Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, better known as Minotauro or Big Nog, is a Brazilian retired mixed martial artist. He competed in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion. He is the twin brother of UFC fighter Antônio Rogério Nogueira. Nogueira rose to prominence in Japanese promotions Fighting Network RINGS where he won the 2000 RINGS King of Kings tournament, and later with Pride Fighting Championships, where he was the first Pride Heavyweight Champion from November 2001 to March 2003, as well as a 2004 PRIDE FC Heavyweight Grand Prix Finalist. He is one of only three men to have held championship titles in both Pride Fighting Championships and the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Igor Yaroslavovych Vovchanchyn is a retired Ukrainian mixed martial artist and kickboxer, who competed in early no holds barred MMA contests. After making his professional MMA debut in 1995, he won nine openweight mixed martial arts tournaments and 3 superfights. As of July 2024, Vovchanchyn holds the longest unbeaten streak in MMA history and is the second most successful MMA fighter ever by number of wins achieved by way of knockout. Vovchanchyn has an MMA tournament named after him, the Igor Vovchanchyn Cup.
Kiyoshi Tamura is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Once a student of legendary professional wrestlers Billy Robinson, Lou Thesz and Akira Maeda, Tamura was known for his skills in catch wrestling and is considered to be one of the greatest shoot wrestlers of all time. Competing exclusively in shoot style wrestling, Tamura began his career with UWF Newborn and later joined its successor group UWF International before transitioning to mixed martial arts.
Jeremy Graham Horn is an American mixed martial artist. Horn is best known for fighting in smaller American promotions, he has also competed in some of the premiere mixed martial arts organizations around the world, including the UFC, WEC, PRIDE, Bellator, Pancrase, the IFL, King of the Cage, and the International Fighting Championships (IFC). Horn is the former King of the Cage Light Heavyweight Champion and has also competed in the Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight divisions.
Murilo Bustamante is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist and former UFC Middleweight Champion. He is one of the founders of the Brazilian Top Team and is the current leader. In addition to competing for the UFC, he has also fought in PRIDE, making it to the Pride Shockwave 2005 Final, and also fought in Yarennoka!
Gilbert Yvel is a Dutch professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 1997, Yvel competed in the PRIDE Fighting Championships, Affliction, the UFC, Road FC, the RFA, RINGS, M-1 Challenge, Cage Rage, K-1, and Showtime promotions. He is the former RINGS Openweight Champion.
Tsuyoshi Kosaka is a retired Japanese mixed martial artist, submission grappler and professional wrestler who competed in the Heavyweight division. A professional MMA competitor from 1994 till 2022, he has competed for the UFC, PRIDE Fighting Championships, RIZIN, RINGS, Pancrase, and DEEP. Kosaka is the former King of Pancrase Super Heavyweight Champion.
Gary Henry Goodridge, nicknamed "Big Daddy", is a Trinidadian-Canadian former heavyweight kickboxer and mixed martial artist fighting out of Barrie, Ontario. Prior to kickboxing and MMA, he was also one of the top ranked contenders in the world of professional arm wrestling. In early 2012, Goodridge was diagnosed with early onset of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
Renato Sobral da Cunha, also known as "Babalu", is a retired Brazilian Luta Livre submission grappler, mixed martial artist, and was the former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion. Sobral previously fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he posted a 6–4 record and has also competed for Bellator, RINGS, Jungle Fight, Cage Rage, Affliction, and ONE Championship. He is the Head Instructor of Babalu's Iron Gym Cerritos and has a Luta Livre black belt under Marco Ruas and also a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Carlos Gracie Jr.
Sergei Valerievich Kharitonov is a Russian professional boxer, mixed martial artist and former kickboxer. A professional MMA competitor since 2000, Kharitonov has previously fought in Japanese MMA organizations PRIDE Fighting Championships & DREAM, Bellator MMA, M-1 Global, Strikeforce, and GLORY.
Lee Hasdell is a British martial artist, promoter and former professional kickboxer and mixed martial artist. Hasdell is considered by many to be a pioneer of mixed martial arts in the United Kingdom, particularly in the 1990s, when he drove a great deal of innovation in the field. Hasdell promoted the first professional mixed martial arts events in the UK and helped develop many of the standards within the British MMA scene of today.
Mikhail Ilyukhin is a retired Russian mixed martial artist and professional wrestler who competed in the light heavyweight division. He competed in both Fighting Network Rings, and Pride Fighting Championships, and was a prominent member of Russia Top Team, where he trained with the likes of Volk Han, Fedor Emelianenko, and Sergei Kharitonov. At Pride 26, Ilyukhin lost by stoppage to Quinton Jackson. He won his last fight at K-1 – Hero's Lithuania against Jordanas Poskaitis on November 26, 2005. It appears that following the demise of the Russia Top Team Ilyukhin has retired.
Hiromitsu Kanehara is a former Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler of Korean descent. A professional MMA competitor from 1998 until 2012, he found success in Fighting Network RINGS, gaining notable victories over Valentijn Overeem, Alexandre Ferreira, former King of the Cage Light Heavyweight Champion Jeremy Horn, former RINGS Light-Heavyweight Champion Masayuki Naruse and former UFC Middleweight Champion Dave Menne.
Bobby "The Truth" Hoffman is a retired American mixed martial artist who competed in the heavyweight division. He is the former King of the Cage super heavyweight champion as well as the former King of the Cage heavyweight champion. Having made his professional debut in 1998, Hoffman has also formerly competed for the UFC, RINGS, and Jungle Fight. During his career, Hoffman defeated world champions Alistair Overeem and Ricco Rodriguez.
Chris Haseman is an Australian mixed martial artist. Haseman is currently signed with Fighting Network RINGS and is a longtime veteran of the promotion (1995–2012). Regarded as a pioneer of MMA in Australia he competed in Australia's first MMA show along with events such as the UFC and the World Fighting Alliance.
Yoshihisa Yamamoto is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. A professional MMA competitor from 1995 until 2012, he competed for RINGS, WEF, PRIDE, Vale Tudo Japan, DEEP, and K-1 HERO'S.
Alexander Pavlovich Shlemenko is a Russian mixed martial artist currently fighting in the Middleweight division. He is most notable for fighting for Bellator Fighting Championships, where he is the former Bellator Middleweight World Champion. Alexander is an expert in hand-to-hand combat and traditional kickboxing. He trains at the "Saturn Profi" sports club in Omsk, Russia, and holds a degree in Physical Culture at the Siberian University of Physical Culture.
Ricardo "The Mutant" Morais is a Brazilian former mixed martial artist, who competed in Pride Fighting Championships, Jungle Fight, and Rings - MMA. Morais trained with the Banni Fight Combat Jiu-Jitsu to support, Banni Cavalcanti, even after his last fight in the sport, which was a victory, coming against Tae Hyn Lee at Pride Final Conflict Absolute, 10 September 2006.
Bazigit Atavovich Atajev is a Russian mixed martial artist and sanshou kickboxer, who currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division. A professional since 2000, he has competed in RINGS and PRIDE Fighting Championships. He is known for a fierce spinning-heel kick and Sambo style grappling.
Yasuhito Namekawa is a Japanese mixed martial artist who competes in the light heavyweight division. Namekawa made his mixed martial arts debut for Fighting Network RINGS in 1998. He fought in mainly shootfighting bouts until 1999 when RINGS introduced the King of King Rules and transitioned into a modern MMA promotion. Throughout his career, Namekawa has fought for organisations such as RINGS, Deep and Pride FC. His last fight to date was in 2008, with a professional mixed martial arts career spanning ten years. He also briefly competed in shoot style professional wrestling, exclusively for Kiyoshi Tamura's U-STYLE promotion.
