MMA is one of the fastest growing sports in the world and the UFC – the sport’s premier promotion – is also on a massive upward trajectory. New fighters are regularly being signed to the UFC each year, with many of the best British fighters from Cage Warriors making the step up.
Here, you’ll find a definitive list of all English UFC fighters (including Darren Till), Scottish UFC fighters (including Paul Craig) and Welsh UFC fighters (including Jack Marshman) currently active in the MMA world today.
As well as our British UFC fighters list, we also profile the only fighter (so far) from these shores to have been a champion in their respective weight class. Let’s dive in:
British UFC Fighters – Current List
British UFC Heavyweight Fighters (265 lbs, 120 kg):
Tom Aspinall – 6ft 5in – Wigan, England – Team Kaoban Liverpool – MMA Record: 8-2
Chi Lewis-Parry – 6ft 7in – England – American Kickbboxing Academy – MMA Record: 8-0-1 (2 No Contests)
British UFC Light Heavyweight Fighters (205 lbs, 93 kg):
Paul Craig – 6ft 4in – Coatbridge, Scotland – Scottish Hit Squad – MMA Record: 13-4-1
British UFC Middleweight Fighters (185 lbs, 84 kg):
Tom Breese – 6ft 3in – Birmingham, England – MMA Record: 11-2
Darren Till – 6ft 0in – Liverpool, England – Team Kaoban Liverpool – MMA Record: 18-3-1
Darren Stewart – 5ft 10in – London, England – MMA Clinic – MMA Record: 11-5 (1 No Contest)
Jack Marshman – 6ft 0in – Abertillery, Wales – Tillery Combat MMA Academy – MMA Record: 23-9
John Phillips – 5ft 11in – Swansea, Wales – Straight Blast Irish Gym – MMA Record: 22-10 (1 No Contest)
British UFC Welterweight Fighters (170 lbs, 77 kg):
Brad Scott – 6ft 1in – Wilshere, England – Dragon’s Lair MMA – MMA Record: 11-6
Leon Edwards – 6ft 0in – Birmingham, England – Ultimate Training Centre – MMA Record: 18-3
Danny Roberts – 6ft 0in – Bristol, England – Blackzilians – MMA Record: 17-5
Rhys McKee – 6ft 1in – Northern Ireland – Next Generation IMMA – MMA Record: 10-3-1
British UFC Lightweight Fighters (155 lbs, 70 kg):
Marc Diakiese – 5ft 10in – Doncaster, England – American Top Team – MMA Record: 14-4
Jai Herbert – 6ft 1in – Wolverhampton, England – Team Renegade BJJ – MMA Record: 10-2
Stevie Ray – 5ft 10in – Glasgow, Scotland – Higher Level Martial Arts – MMA Record: 23-9
British UFC Featherweight Fighters (145 lbs, 65 kg):
Arnold Allen – 5ft 8in – Felixstowe, England – BKK Fighters – MMA Record: 16-1
Nad Narimani – 5ft 8in – Bristol, England – Team Alpha Male – MMA Record: 12-4
Chris Fishgold – 5ft 8in – Liverpool, England – Next Generation MMA Liverpool – MMA Record: 18-4-1
Mike Grundy – 5ft 8in – Manchester, England – Team Kaoban Liverpool – MMA Record: 12-2
Lerone Murphy – 5ft 10in – Stockport, England – Manchester Top Team – MMA Record: 9-0-1
Danny Henry – 5ft 11in – Edinburgh, Scotland – Higher Level Martial Arts – MMA Record: 12-4
British UFC Bantamweight Fighters (135 lbs, 61 kg):
Davey Grant – 5ft 8in – Bishop Auckland, England – SBG Manchester – MMA Record: 12-4
Nathaniel Wood – 5ft 6in – London, England – Great Britain Top Team – MMA Record: 17-4
Brett Johns – 5ft 7in – Swansea, England – Chris Rees Academy – MMA Record: 17-2
Jack Shore – 5ft 9in – Abertillery, Wales – Tillery Combat MMA Academy – MMA Record: 13-0
British UFC Women’s Flyweight Fighters (125 lbs, 56 kg):
Molly McCann – 5ft 4in – Liverpool, England – Next Generation MMA Liverpool – MMA Record: 10-3
Joanne Calderwood – 5ft 6in – Irvine, Scotland – Syndicate MMA – MMA Record: 14-5
British UFC Champions
Michael Bisping – Middleweight – 6ft 1in – MMA Record: 30-9
Though born in Nicosia, Cyprus on a British Military Base, Bisping (or ‘The Count’ as he’s otherwise known) grew up in Clitheroe, Lancashire, and is the only representative on the all-time UK UFC fighters list to have been crowned a champion.
Bisping, at only 17 days’ notice, replaced the injured Chris Weidman in a middleweight title fight against Luke Rockhold, six years his junior, and secured a spectacular first-round knockout to dethrone the American.
The fight, at The Forum in Inglewood, was stopped after just three minutes and 36 seconds after two devastating left hooks to Rockhold, who could not recover and lost both his five-match winning streak and his middleweight title.
Bisping held the title for almost 18 months, successfully defending it (and vindicating a previous loss) against Dan Henderson, before he suffered a third-round submission defeat to Canadian MMA legend Georges St-Pierre in November 2017 at Madison Square Garden.
He retired from MMA in May 2018 at the age of 39, which he later revealed on The Joe Rogan Experience was due to noticing issues with his ‘good eye’ in a defeat to Kevin Gastelum shortly after the loss to GSP. Bisping had already suffered a detached retina in a knockout loss to Vitor Belfort in January 2013.