Top MMA Fighters
The preconception some have about MMA is that everyone besides the fighters wields clout. That’s not the case if you’re a fighter like Gilbert Melendez, Jon Jones or Nick Diaz.
Melendez’s contract ended after his bout with Diego Sanchez late last year, and he made headlines when it was announced he had signed an offer sheet with Bellator. However, the UFC had rights to match or counter any offers made to Melendez and they were not ready to let one of their best lightweights go to a rival organisation.
Melendez ended up resigning with the UFC after they counter-offered with a deal that would see him coach a season of the Ultimate Fighter which would be followed by a title fight against champion Anthony Pettis.
Jones, on the other hand, single-handedly caused what was at the time the only event cancellation in UFC history. It came after he refused to fight Chael Sonnen after his original challenger, Dan Henderson, sustained an injury eight days before the event was to take place.
Nick Diaz is one of only a few fighters to fight for a UFC championship after coming off a loss. That was against then-UFC Welterweight champion George St Pierre on UFC 158 last year.
Despite coming off a loss (to Carlos Condit), Diaz was given the title shot as a result of his immense fanbase. It was a move that literally paid off as UFC 158 has the second largest buy rate of any UFC event in 2013 (beaten only by UFC 168, which was headlined by the rematch between Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman).
