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#4. Jose Aldo – WEC featherweight champion
Jose Aldo took full advantage of the WEC’s platform for the smaller weight divisions. At the height of his career, he was in the discussion of being the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world. His skillset and devastating leg kicks made him one of the most feared fighters in the sport.
‘Junior’ immediately ascended the ranks at 145lbs. He had an 11-1 MMA record when he joined the promotion in 2008 and remained unbeaten throughout his tenure. In 2009, he became the new featherweight champion after finishing Mike Brown with strikes in the second round. He followed that up with two dominant title defenses against Urijah Faber and Manny Gamburyan.
Like Dominick Cruz, Aldo was promoted to UFC featherweight champion once the promotion merged. He continued his dominance in the UFC and retained it 7-times before losing to Conor McGregor in 2015. Even though ‘Junior’ had two title defenses, his UFC success is what set him apart.
#3. Carlos Condit – WEC welterweight champion
Carlos Condit benefited from his WEC tenure. He joined the promotion in 2007, after making a name for himself while competing in Pancrase and other regional promotions.
After an impressive debut that saw him submit Kyle Jensen in the first round, ‘The Natural Born Killer’ earned a title shot. His high-level grappling was the difference maker once again as he submitted John Alessio to become the new welterweight champion. Condit followed that up with back-to-back submission wins over Brock Larson and Carlo Prater. He retained the title once more with a fourth-round TKO over Hiromitsu Miura.
‘The Natural Born Killer’s title reign came to an end in 2009 when Zuffa absorbed the division with the UFC. This was bitter-sweet for Condit. On the plus side, he had an opportunity to earn more money fighting in the UFC. On the other hand, continuing his title reign could’ve allowed him to gain more momentum and become more of a commodity.
