5 of the most underrated fighters of all time

The UFC has been home to the absolute best of the best in terms of mixed martial artists for the past several decades. With names like Jon Jones, Anderson Silva, and Georges St-Pierre being at the top of the greatest fighters of all time lists, there are even more names that have been overlooked and maybe even forgotten about throughout the prestigious history of the UFC.

The fighters highlighted throughout this list are five of the most underrated fighters of all time. Though some may have been overlooked by history or overshadowed by other fighters during their era, these five are definitely some names that should be remembered.

5. Lando Vannata

Vannata entered the UFC at 8-0 and took on, at the time, No. 3 ranked lightweight contender Tony Ferguson on short notice. Vannata was a sizeable underdog going into the contest, with many believing he had next to no chance against one of the best 155 pounds fighters on the planet.

To nearly everyone's surprise, Vannata nearly finished Ferguson in the first round. Though he would go on to lose via submission in the second round, this fight of the night performance is one that will be talked about forever and one that endeared him to fight fans all around the world.

Outside of his remarkable UFC debut, Vannata is now 12-7-2 with one of the most unique and exciting stand-up fighting styles. While it is unlikely Vannata will ever compete for or win a UFC championship, he has earned four fight of the night awards and has one of the greatest knockouts in UFC history with his wheel kick KO of John Makdessi at UFC 206.

4. Jay Hieron

Hieron recently appeared in Conor McGregor's movie debut Road House, but many fans may not know about the depth of his MMA career. Hieron went 0-4 in the UFC but had tremendous success in a number of other MMA promotions including Bellator and Strikeforce.

At 23-7, Hieron has an impressive overall record and has wins over former UFC competitors Jake Ellenberger and Pat Healy. Hieron's legacy is also tied to that of St-Pierre as St-Pierre would go on to fight Matt Hughes for the UFC welterweight championship just a few months after defeating Hieron at UFC 48.

At the end of a 10 fight winning streak that lasted from November 2007 to May 2011, Hieron even almost won the Bellator welterweight championship against then undefeated Ben Askren in October 2011, though he lost by split decision.

While Hieron has been retired from professional MMA for over a decade now, his 30 fight career was nothing but success and is now one of the most underrated fighters of all-time.

3. Gunnar Nelson

Nelson is likely known best for his role as one of Conor McGregor's main training partners and teammates throughout the former two-weight world champions' career. However, Nelson's skills inside the Octagon are some of the most underrated in history.

Nelson is 19-5-1 and is currently on a two fight winning streak. Though Nelson has been one of the more inactive fighters on the UFC roster as of the past few years with only two fights since the beginning of 2020, he still maintains his level of skill even with his time away from the Octagon.

Nelson has several impressive victories on his record but what may be even more impressive is his history against top level competition. While he has been unsuccessful against names like Demian Maia, Leon Edwards, and Gilbert Burns, he has been competitive in all three fights although losing via decision in each one.

His matchup against now welterweight champion Edwards from March 2019 ended in a split decision loss for Nelson in a fight that could have gone either way. Regardless, Nelson has proven throughout his career that he can compete with the best in the world and while his skillset is still unknown to some, he is one of the most underrated fighters in the UFC.

2. Gregor Gillespie

Although it has been over three years since Gillespie's last fight inside the Octagon, he is still listed as an active fighter on the official UFC roster and is still a member of the UFC's anti-doping program with two test sessions so far in 2024.

Gillespie is now 37 years old and holds a career 14-1 record in professional mixed martial arts. While he may be most known for his highlight knockout loss to Kevin Lee at UFC 244, his accolades and achievements go far beyond this moment from November 2019.

Of his 14 wins, 12 have been by knockout or submission with his track record including wins over UFC veterans such as Diego Ferreira, Yancy Medeiros, and Vinc Pichel. Gillespie is also a very accomplished collegiate wrestler with an NCAA division 1 national championship in 2007 among other awards throughout his long career.

1. Jimmie Rivera

Rivera's last professional MMA fight was a loss to Pedro Munhoz in February 2021. He has since moved on to bare knuckle boxing where in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship he is now 2-1-1. Before his BKFC career however, Rivera was a fast rising contender in the UFC bantamweight division.

After losing his second career fight to move to 1-1 professionally, Rivera went on a 20 fight winning streak which including UFC wins over Iuri Alcântara, Urijah Faber, Thomas Almeida, and the aforementioned Munhoz.

Most of his career victories were by decision (17 of 23) which is probably why he was unable to emerge as a true star at bantamweight, but his attributes inside the Octagon were among the very best of any fighter at 135 pounds.

His time in the UFC bantamweight division was overshadowed by the Cody Garbrandt vs. T.J. Dillashaw rivalry along with other top contenders like Marlon Moraes and Dominick Cruz who would each compete for the championship at least one time. Though Rivera was unable to reach the very top of the bantamweight division he had an exceptional career and even walked away from the UFC with a fight of the night performance.