The UFC is the top promotion in the mixed martial arts world and it comes as no surprise that if you are pursuing combat sports as a career, the UFC is your dream destination. For many fighters, though, it takes multiple impressive fights to get them into a multi-fight contract with the UFC.
There are fighters who spend their entire career fighting on the regional scene just to catch a glimpse of the UFC’s interest and then there are some who have the right connections and endorsements to get them in much quicker than others.
Of course, the UFC is starting to see competition from peripheral promotions such as Bellator and World Series of Fighting because of their addition of Reebok fight kits, but regardless, the UFC still holds its place as the summit in the world of combat sports.
Make no mistake, the UFC is still the apple of every fighters eye. Here are Sportskeeda’s top 5 fighters who the UFC stole from other promotions.
#1 Eddie Alvarez
When the former Bellator lightweight champion was finally signed to the UFC in the summer of 2014, the general consensus in the MMA community was “finally!”
Alvarez has spent the better part of his illustrious career fighting in all the notable promotions outside of the UFC, earning himself his flawless nickname “The Underground King”.
When the 33-year-old left Bellator for the UFC, he left behind a brilliant legacy of grudge matches with current Bellator champ Michael Chandler as well as the championship itself. Alvarez was known for his gritty wrestling, his durable exterior and his ability to eat punches as well as offer them excessively.
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Unfortunately, his well-known reputation was neutralised against Donald Cerrone in his much-anticipated debut at UFC 178.
Despite the setback, he eventually captured the UFC lightweight championship in 2016, becoming the first fighter in MMA history to hold both the UFC and Bellator championships.
#2 Angela Hill
Hill’s career skyrocketed after only having one professional mixed martial arts fight when she appeared on The Ultimate Fighter 20. She began her professional career in 2014 with Muay Thai as her staple martial art, but even though she was talented and a worthy prospect, she didn’t win the 115 crown on the show.
Hill did, however, end up being signed to the UFC where she had two losses in a row that later saw her being released from the promotion. That failure was, in essence, her most important return to notoriety, because she ended up climbing the ranks in women’s MMA’s most important promotion, Invicta FC.
It took Hill a mere two bouts to earn herself the promotion’s strawweight title. She made a mark not only on the WMMA circuit but also caught the eye of the UFC once again.
After successfully defending her title against Kaline Medeiros, Hill was re-signed with the UFC and suffered her first loss after four straight wins via unanimous decision to Jessica Andrade at UFC Houston.
#3 Will Brooks
The Chicago native has been open throughout his career about his aspirations to not only be in the UFC but to one day capture the UFC lightweight championship. In February of 2016, the former Bellator champion went on the MMA Hour and made it clear that he was willing to test the waters with the promotion.
Well, luckily for Brooks, he was snatched by the UFC shortly thereafter. He then entered the UFC octagon as the former Bellator lightweight champion and boasted an eight-fight win streak.
Brooks had spent a long three years fighting under the Bellator banner and had fought some of the stiffest competition that the promotion had to offer, including twice fighting the current lightweight champion Michael Chandler.
The freestyle fighter’s UFC debut against Ross Pearson saw him earn a unanimous decision victory. He is currently looking to rebound from his second fight in the promotion against Alex Oliveria which had ended in a 2nd round KO.
#4 Conor McGregor
The Irishman’s epic rise to prominence is so incredible that it’s hard to remember the regional fame that he had gathered in Ireland before being signed to the UFC.
Considering the fact that he exudes stardom, the UFC immediately knew that they had something special on their hands when they signed the Irishman, but the seeds of that stardom were planted during McGregor’s time fighting for the Cage Warriors promotion.
When McGregor began his career as a feisty Dublin boxer testing the waters of MMA, he was finishing opponents similar to the way he is now, just without the same magnitude. Competing in the UK-based Cage Warriors promotion, he became a two-weight world champion, holding the featherweight and lightweight titles simultaneously.
His double title hold in Cage Warriors was his inspiration for his historical triumph in the UFC, where he repeated the feat and solidified his legacy by becoming the first man in the promotion’s history to hold two World titles simultaneously, at UFC 205.
#5 Cris Cyborg
This Brazilian phenom is perhaps women’s MMA’s most feared, dangerous and successful fighter of all time. Cyborg has spent the better part of her career fighting outside of the UFC, despite repeated pleas by fans to get her signed to the world’s most prominent MMA promotion for years.
When the day finally came in March 2015, it almost felt as if a chill of fear went through the entire UFC women’s division. Given the fact that Cyborg has been practically undefeated since her first professional loss in 2005, that fear was well merited.
Only a select few women in the UFC have stepped forth to fight Cyborg, with both of her casualties succumbing to a TKO finish in a similar fashion.
Before entering the UFC octagon, the Brazilian was the Invicta FC featherweight champion and had defended her title thrice, she was also the Strikeforce featherweight champion, a title that she successfully defended three times as well.
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