The 5 Greatest Forgotten UFC Fighters

With an influx of new talent and Ultimate Fighter contestants in the UFC, along with countless feuds with UFC President Dana White, MMA fans have seen many a top fighter leave the UFC and move to smaller organizations like Strikeforce. Here are five of the biggest UFC names now headlining events elsewhere. 

Andrei Arlovski

The former UFC Heavyweight Champion first joined the UFC back in 2000 after four fights in M-1. In his nine years with the UFC, Arlovski defeated the likes of Tim Sylvia, Justin Eilers, and Fabricio Werdum. In 2008 and 2009, Arlovski fought for the now defunct Affliction fighting organization and EliteXC. He recently signed with Strikeforce and lost to the undefeated Brett Rogers.

Robbie Lawler

Remember Robbie Lawler? Coming into the UFC, he was an incredibly touted undefeated Welterweight. After going 9-0, with three fights in the UFC, Lawler went 1-3, defeating Chris Lytle but losing to Pete Spratt, Nick Diaz, and Evan Tanner. Since leaving UFC in 2004, Lawler has fought in Superbrawl, Icon Sport, Pride, IFL, and EliteXC. He recently signed with Strikeforce and headlined a card in which he fought Jake Shields, losing via submission.

Fabricio Werdum

One of the best Heavyweights in the world, Werdum began his career in Pride where he went 9-2-1. After defeating Aleksander Emelianenko in Pride, Werdum joined the UFC. His UFC career was bitter sweet. He was first defeated by Arlosky in his first fight but then dominated Gabriel Gonzaga and Brandon Vera before getting rocked by Junior dos Santos in his last UFC fight. After taking nearly a year off, Werdum debuted in Strikeforce where he destroyed MMA veteran Mike Kyle in less than a minute and a half.

Renato Sobral

MMA veteran Renato Sobral had several stints in the UFC during which he had very mixed results. He did get two shots at Chuck Liddell and the Light Heavyweight Championship but lost both fights. Sobral’s UFC career ended when he refused to let go of a choke after his opponent, David Heath, had already tapped. Sobral has since gone 4-1 in Affliction and Strikeforce.

Frank Shamrock

Talk about blast from the past. Shamrock hasn’t been seen in the UFC since 1999 despite being one of the best middleweights in the sport. The Pancrase great joined the UFC in 1997 and went 5-0, defeating Jeremy Horn and Tito Ortiz. After defeating Tito for the Middleweight title, Shamrock retired from fighting and had a huge fight with Dana White since which Shamrock is seldom discussed on UFC telecasts. He ultimately returned to fighting but has gone just 4-3 over a ten year span.

Follow the author, Igor Derysh, on Twitter @igorderysh