UFC fighters who never won a fight

Throughout history, in every great sport, along with the highly appreciated legends, there is a laundry list of the defeated left in their wake.

Thereby the MMA and most notably the UFC is not an exception, in as much as there is an awful lot of fighters who struggled inside the octagon and left the sport with the so-called bad careers.

But it's better not to assume necessarily all those UFC fighters who never won a fight, bad fighters. Because notwithstanding their UFC fights failure, even if they were not thriving in any other promotion, at least, they have made the champions’ triumphs look even more outstanding by comparison.

Besides, while nobody expected the promotion to grow into such a multi-billion dollar industry, the underlying reason that has stirred these unsuccessful fighters to find the courage to step into the octagon multiple times might be their paychecks.

That is to say, although they may not have been the best and have not left a decent reputation of themselves, they have got paid for their failed efforts.

As a result in honour of at least those lionhearted fighters who proved that UFC is even harder than it seems, here is a list dedicated to UFC fighters who never won a fight.

UFC fighters who never won a fight

In this list, we have ranked the fighters based on their UFC record, encompassing UFC main fights as well as Ultimate Fighters fights but not UFC Fight Night matches.

Moreover, while we have tried our utmost to make the list as comprehensive as possible, in case we missed any fighter, let us know in the comment section below.

John Alessio (UFC record 0_5)

• First appearance

  : UFC 26, 6/9/00

• Final appearance

  : UFC 148, 7/7/12

Arguably John Alessio is the single worst warrior in the history of the UFC since not a single fighter has ever entered the Octagon five times without earning triumph at least once.

But he was not such a bad fighter in as much he had been just out-classed by the opponents he encountered in the promotion.

In his first fight in the promotion at the UFC 26, he coped with Pat Miletich as he was defeated by the second-round armbar, and spent the next six years in the minor leagues, until he came back to the UFC in 2006.

Then he coped with Diego Sanchez at UFC 60 and Thiago Alves at Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3: The Final Chapter, being beaten by unanimous decision each time. Therefore he was released again, and six years of his career was spent outside of the UFC.

Be that as it may, the UFC brought him again at UFC 145 in a fight against Mark Bocek in the lightweight division, but he was out-grappled and conceded the fight in a three-round encounter.

Likewise although before his next fight against Shane Roller at UFC 148, he had had the advantage of a full training camp, he lost the bout by a unanimous decision so as to set the UFC career record of five defeats in a row, which is considred to be the

worst UFC fighter record.

Tiki Ghosn (UFC record: 0-4)

• First appearance

  : UFC 24, 3/10/00

• Final appearance

  : UFC 47, 4/2/04

Although Ghosn is a man of immense talents, he is among the UFC fighter who never won a fight, being one of the only two fighters to ever go 0-4 in the UFC.

While he was active even before the Zuffa era, his UFC debut occurred at UFC 24 in a fight against Bob Cook, the future American Kickboxing Academy co-founder, and was beaten by a rear-naked choke.

Then in the following year, at UFC 30, he confronted Sean Sherk who is among

, and thereby he was defeated by him with a submission owing to a dislocated shoulder.

Then he managed to grab a three straight winning streak outside of the Octagon, while he came back at UFC 40 in November 2002, making himself humiliated by getting knocked out by Robbie Lawler, insisting that the fight was stopped due to a cut.

Likewise, following his earning two more triumphs outside of the UFC, Dana White gave him a fourth attempt at the promotion as well.

That is to say, he faced Chris Lytle at UFC 47, as his opponent bulldog-choked him in the second round so as to finish his UFC career there.

As one of the

worst fighter ever

, he was released by the promotion and instantly conceded three successive bouts in the WEC, all by stoppage.

Seth Petruzelli (UFC record: 0-4)

• First appearance

  : The Ultimate Fighter season: 2

• Final appearance

  : UFC 122, 11/13/10

Being considered as one of the worst fighter ever, he initially fought in the heavyweight bracket of The Ultimate Fighter 2, yet he was eliminated in the semi-finals following a split-decision defeat to Brad Imes.

In spite of the fact that he did not reach the TUF 2 Finale, the UFC brought him back after a year to cope with Matt Hamill, in that he was beaten by a unanimous decision at UFC: Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3: The Final Chapter.

Then he grabbed a rebound triumph outside of the UFC and went on to be provided with another opportunity to fight at UFC Fight Night 9, being choked out by Wilson Gouveia as he was released from the promotion, however here we would not take this fight night as a UFC fight; otherwise, his UFC career record would be (0_5).

Following a series of impressive feats outside of the octagon as the like of being recognized as “Kimbo Killer”, his four-fight winning streak as well as his entertaining fights, he was absorbed by the UFC again in 2010.

However, he was beaten by Ricardo Romero who was a UFC first-timer and Karlos Vemola who was making his light-heavyweight debut, to the end of setting the worst UFC fighter record.

Jason Reinhardt (UFC record 0-3)

• First appearance

  : UFC 78, 11/17/07

• Final appearance

  : UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle, 8/14/11

As one of the

UFC fighters who never won a fight

, he is among only seven warriors who lost fights in three different categories in the promotion, without taking into account catchweight bouts and TUF exhibitions.

But he was not a bad fighter by any sense of the word, in as much as he had swept the board, regardless of who had confronted him, setting a career record of 18–0 at the beginning of his career.

But arguably he could not manage to earn a victory in a big show like the UFC. In his debut UFC fight in the lightweight division at UFC 78, he was beaten by Joe Lauzon in less than two minutes via rear-naked choke.

While the UFC released him, although he sustained several injuries in the next three years, he managed to come back to the UFC, and fought in the featherweight division against Zhang Tiequan, being guillotine-choked just in 48 seconds of the fight.

Then he was given another chance to fight in his natural weight-class of bantamweight against Edwin Figueroa.

But unfortunately, this was his worst performance of his career, as his opponent tracked him down early in the second round and scored a brutal strikes-from-above TKO, while he spent the entire first round running around the outside of the cage. Soon, he was fired from the UFC, being considered as one of the UFC fighters who never won a fight.

Wes Sims (UFC record 0-3)

• First appearance

  : UFC 43, 6/6/03

• Final appearance

  : The Ultimate Fighter 10, fall 2009

While he was an impressive fighter in the MMA heavyweight division, with his career record of 6–1 in the regional promotions, he was brought to UFC.

In his debut UFC match, he confronted Frank Mir who is included in our list of

and then became heavyweight champ as well.

Therefore it is of little surprise to see that he was beaten by him not only in that fight but also in their rematch. But we have not counted their first fight as Sims UFC defeat, in as much as he slammed his way out of an armbar and went on to stand up and stomp on the downed Mir’s head several times, holding onto the fence for balance, being disqualified in this match at UFC 43.

Then immediately, they confronted in their rematch at UFC 44, in which Mir managed to establish dominance and won the fight by a TKO in round two.

He went on to make it three UFC defeats in a row as he coped with Mike Kyle at UFC 47, where he was knocked out by him, while, after the fight, Kyle complained that Sims had bitten his chest during the fight.

Although his fights were not devoid of such controversies, the UFC brought him back for the tenth season of The Ultimate Fighter, as he played the house oddball along with fellow heavy fighters like Roy Nelson, Brendan Schaub, and Kimbo Slice.

Be that as it may, it did not take a long time for him to stay at the promotion, since he was choked out by Justin Wren in TUF 10's preliminary round, so as to leave the UFC forever and establish one of the worst UFC fighter records.

Dan Lauzon (UFC record 0-3)

• First appearance

  : UFC 64, 10/14/06

• Final appearance

  : UFC 114, 5/29/10

One of the other

UFC fighters who never won a fight

is Dan Lauzon who at least has the honour to be the youngest fighter to ever step in the octagon.

That is to say, at the age of 18 years, 7 months, and 14 days old, with a career record of just 4-0, at UFC 64, he encountered the tough veteran Spencer Fisher, who had 20 pro fights under his belt.

Therefore it is of little surprise to see Lauzon being TKO’d by him just in the first round. Although he was released from the UFC for a while, after he compiled eight straight triumphs, he made a new contract with the UFC in 2010.

In his third UFC fight at UFC 108, he was submitted by Cole Miller via a modified kimura and then he went on to confront Efrain Escudero who easily out-pointed him at UFC Fight Night 22, so as to send Lauzon back to the minor leagues forever.

But perhaps if Dan was not simply a victim of tough matchmaking, he would not be among the

worst UFC fighters 2021.

Gilbert Yvel (UFC record 0-3)

• First appearance

  : UFC 108, 1/2/10

• Final appearance

  : UFC 121, 10/23/10

Even before joining UFC, Yvel was competing in MMA for a span of 13 years, being widely recognized for fouling people while his only most notable triumph in his past five years was a knockout of Pedro Rizzo who was in his post-prime heydays.

Therefore, when he was hired by the UFC in 2010 to make three appearances for the promotion, it was not unexpected to see him being included among the UFC fighters who never won a fight.

In his debut UFC fight, he was knocked out with punches by the rising star Junior Dos Santos who is among

. Afterwards in his next UFC encounter, he fought against Ben Rothwell, being beaten by him with a decision at UFC 115.

Then he went on to cope with Jon Madsen at UFC 121, where he was knocked out brutally in less than two minutes to the end of leaving the octagon for good and grabbing a place among the worst UFC fighters.

Cole Escovedo (UFC record 0-3)

• First appearance

  : UFC 130, 5/28/11

• Final appearance

  : UFC on FOX 1: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos, 11/12/11

Just like Jason Miller and Jorge Santiago, Cole Escovedo is considered to be among one of those immense talents of the MMA, whose prowess have not been translated inside the Octagon.

Before joining the UFC, he was the first-ever featherweight champion of the WEC, holding his belt for three-and-a-half years until he submitted it to Urijah Faber who is among our list of the

After making several other impressive feats in the promotions of Palace Fighting Championships and DREAM, he eventually entered the octagon in 2011, yet much to many fans consternation, he went on to become one of the

UFC fighters who never won a fight

.

That is to say, in his first UFC fight, he confronted the Brazilian wrecking-machine Renan Barao, who toppled him by a unanimous decision. Then he conceded his second UFC fight against former WEC title contender Takeya Mizugaki by a knockout.

Finally, he cemented his place among the UFC fighter who never won a fight, when in his third and last UFC bout at UFC on FOX 1: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos, he was beaten with a unanimous decision by TUF 12 clown Alex “Bruce Leroy” Caceres.

Jason Miller (UFC record 0-3)

• First appearance

  : UFC 52, 4/16/05

• Final appearance

  : UFC 146, 5/26/12

Although he is assumed to be among MMA’s pound-for-pound giants and have an overall glorious career outside the octagon, he is still enlisted among the worst UFC fighters 2021.

No one would blame him for his first UFC fight defeat which was his final fight at the welterweight division, since his opponent was Georges St. Pierre who is undoubtedly one of

.

After this third round fight at UFC 52, he left the promotion and moved up to the middleweight division while he managed to become a fan-favourite in the organizations like Icon Sport, Dream, and Strikeforce in this weight category.

Therefore the UFC brought him back and matched him to fight at TUF 14 Finale bout against Michael Bisping where he was knocked out in the third round.

However, the UFC gave him one more chance, and he coped with CB Dollaway at UFC 146. Notwithstanding his ground speciality, he could not prevent his opponent from holding him down for the majority of their three rounder.

As a result, he was fired by the UFC and since then, he become retired so as to anchor his name to the list of the worst UFC fighters.

Gabe Ruediger (UFC record 0-3)

• First appearance

  : UFC 63, The Ultimate Fighter 5

• Final appearance

  : UFC 126, 2/5/11

As the worst fighter ever, he just not only failed to achieve any victory in the promotion but also whenever he stepped into the octagon, he was beaten very badly during all his three fights.

That is to say, in his first fight at UFC 63, just four months preceding to the start of TUF 5 filming, he was terribly beaten by Melvin Guillard via a knockout by punches to his body.

But on The Ultimate Fighter, he was not provided with the opportunity to even compete, due to a botched weight cut that was conducive to his dismissal from the show and the promotion, while he did not come back until four years later.

Moreover, when he grabbed a six winning streak in the California regional circuit and led Paris Hilton to become a straight-up killing machine, the UFC brought him back as an injury substitute against Joe Lauzon at UFC 118.

Yet although Lauzon established dominance in the fight and beat him via a submission armbar, the UFC gave Ruediger one more chance to fight against Paul Taylor at UFC 126.

Likewise, in this fight he had been terrifically beaten by a head kick and punches knockout and therefore he was released from the promotion for good, earning a place among the worst UFC fighters.

Other UFC fighters who never won a fight

After going through 10 of the

worst UFC fighters

so far, due to the limitation of time and place we have sufficed to just provide the names and the records of the other UFC fighters who never won a fight.

In case anybody who you might think should be included on the list was missing, don't hesitate to mention them in the comment section below. But here the UFC fight nights of some of the fighters (not all) are taken into account as their UFC records too.

• Peter Sobotta (0-3), (

  if you are wondering, his four UFC triumphs are all Fight Nights

• Yoji Anjo (0-3)

• Mostapha al-Turk (0-3)

• Gideon Ray (0-3)

• Edwin Dewees (0-3)

• Jesse Forbes (0-3)

• Phillipe Nover (0-3)

• Brad Imes (0-3)

• Keith Wisniewski (0-3)

• Townsend Saunders (0-2)

• Steve Judson (0-2)

• Moti Horenstein (0-2)

• Koji Oishi (0-2)

• Ross Pointon (0-2)

• Jeremy Jackson (0-2)

• Dave Kaplan (0-2)

• Sean Salmon (0-2)

• Joe Vedepo (0-2)

• Steve Berger (0-2 with 1 no-contest)

• Luke Caudillo (0-2)

• Alberto Crane (0-2)

• Alexandre Dantas (0-2)

• Dan Evensen (0-2)

• Brodie Farber (0-2)

• Xavier Foupa-Pokam (0-2)

• Zane Frazier (0-2)

• Chase Gormley (0-2)

• Andre Gusmao (0-2)

• John Halverson (0-2)

• Razak Al-Hassan (0-2)

• Bobby Hoffman (0-2 with 1 no-contest)

• Kevin Jordan (0-2)

• David Lee (0-2)

• Justin Levens (0-2)

• Antonio Mendes (0-2)

• Sammy Morgan (0-2)

• Brad Morris (0-2)

• Harry Moskowitz (0-2)

• Kazuhiro Nakamura (0-2)

• Johnny Rees (0-2)

• Colin Robinson (0-2)

• Fabiano Scherner (0-2)

• Jay Silva (0-2)

• Steve Steinbeiss (0-2)

• Denis Stojnic (0-2)

• Rob Yundt (0-2)

• Joe Veres (0-2)

• Victor Valimaki (0-2)

• Art Jimmerson ( 0-1)

• Fred Ettish (0-1)

• Emmanuel Yarborough (0-1)

• Joe Son (0-1)

• John Matua (0-1)

• Paul Herrera (0-1)

• Reza Nasri (0-1)

• Tony Halme (0-1)

• Greg Stott (0-1)

• Chris Condo (0-1)

• Aaron Brink (0-1)

• Sean Gannon (0-1)

• Kit Cope (0-1)

• Sherman Pendergarst (0-1)

• Josh Hendricks (0-1)

• Rolles Gracie Jr. (0-1)

• James Toney (0-1)

• Vinicius Kappke de Queiroz (0-1)

• Antonio McKee (0-1)

• Andy Wang (0-1)

• Alex Stiebling (0-1)

• Ryan Roberts (0-1)

• Soa Palelei (0-1)

• Mario Neto (0-1)

• Brian Gassaway (0-1)

• Kristof Midoux (0-1)

• Scott Junk (0-1)

• Neil Grove (0-1)

• Teila Tuli (0-1)

• Ron Van Clief (0-1)

• Cory Walmsley (0-1)

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