Fighters who got into the UFC on the coattails of others..

[eiyuu]

Mark Hughes (Matt Hughes' brother)
Crazy Bob Cook (Frank Shamrock's training buddy--but he only had one fight)
Tito Ortiz (got in because he was Tank Abbott's sparring partner)

 

[crocopteam]

Werdum broke into Pride due to Crocop.

 

[Kumason]

Was thinking about how Artem Lobov really wouldn’t have gotta a shot in TUF or the UFC if not for his connection to Conor.

Artem is a solid fighter but realistically with his track record he had a miniscule chance of making it into the UFC had he not been Conor’s bestie.

Are there any other fighters who come to mind that have been given opportunities by the UFC because they knew someone?

Gian Villante made a few waves in Strikeforce but I feel like his fame really came from being Chris Weidman’s buddy and should have been released a few fights ago.

Conor's boy Charlie Ward too...and oh man that friend of Nate Diaz's was horrible too,can't remember his name...He fought Lobov,Oh Chris Avila.

 

[Mondo Freaks]

Ronda's crew

 

[billharford]

Frank Mir was a nobody who rode Uber TS's coattails to Sherdog glory

 

[Marianne]

Cyborg's opponent #2, #3, #5.

Also

 

[galleryy]

All the people from sbg

Lil conor got into bellator and waa gonna headline

 

[Shaddows]

Ronda came with Jessamyn Duke and Shayna Basler in a package deal.

sorry, but that is not true.
Ronda, when she signed and came to the UFC, at that time UFC only had Liz Carmouche signed.

Ronda only met Jessamyn Duke and Shayna Basler on TUF.

 

[Vile]

Sergio Pettis

 

[X Factor]

Didn't Artem fight some no name guy from Diaz's camp on 202?

Yup Chris Avila

 

[ImNotSurpisedDonks!]

All the people from sbg

This is why my mind is blown that SBG has such a good UFC record. They literally took this guy and made him into a guy with a 4-2 UFC record.

 

[ImNotSurpisedDonks!]

Sergio Pettis

But he could have made it eventually. He is an elite fighter now. Guys like Avila or Artem tho, they would never stand a chance to make it to the UFC.

 

[dmwalking]

Artem is the ultimate coat tail rider.

 

[galleryy]

well, basically, the most famous one has to be Werdum...

Tito too, via Tank...

Frank via Ken...

All the Gracies too...hundreds...thousands...

Rener gracie riding ortega's coat tails from last week's thread

 

[Vile]

But he could have made it eventually. He is an elite fighter now. Guys like Avila or Artem tho, they would never stand a chance to make it to the UFC.

That is true. He definitely is a UFC-level fighter, but during his debut I felt that he was there only because of his brother, hence I decided to mention him on this thread.

 

[TheBlondBomber]

A lot of Lions Den and Hammer House guys got in because of Shamrock and Coleman as well.

Came here to post Vernon White. Telligman also could be in that category, but he had some solid wins. Beat Igor before his UFC debut, if my timeline is right.

Mike Whitehead also got his foot in the door (with TUF) because of his Iowa guys.

Latifi also got in because of Gus, but has proven he belongs.

 

[MrDoctor]

Didn't Artem fight some no name guy from Diaz's camp on 202?

Yeah, some kid that had no business fighting professionally.

 

[Ogata]

Manny gamburyan got in to the UFC because of Karo when Karo was still a beast. I remember Dana saying how small Manny was for 155 but he heard great things.

 

[agibmxmma]

Didn't Artem fight some no name guy from Diaz's camp on 202?

He fought the little homie Chris Avila.. that fight would go dif if they got it on these days. But should've, could've, would've means nothing.

 

[agibmxmma]

chris tuchscherer LOL

To be fair.. he had a solid record prior to the UFC..