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#4. Alex Pereira – former Glory middleweight and light-heavyweight champion
With the UFC positioned strongly as the top MMA promotion in the world, big new signings are now few and far between. However, it’s safe to say that the signing of Alex Pereira has drummed up the most publicity seen for a new fighter for some time.
MMA fans might’ve heard of Pereira prior to his UFC signing. This is primarily because he remains the only man to ever knock out current UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.
However, the Brazilian is so much more than that. He’s a genuinely world class kickboxer whose record of 33-7 in the sport is truly outstanding.
‘Poatan' first emerged onto the kickboxing scene in Brazil in 2012. By 2014, he’d made his way to Glory – widely considered the biggest and best kickboxing promotion in the world.
After an up-and-down start to his Glory career – which included two victories over Adesanya, the second by knockout – he claimed the Glory middleweight title from Canada’s Simon Marcus in 2017.
In the years that followed, Pereira was able to defend his title on five occasions, while also claiming the Glory light heavyweight title as well. While the Brazilian’s Glory career ended earlier this month with a loss to Artem Vakhitov, he remains the top-ranked middleweight kickboxer in the world.
Whether his striking skills can translate into success in the UFC’s octagon as Adesanya’s have remains to be seen. Based on his kickboxing highlight reels, it should be a lot of fun to see him try.
#3. Maurice Smith – former UFC heavyweight champion
The UFC was built on the back of Royce Gracie and the art of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Within a handful of years, it was being dominated by wrestlers such as Dan Severn and Mark Coleman.
However, the second UFC heavyweight champion came from a striking background. At the time, he was widely recognized as one of the best and most accomplished kickboxers on the planet. His name? Maurice Smith.
‘Mo’ was already 35 years old when he first entered the octagon to challenge Coleman for the title in 1997. By that time, he already had plenty of experience in fighting.
Sure, he’d been competing in MMA – primarily with Pancrase – since 1993, but his kickboxing career dated all the way back to the mid-1980s.
Smith fought world-renowned kickboxers such as Stan Longinidis, Peter Aerts and Ernesto Hoost along the way. He also won multiple titles, including the WKA heavyweight title and the ISKA heavyweight title.
While he was a well-rounded fighter by the time he joined the UFC, his striking was still by far the most dangerous weapon in his arsenal.
He used a series of brutal leg kicks to wear Coleman down in their clash, claiming the UFC heavyweight title by decision. He then stopped Tank Abbott too before losing his title to Randy Couture.
‘Mo’ only fought in the UFC after that on a handful of occasions. However, his huge accomplishments in the world of striking definitely make him amongst the best kickboxers to ever join the promotion.
