The 5 Best British UFC Fighters

MMA fans rarely see British fighters spotlighted except when the company holds pay-per-views in the United Kingdom. Despite their rare appearances in the UFC, there are some phenomenal fighters out there, and they aren’t all named Michael Bisping.

5) John “The Hitman” Hathaway

The problem with British fighters is that there has been poor competition in British fighting promotions, although that is getting better. While Hathaway is 12-0, only three of those fights have come against solid opponents in the UFC. Since coming to the UFC in January of this year, Hathaway has knocked out Thomas Egan and defeated Rick Story and fellow Brit Paul Taylor.

If Hathaway can start finishing fights, he is going to be a force to be reckoned with.

4) Paul Daley

Daley has more fights than anyone else on this list and has fought for just about every major MMA promotion, existing and defunct, out there, often fighting within less than a month of his last fight.

He is a tough guy and an excellent striker who improved his record to 22-8-2 in his first UFC fight against Martin Kampmann. His next fight (and first real test) will be in January against Carlos Condit.

3) Terry Etim

Etim is often overlooked as far as Brits in the UFC go but since a rough start in the UFC when he lost to Rich Clementi and Gleison Tibau, Etim has knocked off his last four opponents in the UFC, one by knockout and two by submission.

An excellent submission fighter, Etim could soon get a number one contenders fight in the Lightweight Division.

2) Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy

After an up-and-down career, Hardy has won his last seven fights which included UFC victories over Mike Swick, Marcus Davis, and Rory Markham.

Hardy is the number one contender for the Welterweight Championship and could soon be the single best Brit in the MMA if he has a strong showing against Georges St. Pierre.

1) Michael “The Count” Bisping

I have always found Bisping to be grossly overrated as he has beated plenty of good fighters but has never been able to match up against a championship-level fighter.

He is number one by default because he has beaten the highest ranked opponents but his losses to Rashad Evans and Dan Henderson do make him look like much less a star than the UFC wants to let on.

His only big name victories have come against Matt Hamill, Chris Leben, and Denis Kang.

Follow the author, Igor Derysh, on Twitter @IgorDerysh