Across the UFC's short but climatic history there have been thousands of fighters. During that time there's been loads and loads of stars, the Conor McGregor, Ronda Rousey, and Brock Lesnar's of the world obviously come to mind when thinking of fighters that were huge for the sport and the growth of the UFC.
However, for every Conor McGregor type, there are at least 25 fighters that have been forgotten in the UFC. A lot of which have been very unfair, as there have been many UFC fighters that despite having one, or even multiple good wins, have been forgotten to history.
10 Houston Alexander
Houston Alexander's UFC run was the absolute pinnacle of the phrase "here for a good time, not for a long time", Alexander burst into the promotion by getting back-to-back knockout wins over well-established veterans Keith Jardine and Alessio Sakara. Alexander was then finished in three straight bouts, before being brought back to lose to slugger Kimbo Slice.
Alexander isn't remembered much these days, however, his brief UFC run from 2007 to 2009 was electric.
9 Che Mills
Che Mills was brought into the UFC as one of the hottest prospects at welterweight. Mills debuted and immediately defeated the tough Chris Cope, before being matched up with Rory MacDonald in the co-main event of UFC 145. While he did come up short, Mills responded with a big TKO win over Duane Ludwig, before losing to Matt Riddle a few months later.
Mills was inexplicably not re-signed after the Riddle loss which was a shame, going 2-2 against the competition he faced wasn't bad.
8 Dennis Hallman
Dennis Hallman didn't even just have one good win, he had multiple, multiple great wins. Despite that, he's not really known to most new fans of the sport. Hallman had nine UFC bouts across his career, facing off against fighters such as Matt Hughes, Jens Pulver, and Frank Trigg.
Hallman notably actually defeated Hughes, not once but twice. He also scored notable wins over the likes of Ben Saunders and John Makdessi.
7 TJ Grant
The biggest "what-if" in MMA also happens to be a forgotten tale of a lightweight who was just hitting his prime. Lightweight TJ Grant was a middling welterweight before dropping down 15 pounds in 2011, where he then went on the best run of his career. Grant went on a four-fight winning streak, as he was then matched up with former title challenger Gray Maynard in a title eliminator bout, which Grant won easily.
Grant's title shot never came, however, as he had to pull out of his title bout against Benson Henderson due to a concussion and never returned to MMA.
6 Mike Russow
Mike Russow never looked like a UFC fighter, and that could've led him to have a lot of success as many underestimated him. Russow had an interesting UFC run from 2009 to 2013, where he posted a 4-2 record in the promotion, but without a doubt, his biggest moment came in a moment against hyped-up heavyweight Todd Duffee in 2010.
Russow faced off against Duffee at UFC 114, and despite being a massive underdog secured a huge knockout victory. It was a win that has mostly been forgotten by the MMA masses, in main part due to Duffee's career also mostly being forgotten.
5 Jonathan Brookins
Jonathan Brookins is one of the more forgotten Ultimate Fighter winners over the years. Fighting under the tutelage of TUF Season 12 Coach Georges St-Pierre, Brookins won the tournament by defeating future lightweight contender Michael Johnson in the finals of the tournament.
Unfortunately, Brookins would be released from the UFC after losing his next three of four fights, but the competition he faced was brutal. As he faced two future champions in Dustin Poirier and Charles Oliviera, as well as a solid lightweight mainstay in Eric Koch.
4 Jared Rosholt
Jared Rosholt had the unfortunate privilege of not being super entertaining, and getting cut as a result. Rosholt doesn't have just one good victory, he has multiple. Rosholt fought in the UFC from 2013 to 2016, and along the way, he defeated the likes of Walt Harris, Timothy Johnson, and Stefan Struve.
Rosholt was released following a single loss to Roy Nelson in 2016, with many speculating that it was due to his not super entertaining wrestling style. In part due to his style, as well as his early release, he has mostly been forgotten by the MMA masses.
3 Josh Grispi
Josh Grispi officially went 0-4 in the UFC, but that's not exactly telling the tale of the former featherweight's career. Grispi while never officially captured a win in the big show, he did capture many victories in the Zuffa-owned WEC promotion.
Grispi captured multiple wins in the WEC, however, the biggest of which coming at WEC 41. Grispi dominated and submitted former UFC lightweight Jens Pulver at the event, notching a big win for himself. As time went on, we would learn that would end up being the biggest win of Grispi's career.
2 John Hathaway
John Hathaway at one point was one of the hottest welterweight prospects on the planet, and nowadays he's just another forgotten figure in MMA. Hathaway could've been so much more, but in the end, he did notch a couple of massive wins in the UFC. The largest of which came in the form of a dominating victory over UFC Hall of Famer Diego Sanchez at UFC 114.
Hathaway hasn't fought in the UFC since 2014, incredibly he is still on the roster and is tested regularly by USADA.
1 Brian Bowles
Brian Bowles is a relic of another era. Bowles came into the UFC as a former WEC bantamweight champion who had upset Miguel Torres at WEC 42. Bowles entered into the UFC and first defeated Damacio Page, before picking up a massive win over Takeya Mizugaki that put him into title contention.
Bowles, unfortunately, went on to lose his next two bouts, before being arrested for drug charges. Bowles was released due to the infraction with the law and remains one of the best forgotten UFC figures.