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This past weekend saw a blockbuster UFC show in London, England, and a number of UK-based fighters picked up big wins, including Paddy Pimblett, Tom Aspinall and Arnold Allen – garnering a lot of hype for them in the process.
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Over the years we’ve seen a large number of fighters from the UK garner hype for their performances in the UFC, but not all of them were able to reach their initial potential.
While fighters like Michael Bisping, Dan Hardy and Darren Till all reached the top of their divisions or at least came close, plenty of others fell at far earlier hurdles, despite a lot of hype behind them.
With that in mind, here are five UFC fighters from the UK who failed to live up to the hype.
#5. John Hathaway – former UFC welterweight contender
When the UFC headed to Dublin for the first time in early 2009, the promotion made quite the big deal of Irish prospect Tom Egan, who had seemingly been signed specifically for the event.
With an unbeaten 4-0 record to his name, ‘The Tank’ was matched with largely unknown English fighter John Hathaway, and it was obvious that the local fans expected him to win. Unfortunately, the Irishman had bitten off more than he could chew – and found himself demolished by ‘The Hitman’ in the first round.
Just five months later, Hathaway was back, extending his unbeaten record to 12-0 with a win over Rick Story. After that fight, it was hard not to get excited over the English fighter’s prospects.
Not only was Hathaway incredibly aggressive, but unusually for a fighter from the UK, he appeared to possess some formidable wrestling skills, as he completely dominated Story – a notable wrestler in his own right – in that area.
‘The Hitman’ followed his win over Story by beating Paul Taylor, and then stunned everyone by dominating perennial contender Diego Sanchez in his first main card bout in May 2010. By that point, the hype around Hathaway was off the charts, with many fans expecting him to progress into contention for the welterweight title.
However, in his first co-headline bout, he was dominated by veteran Mike Pyle in a sizeable upset. And while he did bounce back from that loss with three straight wins, a diagnosis of Crohn’s disease in 2011 derailed him entirely.
‘The Hitman’ was forced out of the octagon for the better part of two years, and when he returned and fell to Dong Hyun Kim via knockout in his comeback fight, he decided that enough was enough, and retired from MMA shortly afterwards.
Given that he was only 26 when he took his last fight, it’s probably safe to say that his health issues were almost entirely to blame for his downfall – and while he didn’t reach his potential, it wasn’t through any fault of his own.
#4. Nick Osipczak – former UFC welterweight contender
It’s arguable that no other fighter from the UK was as unlucky in the UFC as Nick Osipczak. While ‘Slick Nick’ failed to live up to the hype around him, it’s arguable that had his fights been judged differently, his career in the octagon could’ve gone in an entirely different direction.
Osipczak first emerged into the promotion via the 9th season of The Ultimate Fighter, which pitted a team of UK-based fighters against a team of US-based rivals. ‘Slick Nick’ won his entry fight to make the reality show, and then knocked out Mark Miller with a head kick before falling to the more experienced Damarques Johnson in the welterweight semi-finals.
Despite the loss, it seemed clear that Osipczak’s future was very bright. A student of traditional martial arts, the native of London possessed extremely dangerous striking along with a substantial grappling game, a skillset that garnered him comparisons to Gegard Mousasi.
When he followed an octagon debut win over fellow TUF alumni Frank Lester with a rousing victory over future WWE star Matt Riddle, it seemed like the UFC had stumbled upon a surefire star for the UK market.
However, Osipczak’s next bout saw him lose a split decision to Rick Story – despite the majority of observers believing he’d clearly won the fight. After following that with a deserved loss to Greg Soto, ‘Slick Nick’ suddenly found himself on the verge of being cut, less than a year after he’d been declared one of the promotion’s hottest prospects.
Osipczak was given one more chance to save his career with the promotion in a fight with veteran Duane Ludwig – but despite scoring a knockdown in the first round and then dominating the second on the ground, ‘Slick Nick’ again came out on the wrong end of a decision.
Unfortunately, the loss was enough to end Osipczak’s career with the promotion – despite the fact that with competent judges, he’d have been 5-1 in the octagon rather than 2-3.
#3. Tom Breese – former UFC middleweight contender
Right now, it’s arguable that the hottest – and most accomplished – UK-based fighter in the UFC is featherweight contender Arnold Allen. ‘Almighty’, who picked up his biggest career win to date over Dan Hooker last weekend, appears to be one of the most technically sound fighters in the entire promotion.
Many observers credit Allen’s rise to his team – Firas Zahabi’s Tri-Star MMA camp based in Canada – but while the featherweight prospect is performing brilliantly, he isn’t the first UK-based fighter to garner hype after emerging from the Tri-Star gym.
Just one month before Allen’s debut in the octagon, his teammate Tom Breese entered the UFC for the first time with a violent win over Brazilian veteran Luiz Dutra. With a grappling background and brutally heavy hands, the native of Birmingham looked like a remarkably dangerous prospect.
Breese followed his debut win with two more victories, and while he lost a split decision to Sean Strickland in his fourth bout with the promotion, he still appeared to have a bright future.
However, injuries forced him onto the shelf for almost two years following his loss to Strickland, and while he returned with a bang, knocking out Dan Kelly in his first bout as a middleweight, his career quickly spiraled downhill from there.
Breese lost two of his next three fights in the octagon, while also pulling out of multiple other bouts citing health issues. When he was withdrawn from a fight with Antonio Arroyo in June 2021 due to an undisclosed medical issue just hours before the clash was due to begin, the UFC had seen enough – and subsequently released him from his contract.
Quite what caused Breese’s medical issues remains unknown, but it’s safe to say that unlike his teammate Allen, he didn’t come close to living up to his potential.
#2. Lee Murray – former UFC middleweight contender
While Ian Freeman was the first fighter from the UK to compete in the octagon, and Michael Bisping went onto become the first from the country to claim UFC gold, it’s arguable that the most heavily hyped English fighter in the promotion’s history was Lee Murray.
While ‘Lightning’ only held a record of 7-1-1 when he signed with the promotion in early 2004, the reputation he brought with him from London was truly terrifying.
A notorious street fighter, Murray had purportedly knocked out hundreds of opponents in brawls over the years – including then-UFC poster boy Tito Ortiz, who supposedly fell at the hands of ‘Lightning’ in a wild clash after the promotion’s event at the Royal Albert Hall in 2002.
Despite competing a weight class lower than Ortiz, a potential fight between Murray and ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ was on everyone’s mind when he finally made his octagon debut, and when he dismissed Jorge Rivera in under two minutes with a triangle choke, it was impossible not to be excited.
Unfortunately, before any grand plans could be made, disaster struck for Murray. He was unable to secure a Visa to enter the US due to an ongoing legal issue, putting his career with the UFC on hold indefinitely.
Murray fought once more in the UK under the Cage Rage banner – taking future legend Anderson Silva to decision – but before he could resume his MMA career, he suffered a near-fatal stabbing that resulted in his eventual retirement.
‘Lightning’ is now better known for masterminding Europe’s biggest-ever robbery in 2006, a crime for which he is still serving jail time in Morocco. Quite how far he could’ve gone in his MMA career still remains up for debate, but it’s fair to say that due to his issues, his octagon run didn’t live up to the hype.
#1. Paul Daley – former UFC welterweight contender
While Lee Murray entered the UFC with a huge reputation and the likes of Dan Hardy and Michael Bisping built theirs up over time, it’s safe to say that no UK-based fighter made quite as much impact in their octagon debut as Paul Daley.
‘Semtex’ had built up quite the record on the regional circuit by the time he arrived in the world’s biggest MMA promotion, as he’d fought for the likes of Elite XC, Cage Rage and StrikeForce, going 21-8-2 overall.
When the Affliction promotion crashed in mid-2009 and the majority of its fighters made their way to the UFC, Daley was matched with perennial title contender Martin Kampmann, who had never been beaten at 170lbs.
Nobody really gave ‘Semtex’ a chance, but instead, he destroyed his Danish opponent with his brutally heavy hands, putting him away in the first round. When he followed that win with a second octagon victory – practically knocking Dustin Hazelett across the cage – it looked like Daley would go onto become a surefire star.
The UFC were happy to push him as such. Sensing that he could be a villainous foil for welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, they matched him with fellow heel Josh Koscheck to decide who would challenge the Canadian next.
From there, everything went wrong for ‘Semtex’. Not only did he lose the fight to Koscheck handily, as he was unable to stop the wrestler’s takedowns, he also blew his top when ‘Kos’ taunted him after the fight – and threw a post-fight sucker punch that shocked the entire promotion.
Dana White subsequently expelled Daley from the promotion, promising he’d never return – and despite later success in StrikeForce, BAMMA and Bellator, the President was good to his word.
Daley last fought in June 2021, but has never been back in the octagon, meaning he remains the greatest example of a British fighter who never reached his potential in the UFC.
