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It is rare for the UFC, and MMA in general, to be a world where fighters bond with their parents in the training room. However, martial artists sometimes breed martial artists, and this has been the case with even some former champions in the promotion, like Lyoto Machida and Ronda Rousey.
'The Dragon' is one of the sport's most renowned karatekas as a representative of Shotokan, who often trained under his father, Yoshizo Machida, a Shotokan master. Similarly, Rousey trained with her mother as a judoka up until the age of 13. But what of the fighters who continued working with their parents?
What of the fighters who achieved success in the promotion while still under the watchful guidance of their parents?
#5. Sage Northcutt, former UFC lightweight/welterweight
Sage Northcutt was once one of the brightest prospects in MMA, signed to the UFC alongside Paige VanZant as the potential face of men's MMA for years to come. He had a marketable physical appearance, an unbeaten record and three black belts, one of which was in Shuri-ryū karate.
His striking instructor was his father, a fellow black belt who was an integral part of his training camps throughout his time in the promotion. Despite a successful start to his stint under the Zuffa banner, he was eventually handed his first professional loss by Bryan Barbarena.
After winning his next fight, then losing his subsequent one, Northcutt embarked on a three-fight win streak before leaving to join the ranks of ONE Championship.
#4. Kron Gracie, UFC featherweight
The Gracie clan is MMA royalty, and Kron Gracie is regarded as their final attempt at thrusting one of their own back into the sport's limelight. Unfortunately, Gracie has not managed to meet his family's expectations of him. Specifically, it is the expectations of his father, who is one of his trainers, that weigh on his shoulders.
His father is Brazilian jiu-jitsu grandmaster Rickson Gracie, who believes that his son's failures in the UFC stem from his inability to apply Brazilian jiu-jitsu properly inside the octagon. This was said to Gracie's frustration, who recently acknowledged that his family does not understand how much MMA has evolved.
Gracie faced tremendous criticism from the MMA world for his back-to-back losses to Charles Jourdain and Cub Swanson, which revealed the limitations of his style.
#3. Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson, UFC welterweight
Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson once had a strong claim to being the best striker in the UFC. This is owed to his fifth-degree black belt in Tetsushin-ryū Kempo and American Kickboxing, which he has been taught from the age of three onwards by his father, Ray Thompson, a former kickboxer.
The pair are inseparable, and 'Wonderboy' has been trained by his father to great success, as he twice challenged Tyron Woodley for the welterweight title. Despite dragging 'The Chosen One' to hell and back, he failed to crown himself champion. Their first bout ended in a majority draw.
Their second bout, meanwhile, ended in a majority loss for Thompson. However, through the sheer depth of striking skill in his arsenal, he has maintained a strong position in the top 10, even into his forties.
#2. Tom Aspinall, reigning UFC interim heavyweight champion
Current UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall is one of the most exciting heavyweights in the promotion and, indeed, all of MMA. Part of this is due to his combination of speed, crisp boxing and elite-level Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills, the latter of which he owes to his father, Andy Aspinall, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor.
In fact, his father is the grappling instructor at Team Kaobon, where the interim heavyweight champion currently trains. The grappling skills he has amassed from his tutelage under his father have seen him score submission wins over former undisputed titleholder Andrei Arlovski and top-level heavyweight Alexander Volkov.
Naturally, Aspinall is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, which he acquired under his father's guidance. The two continue working together as father and son and as coach and fighter.
#1. Khabib Nurmagomedov, former UFC lightweight champion
Khabib Nurmagomedov is a legend of the sport, and the only UFC fighter to retire as an undefeated champion as the #1 pound-for-pound fighter in MMA. A large chunk of Nurmagomedov's success is owed to his father, the late great Sambo and MMA coach Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.
Under his father's guidance, 'The Eagle' was instilled with a kind of discipline that led to a fighter made of iron. From the days of his rise in the Combat Sambo scene to his ascension to world championship status in the UFC, Nurmagomedov had his father by his side, working in tandem with the American Kickboxing Academy.
Together, the father and son duo conquered the lightweight division, leading to famously heartwarming moments like Nurmagomedov senior exclaiming in celebration over his son submitting Dustin Poirier.
