Despite boxing being one of the most popular combat sports in England since arguably the mid-19th century, many forget that the country also has its own history when it comes to other martial arts like catch wrestling.
Well before Billy Robinson was popularizing catch wrestling out of Wigan and helping influence future mixed martial arts pioneers like Kazushi Sakuraba and Josh Barnett, the term “catch as catch can” can be traced back to the 1300s in England.
So, with a deceptively rich history in combat sports, it shouldn’t be a surprise that England eventually became one of the first countries to embrace MMA all the way back in its “no-holds-barred” days of the 1990s.
The UFC’s first visit to the country was back at UFC 38 in 2002, but England wouldn’t produce an official UFC champion until UFC 199 in 2016. Since then, the country has continued to make serious strides in the sport, producing two impressive champions in the early-to-mid 2020s alone.
With the UFC set to host yet another Pay-Per-View in England that’s built around said champions, I thought it would be a great excuse to take a stroll down memory lane to pay homage to some of the great English mixed martial artists who competed in the octagon.
This caveat will likely be bent given that some of these fighters had notable accomplishments outside of the UFC, but I did my best to recognize each combatant and their contribution to the landscape as a whole.
As usual, these lists reflect my personal tastes and biases and are not meant to serve as some ultimate authority. That said, I feel very strongly about not only my list – but also my honorable mentions at the end.
So, without further ado …
