MARTIAL ARTS from United Kingdom

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary British Martial Arts of all time. This list of famous British Martial Arts is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of British Martial Arts.

1. Alistair Overeem (b. 1980)

With an HPI of 53.19, Alistair Overeem is the most famous British Martial Arts.  His biography has been translated into 26 different languages on wikipedia.

Alistair Cees Overeem (born 17 May 1980) is a Dutch former professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer. He is a former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Dream Heavyweight Champion, K-1 World Grand Prix Champion, and was the first fighter to hold world titles in MMA and K-1 kickboxing at the same time. Overeem is also a one-time challenger for the UFC Heavyweight Championship.

2. Michael Bisping (b. 1979)

With an HPI of 48.68, Michael Bisping is the 2nd most famous British Martial Arts.  Her biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Michael Gavin Joseph Bisping (; born 28 February 1979) is an English former mixed martial artist, sports commentator, analyst, and actor. He competed in the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor from 2004 to 2017, he held the UFC middleweight title, the Cage Rage light heavyweight title, and won the light heavyweight tournament of The Ultimate Fighter 3. At UFC 78, Bisping became the first British fighter to compete in a UFC main event. In 2013, he became legally blind in his right eye after fighting Vitor Belfort, in which a fight-ending head kick had left Bisping with a detached retina. Three years later, Bisping won the UFC middleweight title by knocking out Luke Rockhold at UFC 199, becoming the first British fighter to win a UFC Championship. He defended his title against Dan Henderson at UFC 204, but lost it to Georges St-Pierre the following year at UFC 217. After his knockout loss to Kelvin Gastelum three weeks later, Bisping retired from the sport. He was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame on 5 July 2019. Bisping has also embarked on an acting career, starring in films such as XXX: Return of Xander Cage (2017), Triple Threat (2019), and Red Sonja. He also portrayed Roy Shaw in the British sports drama film My Name Is Lenny (2017). On television, he has appeared in series such as Strike Back, Twin Peaks, MacGyver, Magnum P.I. and Warrior.

3. Paddy Pimblett (b. 1995)

With an HPI of 47.69, Paddy Pimblett is the 3rd most famous British Martial Arts.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Patrick Mark Pimblett (born 3 January 1995) is an English professional mixed martial artist. A professional since 2012, Pimblett is a former Cage Warriors Featherweight Champion. He currently competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of 18 November 2025, he is #5 in the UFC lightweight rankings.

4. Laetitia Meignan (b. 1960)

With an HPI of 47.12, Laetitia Meignan is the 4th most famous British Martial Arts.  Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Laetitia Meignan (born 25 June 1960 in Paris) is a retired judoka from France, who represented her native country at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, where she won a bronze medal in the women's half-heavyweight division (‍–‍72 kg), alongside Irene de Kok from the Netherlands.

5. Tom Aspinall (b. 1993)

With an HPI of 46.47, Tom Aspinall is the 5th most famous British Martial Arts.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Thomas Paul Aspinall (born 11 April 1993) is an English professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the current UFC Heavyweight Champion. As of 18 November 2025, he is #8 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings. Aspinall is known for his finishing ability, having finished six of his eight UFC wins by the halfway point of the first round, and holds the UFC record for shortest average fight time at two minutes and eighteen seconds.

6. Dennis Stewart (b. 1960)

With an HPI of 45.97, Dennis Stewart is the 6th most famous British Martial Arts.  His biography has been translated into 14 different languages.

Dennis C. Stewart (born 12 May 1960) is a retired male judoka from Great Britain, who competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.

7. Michael Page (b. 1987)

With an HPI of 43.40, Michael Page is the 7th most famous British Martial Arts.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Michael Jerome Reece-Page (born 7 April 1987), known as Michael "Venom" Page or MVP, is an English professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Welterweight and Middleweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of 30 September 2025, he is #10 in the UFC middleweight rankings. He has also competed professionally as a kickboxer, boxer and bare-knuckle boxer. Page is recognised in the MMA community for his unorthodox fighting style, which originated from freestyle kickboxing (points fighting) and sport karate.

8. Darren Till (b. 1992)

With an HPI of 35.96, Darren Till is the 8th most famous British Martial Arts.  His biography has been translated into 14 different languages.

Darren Till (born 24 December 1992) is an English professional mixed martial artist, former Muay Thai fighter, and professional boxer. As a boxer, he is the current MFB bridgerweight champion. Born in Liverpool, Till started his Muay Thai training at the age of 12 and turned professional three years later, before transitioning to MMA. He competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he fought in both the welterweight and middleweight divisions, and challenged for the UFC Welterweight Championship in September 2018. He made his boxing debut in January 2025.

9. Lauren Williams (b. 1999)

With an HPI of 28.73, Lauren Williams is the 9th most famous British Martial Arts.  Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Lauren Williams (born 25 February 1999) is a Welsh taekwondo athlete who represents Great Britain.

10. Bianca Walkden (b. 1991)

With an HPI of 27.41, Bianca Walkden is the 10th most famous British Martial Arts.  Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Bianca Cook, also known as Bianca Walkden (born 29 September 1991), is an English taekwondo athlete and Olympian. She is three-times a World champion, twice World Grand Prix champion, four-times a European champion and a double Olympic medallist.