5 fighters who opened up new international markets for the UFC

Despite being close to bankruptcy just over two decades ago, the UFC is now a global phenomenon and stands alone as the world’s biggest MMA promotion.

The UFC has been able to crack a number of markets, breaking into various countries and enjoying incredible growth across the planet. That’s often been down to the rise of a handful of star fighters.

These fighters have tended to hail from countries hardly known as MMA hotbeds, only for the UFC to use their stardom to open those countries up, in turn producing more top-class fighters in the process.

It’s a method that’s worked well for the UFC, but has also done wonders for the sport of MMA across the planet in general.

With that in mind, here are five fighters who opened up new markets for the UFC.

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#5. Michael Bisping – former UFC middleweight champion (UK)

Michael Bisping quickly became the UFC's first poster-boy in the UK

The UFC actually attempted to make inroads into the UK during the early period of Zuffa’s ownership of the promotion, but it didn’t exactly go all too well.

UFC 38, which took place in London, was a decent enough show. However, the promotion and the sport of MMA in general remained largely under the radar in the UK. Part of that was to do with the distinct lack of a potential British poster-boy.

Sure, the likes of Ian Freeman and Mark Weir had some mild success, but outside of Lee Murray, whose legal troubles ended up overshadowing his career, no UK-based fighter looked capable of breaking into title contention. That all changed in 2006, when a loudmouthed Brit called Michael Bisping won the third season of The Ultimate Fighter and immediately exploded into stardom.

Not only was Bisping a natural antagonist on the microphone, but he had genuine skills inside the octagon too, even if they needed a little polishing at first.

The effect that ‘The Count’ had on the UFC’s fortunes in the UK was instant, though. His arrival in the promotion coincided with the UFC’s first real television deal in the UK. With the sport of MMA quickly entering the mainstream, the promotion capitalized.

They traveled to the UK in April 2007 for UFC 70, which was largely built around Bisping and ended up drawing a sold-out arena in Manchester.

The show was a huge hit with fans and in the years that have followed, the UFC has continued to grow in popularity in the UK. The promotion regularly visits the country for events, with British fighters like Leon Edwards and Dan Hardy rising to fame in the process.

As for Bisping, he took the long route to the top of the UFC, but ended up winning the middleweight title in 2016, becoming the promotion’s first British champion.

#4. Alexander Gustafsson – former UFC light heavyweight title challenger (Sweden)

Alexander Gustafsson helped to transform Sweden into an MMA hotbed

A decade or so ago, nobody would ever have considered Sweden a hotbed of MMA or for the UFC. However, that all changed when Alexander Gustafsson began to rise to prominence in the light heavyweight division.

When he debuted in the octagon at UFC 105 with a knockout of Jared Hamman, few fans expected ‘The Mauler’ to climb up into title contention. However, after a loss to Phil Davis in his second UFC appearance, Gustafsson began to split his training camp between the Sweden-based All Stars gym and the California-based Alliance MMA.

Suddenly, Gustafsson began to improve rapidly. After picking up four wins in a row, it was clear that he was beginning to catch on as a potential star. The UFC decided to get behind him and in April 2012, booked their first ever show in Sweden, with ‘The Mauler’ headlining against Thiago Silva.

At the time, the show became the UFC’s fastest-selling European event, with tickets selling out in three hours and over 15000 fans packing into Stockholm’s Ericsson Globe to see Gustafsson beat his Brazilian foe.

While Gustafsson fell short in his three attempts to win the UFC light heavyweight title, he continued to be one of the UFC’s go-to stars in Europe, particularly in his home country of Sweden. ‘The Mauler’ headlined four of the UFC’s visits to the Scandinavian country, drawing over $9.25m in combined ticket revenue.

More to the point, his impact is still being felt in the UFC today, with his All Stars team now producing newer stars such as current welterweight sensation Khamzat Chimaev.

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#3. Conor McGregor – former UFC lightweight & featherweight champion (Ireland)

Conor McGregor became the UFC's biggest star, but took off first in his native Ireland

Conor McGregor is undoubtedly the UFC’s biggest star of all time. ‘The Notorious’ has headlined the majority of the promotion’s highest-drawing events over the years and has been responsible for drawing millions of dollars alongside opponents like Dustin Poirier and Khabib Nurmagomedov.

However, his biggest impact was in his home country of Ireland, despite the fact that he has only headlined one UFC show there. McGregor debuted in the UFC in 2013 and instantly shot to fame following his first appearance, largely thanks to his brash and outspoken persona.

The UFC sensed a potential superstar and immediately began to push McGregor in the Irish market, first by giving him a big fight in Boston, a hotbed for Irish-American fans. By 2014, McGregor was firmly positioned as one of the promotion’s breakout stars and it came as no surprise to see him headline the UFC’s second show in Dublin.

Unlike UFC 93, though, the McGregor vs. Brandao card drew a raucous crowd, all of whom appeared to be there to see ‘The Notorious’ megastar. McGregor naturally obliged by destroying the Brazilian.

In his post-fight promo, McGregor stated Irish fighters weren’t "here to take part, (we’re) here to take over!” The statement went down in history.

While no Irish fighter has managed to replicate McGregor’s UFC success just yet, it’s safe to say that without him, the promotion’s presence on the Emerald Isle would be far smaller.

#2. Anderson Silva – former UFC middleweight champion (Brazil)

Anderson Silva became a genuine mainstream star in his home country of Brazil

Brazil has always been a hotbed for MMA, which is hardly a surprise when you consider that the sport arguably originated there in the form of Vale Tudo and that Royce Gracie was the UFC’s original superstar after winning three of the promotion’s first tournaments.

Despite having a number of Brazilian stars like Murilo Bustamante and Vitor Belfort over the years, the UFC never really exploded in popularity in the country until Anderson Silva’s epic middleweight title reign. ‘The Spider’ took a lengthy time to become a genuine drawing card in the US, but that wasn’t the case in Brazil.

Silva’s performances against opponents like Rich Franklin, Dan Henderson and Belfort turned him into a mainstream superstar, netting him sponsorships from huge companies like Burger King and Nike.

So, when the UFC decided to return to Brazil in 2011, their first show there since 1998, it was hardly a surprise to see Silva in the main event, defending his title against Yushin Okami.

The show triggered somewhat of a boom period for the UFC in Brazil, as they returned to the country on multiple occasions over the next decade, usually to be met by raucous crowds and a seemingly never-ending series of new, exciting fighters.

Silva would only headline one more of the UFC’s Brazilian shows, UFC 153 in 2012, but it was his impact that largely re-opened the door for the promotion in the South American country. It also perhaps inspired the promotion to enter other neighboring countries like Argentina and Uruguay, too.

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#1. Georges St-Pierre – former UFC welterweight champion (Canada)

Georges St-Pierre became the UFC's first genuine Canadian superstar

It seems hard to believe now, but when Georges St-Pierre, a fresh-faced youngster who had just two wins in the UFC, was first matched with Matt Hughes in a fight for the vacant UFC welterweight title in 2004, Hughes scoffed at the idea of “losing to a Canadian in a fight.”

Hughes’ attitude essentially summed up the state of Canadian MMA at the time. While the TKO promotion was producing some solid shows in Canada, none of its fighters, with the exception of St-Pierre and David Loiseau, had really made an impact in the UFC. That quickly changed and, by and large, it was down to the success of GSP.

When he and Loiseau began to rise up the card in 2006, the UFC gimmicked an entire event, UFC 58, around a USA vs. Canada theme, bringing in a number of fighters from the TKO promotion to compete in the octagon. While Loiseau failed in his attempt to win the UFC middleweight title, GSP's rise continued all the way to his UFC welterweight title victory later that year.

By 2008, the UFC were so invested in St-Pierre that they booked their first show in Canada. 21,390 fans, a UFC attendance record at the time, packed into Montreal’s Bell Centre to see their hometown hero win his title back from Matt Serra.

GSP went on to headline four more UFC events in Canada, including UFC 129, which took place in Toronto’s Rogers Center and set another attendance record. Of course, his success paved the way for an entire generation of Canadian UFC stars, from Patrick Cote and Rory MacDonald to Elias Theodorou and Hakeem Dawodu.

Essentially, GSP remains the absolute definition of a fighter who opened a new market for the UFC to penetrate.