The 5 UFC fighters with the best win percentage in the Middleweight division

The UFC’s Middleweight division is at an interesting turning point right now. After champion Michael Bisping was dethroned by the returning Georges St-Pierre – who usually fights at Welterweight and hadn’t fought since 2013 – at UFC 217 in November, it looked like more chaos was in store at 185lbs.

But then St-Pierre announced he was suffering from colitis, decided to relinquish his title, and interim champion Robert Whittaker – who beat Yoel Romero to claim that title back in July – was upgraded to undisputed champion.

Whittaker will now face Luke Rockhold in his first title defence in February at UFC 221, and hopefully, when all is said and done, we’ll know who the best Middleweight fighter in the world is. But in terms of overall fight record – and win percentage – who stands out as the best 185lber right now? You might be surprised, partially because Whittaker doesn’t make the cut!

I’ve calculated the win percentage of each Middleweight fighter in the UFC’s record to work out who scores the highest – basically, who wins their fights most often? A few disclaimers – this article isn’t about who the best fighter in the division is because we know that right now it’s Whittaker.

And I’ve excluded any fighter who doesn’t have at least five fights inside the UFC, as otherwise, an undefeated prospect who hasn’t been in the Octagon that much would come out top (hello Paulo Costa!).

I’ve also excluded GSP (who has a winning percentage of 93%) as he’s only ever had one fight at 185lbs and I highly doubt he’ll be back at that weight anytime soon. So here are the five fighters with the best current win percentage in the UFC’s Middleweight division.

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#5 David Branch – win percentage of 84%

David Branch won titles in two weight classes outside the UFC

Currently sporting an outstanding record of 21 wins and 4 defeats – a win percentage of 84% — Renzo Gracie trained grappler David Branch comes in at #5 on our list.

A champion at two weights in the smaller World Series of Fighting promotion – 185lbs and 205lbs –Branch returned to the UFC in May 2017 and immediately picked up a big win over top ten ranked Krzysztof Jotko. He’s since been defeated by Luke Rockhold, but not without a fight, as Branch took the first round of that fight on most observers’ scorecards.

As Rockhold is going on to fight for the UFC title, it’s pretty clear to see how valued a win over Branch is. Interestingly enough, though, Branch’s outstanding record hasn’t been helped by his time in the UFC. He’s only had two fights there in his current run, but he actually debuted in the Octagon back in 2010.

In his initial run of four fights there, he defeated Rich Attonito and Tomasz Drwal but lost to Gerald Harris and Rousimar Palhares – meaning three of his four defeats came inside the UFC. His other one came at the hands of Anthony Johnson, but as he avoided being knocked out by ‘Rumble’ you can hardly hold that against him.

As he hasn’t fought the cream of the crop at 185lbs – outside of Jotko his best win is either Jesse Taylor or Yushin Okami – one inconsistent, one past his prime - I suspect that as he fights more of the top Middleweights in the UFC his win percentage may well slip. But for now, with one of the best records in the division, he’s done enough to make this list.

#4 Luke Rockhold – win percentage of 84%

Luke Rockhold is the former UFC Middleweight champion

Former UFC champion Rockhold has the same win percentage as David Branch, but as he defeated Branch in September I’ve decided to put him ahead of the former WSOF champ. Currently pegged to face off with Robert Whittaker in an attempt to reclaim the title that Michael Bisping took from him in June 2016, Rockhold currently has an overall fight record of 16-3 – a win percentage of 84%. It’s a very impressive record, especially when you look at some of the names he’s beaten – Chris Weidman, Ronaldo Souza and Lyoto Machida, for example.

Perhaps the one knock on Rockhold? Like many fighters from the American Kickboxing Academy, he doesn’t fight all that often. He’s had 19 professional fights since 2007, which averages as less than two fights per year – not that many when you consider most fighters manage at least two if not three.

And since arriving in the UFC in 2013 he’s managed eight – not even coming close to two per year. After being dethroned by Bisping, for instance, he was on the shelf for fifteen months.

Despite his periods of inactivity, Rockhold is clearly a super-talented fighter. Equally skilled on the ground and on his feet, Rockhold has finished his foes in a multitude of ways, from chokes and armlocks to knockouts using punches and kicks.

If he can defeat Whittaker in February he’ll become the only fighter in UFC history to become a two-time Middleweight champion – a lofty position indeed given how tricky it is to make it to the top in the first place.

#3 Krzysztof Jotko – win percentage of 86%

Krzysztof Jotko has an impressive record of 19-3

If it weren’t for his last two fights – losses to David Branch and Uriah Hall – Krzysztof Jotko would top this list as he would’ve been sporting a record of 19-1, or an incredible win percentage of 95%.

As it is, his current win percentage of 86% is still outstanding and puts him at the #3 slot in this list. Largely unheralded until late 2016 when he cracked the UFC’s rankings for the first time, Jotko’s actually been racking up UFC wins for some time – since 2013 in fact.

The well-rounded Polish fighter debuted in December 2013 with a victory over Brazil’s Bruno Santos, and from there he worked his way up the card the hard way – wins over fellow Europeans Tor Troeng, Scott Askham and Bradley Scott were only offset by his first career loss to Magnus Cedenblad, and once Jokto defeated the highly touted Tamdan McCrory, it was clear big things were on his horizon.

Sure enough, Jotko was matched against former title challenger Thales Leites, in Leites’ home country of Brazil to boot, and pummelled his more experienced foe over three rounds. That set him up with the streaking Branch, but of course, Jotko was defeated in a close judges’ decision and was then knocked out by Hall in a fight he was winning.

The two losses have pushed him out of the title picture for now, but a couple more wins could quickly put him back into discussions – his outstanding record probably helps him, too.

#2 Yoel Romero – win percentage of 86%

Yoel Romero was close to capturing the UFC Middleweight title earlier this year

Sharing the same win percentage as Krzysztof Jotko, I’ve put Cuban Olympic wrestler Romero ahead of him as his strength of competition far outstrips that of the Polish fighter. Currently sporting a record of 12-2, Romero has two career losses – one to Robert Whittaker and the other to a much larger 205lber in Rafael Feijao.

Outside of that he’s been perfect, and his list of victims is second to none – the likes of Derek Brunson, Chris Weidman, Lyoto Machida and Ronaldo Souza – all top contenders at one time – have fallen to his brutal brand of wrestling and striking.

Since joining the UFC’s roster in 2013, Romero has reeled off nine fights – almost two per year, which is impressive given he suffered a six-month suspension in 2016 due to a potential doping violation that he blamed on a tainted supplement.

Prior to this, however, he fought just five times in four years, which is likely to blame for his win percentage not being any higher. He also may well have worn UFC gold by now had the Bisping situation not held up the title for so long – Romero was the official #1 contender, but fought Whittaker rather than the British champ and obviously ended up on the losing end.

Still, he’s one of the most dangerous men in the world at 185lbs – just ask Brunson, who was ahead by two rounds before being crushed, or Weidman, who was knocked into another realm by a ridiculous flying knee from the Cuban.

Right now, he doesn’t have another fight scheduled, but with the title picture now cleaned up it’s likely only a matter of time before he’s booked in a big one. And at 40 years old, time probably isn’t on his side – so he needs to come back as violently as ever before.

#1 Elias Theodorou – win percentage of 87.5%

Elias Theodorou currently has the best win percentage in the UFC Middleweight division

It’s a huge surprise at the top, but Canadian prospect Elias Theodorou – winner of The Ultimate Fighter: Nations and currently sporting a record of 14-2 – has the best win percentage of any Middleweight on the UFC roster with 87.5%.

Of course, it is true that he hasn’t fought the level of competition that the likes of Rockhold and Romero have – his losses are to Brad Tavares and Thiago Santos, who aren’t ranked in the top ten right now – but if there’s one thing ‘The Spartan’ knows how to do, it’s win fights.

Since arriving in the UFC with his TUF win in 2014, Theodorou has picked up six wins to go along with his two losses – losses that were disappointing, but in the case of the Tavares fight, could’ve gone the other way with different judges.

And usually, the judges tend to love the long-haired Canadian – of his six UFC wins, Theodorou has picked up four of them via decision, and those added to his three pre-UFC decisions means that 50% of his wins have come when the fight has gone the distance – it’s no wonder his alternative nickname is the ‘Cardio King’.

Interestingly enough, if you count Theodorou’s pair of wins while taking part on TUF – he defeated Zein Saliba and Tyler Manawaroa while on the reality show, but those fights don’t count on a professional record – his win percentage would be even more impressive – essentially 89%. Will he ever become a title contender?

Given that he doesn’t come from a martial arts background and has only been in the sport for just over five years, it could be too early to tell. But if he can keep winning at the clip that he has been, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t find himself in the UFC title picture.