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MMA Stats: The Least Decision-Prone UFC Fighters of All Time [UPDATED]

(If James Irvin was a super-hero, his arch-nemesis would be Dr. Fitchtopus. / Photo courtesy of fcfighter.com)

Last week, we described Stefan Struve as “one of the least decision-prone fighters on the UFC roster,” and after he ended yet another fight this weekend before the final bell, we started to wonder — how accurate was that statement, anyway? And who else ranks near the Dutch heavyweight in terms of low decision ratio within the Octagon? So, we assembled a list of the UFC fighters (past and present) who have been least likely to meet the judges; for the purposes of this list, we only considered fighters who have made at least eight UFC appearances.

[Update: After having some knowledge dropped on us by @MMADecisions, we’ve expanded this list beyond a top-ten.]

As it turns out, Struve comes in at #5 among active UFC fighters, and shares the same decision ratio (8.33%) as Royce Gracie. But there are 11 fighters in front of him on the all-time list, led by welterweight crowd-pleaser DaMarques Johnson, cursed slugger James Irvin, and UFC pioneer Don Frye, who all managed to make it through 10 UFC appearances without ever going to decision. And now, the leaderboard…

(If James Irvin was a super-hero, his arch-nemesis would be Dr. Fitchtopus. / Photo courtesy of fcfighter.com)

[Update: After having some knowledge dropped on us by @MMADecisions, we’ve expanded this list beyond a top-ten.]

DaMarques Johnson: 10 UFC fights, 0 decisions, 0% decision ratio
James Irvin: 10 UFC fights, 0 decisions, 0% decision ratio
Don Frye: 10 UFC fights, 0 decisions, 0% decision ratio
Drew McFedries: 9 UFC fights, 0 decisions, 0% decision ratio
Charles Oliveira: 8 UFC fights*, 0 decisions, 0% decision ratio
Ryan Jensen: 8 UFC fights, 0 decisions, 0% decision ratio
Jason Lambert: 8 UFC fights, 0 decisions, 0% decision ratio
Gary Goodridge: 8 UFC fights, 0 decisions, 0% decision ratio
Jason MacDonald: 14 UFC fights, 1 decision, 7.14% decision ratio
Joe Lauzon: 13 UFC fights, 1 decision, 7.69% decision ratio
Gabriel Gonzaga: 13 UFC fights, 1 decision, 7.69% decision ratio
Stefan Struve: 12 UFC fights, 1 decision, 8.33% decision ratio
Royce Gracie: 12 UFC fights**, 1 decision***, 8.33% decision ratio
Frank Mir: 20 UFC fights, 2 decisions, 10% decision ratio
Cain Velasquez: 9 UFC fights, 1 decision, 11.11% decision ratio
Pat Barry: 9 UFC fights, 1 decision, 11.11% decision ratio
Vitor Belfort: 16 UFC fights, 2 decisions, 12.5% decision ratio

* Including his no-contest against Nik Lentz at UFC Live: Kongo vs. Barry.
** Not including his forfeit against Harold Haward at UFC 3.
*** Refers to his default “draw” against Ken Shamrock at UFC 5 that resulted from time running out; judges weren’t used in the UFC until December 1995.

Honorable mention: Frank Trigg never went the distance in seven UFC appearances, but since we’re only including fighters with eight or more fights in the promotion, he falls just short of qualifying.

Keep in mind that this list was thrown together on the fly after about an hour spent on Wikipedia, so if we’re leaving anybody out who should have made the top ten, please correct us in the comments section.

Why Royce Gracie Is the Most Influential MMA Fighter of All Time

I am confident when I say that without Royce and the rest of the Gracie family, the UFC would not have grown as it has today.At UFC 1, when Royce made his debut, no one thought much about him. He was a small, almost unknown Brazilian fighter.But three …

I am confident when I say that without Royce and the rest of the Gracie family, the UFC would not have grown as it has today.

At UFC 1, when Royce made his debut, no one thought much about him. He was a small, almost unknown Brazilian fighter.

But three submissions later, you’d better believe people were put on notice. Royce dominated UFC 1. He submitted all three of his opponents en route to becoming the tournament winner.

Royce used his Gracie jiu-jitsu style to defeat his opponents. Fans and fighters alike had never seen a style so fluid and unassuming, yet so devastatingly effective. Suddenly it didn’t matter who hit harder or who had the better wrestling or striking.

Because Royce beat them all.

Royce entered UFC 2 as a dangerous but still underrated threat. He showed up that night and had his most impressive outing yet the night he won UFC 2. He again submitted all four of his opponents, who had significant height and weight advantages on him.

Royce was well on his way to winning the third UFC tournament, but he had to pull out with dehydration after his win against Kimo Leopoldo. Royce came roaring back by winning UFC 4 by submitting three opponents, the last of whom was Dan “The Beast” Severn.

Royce came into the sport when it had no rules, time limits or weight classes. He proved that he could hang with the best fighters in the world, despite being smaller than the majority of them.

Without Royce Gracie and his accomplishments in the Octagon through UFC 1 to 4, you probably wouldn’t be reading this right now.

Nowadays it’s impossible for a fighter not to know some Brazilian jiu-jitsu, which was made popular and effective by the Gracie family. Royce brought submissions, and new techniques never-before seen, into MMA competitions. Royce single-handedly revolutionized the sport and helped to bring legitimacy to a sport in its infancy.

Those are the reasons that Royce Gracie is the most influential MMA fighter of all time. He is seen as one of the main reasons that Brazilian jiu-jitsu and MMA have thrived today.

Submit a comment (see what I did there?) or tweet me @FuscoNation16.

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MMA Fights That We Wish We Could Have Seen

Ever since fighters have been passing into retirement, leaving behind their legacies to be appreciated, pondered and scrutinized, one of the most recurring questions is based around fights between men who are separated by time. As fight fans, we need t…

As fight fans, we need to have questions answered; it’s one of the reasons why consistent fighters have both fans and detractors in abundance. The fans believe most of the questions have been answered and the result is perfection in the form of their man, while the detractors say “not so fast,” and they continue to watch believing that one question remains, and when it is answered, that man will fall.

Of course, much of it is name recognition and the style vs. style debate, but all of it comes back to the fact that the question itself is transcendent: generation gap be damned, the question will be asked, and the answer debated until we are all tired and move on to the next hypothetical fight.

Still, we can take comfort in knowing we are not the only ones asking the question—the fighters do it as well; how could they not compare themselves to the greats of times past?

In that spirit, here are 12 fights that ponder the question.

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[VIDEOS] UFC Legends Gracie, Couture, Coleman, and Ortiz Discuss Favorite Fighters, Respect + More

(The gang discusses favorite/greatest MMA fighters. Spoiler alert: You probably don’t agree with them.)

If you’ve visited CagePotato in the past year or so, you are undoubtedly aware of the entertainment that a roundtable discussion between friends can bring. From memorable fighter run-ins to the P4P baddest motherfuckers ever, we have held many a debate in this fashion, and as is usually the case, the UFC and FuelTV have once again decided to ride in on our coattails. They began with the thoroughly captivating Champions edition, which featured the likes of Forrest Griffin, Jon Jones, Chuck Liddell, and Frank Mir discussing everything from the dark days of the UFC to its meteoric rise, and have continued the series recently with a panel of fighters that can only be described as “legendary.”

Randy Couture, Royce Gracie, Mark Coleman, and Tito Ortiz sit in for this edition, and dish on respect, favorite fighters, regrets, and the time Wanderlei Silva nearly soccer kicked Mike Van Arsdale’s head from his body. Tito Ortiz manages to air out his regrets without once mentioning Affliction or dick pics, and should be commended for his incredible ability to mentally blackout painful memories.

Join us after the jump for a collection of videos featuring the legends talking shop. We know this isn’t exactly breaking news or anything, but it’s real slow out there today, so why not take a trip down memory lane in the meantime?

(The gang discusses favorite/greatest MMA fighters. Spoiler alert: You probably don’t agree with them.)

Royce Gracie – “Let Me Beat Somebody Up!”

“No Rules? No Problem!”

“Camaraderie and Respect”

“What Do You Regret?”

Mark Coleman Discusses Wanderlei Silva, Vale Tudo, and Greasing

–J. Jones

The 10 Most Spectacular Debuts in UFC History

Just making it to the octagon is an achievement in itself for most fighters. Signing the bottom line of a contract that begins with the three simple letters—U-F-C—comes as the result of hours upon hours of hard work.While most fighters have…

While most fighters have put in hours of training and have stepped inside a cage or ring multiple times, the bright lights of the UFC have a way of making you forget everything you’ve learned. The lights seem brighter, the crowds seem louder and, of course, there’s even more pressure to succeed.

It’s easy to get caught up in all the hoopla prior to making a debut, but the fighters on this list didn’t fall into the trap. Some entered the octagon as unknown prospects, while others had a certain mystique surrounding them due to their previous experience.

No matter the road taken by these men, whether it was through obscurity or intense scrutiny, these men made some of the most spectacular debuts in UFC history—even if they didn’t always come out on the winning side.

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Igor, Gregor and Rolles Gracie to Fight on ONE FC: Pride of a Nation

The ‘Gracie’ surname is revered in the Mixed Martial Arts community. Royce Gracie truly brought the surname to the forefront with his victories in the first few UFC events, defeating bigger men with the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu that his family invent…

Many fighters have carried the ‘Gracie’ surname into Mixed Martial Arts competition, but for the first time in a major Mixed Martial Arts event, three fighters from the famed family will fight on the same night. Brothers Igor, Rolles and half-brother Gregor will all compete when ONE Fighting Championship visits Manila for ONE FC: Pride of a Nation.

Igor, Rolles and Gregor are all black belts in BJJ and will look to showcase that during the event, which is expected to be one of the largest events in Asia this year.

Rolles will compete in a heavyweight match against Australian fighter Tony Bonello. Igor Gracie, who has competed in Strikeforce and Bellator, will face Korean knockout artist Jung Hwan Cha while Gregor Gracie will look to bounce back from his loss in the last ONE FC event against Nicholas Mann.

Their trainer, Mixed Martial Arts Legend Renzo Gracie, had this to add about their fight (from MMAJunkie.com):

“Rolles, Igor and Gregor Gracie have never trained so hard for a fight in their lives,” Renzo Gracie stated. “All three of my students understand that ONE FC in Manila will be the largest MMA event in the history of the Philippines. They are embracing this experience wholeheartedly and are training exceptionally hard to achieve victory in front of 16,500 fans. The fans in Manila will get the chance to see the next generation of the Gracie family dominate the world of MMA once again.”

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