Sherdog's Top 10: Greatest Fighters Never to have Competed in the UFC

8. Mamed Khalidov

Long-time KSW middleweight champion Khalidov makes his first Sherdog top 10. One of the most exciting and creative fighters in the sport's history, Khalidov has enjoyed tremendous longevity by constantly reinventing himself. Known for some of the very best kicks in the sport, his spinning ones were especially gorgeous. In fact, Khalidov was even able to throw brutal, accurate kicks off his own back against a standing opponent. However, one shouldn't ignore that Khalidov was an excellent grappler in his prime who actually has more submission wins (17) than he does knockouts (16). And while his hands initially lagged far behind his kicks, they eventually became a weapon, too. After beginning his career an inauspicious 3-3, the 25-year-old Khalidov went on an 18-fight undefeated streak with 17 wins and a draw over nearly five years. Notable wins include submissions of Martin Zawada and Igor Pokrajac, a 70-second knockout of Daniel Acacio and of course, a 105 second knockout of reigning Sengoku middleweight champion Jorge Santiago, though the title wasn't on the line. A rematch for the crown ended with Santiago edging out Khalidov in a close contest over five rounds. Undeterred, Khalidov embarked on yet another undefeated streak, this one lasting 15 fights and over 8 years, but against significantly harder opposition. Being perhaps the biggest star of the KSW promotion, with his fights constantly the main event, Khalidov needed just 33 seconds to tap James Irvin with an armbar, 95 seconds to guillotine choke Matt Lindland, 106 seconds to kneebar Jesse Taylor, 115 seconds to knockout Rodney Wallace, 129 seconds to guillotine choke fearsome striker Melvin Manhoef, 31 seconds to knockout Michael Materla, and 21 seconds to knockout Luke Barnatt, on top of tapping Kendall Grove in the second round. That's an impressive string of names and many wondered whether Khalidov was one of the best middleweights in the entire world in the 2010's. Finally, Khalidov's age caught up to him, as he lost by submission to Tomasz Narkun at 37 and was then soundly defeated in the rematch. This was reinforced when Khalidov lost his third fight in a row to Scott Askham. However, at the age of 40, Khalidov showed he wasn't quite done. In an enormous upset, he scored one of the best knockouts of 2020 in a rematch against Askham, needing just 36 seconds to obliterate him with a jumping kick and follow-up punches. While he then lost by knockout to Roberto Soldic, who also received votes for this list, Khalidov then needed less than 2 minutes to dispose of much larger Mariusz Pudzianowski at heavyweight then won the rubber match against Askham by third round knockout at nearly 43 years old. Khalidov is unquestionably one of the greatest fighters who has never competed in the UFC and likely the best who has never been in one of the major promotions like Bellator, Pride or Strikeforce, either.

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