Where are they now? 5 forgotten UFC stars from 2010-2019

#4 Costas Philippou

Costas Philippou came close to a Middleweight title shot

Cypriot striker Costas Philippou first came onto the UFC scene in 2010 as a contestant on the 11th season of The Ultimate Fighter, but after being submitted in the pre-house fights, he was given another chance in the world’s biggest MMA promotion in 2011, stepping in as a late replacement to fight Nick Catone at UFC 128.

When Philippou lost the fight, it was expected that he’d simply vanish back onto the regional scene, but a second late-notice fight saved his UFC career; he defeated veteran Jorge Rivera on the main card of UFC 133 after taking the fight on around 14 days' notice, and then went on a run of 4 straight victories to cement himself as a potential title contender.

Philippou was forced out of a likely #1 contender’s match with Ronaldo Souza in mid-2013, and from there, the wheels quickly fell off for the New York-based fighter. He was defeated by Francis Carmont at UFC 165, unable to stop the Frenchman’s takedown, and then suffered a TKO at the hands of Luke Rockhold.

2014 saw Philippou get back on track by knocking out Lorenz Larkin, but injuries then sidelined him for a year, and when he returned, he was defeated by Gegard Mousasi. That was enough to force the 35-year-old fighter to retire – and he’s essentially fallen out of the public eye since, even deleting his Twitter account following his retirement from the sport.