MMA is one of the biggest sports in the world and the UFC is the biggest promotion for it. Aside from the racy press conferences and standout characters that come with a big UFC event, at its core, the UFC is a platform for the best Mixed Martial Artists to put their records on the line and prove to the world just how good they are.

Many of the best MMA fighters have come from smaller countries and regions, exemplifying how MMA fighting is a worldwide sport. Some of the most fearsome UFC fighters in all combat sports have come from the Oceanic countries of Australia and New Zealand. See below a list of the 10 best.

Ranking factors:

• UFC title wins and defences
• Activity
• Longevity
• Historical impact on MMA

10 Jack Della Maddalena

MMA record: 17-2 (12 KOs, 2 SUBs), UFC wins: 7, Best win: Gilbert Burns

The young Australian, Jack Della Maddalena, is a fierce competitor with excellent boxing and a perfect mindset for MMA; focused and enjoys delivering violence. The talented welterweight earned his way onto the UFC’s roster by showing up in a big way in 2021’s Dana White’s Contender Series against a very formidle Ange Loosa. JDM fills out the weight class perfectly and has a stoic poker face when on the big stage.

His most recent victory at UFC 299 over Gilbert Burns moved Maddalena to 7-0 in the UFC and within striking distance of a title fight inside the next 12 months if he continues on this trajectory. The 27-year-old striker will have a tough test his next time out. Many fans and pundits have high hopes for the hard-nosed JDM. Once he recovers from surgery, it will be very fascinating to see who the UFC lines him up with next.

9 George Sotiropoulos

MMA record: 14-7, UFC wins: 7, Best win: Joe Lauzon

George Sotiropoulos had an unbelievable start to his UFC career, winning seven-straight fights with five of the victories coming by way of stoppage, including a submission win over Joe Lauzon, one of the trickiest jiu-jitsu fighters in UFC history. Sotiropoulos, a product of Australia, was a scrappy 170-pound fighter who decided to move down 15 pounds to compete in the UFC.

Sotiropoulos was witty on the mat, but as the caliber of opponent started to improve, the former Ultimate Fighter contestant was in over his head. Sotiropoulos didn’t lose for nearly five years while in the UFC, but then fell off track, losing five-straight fights. Though Maddalena already has the same number of UFC wins as Sotiropoulos, the UFC vet came up in an era that was still viewed as the wild west of MMA, and to succeed during that time is worth something.

8 Megan Anderson

MMA record: 11-5 (6 KOs, 3 SUBs), UFC wins: 3, Best win: Norma Dumont

Megan Anderson’s UFC run was short, but impactful. It took the Australian-native just five fights to earn her shot at the title belt. Unfortunately for Anderson, she ran into the greatest women’s fighter of all time in Amanda Nunes, who at that time, was unbeatable.

Anderson is a tall and gangly built fighter who used her length to generate a powerful jab-cross combination. The former Invicta FC featherweight champion lost her professional MMA debut to a rather unknown fighter, but would only lose to top competition the rest of the way. She is a pioneer for Oceanic WMMA and is still involved with the sport, providing coverage for ESPN AUZ.

7 Tai Tuivasa

MMA record: 14-7 (13 KOs), UFC wins: 8, Best win: Derrick Lewis

Besides being known for his post-victory celebration, also known as the shoey, Tai Tuivasa is a fighter’s fighter who puts it all on the line each and every time he’s under the bright lights. Tai is still young enough to become a world champion, but for now, we remember the New Zealand fighter for his grit, likable personality, and absolute powerful striking.

The most recent peak of Tuivasa's career came after his win over the UFC’s greatest knockout artist, Derrick Lewis, where Tuivasa countered Lewis’ blitzes brilliantly with elbows and heavy strikes. His efforts got his hand raised and elevated his brand to another level. Since that fight, it’s been an up-and-down journey for the heavy-handed hitter, but at just 30 years old, there is still plenty of time for the charismatic fighter to get back on track and into title contention.

6 Kai Kara-France

MMA record: 24-11 (11-3), UFC wins: 7, Best win: Cody Garbrandt

Kai Kara-France is another Eugene Bareman product who has fought for a UFC title. Unfortunately, France’s fight against Brandon Moreno did not go as expected, as Moreno was in the middle of his flyweight title reign. Kara-France is still young enough to realize his dream of becoming a UFC champ.

Kara-France has had pockets of excellence, including his wins over former UFC bantamweight champion, Cody Garbrandt, and his win over well-rounded flyweight Askar Askarov, but consistency is the name of the game. The next fight of KKF’s career is his biggest one yet. At UFC 305, he will face recent title challenger Steve Erceg. It’s a fight to determine if Kara-France will be a career contender or a future champion.

5 Dan Hooker

MMA record: 23-12 (11 KOs, 7 SUBs), UFC wins: 13, Best win: Gilbert Burns

Dan Hooker is one of the most successful Oceanic fighters of all time and a fan-favorite because of his constant action-filled style as well as his modest attitude towards his job. Hooker has not had UFC gold wrapped around his waist, yet he has been in some very memorable battles inside the Octagon.

Two fights that Hooker did not win on the judges' scorecard, but more so in fight fans' hearts, was his scrap against Dustin Poirier that turned out to be one of the most entertaining five-round battles of all time and his gutsy showing versus Ebson Barbosa. Hooker is one of the most game fighters in MMA and seems to be getting better with age.

4 Mark Hunt

MMA record: 13-14-1 (10 KOs), UFC wins: 8, Best win: Derrick Lewis

Mark Hunt is a legendary New Zealand fighter because of his epic bloodbath battles and ability to take earth-shattering strikes and keep marching forward. Hunt has done it all in fighting and in MMA. The tough-as-nails brawler never seemed phased against any opponent, even if they towered over his shorter stature.

Hunt’s career is one of resilience and fortitude. After testing the famed PRIDE FC waters, which were unforgiving for the stout New Zealander as he lost six-straight on the way out, he joined the UFC with an unprecedented record of 5-7. Hunt’s win/loss total would not reflect his attrition and skills as he would go on to partake in many memorable fights, including one of the greatest fights of all time against Antonio Silva.

3 Robert Whittaker

MMA record: 26-7 (10 KOs, 5 SUBs), UFC wins: 17, Best win: Yoel Romero

Robert Whittaker has been one of the UFC’s most consistent and successful fighters over the last decade. Starting his career as a welterweight, the Australian fighter hit his stride when he decided to stop cutting as much weight and move up to 185 pounds. Whittaker’s run at middleweight (15-3) has been nothing short of impressive.

Continually battling against the greatest opposition of his era, Whittaker has proven that he isn’t going anywhere. After knocking out the younger Ikram Aliskerov to add yet another dominant performance to his resume, the future champion has put himself in a title eliminator fight the next time we see him, potentially against Sean Strickland.

2 Israel Adesanya

MMA record: 24-3 (16 KOs), UFC wins: 13, Best win: Alex Pereira

When Israel Adesanya burst onto the UFC scene, he immediately made it be known that it would be just a matter of time before he was wearing UFC gold. After shutout after shutout performance, Adesanya got his title fight against Whittaker in what turned out to be the highest attended event in UFC history with just over 56,000 fans.

Adesanya went on to assert himself as the second-greatest middleweight champion in UFC history, only sitting behind Anderson Silva. The New Zealand fighter is one of the few champions to lap his division. Respectfully, if Adesanya can surge past Dricus du Plessis at UFC 305, then hopefully he can put a conclusion to his great MMA rivalry against Alex Pereira at light heavyweight. We will see.

1 Alexander Volkanovski

MMA record: 26-4 (13 KOs, 3 SUBs), UFC wins: 13, Best win: Max Holloway

There’s still time for Alexander Volkanovski to separate himself even further from other all-time great featherweight fighters. With a combination of the most title defenses in the division’s history and beating the biggest names possible, Volk has earned the top spot for his region.

Wins that continue to age well over time are the three decision victories over Max Holloway. Each fight with the elite Hawaiian fighter, Alexander “The Great”, became more and more comfortable, resulting in a landslide win in the third fight. Now, after two straight brutal KO defeats, Volkanovski has to pick himself up and see if he has more in the tank.