In the MMA world, the UFC has been a major destination for the world’s best fighters. For nearly three decades, the best mixed martial artists around the globe have competed in the UFC octagon to prove that they are one of the greatest. Numerous mixed martial artists have competed in the promotion. However, there have been some fighters who only competed once on the biggest MMA stage. Although they were present only for one match in the company, the impact they created will always be remembered.
Tony Halme
Tony Halme is especially known for his stint in the WWF during the 90s. He used to perform there under the name Ludwig Borga and was one of the bad guys of the company. After his short tenure in the WWF, Halme moved to the MMA octagon. In 1997, he participated in the one-night UFC Heavyweight Tournament at UFC 13 and faced Randy Couture. “The Natural” just took one minute to make Halme submit and Couture went on to win the tournament and had an incredible MMA career later. Halme also had a career in boxing, where he fought 19 matches, winning 13 of them.
James Toney
James Toney is one of the most iconic boxers in the history of sports. He began his career in 1988 and retired in 2017. “Lights Out” fought 92 bouts and recorded 77 wins and 10 defeats. In 2010, when the UFC tried to experiment, they signed Toney. He got Randy Couture as his opponent at UFC 118. Fighting a multiple-time UFC champion is a tough task for any fighter making his MMA debut, but Toney accepted the challenge. The bout turned out to be bizarre for “Lights Out,” as he submitted to “The Natural” in the first round of the match.
Rolles Gracie
The members of the Gracie family have been known as the famous Jiu-jitsu family throughout the years. Royce Gracie put up fantastic performances in the early days of the UFC. Rolles Gracie also got a chance to fight in the promotion after winning three MMA fights. In 2010, Rolles faced Joey Beltran at UFC 107. Gracie lost the bout via technical knockout in the second round, which was his only fight in the promotion.
Roger Gracie
In the beginning of his MMA career, Roger Gracie was one of the top prospects in the light heavyweight division. In his first seven MMA bouts, Gracie scored notable wins over fighters like Kevin Randleman, Keith Jardin, Scott Smith and more. His only loss came against Muhammad Lawal before his UFC debut. In 2013, Roger got a chance to fight in the UFC. He faced Tim Kennedy at UFC 162 and lost his debut bout via unanimous decision. Unfortunately, that was Gracie’s only UFC appearance.
Renzo Gracie
Renzo Gracie had a good career in the PRIDE Fighting Championships. In 2010, Renzo got a chance to fight in the UFC. He faced Matt Hughes at UFC 112 and was looking to get revenge for Royce Gracie after Hughes defeated the legend at UFC 60 in 2006. Renzo put up a good fight but lost the bout in the third round by technical knockout. This would be Renzo’s only appearance in the UFC. After this, he returned in 2018 to fight in the ONE Championship.
Wallid Ismail
Walid Ismail began his professional MMA career in 1991 and fought in events like Desafio, UVF and U-Japan. After defeating Katsumi Usata consecutively by submission, Ismail got a chance to fight in the UFC. Wallid faced Kazuo Takahashi at UFC 112 and lost the fight via decision. After his only UFC appearance, Ismail fought for PRIDE FC. His last MMA appearance was in 2002, when he faced Yasuhito Namekawa at Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye and won the bout via unanimous decision.
Kit Cope
Kite Cope is a professional fighter who has appeared on popular reality shows like Fear Factor and MTV’s True Life. Cope hosted the Spike TV series Wild World of Spike. Although he has achieved many things outside the MMA cage, he was not very successful in the sport. He made his only UFC appearance in 2005 at the second Finale of The Ultimate Fighter. His opponent for the match was Kenny Florian, who defeated him via submission in the second round.
Antonio McKee
Antonio McKee was one of the toughest fighters in the sport. He has an impressive MMA record of 30 wins and only six losses. Despite a fantastic resume, McKee fought only once in the UFC. He faced Jacob Volkman at UFC 124 and lost the fight via split decision. Following the loss, McKee fought for other MMA promotions such as DREAM, World Series of Fighting, and Bellator. Mckee’s son, AJ, is currently one of the top featherweight fighters in the MMA world and competes in Bellator.
Kazushi Sakuraba
Kazushi Sakuraba is a UFC Hall of Famer and it will be surprising for MMA fans to know that he only made one appearance in the promotion. He made his only UFC appearance in 1997 at UFC Japan. The event featured a one-night heavyweight tournament. Sakuraba entered the tournament and won. He technically fought twice on the same night. In the first fight, the referee thought Kazushi had been knocked out, when in reality he was going for a takedown. Tank Abbott won the second fight in the tournament but was unable to fight another fight. As a result, Sakuraba fought Marcus Silveira again and won the fight by submission.
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