career – both of them in title bouts – helps solidy his claim of that spot.
St-Pierre had already reeled off five wins in his native Canada before arriving in the octagon for the first time in early 2004, and he quickly picked up two impressive victories there before finding himself in an unlikely welterweight title bout against Matt Hughes.
By his own admission, the big fight came too early for GSP, and he fell to defeat via a first round armbar. From there, though, the Canadian went on a tear, beating five foes before destroying Hughes in a rematch to claim the gold.
St-Pierre’s next fight saw him suffer one of the biggest upset losses in UFC history, as he was knocked out by Matt Serra, losing his title in the process. However, he bounced back once again, picked up a pair of wins, and reclaimed his title from Serra in early 2008.
The defeat to ‘The Terror’ would be St-Pierre’s final loss, as he went onto defend his title successfully on nine occasions before stepping away from the octagon in late 2013, and when he returned in 2017, he defeated Michael Bisping for the middleweight title, extending his already-outstanding record in the process.
Given the quality of his opposition – as well as his undefeated record in non-title fights – it’s hard to argue with anyone who labels GSP as the GOAT of MMA.
#3. Ronda Rousey – former UFC bantamweight champion
Few fighters climbed to the top of the UFC – and the world of combat sports as a whole – quite as quickly as Ronda Rousey. Unfortunately, few fighters also fell from the top quite as quickly as ‘Rowdy’, too.
However, the fact that the former bantamweight queen shot to the top as an unbeaten fighter – and retired after losing two straight bouts at the end of her time in the octagon – also meant that she was never beaten in a non-title fight.
Fascinatingly, Rousey only competed in non-title bouts on four occasions during her five-year MMA career.
After picking up three wins as an amateur and four as a professional, all via armbar, she was handed a shot at the StrikeForce bantamweight title. She then submitted Miesha Tate with her now-trademark submission to claim the gold.
‘Rowdy’ defended her title once and then arrived in the UFC, where she became the promotion’s first-ever female champion by submitting Liz Carmouche in early 2013. From there, she defended her title successfully on five more occasions before being unseated by Holly Holm in an upset in late 2015.
Rousey did return to action a year later but failed in an attempt to reclaim her title when she was knocked out by Amanda Nunes – that would be her final trip to the octagon.
Would ‘Rowdy’ have remained unbeaten in non-title fights had she stuck around after the Nunes loss? It’s hard to say, but as she stepped away from MMA before that could happen, she avoided any defeats outside of title bouts.
#2. Daniel Cormier – former UFC heavyweight champion
As one of the handful of fighters to hold two UFC titles in different weight classes simultaneously, former light heavyweight and heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier was recently inducted into the promotion’s Hall of Fame, and for good reason.
‘DC’ ranks amongst the most underrated fighters of all-time and can also boast of another accomplishment to go along with his title victories – he was able to avoid falling to defeat in any non-title bouts throughout his decade-long MMA career.
Cormier rose to fame in StrikeForce, making his professional debut there in 2009 and fighting for the promotion on eight occasions. 2012 saw him claim their heavyweight title after putting together wins over Antonio Silva and Josh Barnett, and with an 11-0 record, he paved his way into the octagon in 2013.
Initially debuting as a heavyweight, ‘DC’ defeated Frank Mir and Roy Nelson before dropping to 205 pounds, but he was unsuccessful in his first attempt to claim light heavyweight gold, having been edged out by bitter rival Jon Jones in their 2015 title bout.
However, the former Olympian bounced back by winning the title vacated by Jones in a victory over Anthony Johnson. From there, he went on to defend it twice before suffering a controversial second defeat to ‘Bones’, although he would get his title back when Jones tested positive for banned substances, turning the defeat into a No Contest.
Cormier then set his sights on the heavyweight title and upset Stipe Miocic to claim his second title in the summer of 2018. ‘DC’ would eventually lose the gold back to Miocic before suffering a defeat in their trilogy bout, ending his career afterwards.
Overall, though, ‘DC’ only ever officially lost three bouts, all of them in title fights, making him one of the rare fighters to never suffer defeat in a non-title bout.
#1. Dominick Cruz – current UFC bantamweight contender
One of the few fighters to have never lost a non-title bout that is still competing in the UFC is former bantamweight kingpin Dominick Cruz. At the age of 36, it’s arguable that ‘The Dominator’ is moving towards the end of his career, but his record still stands as second-to-none, particularly in the lower weight divisions.
Cruz initially rose to fame in the WEC, debuting there in a featherweight title bout against future rival Urijah Faber. He lost that bout via first round guillotine choke – the first defeat of his career – but then dropped to 135 pounds and quickly found success.
After reeling off five straight wins, he unseated Brian Bowles for the WEC bantamweight title in 2010, and after defending it twice, moved to the UFC as their first-ever bantamweight kingpin. He then successfully defended his crown against Faber and Demetrious Johnson.
Injuries then derailed ‘The Dominator’ leading to him being stripped of his title in 2013. However, Cruz returned to action in 2014, defeating Takeya Mizugaki in his first non-title bout since 2009.
A further stint on the shelf followed, but 2016 saw Cruz regain his title from TJ Dillashaw before he suffered his first loss in nearly a decade, dropping his title to Cody Garbrandt.
An attempt to regain it from Henry Cejudo over three years later ended in failure, but since then, Cruz has recorded two more victories, once again pushing him into the bantamweight title picture.
At the time of writing, ‘The Dominator’ boasts an overall record of 24-3, with none of his losses coming in non-title bouts – making him arguably the greatest bantamweight of all time.
