Issue 165
November -0001
Cult heroes and global champions who never made it to the UFC.
Vitor Ribeiro
‘Shaolin’ was considered the world’s best lightweight when he won the Shooto title from Joachim Hansen in ’03, but he fought mostly in Japan before retiring in 2010.
Ricardo Arona
An awesome grappler who beat Wanderlei Silva in Pride and was one of the world’s best at 205lb, but had just one more fight after the Japanese organization ended.
Bibiano Fernandes
‘The Flash’ had a fight announced for UFC 149, but it was scrapped. He claimed he’d never signed a contract and went on to reign in ONE Championship.
Kazuo Misaki
The Pride 2006 welterweight grand prix champion chose Sengoku over the UFC, but did come to America to beat Paul Daley in Strikeforce in his final fight.
Mamed Khalidov
The two-division KSW champion courted the UFC in 2012, but decided he could make far more money as one of the biggest stars in Poland instead.
Fedor Emelianenko
Dana White says the UFC offered its most lucrative-ever contract to the Russian, but he still turned down the chance to face Brock Lesnar.
Michael Chandler
There’s no doubt the former Bellator champion could mix it up with the UFC’s best, but he’s very happy as one of the poster boys for Scott Coker’s promotion.
Ben Askren
‘Funky’ wanted to test himself against the Octagon’s best and was confident he’d beat them all, but didn’t see eye-to-eye with the UFC brass, so had a lucrative run in ONE
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