



The Most Famous
MARTIAL ARTS from United Kingdom
This page contains a list of the greatest British Martial Arts. The pantheon dataset contains 179 Martial Arts, 2 of which were born in United Kingdom. This makes United Kingdom the birth place of the 17th most number of Martial Arts behind Türkiye, and Canada.
Top 5
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the 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.

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 the upcoming 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. He currently competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2012, Pimblett is a former Cage Warriors Featherweight Champion. As of 19 August 2025, he is #7 in the UFC lightweight rankings.

4. Tom Aspinall (b. 1993)
With an HPI of 46.47, Tom Aspinall is the 4th 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 1 July 2025, he is #9 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 two seconds.

5. Darren Till (b. 1992)
With an HPI of 35.96, Darren Till is the 5th 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.
People
Pantheon has 5 people classified as British martial arts born between 1979 and 1995. Of these 5, 5 (100.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living British martial arts include Alistair Overeem, Michael Bisping, and Paddy Pimblett. As of April 2024, 3 new British martial arts have been added to Pantheon including Paddy Pimblett, Tom Aspinall, and Darren Till.
Living British Martial Arts
Go to all RankingsAlistair Overeem
1980 - Present
HPI: 53.19
Michael Bisping
1979 - Present
HPI: 48.68
Paddy Pimblett
1995 - Present
HPI: 47.69
Tom Aspinall
1993 - Present
HPI: 46.47
Darren Till
1992 - Present
HPI: 35.96
Newly Added British Martial Arts (2025)
Go to all RankingsPaddy Pimblett
1995 - Present
HPI: 47.69
Tom Aspinall
1993 - Present
HPI: 46.47
Darren Till
1992 - Present
HPI: 35.96