5. Brad Pickett
One of the pioneers of British MMA, “One Punch” gets his due in finishing fifth on this list. Despite his nickname and the reputation of British fighters as being good strikers but weak wrestlers, Pickett developed into a very good grappler over the course of his career, winning a number of fights that way. After beginning his career 11-4, the 28-year-old Pickett went on a nine-fight winning streak. Most of the names on that run are nothing to write home about, but the last one, Demetrious Johnson, certainly is: a man I ranked as merely the second greatest mixed martial artist ever. While Johnson was fighting at bantamweight instead of flyweight and only 3-0 and 23 years old at the time, this was still an enormous accomplishment. Pickett dominated the encounter, winning every round.
After that, Pickett settled in as a Top 10 contender in the UFC's bantamweight division, but one who could never quite crack the elite. He won a close fight against Ivan Menjivar, choked out Damacio Page in the second round and knocked out Yves Jabouin in the first. However, he also lost a one-sided decision to Scott Jorgenson, was choked out by Renan Barao and Michael McDonald, and dropped a decision to Eddie Wineland that really shouldn't have been split, as almost everyone had it 30-27 in favor of Wineland. Pickett continued to fight excellent opposition but retired after losing six of his last seven, though there were many impressive names there such as Ian McCall, Thomas Almeida, Urijah Faber and Marlon Vera. Pickett continues to be involved in MMA as a respected coach, but on this list he gets recognition for his accomplishments as a fighter.
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