10 Great Retired UFC Champions Not In The Hall Of Fame

8. Sean Sherk

Sean earned the UFC Lightweight Champion in October of 2006 when he defeated Kenny Florian for the vacant title at UFC 64. He successfully defended it in his next bout against Hermes Franca at UFC 73, before being stripped of the belt for a post fight drug test, which Franca also failed.

After serving his suspension he would lose his next fight, another Lightweight vacancy match, this time against BJ Penn. Overall, Sherk’s UFC record saw him go 8-4 with 3 “Of the Night” awards through the pioneering years that saw him compete from UFC 30 in 2001, up until his retirement, after a win against Evan Dunham in September of 2010, at UFC 119.

It is noteworthy that his only 4 career losses came against the two longest reigning Welterweight and Lightweight Champions of all time, in Penn, Frankie Edgar, Matt Hughes and George St. Pierre. Merely reaching the level to compete against that many legends in their prime deserves respect.

HoF wing eligibility: PIONEER