ONE Championship heavyweight Alain Ngalani is definitely one of the best, and most interesting fighters outside of the UFC.
The UFC is widely regarded as the number one mixed martial arts promotion in the world. As such, many people believe that the UFC is home to the best mixed martial artists in the world. The UFC may have some of the biggest stars in the mixed martial arts world, but there are definitely a lot of talented fighters that aren't currently competing inside the Octagon.
Of course, promotions like Bellator, PFL, and ONE Championship all have big stars of their own.
4 of the best fighters outside of the UFC
Alain Ngalani - ONE Championship
Alain Ngalani may not exactly be one of the best fighters outside of the UFC, but he is indeed one of the most interesting. The Hong Kong-based Cameroonian is known for his incredible feats of strength, body control, athleticism, and flexibility, all of which can be seen on his Instagram page.
Ngalani currently owns a 4-5 record in mixed martial arts, and has shared the cage with the likes of Aung La N Sang and Chi Lewis Parry. Ngalani also has a 25-8-1, 3 NC record in kickboxing.
Ngalani was discussed as Vitor Belfort's opponent for his ONE Championship debut.
Kayla Harrison - PFL
Kayla Harrison is without question one of the PFL's biggest stars today. Harrison is 8-0 in his professional MMA career, and is the promotion's reigning women's lightweight champion. Prior to her transition to MMA, Harrison was already a highly-decorated judo practitioner. Harrison is a two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo, as well as a former Judo world champion and a multiple-time Pan American champion.
In late 2020, Harrison competed outside the PFL for the first time in her MMA career, as she made her Invicta debut as a featherweight. She needed just two rounds to defeat Courtney King by TKO.
Patricio 'Pitbull' Freire - Bellator
Bellator's own champ-champ Patricio 'Pitbull' Feire is without a doubt one of the best fighters not signed by the UFC today.
Freire is the promotion's reigning lightweight and featherweight champion, and owns victories over the likes of Daniel Straus, Michael Chandler, Juan Archuleta, and Pedro Carvalho.
Apart from his accomplishments, Freire also holds a number of promotional records with Bellator, including most fights, most wins, most title fights, and most wins in title fights.
Kyoji Horiguchi - Rizin FF
Japanese bantamweight Kyoji Horiguchi is no stranger to world championship gold. Horiguchi is a former Shooto and Bellator bantamweight champion, and is a two-time and current reigning Rizin bantamweight champion.
Prior to his current run with Rizin, Horiguchi also had a solid stint with the UFC, winning all but one of his eight fights with the promotion. His only loss in the UFC came against Demetrious Johnson for the UFC flyweight championship.