Marino. Malone. Moss. Maia?
The jiu-jitsu world champ and current UFC contender has torn off six straight wins, several of them over the company’s top welterweights.
However, at age 39, the end of Demian Maia‘s career, or at least his athletic prime, is growing more prominent at the horizon. What’s more, consistent dominance notwithstanding, his style isn’t the most pyrotechnic of things, and that rather than simply winning is critical to a shot at UFC gold.
This Saturday at UFC 211, Maia faces Jorge Masvidal, himself an accomplished fighter who hasn’t yet obtained a title fight. The winner may earn that elusive contest. Or not.
In the meantime, it got us thinking. Who, along with Maia, are the best active UFC fighters to never wear UFC gold? Who are the Dan Marinos, the Karl Malones and the Randy Mosses of MMA? Let’s take a look and count them up.
First, a few ground rules. Admittedly, we’re threading a bit of a needle here. We’re looking for non-title-winning fighters with the most impressive career resumes, but who are not only active but viable today. So there’s a sweet spot. For example, while there’s a case to be made that Khabib Nurmagomedov is the best lightweight on the planet right now, his actual career accomplishments don’t carry him as far as those of, say, Dustin Poirier, who has a much longer UFC tenure.
(Poirier also competes this Saturday at UFC 211, facing Eddie Alvarez with a potential title shot on the line.)
Entire careers are considered, but UFC success receives heavy emphasis. We are talking about UFC titles, after all.
All fighter record information courtesy of Sherdog.com.