UFC: 5 fighters with the most losses inside the Octagon 

November 2018 marks the 25th anniversary of the UFC's existence and the MMA powerhouse has played host to a huge number of MMA fighters in that time; many of whom have made entire careers inside the company.

For every successful fighter in the UFC, there are many more unsuccessful combatants who have attempted to ply their trade inside the Octagon to little or no success.

Surprisingly, there are many legendary fighters who have lost many, many fights inside the UFC, owing principally to their long careers in the promotion.

One such example of this is Tank Abbott. Once a dominant and feared Heavyweight title contender, the UFC 6 and Ultimate Ultimate 1996 runner-up, Abbott lost a total of 10 times inside the Octagon over the course of his two runs with the company.

In fact, despite his iconic status as one of the pioneers of the UFC, Abbot actually lost more UFC fights than he won.

Tank Abbott swings at "Cabbage" Correira at UFC 45

Another legend who has surprisingly lost 10 fights for UFC is Brazilian, Vitor Belfort.

Belfort, the UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament winner and former Light-Heavyweight Champion racked up 15 wins inside the Octagon including major wins over legendary names such as Abbott, Randy Couture, Wanderlei Silva, Rich Franklin, Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson.

BJ Penn, UFC Hall of Famer and former Welterweight and Lightweight Champion, has lost his last four UFC fights and 11 in total. Despite his legendary status, his UFC record is less than stellar overall.

In the following slideshow, SK counts down the five fighters who have lost more UFC fights than anyone else in the organisation's 25-year history.

There are more than a few surprises.

=2 Tito Ortiz (11 losses)

Tito Ortiz - Had a five year winless run in UFC between 2006 and 2011

"The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" Tito Ortiz was once one of the premier performers for UFC.

Enjoying a long reign as Light-Heavyweight Champion between 2000 and 2003, Ortiz lost just three times during his first nine years with the company.

However, the wheels came off Ortiz's dominance, with the defeat versus Chuck Liddell in the main event of UFC 66 on December 30, 2006.

Ortiz drew his next fight with Rashad Evans and would not taste victory inside the Octagon again until July 2, 2011, a full five years after his previous win.

The former Light-Heavyweight Champion then lost three UFC fights in a row to Evans, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Forrest Griffin which spelled the end of his 15 year career in UFC.

Ortiz's losses totalled 11; a massive number considering the iconic Hall of Famer's reputation as one of the finest fighters of all time.

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=2 Andrei Arlovski (11 losses)

Andrei Arlovski - Best days behind him

Another surprise on this list is former UFC Heavyweight Champion, Andrei Arlovski.

The Belarussian reigned as the top man in the promotion between 2005 and 2006 as he defeated such names as Tim Sylvia, Justin Eilers and Paul Buentello.

Following his title loss to Sylvia and defeat in a subsequent rematch, Arlovski made it his mission to attempt to regain the gold. An endeavour he is still battling for in 2018.

However, it has proved unsuccessful. Despite winning seven UFC bouts in a row across two spells, Arlovski did not receive another title opportunity and lost an unprecedented five fights in a row to put him firmly at the bottom of the contendership rankings.

Arlovski had a mini reprieve, ending that woeful run with two victories including an impressive win over the giant Stefan Struve, but a further two losses in his most recent fights have increased Arlovski's total defeats in UFC to 11. His career in the organisation could well be over as well as his dreams of becoming a two-time Heavyweight Champion.

=2 Frank Mir (11 losses)

The former UFC Champion has also lost plenty of times inside the Octagon

Frank Mir was once one of the best MMA fighters in the world and reigned as UFC Heavyweight Champion in the mid-2000s and was famous for being the first fighter to ever defeat WWE/MMA crossover star, Brock Lesnar inside the Octagon.

Despite his huge amount of victories over legendary performers inside UFC such as Lesnar, Tim Sylvia, Tank Abbott, Mirko Cro-Cop and most impressively, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira on two separate occasions, Mir has tasted a large number of defeats also across his 14 years working for the promotion.

Mir has also racked up a sizeable 11 defeats.

His first loss was an upset defeat to journeyman Ian Freeman, but losses to the likes of Lesnar, Shane Carwin and Junior Dos Santos were no disgrace.

However, Mir's days as a top line fighter were clearly behind him when he lost six of his final eight fights for the promotion.

=2 BJ Penn (11 losses)

BJ Penn - Not won a UFC fight since 2010

BJ Penn is set to make yet another return to UFC at UFC 232 versus Ryan Hall. That fight will inevitably end the same way as Penn's previous five fights for the promotion; in defeat.

Penn remarkably has also lost 11 times inside the Octagon, a figure that may soon increase to 12. It is a far cry from Penn's early years fighting for UFC, where he lost just one of his first eight fights for the promotion, winning the Welterweight Championship in the process.

Penn's first UFC return in 2006 saw him lose two fights in a row to the legendary George St. Pierre and Matt Hughes before bouncing back in style with five wins in six bouts which included a reign as Lightweight Champion.

However, Penn has rarely tasted success since and at 39 years of age with no MMA wins since 2010, it is unlikely the Hall of Famer ever will again.

#1 Jeremy Stephens (14 losses)

Jeremy Stephens - Holds an unwanted record

Poor Jeremy Stephens. The MMA star has an unwelcome record to his name as the fighter who has lost more times in UFC than any other martial artist.

Stephens entered the UFC with a loss in his debut bout versus Din Thomas at UFC 71 on May 26, 2007. The American has never been able to put together a run of victories ever since then in his long 11-year career with the promotion.

It may surprise many that Stephens has never been cut considering he has never been a contender for a Championship. However, Stephens, despite his less than stellar win/loss record inside the Octagon is an exciting fighter, proven by the fact that he has won "Fight of the Night" and "Knockout of the Night" on many different occasions.

The 32-year-old will likely remain part of UFC for a long time to come, which unfortunately will likely mean he will continue to add to his unfortunate record.