30 Fighters Who Have Headlined the Most UFC Cards Ever

The UFC has been around since 1993, and in that time, they have held 188 events.

That is a lot of fights.

That means that there have been 189 headlining bouts for the 189 cards.

One day I found myself wondering, which fighter had headlined the most cards in UFC history?

So I decided to take a few hours and find out. Now I've put it all together so you can see too.

Here we go, the 30 fighters who have headlined the most cards in UFC history.

Note: I had to look up and count all this information on my own, so it is possible that I missed fighters, and the cards they headlined. Let me know in the comments if this is so.

Secondary Note: There were many fighters who had headlined three cards, so I wasn't able to put them all in. 

No. 24 (tie): Matt Serra- 3

We'll kick off this list with the former UFC welterweight champion, Matt "The Terror" Serra.

Serra has headlined three UFC cards, two of which were his title fights against Georges St-Pierre.

Serra had his first fight with the UFC since UFC 31 in 2001, and he last fought at UFC 119 against Chris Lytle.

Notable Cards Headlined: UFC 83 vs. Georges St-Pierre, UFC 69 vs. Georges St-Pierre, The Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale vs. Chris Lytle

No. 24 (tie): Chris Leben- 3

And after Saturday night, Chris Leben can now put his name on this list.

Leben was a contestant on season one of The Ultimate Fighter and he made his debut at the finale in 2005, where he defeated Jason Thacker.

On Saturday, Leben headlined his third card in the UFC, as he lost to Mark Munoz.

Notable Cards Headlined: UFC 138 vs. Mark Munoz, UFC 89 vs. Michael Bisping, Ultimate Fight Night 5 vs. Anderson Silva

No. 24 (tie): Evan Tanner- 3

The former UFC middleweight champion is up next, as Evan Tanner headlined three cards during his UFC tenure.

Tanner had his first fight in the UFC in 1999 at UFC 18, and he had his last one at The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale in 2008.

Tanner fought once for the light heavyweight title, and was knocked out by Tito Ortiz, before dropping down to middleweight and defeating David Terrell for the vacant middleweight title.

Notable Cards Headlined: The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale vs. Kendall Grove, Ultimate Fight Night 2 vs. David Loiseau, UFC 30 vs. Tito Ortiz

No. 24 (tie): Forrest Griffin- 3

Next up is the former UFC light heavyweight champion, and The Ultimate Fighter season one winner, Forrest Griffin.

Griffin has been with the UFC ever since season one of TUF, and will always have a place in the UFC. Griffin always comes looking for a brawl, and Dana White respects the guys who do that.

Griffin doesn't look like he'll return to championship form, but he'll continue to put on great fights for the fans.

Notable Cards Headlined: UFC 106 vs. Tito Ortiz, UFC 92 vs. Rashad Evans, UFC 86 vs. Rampage Jackson

No. 24 (tie): Frankie Edgar- 3

Next up is the current UFC lightweight champion, and a fighter that has the potential to move up this list significantly, Frankie Edgar.

Edgar won the lightweight title by defeating BJ Penn at UFC 112, and he has since defended his title three times, including a rematch to Penn.

Edgar will likely defend his title next against the winner of the Ben Henderson-Clay Guida fight.

Notable Cards Headlined: UFC 136 vs. Gray Maynard, UFC 125 vs. Gray Maynard, UFC 118 vs. BJ Penn

No. 24 (tie): Dan Henderson- 3

"Dangerous" Dan Henderson is next on this list, and had he not left the UFC for Strikeforce after his win at UFC 100, he could likely be higher up on the list.

Henderson was the Pride middleweight (205 pounds) and welterweight (183 pounds) champion, and when he came to the UFC, he got the opportunity to unify both titles, giving him two of his headlining bouts.

After those fights, he faced off against Rich Franklin in his third headlining bout.

He will headline is fourth UFC fight at UFC 139 opposite Mauricio "Shogun" Rua.

Notable Cards Headlined: UFC 93 vs. Rich Franklin, UFC 82 vs. Anderson Silva, UFC 75 vs. Rampage Jackson

No. 24 (tie): Shogun Rua- 3

Hey, we were just talking about him!

Shogun Rua has been with the UFC since UFC 76 in 2007, and has a record of 4-3, including three title fights.

For a long time, Shogun was considered the No. 1 light heavyweight in the world during his time in Pride, but he hasn't totally found the same success in the UFC.

Rua will headline is fourth UFC bout when he takes on Dan Henderson at UFC 139.

Notable Cards Headlined: UFC 128 vs. Jon Jones, UFC 113 vs. Lyoto Machida, UFC 104 vs. Lyoto Machida

No. 17 (tie): Kevin Randleman- 4

Kevin Randleman is the former UFC heavyweight champion, but hasn't fought in the UFC in over nine years.

Randleman won the vacant heavyweight title at UFC 23 in 1999, when he defeated Pete Williams by unanimous decision.

He defended the title once against Pedro Rizzo, and then lost it to Randy Couture at UFC 28.

After the loss to Couture, Randleman only had two more fights in the UFC before he left the Octagon forever.

Notable Cards Headlined: UFC 28 vs. Randy Couture, UFC 26 vs. Pedro Rizzo, UFC 23 vs. Pete Williams, UFC 20 vs. Bas Rutten

No. 17 (tie): Pedro Rizzo- 4

Pedro Rizzo is a three-time challenger for the UFC heavyweight title, and he lost all three fights.

Rizzo has had memorable fights with Ricco Rodriguez, Vladimir Matyushenko, Randy Couture and others.

Rizzo had his first fight in the UFC at UFC Brazil in 1998, and had his last fight in the Octagon in 2003 at UFC 45.

He headlined four UFC cards, and only one of them was not a title fight.

Notable Cards Headlined: UFC 26 vs. Kevin Randleman, UFC 27 vs. Dan Severn, UFC 31 vs. Randy Couture, UFC 34 vs. Randy Couture

No. 17 (tie): Dan Severn- 4

Dan Severn is the former UFC Superfight Champion, and he was around in the earliest days of the UFC.

Severn had his first fight in the UFC at UFC 4 in 1994. He followed that up with appearances at UFC 5, 6, 9, 12 and 27.

Severn's last fight in the Octagon was at UFC 27, although his career didn't stop there.

He recently picked up his 100th career win.

Notable Cards Headlined: UFC 27 vs. Pedro Rizzo, UFC 12 vs. Mark Coleman, UFC 9 vs. Ken Shamrock, UFC 6 vs. Ken Shamrock

No. 17 (tie): Lyoto Machida- 4

Next up is a former UFC light heavyweight champion, Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida.

Machida first came to the UFC in 2007, and he debuted at UFC 67 with a unanimous decision victory over Sam Hoger.

He went 8-0 in the UFC en route to claiming the light heavyweight championship, but then he fought Shogun Rua at UFC 113 in a rematch of their controversial decision at UFC 104.

He lost that fight via knockout, and followed that up with a loss to Rampage Jackson at UFC 113.

Then he defeated Randy Couture at UFC 129, and due to some timing issues, he earned a title shot against Jon Jones at UFC 140.

Notable Cards Headlined: UFC 123 vs. Rampage Jackson, UFC 113 vs. Shogun Rua, UFC 104 vs. Shogun Rua, UFC 98 vs. Rashad Evans

No. 17 (tie): Brock Lesnar- 4

For a guy who only has six fights in the UFC, having headlined four of them is really quite a big accomplishment.

Brock Lesnar made his UFC debut at UFC 81 in 2008 against Frank Mir.

Since that time, he has won, defended, and lost the UFC heavyweight title.

Now Lesnar will headline his fifth card at UFC 141 against Alistair Overeem.

Notable Cards Headlined: UFC 91 vs. Randy Couture, UFC 100 vs. Frank Mir, UFC 116 vs. Shane Carwin, UFC 121 vs Cain Velasquez

No. 17 (tie): Frank Shamrock- 4

The UFC may ignore Frank Shamrock, but this list certainly won't.

Shamrock was the light heavyweight champion during the early days of the UFC, which some may refer to as "The Dark Ages."

In fact, Shamrock has an even better ratio of headlined fights than Brock Lesnar, as Shamrock headlined four out of five fights that he had in his UFC career.

Shamrock won the light heavyweight title, and defended it four times, before retiring due to "lack of competition."

Notable Cards Headlined: UFC 22 vs. Tito Ortiz, UFC 17.5 vs. John Lober, UFC 17 vs. Jeremy Horn, UFC 16 vs. Igor Zinoviev

No. 17 (tie): Andrei Arlovski- 4

Andrei Arlovski was another fighter who was around during the early days of the UFC.

Arlovski made his debut at UFC 28 in 2000, and he was with the organization all the way through UFC 82 in 2008.

Arlovski is the former UFC interim heavyweight champion, and former heavyweight champion, and he defended each title once.

He left the UFC with a record of 10-4, including a 3-2 record in title fights.

Notable Cards Headlined: UFC 61 vs. Tim Sylvia, UFC 59 vs. Tim Sylvia, UFC 55 vs. Paul Buentello, UFC 53 vs. Justin Eilers

No. 15 (tie): Kenny Florian- 5

Another rare fighter on this list who has not won a title, although Florian has fought for a title three times.

Kenny Florian was on season one of The Ultimate Fighter, where he was a finalist, and has been with the organization ever since, dating all the way back to 2005.

Since that time, Florian has twice fought for the lightweight title, and once for the featherweight title.

He will be making his return to the lightweight division for his next fight.

Notable Cards Headlined: UFC Fight Night 21 vs. Takanori Gomi, UFC 101 vs. BJ Penn, UFC Fight Night 13 vs. Joe Lauzon, UFC Fight Night 11 vs. Din Thomas, The Ultimate Fighter 3 Finale vs. Sam Stout

No. 15 (tie): Jon Jones- 5

Jon Jones had to make an appearance on here, didn't he?

Jones has been in the UFC since UFC 87 in 2008, and last fought in September at UFC 135, where he defended his light heavyweight title against Rampage Jackson.

So far, Jones has headlined five cards, two of which came this year.

Jones will likely find himself higher on this list by next year.

Notable Cards Headlined: UFC 135 vs. Rampage Jackson, UFC 128 vs. Shogun Rua, UFC on Versus 2 vs. Vladimir Matyushenko, UFC on Versus 1 vs. Brandon Vera, The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale vs. Brandon Vera

No. 14: Tim Sylvia- 6

Tim Sylvia is the former UFC heavyweight champion, and is arguably one of the most dominant heavyweight champions the UFC has ever had.

Sylvia is a two time heavyweight champion, and is tied for the record for most consecutive defenses, with two.

Sylvia's first appearance in the Octagon came in 2002 at UFC 39, and he made his final appearance at UFC 81 in 2008.

Notable Cards Headlined: UFC 81 vs. Minotauro Nogueira, UFC 68 vs. Randy Couture, UFC 61 vs. Andrei Arlovski, UFC 41 vs. Ricco Rodriguez

No. 12 (tie): Vitor Belfort- 7

Vitor Belfort is the former UFC light heavyweight champion, and a former UFC tournament winner.

Belfort is well known for his lethal striking, and it was on display early in his UFC career against Wanderlei Silva, when he knocked out Silva in a mere 44 seconds.

Belfort had his first UFC fight at UFC 12 in 1997, and fought for the organization until 1999 when he went to Pride. Then he came back to the UFC in 2002, until he left for another organization in 2005. Then in 2009, he came back for what appears to be good.

Belfort has fought the best all over the world, and is one of the best fighters in the UFC today.

Notable Cards Headlined: UFC 126 vs. Anderson Silva, UFC 103 vs. Rich Franklin, UFC 51 vs. Tito Ortiz, UFC 49 vs. Randy Couture, UFC 46 vs. Randy Couture, UFC 37.5 vs. Chuck Liddell

No. 12 (tie): Diego Sanchez- 7

Diego "The Man Formerly Known as 'The Nightmare' Now Known as 'The Dream'" Sanchez is one of the few fighters on this list to never win a UFC belt.

Sanchez made his UFC debut at The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale against Kenny Florian, who he defeated by first round TKO.

Of the seven cards that Sanchez has headlined, there was only a belt on the line once.

Notable Cards Headlined: UFC Live on Versus 3 vs. Martin Kampmann, UFC 107 vs. BJ Penn, The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale vs. Clay Guida, UFC 95 vs. Joe Stevenson, UFC Fight Night 6 vs. Karo Parysian, The Ultimate Fighter 2 Finale vs. Nick Diaz

No. 10 (tie): Rampage Jackson- 8

Rampage Jackson is the former UFC light heavyweight champion, and has headlined eight cards during his UFC tenure.

Jackson made his UFC debut at UFC 67 in 2007, when he defeated Marvin Eastman by second round knockout.

Rampage also won the light heavyweight title in his second UFC fight, and successfully defended it against Dan Henderson.

More recently, he lost via fourth round submission to Jon Jones at UFC 135.

Notable Cards Headlined: UFC 135 vs. Jon Jones, UFC 130 vs. Matt Hamill, UFC 123 vs. Lyoto Machida, UFC 114 vs. Rashad Evans, UFC 96 vs. Keith Jardine, UFC 86 vs. Forrest Griffin, UFC 75 vs. Dan Henderson, UFC 71 vs. Chuck Liddell

No. 10 (tie): Matt Hughes- 8

Matt Hughes is the former UFC welterweight champion, and he was the most dominant welterweight ever without question, before GSP came along.

Hughes had his first fight in the UFC at UFC 22 in 1999, but didn't come to the UFC full time until UFC 34 in 2001, when he won the welterweight title the first time.

Since that time, Hughes has made the most appearances inside the Octagon of any fighter in history, and although he may have recently retired, he will always have a place inside the Octagon.

Hughes was involved in a record 12 UFC title fights, although that record will likely soon be passed.

Notable Cards Headlined: UFC 85 vs. Thiago Alves, UFC 63 vs. BJ Penn, UFC 60 vs. Royce Gracie, UFC 45 vs. Frank Trigg, UFC 38 vs. Carlos Newton

No. 8 (tie): Georges St-Pierre- 9

Georges St-Pierre is the current UFC welterweight champion, and one of the top three pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

St-Pierre has been with the UFC since UFC 46 in 2004, and is still fighting strong, and he most recently headlined UFC 129 opposite Jake Shields.

Next up for him, he will headline the Super Bowl card against Nick Diaz.

St-Pierre has all the potential in the world to move up this list rapidly.

Notable Cards Headlined: UFC 129 vs. Jake Shields, UFC 124 vs. Josh Koscheck, UFC 94 vs. BJ Penn, UFC 83 vs. Matt Serra, UFC 65 vs. Matt Hughes

No. 8 (tie): Rashad Evans- 9

Next up is the former UFC light heavyweight champion, "Suga" Rashad Evans.

Evans had his first UFC fight at The Ultimate Fighter 2 Finale, and has been with the organization ever since, most recently headlining UFC 133 opposite Tito Ortiz.

Rashad won the light heavyweight title at UFC 92 by defeating Forrest Griffin, and then promptly lost it at UFC 98 to Lyoto Machida.

Rashad's resume is a who's who of former light heavyweight champions and top contenders, and he is certainly at the top of his game.

Notable Cards Headlined: UFC 133 vs. Tito Ortiz, UFC 114 vs. Rampage Jackson, UFC 108 vs. Thiago Silva, UFC 98 vs. Lyoto Machida, UFC 92 vs. Forrest Griffin.

No. 6 (tie): Ken Shamrock- 10

Ken Shamrock is a former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight fighter who took part in the first UFC events ever, including UFC 1.

Shamrock was famous for a rivalry that he had with Royce Gracie through the first several UFCs, which ended with a record of 0-1-1 against Gracie.

Shamrock was also the first ever UFC superfight champion, which really doesn't mean all that much.

Later on, Shamrock had a rivalry with Tito Ortiz, which ended 0-3 in favor of Ortiz.

Notable Cards Headlined: UFC Fight Night 6.5 vs. Tito Ortiz, The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale vs. Rich Franklin, UFC 48 vs. Kimo Leopoldo, UFC 40 vs. Tito Ortiz

No. 6 (tie): Rich Franklin- 10

Rich Franklin is the former UFC middleweight champion, and he was the most successful middleweight champion ever, until the itsy bitsy spider came along.

Franklin had his first UFC fight at UFC 42, and is still going strong with the organization, most recently fighting at UFC 126 against Forrest Griffin, and most recently headlining UFC 115 opposite Chuck Liddell.

Franklin will likely return in the summer of 2012, and he will probably become somewhat of a gatekeeper in the light heavyweight division.

Notable Cards Headlined: UFC 115 vs. Chuck Liddell, UFC 99 vs. Rich Franklin, UFC 77 vs. Anderson Silva, UFC 72 vs. Yushin Okami, UFC 64 vs. Anderson Silva

No. 5: BJ Penn- 11

BJ Penn is the former UFC lightweight and former UFC welterweight champion.

Penn is one of only two fighters to hold UFC championships in two different weight classes, and Penn is an absolute legend of MMA.

He had his first MMA fight in the UFC, back at UFC 31 in 2001. More recently, he headlined UFC 137 opposite Nick Diaz.

Penn announced his retirement after getting battered by Diaz, but I wouldn't be so sure that he's ready to hang it up forever just yet.

Notable Cards Headlined: UFC 137 vs. Nick Diaz, UFC 127 vs. Jon Fitch, UFC 118 vs. Frankie Edgar, UFC 101 vs. Kenny Florian, UFC 94 vs. Georges St-Pierre

No. 4: Chuck Liddell- 12

Chuck Liddell is the former UFC light heavyweight champion, and he took over the division from Tito Ortiz.

Liddell started out his career in the UFC, and his first fight was at UFC 17 in 1998. His final fight was UFC 115 against Rich Franklin in 2010.

During Liddell's reign as light heavyweight champion, he defended the title four times—the second most times ever for the division—and he finished all four of his opponents.

Liddell will forever be remembered as one of the greatest fighters in UFC history.

Notable Cards Headlined: UFC 115 vs. Rich Franklin, UFC 88 vs. Rashad Evans, UFC 57 vs. Randy Couture, UFC 52 vs. Randy Couture

No. 3: Anderson Silva- 13

The current UFC middleweight champion recently said that he has a few years left, so he could eventually move up to No. 1 on this list, but for now, he sits at No. 3.

Silva has been with the UFC since 2006, and has headlined every card he's fought on in the UFC, except for one.

Silva won the middleweight title in his second UFC fight, and hasn't looked back since.

He has nine defenses of the title, and has moved up to light heavyweight on two occasions, winning all of those fights.

Notable Cards Headlined: UFC 134 vs. Yushin Okami, UFC 126 vs. Vitor Belfort, UFC 117 vs. Chael Sonnen, UFC 82 vs. Dan Henderson, UFC 64 vs. Rich Franklin

No. 2: Tito Ortiz- 16

Tito Ortiz is the former UFC light heavyweight champion, and he had more defenses of that title than anyone—even Chuck Liddell.

Tito's first fight in the UFC came at UFC 13 in 1997, and he is still fighting to this day, most recently headlining UFC 133 opposite Rashad Evans.

In his heyday, Tito was one of the most feared fighters in the UFC, and his combination of strength and ground and pound made him a lethal fighter.

Notable Cards Headlined: UFC 133 vs. Rashad Evans, UFC 106 vs. Forrest Griffin, UFC 66 vs. Chuck Liddell, UFC 44 vs. Randy Couture, UFC 25 vs. Wanderlei Silva

No. 1: Randy Couture- 18

This one shouldn't come as much of a shock to anyone, as Randy Couture has headlined the most UFC cards of any single fighter in history.

Couture's first fight in the UFC came at UFC 13 in 1997, and he fought all the way through to UFC 129 earlier this year.

Couture is one of only two people to win a UFC title in two weight classes, and is the only person ever to be a five time UFC champion.

They don't call him "The Natural" for nothing.

Notable Cards Headlined: UFC 109 vs. Mark Coleman, UFC 102 vs. Minotauro Nogueira, UFC 91 vs. Brock Lesnar, UFC 68 vs. Tim Sylvia, UFC 57 vs. Chuck Liddell

Tim McTiernan is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. For the latest news on everything MMA, follow me on twitter @tmt2393.