The Blog

IntroductionDeiveson Figueiredo is the most powerful flyweight in UFC history and the most decorated Brazilian in modern UFC's 125 lb division. A Soure, Pará-born fighter who grew up in a fishing village near the mouth of the Amazon River, Figueiredo won the UFC Flyweight Championship at UFC 250 in June 2020 and built the most consequential divisional rivalry in modern UFC flyweight history — the four-fight series with Brandon Moreno that produced a draw, two Moreno wins, and one Figueiredo win

IntroductionBrandon Moreno is the first Mexican-born UFC champion in history. A Tijuana, Baja California-born flyweight who trains at Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, Moreno built one of the most celebrated career-arc stories in modern UFC — cut from the UFC roster in 2019 after a 4-5 record, re-signed, and then winning the UFC Flyweight Championship at UFC 263 in June 2021 with a third-round submission of Deiveson Figueiredo. The title win placed Moreno among the most beloved Mexican sports figur

IntroductionJack Hermansson is the most decorated Swedish-Norwegian fighter in UFC history and the most consistently competitive middleweight contender in Scandinavia's MMA history. A 6'1" Åre-born fighter who trains across Norwegian and Swedish camps, Hermansson built a decade-long UFC middleweight career defined by a pressure-grappling-and-striking approach that produced his signature moment — the first-round TKO of Ronaldo 'Jacaré' Souza at UFC Fight Night 137 in September 2018, one of the mo

IntroductionEdson Barboza is the most technically diverse kicker in modern UFC lightweight history. A Nova Iguaçu-born Muay Thai specialist who trains at American Top Team in Florida, Barboza built a 12-year UFC career defined by a spinning and jumping kick portfolio that produced some of the most spectacular single-finish moments at 155 lb and 145 lb — most notably the spinning side kick KO of Ben Henderson at UFC 152 in September 2012, one of the most celebrated single-technique finishes in UF

IntroductionAleksander Volkov is the most decorated Russian heavyweight in modern UFC history. A 6'7" Moscow-born kickboxer who held the Bellator Heavyweight Championship before his UFC run, Volkov built a career in the 265 lb division defined by long-range technical striking from the southpaw stance — a style that produced wins over Stefan Struve, Fabricio Werdum, Roy Nelson, Walt Harris and Ciryl Gane, and placed him consistently in the top-five heavyweight rankings from 2017-2022. The two los

IntroductionJosh Emmett is the most decorated power-puncher in modern UFC featherweight history who has not held a championship — a Sacramento, California-born featherweight with the highest KO-percentage-per-significant-strike rate at 145 lb in the post-Aldo era. Emmett built a 12-year professional career defined by first-round right-hand finishes that produced some of the most replayed single-punch KOs in UFC featherweight history. The June 2022 UFC on ESPN 34 interim-title shot against Yair R

IntroductionCub Swanson is the most prolific knockout finisher in UFC featherweight history and one of the most beloved fan-favourites across a decade-plus run in the division. A Palm Springs, California-born featherweight who built a 39-fight professional career spanning WEC, UFC, and Bellator from 2003 to 2024, Swanson produced a finishing highlight reel that most UFC featherweight champions would be proud to carry — head-kick KOs of Dennis Siver and Ricardo Lamas, a flying-kick spectacular ov

IntroductionKelvin Gastelum is the most celebrated nearly-champion in modern UFC middleweight history — the man who came within a split decision of defeating Israel Adesanya for the interim title at UFC 236 in April 2019, in what is widely regarded as one of the greatest fights in UFC middleweight history. A Yuma, Arizona-born TUF 17 winner who fought professionally across both welterweight and middleweight, Gastelum built a career defined by spectacular offensive pressure, heavy hands, and a gr

IntroductionYair Rodriguez is the most creative striking technician in modern UFC featherweight history. A Chihuahua, Mexico-born southpaw who competes at 145 lb with a signature style built on unorthodox spinning and twisting strikes, Rodriguez produced what is widely regarded as the single greatest KO finish in UFC history on November 10, 2018: a flying spinning back-elbow to Chan Sung Jung at 5:00 of the fifth round at UFC Fight Night 139 — at the exact second of the final bell, while losing

IntroductionRenan Barao held one of the longest unbeaten streaks in combat sports history — 32 consecutive professional fights (31 wins, 1 draw) from 2005 to 2014 before TJ Dillashaw ended it at UFC 173 in May 2014. A Salvador, Bahia-born bantamweight who combined jiu-jitsu with aggressive Muay Thai, Barao was the dominant force in UFC's 135 lb division during the three-year period when reigning champion Dominick Cruz was sidelined with injuries. He won the interim title in 2012, unified the ban

IntroductionJohny Hendricks is the most decorated college-wrestling-pedigree UFC Welterweight Champion in modern history. A two-time NCAA Division I National Champion at Oklahoma State University — the most prestigious individual credential in American collegiate wrestling — Hendricks won the UFC Welterweight Championship on March 15, 2014 at UFC 171 by split decision over Robbie Lawler. The title win came in one of the most controversial decisions of the modern UFC era; many observers, includin

IntroductionDerek Brunson is the most consistent UFC middleweight contender of the post-Weidman era who never held the championship. A Wilmington, North Carolina native and former NCAA Division II All-American wrestler at UNC Pembroke, Brunson built one of the most durable UFC middleweight careers of his generation — competing for over a decade across the Chris Weidman, Luke Rockhold, Robert Whittaker, Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland championship eras. The forward-pressure wrestling-and-stri