Top 5 unranked fighters in the UFC
While ranked UFC fighters often demand more fan attention than unranked fighters, there are diamonds lurking on the lower ends of the promotion's many divisions. Mixed martial artists of every variety have emerged from the bowels of the unranked world to high spots on the UFC ladder.
Khamzat Chimaev and Shavkat Rakhmonov were both unranked at one point, yet both men are carving a path through the UFC welterweight division, with many proclaiming them as future UFC champions. Sean O'Malley, one of the biggest stars in the UFC bantamweight division, was an unranked prospect for most of his UFC career before finally making his climb up the divisional rankings.
The current crop of unranked UFC fighters is as interesting as ever. In an effort to identify who among them are the greatest, this list will outline their records, accomplishments and skill-sets to determine the 5 best unranked UFC fighters today.
#5. UFC middleweight Brendan Allen
At 19-5, Brendan Allen is a standout in the unranked class of the middleweight division. He is serviceable in most facets of mixed martial arts but is not necessarily great in any area. Allen's striking is decent, relying largely on pressure to fluster his foes to create openings for his takedowns. Once the American manages to drag an opponent to the ground, he becomes a far more dangerous fighter.
Former LFA champ Brendan Allen (13-3) pieced together a great UFC debut, engaging the consummate carny, Kevin Holland, in all kinds of weird scrambles and living to tell the tale. A second-round RNC seals it for the Roufusport rep; six of his eight subs are by RNC. #UFCBoston https://t.co/mYeg5zXK3v
Due to his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, Allen is an effective grappler once he's on top of his foes, threatening them with submissions and strikes alike. Furthermore, Allen's positional grappling is impressive for an unranked fighter. While most grapplers avoid attempting omoplatas due to their low success rate in submitting opponents, the hold can work as a positional grappling tool.
When Allen fought Kyle Daukaus, he used the omoplata to force Daukaus into rolling out of the submission to free his shoulder. What Daukaus didn't know was that Allen was using the omoplata to sweep him. Allen rolled with his foe, ending up on top in side control.
Unfortunately, where Allen falls short is his defensive striking and his lack of a strong wrestling game to consistently drag his foes to the ground, which ultimately led to his lopsided loss to Sean Strickland.