Power Rankings: The Best Fighters Below .500 in UFC History

UFC 145 headliners Jon Jones and Rashad Evans have immaculate UFC records. Jones sits at 9-1, while Evans holds an incredible 12-1-1. Both are elite stars who rise above adversity and find a way to win against the very best in the world.

While many members of the UFC’s elite have spectacular UFC records, several fighters aren’t so lucky. In this article, we will take a look at some of MMA's biggest names who are batting less than .500 inside the octagon.

It’s amazing that some of the best fighters in the history of the sport find themselves on this list. Maybe it’s due to the pressure of fighting in the biggest organization in the world. Maybe it’s just a sign of aging that produces decay in skills.

Several factors went into determining the rankings of this list:
1. Record outside of UFC
2. Impact on the sport as a whole
3. Impact within your division
4. Ratio of UFC wins to losses
5. Total number of UFC fights

This list does not include “one-and-done” fighters, or fighters who are 0-1 and awaiting their next bout. A fighter who loses his UFC debut needs a chance at redemption before being placed on this list. However, it is notable that the loser of April’s Brad Pickett vs Damacio Page fight will be 0-2.

Honorable Mention: Not Quite Below .500

There is just as much talent sitting right on the border as there is under .500. Here are some of the fighters who have just as many UFC wins as they do losses. Their lists of accomplishments are long, and several of these may be surprising.

Ironically, two of the fighters on this list, Matt Serra and Chris Lytle, squared off against each other twice. When it was all said and done, Serra won the first fight and Lytle took the rematch.

HONORABLE MENTION

Matt Serra (7-7)
UFC Welterweight Champion
Non-UFC Record: 4-0
Non-UFC Win: 100%

Shogun Rua (4-4)
UFC Light Heavyweight Champion
Non-UFC Record: 16-2
Non-UFC Win: 89%

Sam Stout (6-6)
Lightweight Contender
Non-UFC Record: 11-1-1
Non-UFC Win: 85%

Jake Shields (2-2)
Strikeforce Middleweight Champion
Non-UFC Record: 25-4-1
Non-UFC Win: 83%

Roy Nelson (3-3)
Ultimate Fighter 10 Winner
Non-UFC Record: 13-4
Non-UFC Win: 76%

Chris Lytle (10-10)
King of Fight Night Awards
Non-UFC Record: 21-8
Non-UFC Win: 72%

Pat Barry (4-4)
Non-UFC Record: 3-0
Non-UFC Win: 100% 

#16: Jeff Curran

Non-UFC Record: 33-12-1
Non-UFC Win: 72%
UFC Record: 0-2
UFC Win: 0%

With wins over Rafael Assuncao and Wagnney Fabiano, it's clear to see that bantamweight Jeff “Big Frog” Curran is not someone you can walk on. Unfortunately, the two names he has run into inside the UFC are future welterweight champion Matt Serra and Scott Jorgensen. His upcoming bout with Johnny Eduardo will show us where he stands.

#15: Sean McCorkle

Non-UFC Record: 15-0
Non-UFC Win: 100%
UFC Record: 1-2
UFC Win: 33%

To say that a 15-0 professional record is impressive is an understatement. While McCorkle has mostly dispatched of unknowns and non-notables, his UFC career consisted of a 67 second submission win over Mark Hunt, followed by a loss after nearly submitting Stefan Struve with a wicked kimura and a dismissal after a second-straight loss. Since his release, McCorkle is 6-0, winning all fights by first-round submission. He now fights for Bellator.

#14: Jason MacDonald

Non-UFC Record: 19-8
Non-UFC Win: 70%
UFC Record: 6-7
UFC Win: 46%

Believe it or not, this guy was in title contention at one point in time. Debuting with back to back submissions over Ed Herman and Chris Leben, “The Athlete” found himself across the cage from recent middleweight champion Rich Franklin. His fight with Demian Maia at UFC 87 remains one of the finest pieces of grappling ever caught on tape.

#13: Jason "Mayhem" Miller

Non-UFC Record: 23-6 (1)
Non-UFC Win: 77%
UFC Record: 0-2
UFC Win: 0%

Mayhem Miller is a victim of tough competition. In his only UFC bouts, he was pitted against a young Georges St. Pierre and Ultimate Fighter winner Michael Bisping. Outside of the Octagon, Miller has had a successful career fighting in several organizations, hosting Bully Beatdown for MTV and doing commentary for the King of the Cage.

#12: Patrick Cote

Non-UFC Record: 12-0
Non-UFC Win: 100%
UFC Record: 4-7
UFC Win: 36%

Looking at Cote's impressive run outside the Octagon, you might be able to see why he was tapped as an opponent for middleweight champion Anderson Silva. After an entertaining run on The Comeback season of The Ultimate Fighter, Patrick Cote made it to the finals, where he lost to Travis Lutter, officially starting his Octagon career at 0-4.

Cote would win four straight Octagon bouts en route to claiming a shot at middleweight champion Anderson Silva's championship. Cote would be the first man to enter the third round with the champion, although the contest was halted when a freak leg injury caused a TKO stoppage.

Cote would lose his next two fights, which saw his departure from the UFC. Cote has won three straight bouts on the independent circuit and could one day return to the company that made him famous.

#11: Eddie Wineland

Non-UFC Record: 18-6-1
Non-UFC Win: 72%
UFC Record: 0-2
UFC Win: 0%

Team Alpha Male has made sure that bantamweight Eddie Wineland is winless inside the Octagon. There is no shame in losing to Urijah Faber and Joseph Benavidez, but in order for Wineland to keep his job, he is going to need to show the world what he is really made of in his next bout.

#10: Mac Danzig

Non-UFC Record: 16-4-1
Non-UFC Win: 76%
UFC Record: 4-5
UFC Win: 44%

After winning his first two in the UFC, Ultimate Fighter 5 winner Mac Danzig dropped three straight. Since that time, he has KO’d fellow TUF winner Joe Stevenson, won a decision over Justin Bucholz and lost a pair of fights to Matt Wiman. As an Ultimate Fighter champion, Danzig might have ranked higher here—but were it not for an Yves Lavigne error, Mac’s record might be above .500.

#9: Phil Baroni

Non-UFC Record: 11-7
Non-UFC Win: 61%
UFC Record: 3-7
UFC Win: 30%

When Phil Baroni knocked out former middleweight champion Dave Menne in only 18 seconds, the MMA world took notice. Unfortunately for Phil, even though he stepped into the Octagon six more times during his career, he was never able to come out a winner again.

After dropping four straight, Baroni was released by the UFC in early 2005. Baroni would go on to be 4-2 in the PRIDE organization before moving around to Strikeforce and Elite XC, among others. Baroni is still fighting to this day, but hasn't been able to recapture the early UFC success he found nearly a decade ago.

#8: Michihiro Omigawa

Non-UFC Record: 12-6-1
Non-UFC Win: 63%
UFC Record: 1-5
UFC Win: 17%

Kicking off a trio of Japanese fighters who grace this list is Michihiro Omigawa. Omigawa had a short 0-2 stint with the UFC beginning back in 2007. Omigawa left for Japan, where he rattled off several wins. Since returning last year, he has gone 1-3 inside the Octagon, although that does include a controversial decision loss to Darren Elkins.

#7: Yoshihiro Akiyama

Non-UFC Record: 12-1 (2)
Non-UFC Win: 80%
UFC Record: 1-4
UFC Win: 20%

Expectations for Japanese-Korean superstar Yoshihiro Akiyama were extraordinary upon his arrival in 2009.

He debuted on the main card of UFC 100 in lieu of Hall of Famer Mark Coleman who was placed on the undercard. Akiyama was controversially awarded the decision in his debut, and has gone on to lose four consecutive bouts since that time.

He looked good in his welterweight debut at UFC 144—however, he looked gun-shy. Maybe the UFC will give him one more shot. Asia is an important market and he remains popular there.

#6: Jeremy Horn

Non-UFC Record: 83-14-5
Win - 81%
UFC Record: 6-7
Win -  46%

MMA journeyman Jeremy Horn has been around the block. With more than 100 professional fights to his credit, "Gumby" has wins over Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin and three wins over Chael Sonnen. His total number of wins is impressive, and while there is a healthy serving of cans in there, realize that Horn has competed with the best throughout his career.

#5: KID Yamamoto

Non-UFC Record: 18-3 (1)
Non-UFC Win: 82%
UFC Record: 0-3
UFC Win: 0%

When 2007 came to a close, KID Yamamoto carried an incredible record of 17-1 (1). KID suffered a knee injury in early 2008, which led to a 15-month layoff. KID has produced little since then, winning only once in his six fights since. His first UFC loss was to Demetrious Johnson, but his most recent losses were to unknowns.

#4: Ken Shamrock

Non-UFC Record: 21-9
Non-UFC Win: 70%
UFC Record: 7-6-2
UFC Win: 47%

Believe it or not, this one is not entirely due to old age. By the end of 2002, Ken Shamrock had taken a total of 11 trips into the Octagon. In that time, the World's Most Dangerous Man only had his hand raised six times. The Hall of Famer would win only one of his final four fights in the UFC. Since then, he has bounced around the independents and become the poster boy for forced retirement.

#3: Takanori Gomi

Non-UFC Record: 31-5 (1)
Non-UFC Win: 84%
UFC Record: 2-3
UFC Win: 40%

Once known as the number one lightweight in the world, Japanese legend Takanori Gomi ran into a collection of grappling aces when he finally made it to the UFC. All three of Gomi’s losses have come via submission at the hands of lightweight title contenders—Kenny Florian, Clay Guida and Nate Diaz.

Gomi rebounded a bit at UFC 144 when he returned to his winning ways. A TKO victory over Eiji Mitsuoka may not mean much in the grand scheme of things. However, it means much more than a loss to Eiji Mitsuoka.

#2: Mirko Cro Cop

Non-UFC Record: 23-4-2 (1)
Non-UFC Win: 77%
UFC Record: 4-6
UFC Win: 40%

The man known as Cro Cop has highlight reels that go on for days. His headkick knockouts belong to legend, and his tenure in PRIDE will go down as one of the greatest in history. With losses only to Fedor Emelianenko, Big Nog, Kevin Randleman and a controversial decision to Mark Hunt, Mirko was widely considered one of the best heavyweights in the world.

His time in the UFC, however, didn’t quite mirror his success elsewhere. Cro Cop would appear in the Octagon 10 times, but would only take victories from Pat Barry and bottom-feeders Anthony Perosh, Eddie Sanchez and Mustafa Al Turk.

#1: Wanderlei Silva

Non-UFC Record: 30-5-1 (1)
Non-UFC Win: 81%
UFC Record: 4-6
UFC Win: 40%

The Axe Murderer is arguably the most intense and aggressive knockout artist in history. With 24 T/KO stoppages to his credit, he has become one of MMA’s most beloved figures all over the world. Wanderlei is 4-4 in his most recent run with the UFC, but early career losses to Vitor Belfort and Tito Ortiz make him a member of the under .500 club.

Wanderlei will attempt to avenge his loss to Vitor this summer, as the two are set to square off at the conclusion of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil, where they currently serve as coaches.