Top 10 UFC Olympians

UFC Olympic History

In honor of former Olympic champion Henry Cejudo taking on Song Yadong in the UFC Seattle main event, here are the Top 10 UFC Olympic athletes of all time:

10. Ben Askren

After dominating the NCAA wrestling competition while attending Missouri, Ben Askren went on to represent Team USA in the 2008 Olympics held in Beijing. Askren did not earn a medal that year but made a name for himself in the world of MMA thereafter. Askren is now retired but as an active fighter, he built up an impressive 63% finish rate, showcasing his elite wrestling but also the power in his hands. 

9. Mark O’ Madsen

“The Olympian”, they call him! Mark O”Madsen represented Team Denmark not once but twice on the Olympic stage. O’Madsen made his debut in the year of 2012 where he competed in London, and then returned for the next Olympics of 2016 held in Rio de Janeiro. O’Madsen was an elite student of the Greco-Roman wrestling sport and showed out for his country, earning one silver medal in the Olympics. After starting his professional MMA career, O’Madsen went on a twelve fight win streak with dominant wins over Clay Guida and Vinc Plchel. O’Madsen stepped away from the sport fairly recently and has now shown lots of focus on his own fight promotion in Denmark called Dominance Fight League (DFL). 

8. Dan Henderson

Another man to compete on the Olympic stage not just once but twice was Dan Henderson. His debut came back in 1992 in Barcelona where he competed in Greco-Roman wrestling while representing Team USA. Henderson made his Olympic debut in Barcelona and then returned to that very same stage four years later in Atlanta. Henderson then went on to have one of the most thrilling MMA careers where he collected the PRIDE, Strikeforce, and UFC world titles.

7. Daniel Cormier

Daniel Cormier is another fighter who appeared in the Olympics not once, but twice. DC represented Team USA in 2004 and 2008 in both Greece and China. Known for his elite wrestling, it can be assumed that DC competed in freestyle wrestling in the Olympics. In 2004, DC placed fourth overall and in 2008, he was given the prestigious honor of being the team captain but didn’t compete unfortunately, due to health concerns. During his time with the UFC, Cormier achieved “double champ” status when he reigned above both the Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight divisions simultaneously. Known for his exciting fighting style, DC was able to finish 70% of his opponents.

6. Ronda Rousey

The former UFC Women’s Bantamweight champion, Ronda Rousey, herself, is indeed a former Olympian as well. Of course, Rousey will forever be one of the best Women’s Bantamweights, but she also competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, where she represented Team USA in the realm of judo. Rousey ended up taking home a bronze medal for her 70 kilogram weight class. Rousey then went on to find major success in her professional MMA career, boasting an impressive 12-2 record overall. She will forever be remembered for her insane championship reign where she reeled off finish after finish.

5. Yoel Romero

The “Soldier of God”, Yoel Romero represented his country of Cuba in the 2000 and 2004 Olympics in both Australia and Greece, competing in wrestling. Romero won a silver medal in 2000 but came up empty handed in 2004. The freak of an athlete may have grown up with strong wrestling roots but of his 16 professional MMA victories, Romero earned 13 by way of emphatic knockouts. Romero still seems to be active as a fighter, most recently competing in Mike Perry’s Dirty Boxing last November. 

4. Mark Schultz

Mark Schultz competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics hosted in Los Angeles, California, where he competed in Freestyle Wrestling. Schultz and his older brother, David Schultz, both won gold medals on behalf of the United States team that year. Since the era of the Schultz brothers, no other set of brothers have been able to accumulate more NCAA, U.S. Open, World, and Olympic medals than these two. During his time with the UFC, Schultz made only one appearance. This was at UFC 9 when rounds didn’t exist. Schultz went 1-0 in his UFC career with a stoppage due to a cut. 

3. Henry Cejudo

“Triple C”, Henry Cejudo, will return to the UFC octagon this coming weekend but of course, we must touch on his Olympic achievements. Cejudo represented Team USA back in 2008, where Daniel Cormier was the team captain of the freestyle wrestling team. Cejudo’s first taste of the Olympic stage was in China where he won a gold medal in the 55 kilogram weight class. Now, “Triple C”, has built up one of the most respectable and accomplished UFC resumes as he prepares for battle this weekend. Cejudo will make his 15th UFC appearance when he meets Song Yadong in the main event of UFC Seattle on Saturday night. 

2. Kayla Harrison

Kayla Harrison won gold medals in both of the Olympic Games she participated in. Her Olympic career began in 2012 where she represented Team USA in judo and cleaned house, earning her first gold medal. Following her extremely successful debut in London, Harrison returned in 2016 where she mirrored her original results, winning another gold medal in Brazil. As of now, Harrison is 2-0 in the UFC due to kick starting her MMA career with the PFL where she went 15-1, but it’s almost certain that Harrison will compete for the UFC title this year. Throughout her professional career, the elite judo skill set that she possesses has transitioned over to MMA very well.

1. Daniel Kelly

Daniel Kelly is hands down the most dominant Olympic athlete to compete in the UFC. Kelly is the only fighter to appear on the Olympic stage FOUR times! His debut came in 2000 (Sydney), then it was 2004 (Athens) followed by 2008 (Beijing), and finally 2012 (London). Kelly’s Olympic achievements are astonishing. To appear in the Olympics on time itself is very impressive but four times?! Wow! Kelly was a great representative of Team Australia and set a record that will be hard to break. After his Olympic career, Kelly made his UFC debut and fought there for ten professional fights.

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