Fighter Profiles

Introduction Tim Sylvia is the most physically imposing two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion in the sport's early era. At 6'8" and 265 lb, the Ellsworth, Maine-born fighter defined the reach-and-jab heavyweight archetype across four years of UFC championship competition (2003-2007). Sylvia is perhaps best remembered for two moments: the UFC 48 forearm fracture against Frank Mir — where he continued fighting with a visibly broken arm until the referee intervened — and the stunnin

Introduction Andrei Arlovski is the most decorated Belarusian UFC fighter in history and one of the longest-serving athletes in UFC heavyweight competition. A Babruysk-born, two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion who held the belt from April 2005 to April 2006, Arlovski defined the post-Mir, pre-Lesnar UFC heavyweight era with an aggressive pressure-boxing style and legitimate knockout power. He returned to the UFC in 2015 after years competing in Strikeforce and DREAM, extending

Introduction Calvin Kattar is the most technically refined boxing-based featherweight contender in modern UFC history. A Methuen, Massachusetts-born fighter who trains with Team Fish Tank in New England, Kattar built a UFC featherweight career defined by an iron chin, elite-level boxing technique, and the willingness to fight anyone. He is most widely known for two landmark fights: the January 2021 UFC Fight Night headliner loss to Max Holloway — in which Holloway landed 445

Introduction Anthony Smith is the most prolific active light-heavyweight contender in modern UFC history. A Fort Dodge, Iowa-born fighter who has competed at both middleweight and light-heavyweight across nearly two decades of professional competition, Smith has produced one of the most durable and uniquely personal career stories in modern MMA — including a UFC Light-Heavyweight Championship challenge against Jon Jones at UFC 235 in March 2019 and a career that has featured

Introduction Antonio 'Bigfoot' Silva is the most physically unique heavyweight in modern UFC history. A Brazilian heavyweight with the medical condition of acromegaly — a hormonal disorder producing excessive growth hormone that gives Silva his distinctive enlarged facial features and the 'Bigfoot' nickname — Silva produced one of the most stunning upsets of the Strikeforce era when he defeated Fedor Emelianenko in 2011 via split decision, ending Fedor's legendary decade-long

Introduction Chad Mendes is the most decorated featherweight contender of the Jose Aldo era who never held a championship. A Cal Poly-educated NCAA Division I wrestler with the nickname 'Money', Mendes fought Jose Aldo for the UFC Featherweight Championship twice (2012, 2014), competed against Conor McGregor for the interim UFC Featherweight Championship at UFC 189 in July 2015, and was consistently regarded as the division's top contender throughout the Aldo championship yea

Introduction Mark Munoz is the most decorated Filipino-American fighter in UFC middleweight history. A former NCAA Division I National Wrestling Champion at Oklahoma State University, Munoz combined an elite-level wrestling base with devastating ground-and-pound to produce one of the most physically dominant UFC middleweight careers of the 2010-2014 era. 'The Filipino Wrecking Machine' never received a formal title shot despite consistent top-five rankings, and his career def

Introduction Martin Kampmann was one of the most technically gifted welterweights of his era — a Danish striker trained in Copenhagen who produced two of the most celebrated single-fight finishes in UFC welterweight history: the Dan Hardy standing guillotine choke and the Carlos Condit fourth-round TKO that still stands as one of the best late-round comebacks at 170 lb. Kampmann passed away on February 11, 2023 at the age of 39, following a courageous battle with glioblastoma

Introduction Ovince Saint Preux, known universally by the initials OSP, is the most athletically unorthodox light-heavyweight in modern UFC history. A Haitian-born, Knoxville, Tennessee-raised fighter who brought a portfolio of spinning and unorthodox attacks to the 205 lb division, OSP built a decade-long UFC career defined by spectacular KO finishes and multiple Performance of the Night bonuses. He challenged Jon Jones for the UFC Light-Heavyweight Championship at UFC 197 i

Introduction Antonio Silva — universally known as Bigfoot — is the most medically unique heavyweight in UFC history. Born in Irecê, Bahia, Brazil in 1979, Silva has a documented case of acromegaly — a condition caused by excess growth hormone production from a pituitary gland tumour, resulting in enlarged bones in the hands, feet, and face. The condition produced the exceptionally large facial features that gave him his nickname and also created a medically exempted testoster

Introduction Roy Nelson is the most celebrated power-punching heavyweight of the post-Brock Lesnar UFC era who never held a championship. A Las Vegas-born, TUF 10-winning heavyweight known universally as 'Big Country', Nelson combined a jiu-jitsu black belt (ADCC finalist), an unconventional pot-belly physique, and the most feared single right-hand KO power in UFC heavyweight history outside of Derrick Lewis. The beard, the belly, the bowl cut, and the one-punch KO power made

Introduction Chad Mendes is the most accomplished featherweight wrestler in modern UFC history and the only fighter to challenge Jose Aldo for the featherweight championship twice. A Hanford, California-born Team Alpha Male wrestler who produced two of the most competitive Aldo title fights of the champion's nine-year championship era, Mendes combined the most elite-level takedown ability in the featherweight division with a devastating right hand that produced 12 of his 18 c

Introduction Kevin Lee is the most celebrated nearly-champion lightweight of the post-McGregor UFC era. A Detroit, Michigan-born wrestler, Lee built a UFC career defined by relentless self-promotion and explosive finishing — culminating in the October 2017 UFC 216 interim lightweight title fight against Tony Ferguson. The fourth-round TKO loss represented the closest he came to a UFC championship. The 'Motown Phenom' nickname captured both the Detroit origin and the ambitious

Introduction Mark Munoz is the most decorated Filipino-American fighter in modern UFC history. A Mabalacat, Pampanga-born wrestler who became an NCAA Division I National Champion at Oklahoma State University — the most prestigious wrestling programme in America — Munoz built a UFC middleweight career defined by ferocious forward pressure, dominant wrestling, and a personality of remarkable personal faith and community service outside the cage. The Filipino Wrecking Machine ni

Introduction Martin Kampmann was Denmark's greatest professional MMA fighter and the most technically complete welterweight to emerge from the Scandinavian MMA scene of the 2000s. Born in Aarhus, Denmark in 1984, Kampmann built a UFC welterweight career defined by precise counter-striking, high-level submission grappling, and the two most celebrated single KOs of his division's era — the spinning back-kick KO of Carlos Condit and the late-round KO of Johny Hendricks that stoo

Introduction Ovince Saint Preux is the most spectacular spinning-attack light-heavyweight in modern UFC history. A Port-au-Prince, Haiti-born fighter who became one of the first Haitian-American athletes to compete at the top level of American professional MMA, OSP (as he is universally known) built a UFC career defined by eye-catching spinning and twisting strikes that produced five Performance of the Night and Knockout of the Night bonuses and some of the most replayed sing

Introduction Tim Sylvia is one of only three fighters in UFC history to hold the Heavyweight Championship twice. An Ellsworth, Maine-born heavyweight standing 6'8" with a 79-inch reach, Sylvia won his first UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 44 in September 2003 by TKO-ing Ricco Rodriguez, lost the title to Frank Mir's armbar at UFC 48 in June 2004, and regained the championship at UFC 59 in April 2006 by stopping Andrei Arlovski with a first-round TKO. The two-time champion

Introduction Andrei Arlovski is the longest-tenured heavyweight in UFC history. A Babruysk, Belarus-born heavyweight nicknamed 'The Pitbull', Arlovski debuted in the UFC at UFC 28 in November 2000 and has remained an active UFC heavyweight for over two decades — one of the most remarkable longevity achievements in modern combat sports. A former UFC Heavyweight Champion (2005–06) who won the title by submitting Tim Sylvia with a heel hook in the first round of UFC 51, Arlovski

Introduction Calvin Kattar is the most durably competitive featherweight contender of the post-Aldo era who never held a title. A Methuen, Massachusetts-born featherweight nicknamed 'The Boston Finisher', Kattar built a UFC career defined by exceptional output striking, an iron chin, and back-and-forth wars that produced some of the most celebrated single-round exchanges in modern UFC featherweight history. His wins over Josh Emmett, Dan Ige, Ricardo Lamas, Giga Chikadze, and

Introduction Anthony Smith is the most resilient contender in modern UFC light-heavyweight history. An Omaha, Nebraska-born fighter nicknamed Lionheart for his never-quit mentality, Smith built a career defined by dramatic late-round recoveries, a willingness to fight the best, and a Jon Jones UFC 235 title shot in March 2019 that confirmed his championship-level credentials. Competing across both middleweight and light-heavyweight, Smith produced wins over Rashad Evans, Volk