The MMA ecosystem has a lot of layers. Fighters might all be sharks when they’re walking down the street, but many are mere plankton when inserted into the cage.
But as with most things, a large majority of fighters lie somewhere in the middle, somewhere between championship gold and tomato-can tin. And within that wide middle is perhaps the most unsung classification: the journeyman.
For MMA purposes, a journeyman is someone who enjoys a lengthy career, but never attains the highest levels. It’s far from an insult, though; to hang around long enough to be a journeyman, you have to be doing something right.
These are the 25 greatest journeymen in the sport’s history. Lest you consider this an arbitrary list, a few parameters.
First, you need a long career; 10 years and 20 fights are pretty good general guidelines.
Second, we’re talking big promotions only here; no guys who toiled forever in the sport’s minor leagues.
Third, no one who won a major title or tournament need apply; even fighting for a big belt or winning a minor title puts you on thin ice.
And fourth, no guys who entered also-ran status at the ends of their careers. That’s not the journeyman lifestyle. Once a journeyman, always a journeyman. Or else, you never was a journeyman.