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The UFC has been home to some truly exciting fighters over the past decade, and thanks to them, we’ve seen an almost countless number of tremendous fights inside the Octagon. Some fighters, though, seem to guarantee fireworks each and every time they step into action, regardless of opposition or the stakes involved.
The following five fighters have put on some of the very best fights in the last ten years, with some of those bouts being widely considered amongst the very best in MMA history. Here are the five most exciting UFC fighters of the decade (2010-2019).
#5 Diego Sanchez
The winner of the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter way back in 2005, Diego Sanchez was arguably the UFC’s most exciting fighter in the previous decade (2000-2009) thanks to his classic encounters with the likes of Nick Diaz, Karo Parisyan and Clay Guida. But somehow – despite advancing in age and becoming less durable – ‘The Nightmare’ has remained relevant over the last ten years too and continues to excite every time he steps into the Octagon.
It’s been an up-and-down decade for the man from Albuquerque, New Mexico; he’s jumped between weight classes, ranging from 145lbs all the way up to 170lbs, and has put together a record of 8-9 since the turn of the decade, but for a fighter like Sanchez, wins and losses barely matter – it’s what happens in the fight that counts.
Diego’s wild fights with Martin Kampmann, Jake Ellenberger and Gilbert Melendez are all considered up there with the very best in the last decade, and it’s almost impossible to find him involved in anything but a barnburner; even at the age of 37 he was able to put on a tremendous fight in his victory over Mickey Gall this past March. Sanchez has now signed a new deal with the UFC – so it wouldn’t be a shock if he appears on a list like this in another ten years time, either!
#4 Dustin Poirier
The former Interim UFC Lightweight champion, Dustin Poirier has become renowned for his exciting fights ever since he first set foot inside the Octagon in January 2011. He beat up top Featherweight contender Josh Grispi in that outing to start a run of 8-3 at 145lbs, putting on outright classics against Chan Sung Jung, Erik Koch and Cub Swanson along the way.
In 2015 Poirier made the move to 155lbs, but one thing that didn’t change was his ultra-aggressive style inside the cage. ‘The Diamond’ has developed into a phenomenal pressure striker over the past few years, but his penchant for putting on exciting brawls remains; there were few fights in 2018 better than his crazy wars with Justin Gaethje and Eddie Alvarez.
Despite his recent loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov, Poirier remains in the prime of his career at 30 years old, and with six Fight of the Night bonuses under his belt already, it’s clear that we could see plenty more exciting wars from ‘The Diamond’ in the years to come.
#3 Chan Sung Jung
Despite a pair of lengthy absences – one due to his mandatory service in the Korean military and one due to a severe knee injury – ‘The Korean Zombie’ Chan Sung Jung has remained a cult favourite with UFC fans throughout the decade, and that’s largely due to his all-action style inside the Octagon.
Jung burst into the conscience of the MMA fanbase back in 2010 with his insane fight against Leonard Garcia at WEC 48, and when he joined the UFC in 2011 it was clear that we were in for some jaw-dropping things. And the Zombie hasn’t disappointed, putting on classics against the likes of Dustin Poirier and Yair Rodriguez and also boasting some of the best finishes in promotional history too, with his twister submission of Garcia in their rematch and his 7-second knockout of Mark Hominick.
Still a highly relevant title contender at 145lbs, Jung has the chance to close out the decade in style when he faces Frankie Edgar in the main event of UFC Fight Night 165 – the final UFC show of 2019. With the insane history of ‘The Korean Zombie’, you’d be a fool to bet against it being an amazing fight.
#2 Robbie Lawler
At 37 years old and on a three-fight losing streak, it’s likely that former UFC Welterweight champion Robbie Lawler is reaching the tail-end of his storied MMA career, which started way back in 2001. But his unexpected title reign from 2014 to 2016 made him into a UFC legend, and the quality of his fights while he was champion means he has to rank highly here.
Lawler returned to the UFC in 2013 following a nine-year absence, and defeated Josh Koscheck and Rory MacDonald to take his spot as a top contender at 170lbs. But it was after his loss in a classic title fight to Johny Hendricks that things really clicked for ‘Ruthless Robbie’. Following that, Lawler went on a tear, defeating Jake Ellenberger and Matt Brown before downing Hendricks in a rematch to claim the title.
‘Ruthless Robbie’ only defended his title twice, but those two fights were amongst the very greatest in promotional history, a pair of insane wars against MacDonald and Carlos Condit that saw Lawler emerge with his hand raised, largely through his own insane grit and determination. How much longer he can continue is anyone’s guess, but there’s no doubt that the Ruthless One has been one of the decade’s best fighters to watch.
#1 Donald Cerrone
Whenever you see Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone’s name on a UFC card, you know it’s worth watching. The Colorado native has never held a UFC title to date, but there’s no denying that when it comes to excitement inside the Octagon, ‘Cowboy’ basically has no equal. Debuting in the UFC in February 2011, Cerrone has fought at a ridiculous rate ever since – putting together 33 fights in the world’s biggest MMA promotion – and he’s broken myriad records in the process.
At the time of writing, Cerrone has the most wins in UFC history with 23, the most finishes in UFC history with 16, and the most post-fight bonus awards in UFC history with 18. He’s also delivered the most knockdowns in UFC history with 20, and was awarded ESPN’s Fighter of the Year award for 2015 – a year that saw him win 3 fights in a row to cap off an 8-fight streak.
Along the way Cerrone has been involved in unforgettable wars with the likes of Melvin Guillard, Eddie Alvarez, Jim Miller, Matt Brown, Robbie Lawler and Tony Ferguson, and win or lose, ‘Cowboy’ always comes to leave everything he’s got inside the Octagon. He might not become a UFC champion, but Cerrone should go down as a bonafide UFC legend – and he’s easily the most exciting fighter of the past decade.
