Who is the best British UFC fighter ever? Michael Bisping paved the way for Leon Edwards and the next generation of UK MMA stars
03/20/2025 07:09 PM
With UFC London right around the corner, we look back at the best fighters from across the pond.
England has produced many exciting MMA stars over the years, only several of which have made it to the pinnacle of the sport: a UFC world championship.
Michael Bisping, Leon Edwards, and current interim champion Tom Aspinall are the only British fighters who have touched gold so far with others hot on their trails like ranked contenders Arnold Allen and Liverpool sensation Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett, who aren’t far out from a title fight.
A new wave of UK talent taking over UFC London this Saturday, Bloody Elbow has ranked the top 5 best British UFC fighters of all time.
5. Paul Daley
#5 on our list is somebody that went 1-2 in the UFC, but he isn’t just about anybody— it’s Paul ‘Semtex’ Daley.
Fighting out Nottingham, England, Daley (44-18-2) owns 33 wins by knockout, more than half of those coming in the opening round. Daley was a mainstay in Strikeforce and Bellator, though he didn’t stay in the UFC for long, booted from the roster for punching Josh Koscheck after their fight was already over.
Daley won his first two UFC fights by knockout in round 1 as he did in 17 other fights. Daley consistently fought some of the biggest names in the sport like Nick Diaz, Rory Macdonald, Tyron Woodley and Michael ‘Venom’ Page.
Daley has notable wins over BMF Champion Jorge Masvidal, Martin Kampmann, Duane Ludwig, Brennan Ward and a few fight-of-the-year contenders on his record.
4. Michael ‘Venom’ Page
Another British star with only a few UFC fights on his overall resume is the electric Michael ‘Venom’ Page – one of the most unpredictable strikers MMA has ever seen.
Instead of going to the UFC off of the regional scene, MVP made a name for himself in Bellator MMA with a record of 17-2. Page wiped the floor with most of his competition, ranging anywhere from prospects to former/future UFC fighters to eventually champions (Douglas Lima, Logan Storley).
Known for breaking skulls and noses with his devastating strikes, Page has gotten his hand raised against Paul Daley, Douglas Lima, Kevin Holland and most recently became the first fighter to defeat Shara ‘Bullet’ Magomedov in February.
3. Tom Aspinall
Tom Aspinall might be one win away from becoming the greatest British UFC fighter of all time.
Of course, interim titleholder Aspinall would have to unify the heavyweight title with champion Jon Jones for that to happen.
Aspinall’s been chasing Jones for a while now, having won and defended the interim title in his wake, Jones opting to fight Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 last November.
Atherton’s Aspinall is 9-1 in the UFC Octagon, avenging his one and only loss in his last fight at UFC 304 – a first-round TKO stoppage over Curtis Blaydes. 10 fights into his UFC career, Aspinall has slayed former champ Andrei Arlovski, Alexander Volkov, Sergei Pavlovich and more ranked heavyweights in a matter of minutes.
2. Leon Edwards
Former UFC Welterweight Champion Leon Edwards had a long, hard-fought road to UFC gold, finally getting his title shot against Kamaru Usman after a 10-fight unbeaten streak. ‘Rocky’ ultimately made the most out of it, scoring a comeback headkick KO of Usman to win the title at UFC 278 in 2022.
Edwards defeated a number of contenders en route to the top, successfully defending his title twice against Usman and Colby Covington.
Edwards’ only hiccup in his last 14 fights was a title loss Belal Muhammad in the main event of UFC 304 last summer.
Leon Edwards has wins over: Kamaru Usman (twice), Colby Covington, Rafael Dos Anjos, Nate Diaz, Donald Cerrone, and Gunnar Nelson.
1. Michael Bisping
Michael Bisping’s accomplishments and contributions to the sport have him at #1 on our list.
Winner of season 3 of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’, Michael Bisping took the road most traveled to the UFC Middleweight title. Bisping won way more than he lost, oftentimes going on a decent win streak, losing against a formidable opponent, and then coming back to do it all over again.
Bisping’s resilience and hard work eventually paid off, granted a short-notice opportunity to fight for the title after upsetting former champion Anderson Silva in London.
‘The Count’ got revenge on former foe Luke Rockhold, shocking the world with a first-round knockout at UFC 199. Bisping also avenged a loss to Dan Henderson in his first title defense.
Michael Bisping (30-9) went 20-9 in the promotion, retiring in 2017 off losses to the legendary Georges St-Pierre and Kelvin Gastelum.
Bisping beat the likes of Chris Leben, Jason Miller, Brian Stann, Cung Le, and many more middleweights in his heyday.
