Bisping, Hardy, Till: The best British MMA fighters in history ahead of UFC London
Tom Aspinall can record one of the all-time great wins for a Brit on home soil should he defeat Russian veteran Alexander Volkov.
The UFC returns to London this weekend as Aspinall takes on Volkov at the O2 Arena on March 19.
A win for Aspinall – who is a training partner of Darren Till – would keep him in the running to face Francis Ngannou for the heavyweight title.
But it will also see him make a claim to being one of the best British fighters in MMA history on Saturday night.
Here, GIVEMESPORT runs down the top ten – the kind of list the likes of Arnold Allen, Molly McCann, Paddy Pimblett and Jack Shore will all hope to be on in the future.
1. Michael Bisping
Starting with the most obvious one first, Michael Bisping is without a doubt the greatest MMA fighter ever to come from these shores.
Despite only having one eye, Bisping, 43, is the only British UFC champion in the history of MMA.
An analyst and pundit for ESPN, Bisping defeated Anderson Silva in February 2016, starched Luke Rockhold in June 2016, and avenged his defeat to Dan Henderson in October 2016.
2. Dan Hardy
Dan Hardy had the somewhat misfortune of being born in the same era as Georges St-Pierre.
Like Bisping, Hardy also fought a who’s-who of MMA including Carlos Condit, Anthony Johnson, Rory Markham and Mike Swick, winning far more than he lost.
Nicknamed The Outlaw, Hardy also showed a tremendous amount of courage when he twice refused to tap to St-Pierre much to the delight of the New Jersey crowd in March 2010.
3 Brad Pickett
A personal favourite of UFC president Dana White, Brad Pickett always tried to put on a show for the fans no matter the occasion.
‘One Punch’, 43, was known for his aggressive fighting style, able to finish a fight either on the feet or on the floor. Did we mention he also holds a win over Demetrious Johnson as well?
His protege Nathaniel Wood returns to action against Vince Morales on the undercard of Aspinall’s upcoming clash with Volkov later this week.
4. Jimi Manuwa
Jimi Manuwa‘s stint in the UFC was a rollercoaster of a ride for as long as it lasted.
The Londoner made his debut against Kyle Kingsbury back in September 2012 and went on to have a further eleven fights before retiring at the age of 40 in June 2019.
In that run, he beat the likes of Corey Anderson, Jan Blachowicz and Ovince Saint Preux.
5. Ross Pearson
Ross Pearson – aka ‘The Real Deal’ – was never ever in a dull fight.
Fighting out of Sunderland, the 37-year-old won the ninth season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ in 2009.
Pearson, who is now retired, shared many a bloody battle with the likes of Edson Barboza, Paul Felder and Al Iaquinta before eventually leaving the UFC after nine years with the promotion.
6. Darren Till
One of three other title challengers on this list, Darren Till challenged Tyron Woodley
And while he came up short, he has remained a firm fan favourite ever since.
7. Leon Edwards
Although he’s arguably the most underrated fighter in British MMA history, Leon Edwards‘s record speaks for itself.
A battering of American icon Donald Cerrone was followed by wins over Gunnar Nelson and Rafael dos Anjos, not to mention a virtually one-sided beatdown of Nate Diaz barring the last 25 seconds or so.
Up next Edwards will face Kamaru Usman in a rematch for the welterweight title later this year, according to reports.
8. Paul Daley
Paul Daley’s UFC stint didn’t exactly last very long.
But while he was there it was thoroughly entertaining by all accounts.
‘Semtex’ was known for his explosive power and ruthless nature.
9. Joanne Wood
Joanne Calderwood became Scotland’s first MMA star to be signed to the UFC in December 2013.
But that’s not all. In fact, she is one of the early pioneers of women’s MMA.
Better know as JoJo, Wood – no relation to Nathaniel – started training in Muay Thai at the age of 13, and it’s fair to say she hasn’t looked back since.
10. Ian Freeman
Finally, Ian Freeman takes up the final place on the list.
Freeman, now 55, claimed the Cage Rage heavyweight title in a highly-anticipated grudge match against Ryan Robinson but was never the same after the contest.
He did, however, become the first man to beat Frank Mir in what was arguably one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport at the time.
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