Top 5 Fighters Competing Outside The UFC

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Top 5 Fighters Outside The UFC

yushin
Jason Silva-USA Today Sports

There is no doubt in anybody's mind that the UFC is the premiere MMA organization in the world. Each fighter who competes in the organization has made a name for themselves in regional, national or international MMA circuits. Those who compete at the top of the organization are normally ranked in the top-10 in their division.

When we look at the likes of Jon Jones, Cain Velasquez, Junior dos Santos, Georges St-Pierre, Jose Aldo and other title or former title holders, it is obvious the UFC holds the world's best. With that being said, there are plenty of fighters who don't compete under the UFC banner who have the skills and talent to be considered among the best in the world in their weight class.

For one reason or another these fighters just haven't made their way to the UFC or just don't want to compete for the organization. The most common name mentioned in this manner is Fedo Emelianenko. He was considered the best the world had to offer and he never stepped foot inside the octagon, leaving some to question the fighter's validity.

Now that Emelinanko is retired, who is left to carry the torch for those who wish to compete outside the UFC. Here are the top five fighter who currently fight outside of the UFC:

2 of 7

Honorable Mentions

honorable
Gary A. Vasquez-USA Today Sports

Honorable Mentions: Jon Fitch, Bibiano Fernandes, Eduardo Dantas, Patricio Freire, Pat Curran and Ben Askren

Each of the aforementioned fighters are warriors in their own respects and just missed out of making the top five. For Jon Fitch, he past record overshadows his current record. In the past, his lay and pray methods seemed to prevent anyone not named George St-Pierre from laying a finger on him. Many people didn't like it, but it worked. Now 1-3-1 in his last five fights, Fitch's prime looks to be behind him, but he is still among the best outside the octagon.

Fernandes has looked unstoppable at bantamweight in One FC over the years. Currently riding a six-fight win streak, he doesn't seem to be slowing down. He was extremely, extremely close to breaking into the top five.

Dantas, Freire, Curran and Askren all compete in Bellator and have tough fights each time they step inside the cage. Dantas lost to Tyson Nam, causing him to be on the outside looking in of the rankings.

Freire is a fighter who dominates once he gets inside the cage. The only people he has lost to is Curran and Joe Warren, which isn't too shabby. The fact he couldn't complete his quest to the top keeps him out of the top five.

Curran and Askren, two of Bellator's bests, are great athletes. It's their style of fighting that keeps them on the outside looking in. Curran, who is a counter striker by nature, isn't active enough inside the cage. His approach nearly cost him the fight against Freire.

Much like Fitch, Askren's methods work for him. He is a wrestle first, ask questions later kind of guy. If he was competing against better competition, it's hard to say if he would be as successful.

3 of 7

5. Josh Burkman

Josh
Photo via Josh Burkman Facebook Page

Now on a five-fight win streak and poised to be the inaugural World Series of Fighting welterweight champion, Burkman has proven to be a great fighter. There are not too many people who can say they submitted Jon Fitch in 41 seconds, even if Fitch is in the twilight of his career.

Since leaving the UFC in 2008 after a loss to Pete Sell, Burkman has only loss once. That loss was to Jordan Mein in 2011. Other than that loss, he has beaten decent competition including Fitch, Aaron Simpson and Gerald Harris.

With the UFC constantly releasing fighters for different reasons, it may be only a matter of time before Burkman gets some more competition. As long as he continues to make himself a well-rounded fighter, I don't see too many people on the WSOF roster beating Burkman.

4 of 7

4. Marlon Moraes

Marlon
Marlon Moraes Facebook Page

He is young, talented and unmatched in the World Series of Fighting. Anyone who watched Moraes fight Miguel Torres during his WSOF debut would have been impressed with the youngster. He was calm and collected through the fight against a former WEC bantamweight champion and a man who has over 40 fights under his belt. He pulled out the split decision in the end.

Since then Moraes has beaten Tyson Nam, the man who beat reigning Bellator bantamweight champion Eduardo Dantas by first round-knockout, and completely battered Brandon Hempleman to a decision victory.

If you look at his record (11-4-1), one may think he doesn't deserve to be on the top five list. If you watch him fight, however, you can clearly see why he made the list. Still only 25-years old, Moraes can only improve inside the cage, which may be dangerous for anyone fighting him.

5 of 7

3. Eddie Alvarez

Eddie
Eddie Alvarez Facebook Page

It should come to no surprise that Eddie Alvarez would make the list.

Alvarez is a tremendous talent and a superstar in Bellator. His style of fighting gets people excited and people's jaws are still hanging after his fight with Michael Chandler. Though he lost, he is still considered one of the best lightweights in the world. That's probably why the UFC wanted him so badly.

Holding a record of 24-3, Alvarez is a force to be reckoned with inside the cage. He pressures opponents and throws bombs with every swing of a punch. His most notable wins have come against Shinya Aoki, Pat Curran and Roger Huerta.

This man could step into the octagon today and compete at the top of the class. He is well rounded as nine of his 24 wins are by submission, and has endurance for days. There is really nothing bad to say about Alvarez except he needs to stay under control during his fights. He is easily one of the best who, for now, compete outside of the octagon.

6 of 7

2. Michael Chandler

Chandler
Michael Chandler Facebook Page

It is only fitting that Michael Chandler be placed one spot ahead of Eddie Alvarez, bringing him in at no. 2.

Chandler is a warrior and is currently undefeated in his young MMA career. His first fight took place in August 2009. He seems to get better with every fight. When he first started out in Bellator, he was known for his ground game. Now, he is knocking people out.

Chandler made a name for himself when he submitted Eddie Alvarez in their four-round war in 2011. Since then, things have been on the up-and-up for him. This year alone, he has beaten Rick Hawn and David Rickels to keep his 155-pound Bellator lightweight belt. He will get a rematch with Alvarez in Bellator's first pay-per-view.

It was a smart move for Bjron Rebney to quickly re-sign Chandler to am eight-fight contract. He will be a staple for Bellator for many years to come. He may be the individual who people will be talking about the most outside of the UFC.

7 of 7

1. Yushin Okami

Okami
Jason Silva-USA Today Sports

Call it predictable, crazy or whatever you want, but Yushin Okami is the best fighter outside the UFC currently competing. This is why he comes in at the top of the list.

During the man's tenure inside the octagon, he only lost to Rich Franklin (a former middleweight champ), Chael Sonnen (a man who has received three title shots), Anderson Silva (enough said), Tim Boetsch (a fight Okami was winning before Boetsch cashed in on his punchers chance) and Ronaldo Souza (a former Strikeforce middleweight champion).

Other than those aforementioned opponents, Okami has beaten everyone else inside the octagon from Alan Belch to Mark Munoz to Evan Tanner. There is a reason why so many people were shocked to see Okami released.

Now he will take his talents to World Series of Fighting, where he will most likely be successful. If he competes the way many people believe he will, Okami may even find himself back inside the Octagon before his career is over. At only 32 years of age, Okami still has several years left ahead of him.

If or until he competes back inside the octagon, Okami will be seen as the best fighter outside the UFC.

1 of 7

Top 5 Fighters Outside The UFC

yushin
Jason Silva-USA Today Sports

There is no doubt in anybody's mind that the UFC is the premiere MMA organization in the world. Each fighter who competes in the organization has made a name for themselves in regional, national or international MMA circuits. Those who compete at the top of the organization are normally ranked in the top-10 in their division.

When we look at the likes of Jon Jones, Cain Velasquez, Junior dos Santos, Georges St-Pierre, Jose Aldo and other title or former title holders, it is obvious the UFC holds the world's best. With that being said, there are plenty of fighters who don't compete under the UFC banner who have the skills and talent to be considered among the best in the world in their weight class.

For one reason or another these fighters just haven't made their way to the UFC or just don't want to compete for the organization. The most common name mentioned in this manner is Fedo Emelianenko. He was considered the best the world had to offer and he never stepped foot inside the octagon, leaving some to question the fighter's validity.

Now that Emelinanko is retired, who is left to carry the torch for those who wish to compete outside the UFC. Here are the top five fighter who currently fight outside of the UFC:

2 of 7

Honorable Mentions

honorable
Gary A. Vasquez-USA Today Sports

Honorable Mentions: Jon Fitch, Bibiano Fernandes, Eduardo Dantas, Patricio Freire, Pat Curran and Ben Askren

Each of the aforementioned fighters are warriors in their own respects and just missed out of making the top five. For Jon Fitch, he past record overshadows his current record. In the past, his lay and pray methods seemed to prevent anyone not named George St-Pierre from laying a finger on him. Many people didn't like it, but it worked. Now 1-3-1 in his last five fights, Fitch's prime looks to be behind him, but he is still among the best outside the octagon.

Fernandes has looked unstoppable at bantamweight in One FC over the years. Currently riding a six-fight win streak, he doesn't seem to be slowing down. He was extremely, extremely close to breaking into the top five.

Dantas, Freire, Curran and Askren all compete in Bellator and have tough fights each time they step inside the cage. Dantas lost to Tyson Nam, causing him to be on the outside looking in of the rankings.

Freire is a fighter who dominates once he gets inside the cage. The only people he has lost to is Curran and Joe Warren, which isn't too shabby. The fact he couldn't complete his quest to the top keeps him out of the top five.

Curran and Askren, two of Bellator's bests, are great athletes. It's their style of fighting that keeps them on the outside looking in. Curran, who is a counter striker by nature, isn't active enough inside the cage. His approach nearly cost him the fight against Freire.

Much like Fitch, Askren's methods work for him. He is a wrestle first, ask questions later kind of guy. If he was competing against better competition, it's hard to say if he would be as successful.

3 of 7

5. Josh Burkman

Josh
Photo via Josh Burkman Facebook Page

Now on a five-fight win streak and poised to be the inaugural World Series of Fighting welterweight champion, Burkman has proven to be a great fighter. There are not too many people who can say they submitted Jon Fitch in 41 seconds, even if Fitch is in the twilight of his career.

Since leaving the UFC in 2008 after a loss to Pete Sell, Burkman has only loss once. That loss was to Jordan Mein in 2011. Other than that loss, he has beaten decent competition including Fitch, Aaron Simpson and Gerald Harris.

With the UFC constantly releasing fighters for different reasons, it may be only a matter of time before Burkman gets some more competition. As long as he continues to make himself a well-rounded fighter, I don't see too many people on the WSOF roster beating Burkman.

4 of 7

4. Marlon Moraes

Marlon
Marlon Moraes Facebook Page

He is young, talented and unmatched in the World Series of Fighting. Anyone who watched Moraes fight Miguel Torres during his WSOF debut would have been impressed with the youngster. He was calm and collected through the fight against a former WEC bantamweight champion and a man who has over 40 fights under his belt. He pulled out the split decision in the end.

Since then Moraes has beaten Tyson Nam, the man who beat reigning Bellator bantamweight champion Eduardo Dantas by first round-knockout, and completely battered Brandon Hempleman to a decision victory.

If you look at his record (11-4-1), one may think he doesn't deserve to be on the top five list. If you watch him fight, however, you can clearly see why he made the list. Still only 25-years old, Moraes can only improve inside the cage, which may be dangerous for anyone fighting him.

5 of 7

3. Eddie Alvarez

Eddie
Eddie Alvarez Facebook Page

It should come to no surprise that Eddie Alvarez would make the list.

Alvarez is a tremendous talent and a superstar in Bellator. His style of fighting gets people excited and people's jaws are still hanging after his fight with Michael Chandler. Though he lost, he is still considered one of the best lightweights in the world. That's probably why the UFC wanted him so badly.

Holding a record of 24-3, Alvarez is a force to be reckoned with inside the cage. He pressures opponents and throws bombs with every swing of a punch. His most notable wins have come against Shinya Aoki, Pat Curran and Roger Huerta.

This man could step into the octagon today and compete at the top of the class. He is well rounded as nine of his 24 wins are by submission, and has endurance for days. There is really nothing bad to say about Alvarez except he needs to stay under control during his fights. He is easily one of the best who, for now, compete outside of the octagon.

6 of 7

2. Michael Chandler

Chandler
Michael Chandler Facebook Page

It is only fitting that Michael Chandler be placed one spot ahead of Eddie Alvarez, bringing him in at no. 2.

Chandler is a warrior and is currently undefeated in his young MMA career. His first fight took place in August 2009. He seems to get better with every fight. When he first started out in Bellator, he was known for his ground game. Now, he is knocking people out.

Chandler made a name for himself when he submitted Eddie Alvarez in their four-round war in 2011. Since then, things have been on the up-and-up for him. This year alone, he has beaten Rick Hawn and David Rickels to keep his 155-pound Bellator lightweight belt. He will get a rematch with Alvarez in Bellator's first pay-per-view.

It was a smart move for Bjron Rebney to quickly re-sign Chandler to am eight-fight contract. He will be a staple for Bellator for many years to come. He may be the individual who people will be talking about the most outside of the UFC.

7 of 7

1. Yushin Okami

Okami
Jason Silva-USA Today Sports

Call it predictable, crazy or whatever you want, but Yushin Okami is the best fighter outside the UFC currently competing. This is why he comes in at the top of the list.

During the man's tenure inside the octagon, he only lost to Rich Franklin (a former middleweight champ), Chael Sonnen (a man who has received three title shots), Anderson Silva (enough said), Tim Boetsch (a fight Okami was winning before Boetsch cashed in on his punchers chance) and Ronaldo Souza (a former Strikeforce middleweight champion).

Other than those aforementioned opponents, Okami has beaten everyone else inside the octagon from Alan Belch to Mark Munoz to Evan Tanner. There is a reason why so many people were shocked to see Okami released.

Now he will take his talents to World Series of Fighting, where he will most likely be successful. If he competes the way many people believe he will, Okami may even find himself back inside the Octagon before his career is over. At only 32 years of age, Okami still has several years left ahead of him.

If or until he competes back inside the octagon, Okami will be seen as the best fighter outside the UFC.


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