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The UFC is truly a worldwide phenomenon. With that said, it shouldn’t be a surprise that numerous different countries have produced champions in the octagon.
However, only one has come from the UK, Michael Bisping.
Right now, the UFC has a number of excellent British fighters on its roster, but could one of them emulate Michael Bisping by winning gold inside the octagon?
Naturally, winning a title in the world’s biggest MMA promotion is never likely to be easy, so it could be years before we see another champion from the UK. However, some fighters have more of a shot than others.
Here are five fighters from the UK who could emulate Michael Bisping by becoming a UFC champion.
#5. Tom Aspinall – UFC heavyweight
This weekend’s UFC Fight Night event is set to take place in London. In the main event, Liverpudlian prospect Tom Aspinall is set to take on Alexander Volkov in a major heavyweight bout.
If Aspinall can overcome his Russian foe this weekend, then he’d extend his record inside the octagon to 5-0. If that happens, it’d be hard not to consider him a genuine contender for the promotion’s heavyweight title.
Right now, it’s probably fair to say that Aspinall hasn’t really been pushed by any of his four foes inside the octagon. In fact, his four wins have all come via stoppage, with just one, his victory over Andrei Arlovski in February 2021, leaving the first round.
However, he appears to have genuinely immense talent in all areas. He’s displayed slick striking, particularly with his boxing, and also has a well-renowned ground game, despite only showing flashes of it in the octagon.
So could Aspinall really win the UFC heavyweight title? It certainly won’t be an easy feat for him, given the talent of reigning champion Francis Ngannou.
However, ‘The Predator’ may not actually be with the promotion for much longer, meaning that a large number of fighters will be hoping to stake their claim for the title. A win over Volkov would definitely put Aspinall into that conversation and, given his skills, he’d have every chance of becoming the new titleholder.
#4. Casey O’Neill – UFC flyweight
Right now, it’s arguable that the UFC’s most dominant champion is reigning flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko. ‘Bullet’ has held the title since December 2018. Since then, she’s turned back the challenge of five different opponents.
However, even Shevchenko is not invincible, nobody is. So there are a number of fighters who would hope to stand a chance against her in the octagon. One such contender is ‘King’ Casey O’Neill.
Sure, O’Neill is now based in Australia, but she was born and raised in Irvine, Scotland, meaning that if she did claim gold in the octagon, she’d definitely qualify as a UK-born champion, arguably moreso than Michael Bisping, who was actually born in Cyprus!
Whether O’Neill can really climb to the level that she’d need to be at to defeat Shevchenko is a major question mark. She looked fantastic in her wins over Shana Dobson, Lara Procopio and Antonina Shevchenko, but then only just edged veteran Roxanne Modafferi in her most recent bout.
However, with her skills on the feet and on the ground, ‘King Casey’ has as much of a chance at dethroning ‘Bullet’ as anyone. Given the thin nature of her division, she could find herself with a title shot sooner rather than later, making her one of the more likely entries on this list.
#3. Darren Till – UFC middleweight
Given that he’s coming off the back of two straight losses and is actually 1-4 in his last five bouts, it seems insane to suggest that Darren Till could be a future champion in the UFC, particularly at middleweight.
However, if you look a little deeper into things, then ‘The Gorilla’ making a title run might not actually be that far-fetched after all.
Since moving to 185 pounds, Till has defeated Kelvin Gastelum and dropped bouts to Robert Whittaker and Derek Brunson. The loss to Whittaker was a very close call, while his defeat to Brunson came primarily from his lack of defensive wrestling skills.
Since that loss, though, ‘The Gorilla’ has been working hard with monstrous wrestler Khamzat Chimaev to close that hole in his game. If he succeeds in doing so, suddenly he’ll become very dangerous indeed.
It’s easy to forget, but Till was able to defeat point-fighter extraordinaire Stephen Thompson on the feet in 2018. If he’s capable of doing that, then he’d definitely stand a chance against current middleweight king Israel Adesanya.
Perhaps a title win for ‘The Gorilla’ isn’t likely, but stranger things have happened.
#2. Arnold Allen – UFC featherweight
While he isn’t as well-known as some of the more popular UK-based fighters on the roster right now, it’s arguable that Arnold Allen is perhaps the second-most accomplished British fighter in the UFC.
After all, ‘Almighty’ is currently ranked at No.7 in the featherweight division and since arriving in the promotion, he’s put together a tremendous record of 8-0, stretching his overall ledger to 17-1.
More importantly, Allen has not been snacking on weak opposition. Sure, he was expected to beat the likes of Alan Omer and Jordan Rinaldi, but to defeat Gilbert Melendez, Nik Lentz and Sodiq Yusuff is hugely impressive, however you look at it.
Could ‘Almighty’ make a run at the title, then? It’s definitely possible. If he can get past veteran contender Dan Hooker this weekend, then it’d be hard not to consider him a genuine contender for the gold.
With his excellent fundamentals both on the feet and on the ground, realistically, he’d stand a chance at defeating anyone in the division, including current champion Alexander Volkanovski.
Sure, ‘Almighty’ would be an outside bet, but despite his lack of finishes, he definitely has the talent to hold UFC gold in the future.
#1. Leon Edwards – UFC welterweight
Naturally, the fighter from the UK who is probably closest to claiming gold inside the octagon right now is Leon Edwards.
That’s because ‘Rocky’, who is currently riding a lengthy 10-fight unbeaten streak dating back to 2015, seems all set to challenge current UFC welterweight kingpin Kamaru Usman for his title at some point in 2022.
There’s no denying that Edwards has developed into a truly fantastic fighter over the years. When he debuted in the octagon in 2014, the native of Erdington appeared to be a largely one-dimensional striker. However, in the years that have followed, he’s grown hugely and is now a tremendous grappler.
The one problem that ‘Rocky’ will have in terms of winning the title? Usman is the man who was responsible for his last defeat. Right now, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ looks practically unbeatable, possessing the best wrestling in the division and frightening power in his hands, too.
Despite that, any fighter competing for a UFC title stands a chance and, of course, any fighter can lose on any given day. So when you consider that Edwards could claim gold with one big shot or could catch Usman on an off-day and outwork him, he’s got to be considered the most likely fighter to follow in Michael Bisping’s footsteps.
