Ed Herman and the 10 Best Journeymen in the UFC Right Now
Ed Herman came in second on The Ultimate Fighter 3, but he has had a longer and more successful UFC career than season winner Kendall Grove, who was released by the world's top MMA promotion more than three years ago.
At UFC 183, Herman will make his 17th trip to the Octagon. While Short Fuse has never been that close to becoming a contender in the middleweight division, he's had more than eight respectable years competing inside the Octagon.
Having never reached contender status despite recording nine UFC wins, Herman is one of the better journeymen in MMA today. Disregarding fighters who have had less than five UFC appearances, as they haven't really established their positions in their respective divisions, here are the 10 best journeymen currently on the UFC roster.
Honorable Mentions
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Brian Ebersole
With more than 60 MMA bouts prior to his UFC debut, Brian Ebersole is the definition of a journeyman. During his time outside the Octagon, Ebersole appeared in other major MMA promotions such as IFL, KOTC and Shooto.
Although he hasn't reached contender status in the UFC due to losses against Rick Story and James Head, Ebersole has had some memorable victories. Wins over Chris Lytle, Dennis Hallman and T.J. Waldburger had Ebersole thinking title contention in 2012, but back-to-back losses put a stop to that.
Now 34 years old, Ebersole is running out of time to shake the journeyman tag.
Ed Herman
Before being chosen to compete on TUF 3, Herman had posted a strong 13-3 record, picking up wins over Dave Menne, Glover Teixeira and Ebersole.
While he didn't turn into a serious title threat in the UFC middleweight division, Herman did continue his success against some tough competition. Inside the Octagon, he has beaten the likes of Kyle Noke, Trevor Smith and Rafael Natal.
Like Ebersole, Herman is 34 years old and will look to build momentum quickly following a victory in his most recent outing.
Ben Saunders
Undefeated in his first six MMA bouts, Ben Saunders competed on TUF 6, where he reached the quarterfinals before losing to Tom Speer.
Despite his disappointing showing on the UFC reality show, Saunders has gone on to have a much more successful career than Speer. Killa B had a respectable 4-3 stint with the UFC before being cut in 2010, but he earned his way back to the Octagon with eight wins in his following 11 contests.
Now 2-0 since returning to the UFC roster, Saunders could be hitting his stride and may have the potential to be more than a journeyman with a few more victories.
10. Danny Castillo
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With wins over Ricardo Lamas and Dustin Poirier before the WEC merged with the UFC, Danny Castillo has shown the ability to beat elite fighters. However, he hasn't been able to get over the hump.
After his UFC debut win over Joe Stevenson, Castillo looked to be ready to take his game to the next level, but Jacob Volkmann beat him instead. Similarly, a knockout win over Charlie Brenneman this past April had some thinking Castillo's striking had finally come around, but Last Call followed that victory up with two straight losses.
Now 35 years old and one defeat away from the three straight losses that usually result in fighters being released from the world's top MMA promotion, Castillo should worry more about job security than making another run at lightweight title contention.
9. Ross Pearson
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Ross Pearson was 8-3 before getting his shot on TUF 9, which he parlayed into a guaranteed UFC contract by beating Andre Winner in the finals.
While Pearson hasn't been one of the very best finds in TUF history, he has been a solid addition to the UFC roster. The Englishman hasn't been able to put more than three straight UFC wins together, though, which has prevented him from becoming a legitimate contender.
At 30 years old, Pearson is one of the younger competitors on this list, so he still has time to shake the journeyman moniker. He looked to be on the cusp of doing so following an August knockout win over Gray Maynard, but a follow-up loss to Al Iaquinta proved deflating.
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8. Cole Miller
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With a strong 11-2 record prior to his appearance on TUF 5, Cole Miller looked to be one of the most promising competitors on that season of the UFC reality show. However, he ran into Joe Lauzon, who eliminated him in the quarterfinals.
Miller responded to that disappointment well and has been one of the more solid unranked fighters in the lightweight and featherweight divisions. With wins over Leonard Garcia, Pearson and others, Miller has shown big potential at times, but takedown defense has been a big reason he's failed to win more than two in a row inside the Octagon.
At 30 years old, Miller still has time to kick it into another gear, but the time is now. Magrinho needs to improve his wrestling and work on utilizing his long reach, especially in a featherweight division where he towers over most of his competition.
7. Joe Lauzon
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Before he even stepped into the Octagon, Lauzon had already faced the likes of Mike Brown, Jorge Masvidal, Ivan Menjivar and Raphael Assuncao. So, in retrospect, maybe it shouldn't have been so surprising when he debuted with a knockout win over a fading Jens Pulver.
The knockout power Lauzon showed in that bout has not resurfaced, though, which has been a big reason he's failed to make a push toward the elite levels of the lightweight class.
With submission wins over Jeremy Stephens, Melvin Guillard and Jamie Varner, Lauzon has the ground game to reach the top. However, when forced to stand, he has not often done well since that win over Pulver.
Although he's been in the UFC more than eight years, Lauzon still seems to be improving. With wins in his past two outings, maybe he is finally ready to become more than a journeyman.
6. Sam Stout
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A standout with Canadian promotion TKO, Sam Stout joined the UFC in March 2006.
He started strong with a win over Spencer Fisher, but the Canadian has had trouble building momentum throughout his UFC career. Despite beating others like Lauzon, Matt Wiman and Yves Edwards, Stout has not been able to win more than two straight UFC fights.
As long as he's been with the biggest MMA promotion in the world, Stout is still only 30 years old. With a big matchup against Pearson coming up, Stout will have a chance to turn things around in a big way at UFC 185 in March.
5. Thiago Tavares
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With a win over Stout in January 2012, Thiago Tavares is among the five best journeymen competing inside the Octagon today.
He entered the UFC with a 10-0 record but couldn't reach contender status in the deep lightweight division. After beating Stout, the Brazilian was closer than ever, but he then met Khabib Nurmagomedov and couldn't make it out of the opening round.
Following the loss to Nurmagomedov, Tavares defeated Justin Salas before making a move to 145 pounds. Now, he's set to meet Nik Lentz in February in a bout that could give him three straight UFC wins for the first time in his UFC career.
Defeating Lentz would also make Tavares a legitimate contender in the featherweight division, which would result in him being excluded from journeyman lists moving forward.
4. Mike Pyle
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Prior to making his UFC debut in May 2009, Mike Pyle had already competed under the WEC, Strikeforce, IFL, Affliction and EliteXC banners. In many ways, he was a journeyman before he even joined the UFC welterweight roster.
After losing to Brock Larsen in his first trip to the Octagon, it looked like Pyle's long-awaited UFC career might not last long. However, Quicksand has avoided losing consecutive fights for his career and still has a home with the world's top MMA organization.
With wins over Rick Story, John Hathaway and Ricardo Almeida, Pyle has seriously flirted with title contention, but he's not currently ranked among the Top 15 fighters in the 170-pound class.
At 39 years old and coming off a knockout loss to Jordan Mein, Pyle might not be able to elevate his status any more than he already has.
3. Matt Wiman
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For a dude who began his UFC career with an embarrassing flying knee knockout loss to Fisher, Wiman has had a really solid tenure with the foremost MMA promotion.
Since that defeat, Wiman has posted a respectable 10-4 record inside the Octagon. With winning streaks of four and three, including wins over Tavares, Miller, Mac Danzig and many more, Wiman has come near title contention a couple of times, only to have his efforts thwarted by tough competition in Jim Miller, Siver and T.J. Grant.
With a win over Isaac Vallie-Flagg in November, Wiman is back on track and could be ready to make his most serious run at shedding the journeyman title yet.
2. Gleison Tibau
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The tough thing about ranking journeymen is that there is such a fine line between the best journeymen around and low-level contenders. Gleison Tibau, it seems, has been on that line throughout his UFC career.
When he joined the UFC roster, Tibau sported a 16-2 record. In eight years competing inside the Octagon, he has scored as many UFC wins as he had victories before joining the organization, which leaves him behind only Georges St-Pierre and Matt Hughes for most wins in UFC history.
Despite all the times he's had his hand raised, Tibau hasn't been able to string four consecutive UFC wins together. Every time he's on the verge of taking that next step, he seems to falter against elite competition.
Having beaten Stephens, Raphael dos Anjos, Jamie Varner, Pat Healy and many more, though, Tibau has had a solid career and may go down as the winningest fighter in UFC history when he calls it quits. Right now, with three straight victories, Tibau has his sights set on finally becoming a legitimate contender in the lightweight division.
1. Evan Dunham
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Evan Dunham went undefeated in his seven bouts prior to signing with the world's top MMA organization and has kept that momentum going inside the Octagon.
With wins in his first four trips to the Octagon, Dunham was on his way to title contention. However, a narrow loss to Sean Sherk stopped the Xtreme Couture combatant in his tracks. Despite wins over Tyson Griffin, Nik Lentz, Tibau and others, Dunham has not come as close to the top as he was heading into that September 2010 matchup with Sherk.
Earlier this month, Dunham broke a three-bout losing streak and likely saved his UFC job in the process. At 33 years old, it's now or never for him to make one more serious run at the top.
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