http://www.mmanews.com.au/news/internat ... in-the-ufcWhen George Sotiropoulos defeated Joe Stevenson at UFC 110 to begin his UFC career a perfect 5-0 in the Octagon, he joined a very select group of fighters.Only 12 active fighters on the UFC's current roster have begun their UFC careers with five straight wins, and the names on that list might surprise you.
Georges St. Pierre, BJ Penn, Matt Hughes, Chuck Liddell, and Tito Ortiz are not on the list. Nate Marquardt, Gabriel Gonzaga, and Dan Hardy all got their title shots after starting 4-0, and Marquardt and Gonzaga all saw their records fall to 4-1 afterward, with Hardy facing stark odds at UFC 111 against current welterweight juggernaut, Georges St. Pierre.
Among UFC lightweights, top contenders Frankie Edgar, Gray Maynard, Tyson Griffin, Sean Sherk, and Kenny Florian weren't able to achieve 5-0 starts.
In fact, Sotiropoulos is the only active lightweight who has.
So, who are the dozen fighters in the "5-0 Club"? I'll count down the list from the top.Anderson Silva, 10-0. Silva started his UFC career by breaking the unbeaten streaks of two other men, and seized the middleweight belt in just his second match, with a knockout of Rich Franklin at UFC 64: Unstoppable. It proved to be an accurate name for the event, as Silva has never looked back, owning the Octagon for the past four years as he has built a UFC record 10-fight winning streak, and finished nine of ten opponents in the process.
Lyoto Machida, 8-0. "The Dragon" stands at a perfect 16-0 in his career, and half of those wins have come inside the Octagon. The light-heavyweight champ holds notable UFC wins over Tito Ortiz, Thiago Silva, Rashad Evans, and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, though his recent title defense against Rua came by way of a very controversial unanimous decision.
Jon Fitch, 8-0. Fitch got off to a then-record 8-0 start in the UFC, including wins over Thiago Alves and Diego Sanchez, before earning a title shot against welterweight champ, Georges St. Pierre. Unfortunately for Fitch the Canadian phenom would end his perfect UFC record, but not before Fitch had gone the distance in an exciting five-round war.
Randy Couture, 7-0. "The Natural" began his UFC career with a dominant heavyweight performance that spanned seven fights, and victories over opponents which included Vitor Belfort, Kevin Randleman, and Pedro Rizzo. Couture went on to hold both the heavyweight and light-heavyweight belts and eventually earned a place in the UFC Hall of Fame. Couture's record start stood for nearly seven years, until Fitch passed the mark in 2008.
Rich Franklin, 7-0. Franklin showed us all just how tough a math teacher can be when he began his MMA career in 1999. "Ace" took the UFC middleweight title from Evan Tanner at UFC 53, one fight after stopping MMA legend Ken Shamrock with a first-round TKO in a light-heavyweight bout. Franklin's unbeaten UFC run ended at UFC 64 when Anderson Silva became just the second man to defeat him in more than 20 career fights.
Diego Sanchez, 6-0. "The Nightmare" followed up his victory over Kenny Florian on "The Ultimate Fighter" season 1 finale with an impressive string of Octagon wins. Sanchez's run included victories over Nick Diaz and Karo Parisyan before he finally came up up short in a decision loss to Josh Koscheck at UFC 69.
Cain Velasquez, 6-0. Velasquez has gotten off to a red-hot start in his UFC career, impressing fans since his first Octagon appearance. In his last three fights, Velasquez has defeated Cheik Kongo, Ben Rothwell, and, most impressively, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira by way of a brutal first-round knockout at UFC 110. Velasquez's latest win put him in position for a possible heavyweight title shot later this year.
Rashad Evans, 5-0. Evans won the heavyweight division on season 2 of "The Ultimate Fighter" before dropping to compete at his more natural light-heavyweight size. Although Evans' five-fight win streak would end when he fought Tito Ortiz to a draw at UFC 73, he would go on to win the light-heavyweight belt just three fights later with a TKO of Forrest Griffin at UFC 92.
Chris Leben, 5-0. "The Crippler" followed up his stint as one of the more colorful fighters on season 1 of "The Ultimate Fighter" with a five-fight unbeaten streak to start his UFC career. Leben's most notable win came by way of split decision over heavy-handed Canadian Patrick Cote, but his reputation for being impossible to stop in the cage came to an end when Anderson Silva smashed him into unconsciousness less than a minute into their bout at Ultimate Fight Night 5.
Mike Swick, 5-0. Another competitor on season 1 of "The Ultimate Fighter", Swick competed on the show as a light-heavyweight before eventually dropping to middleweight and then welterweight in the UFC. Swick's early wins including victories over Joe Riggs and David Loiseau, and began with a 20-second knockout of Alex Schoenauer which earned him the nickname "Quick". Yushin Okami stopped Swick's streak at UFC 69, a loss that convinced Swick to drop to welterweight.
Demian Maia, 5-0. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace Maia began his UFC career with five straight submission victories, winning submission of the night honors an amazing four times during that stretch. His first-round triangle choke of Chael Sonnen at UFC 95 was widely regarded as one of the best submissions of 2009, but Maia's run came to an end when he was knocked out early in the first round against Nate Marquardt at UFC 102. Maia came back with a victory over Dan Miller at UFC 109, and will have a chance to snap Anderson Silva's record UFC winning streak when the two square off for the UFC middleweight title at UFC 112.
George Sotiropoulos, 5-0. Sotiropoulos became the newest member of the "5-0 Club" with an impressive win over Joe Stevenson at UFC 110. The Aussie started his UFC career after competing as a welterweight on season 6 of "The Ultimate Fighter", but dropped to lightweight after winning his first two matches after the show, and being sidelined for a time with an injury. Sotiropoulos has already made a big impact as a lightweight, racking up three straight wins in the division and prompting UFC president Dana White to say that he could be in the mix for a title shot sometime within the year.
