MMA News Feed

A comprehensive list of all UFC roster moves, releases, signings, and fight announcements for the 619 fighters from strawweight all the way up to heavyweight. - Updated May 14, 2022 Ed. Note: This list was produced and will be manually maintained by Zane Simon. He is the same creator and former minder of the Wikipedia version. Comments, feedback, and questions for Zane are more than welcome, and you can reach him at zanesimon at gmail dot com. Comments are closed as this is purely a reference guide. This is a list of the fighters currently signed to contract under the UFC. All fighters have been organized by weight division, and within their division, by their number of appearances in the UFC. Fighters with the same number of appearances are organized by number of wins, fighters with the same record are organized alphabetically. Each fight record has four categories: wins, losses, draws, and no-contests (NC). All fight records in this article are displayed in that order, with fights resulting in a no-contest listed in parentheses. World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) was purchased by Zuffa in 2006 and officially merged under the UFC brand on January 1, 2011. In April 2011 Zuffa purchased the Strikeforce organization, and officially folded it into the UFC in January 2013. All former WEC and Strikeforce fighters are marked with an asterisk * and have had their ZUFFA record listed in place of their UFC record, starting with WEC 25 and Strikeforce Challengers 15. These records have been, and will be, continued as former WEC and Strikeforce fighters move on in the UFC. Fighter weight-class changes are noted with either an upward arrow or a downward arrow next to their names. This applies to fighters who have publicly announced a weight change but have yet to fight, as well as those who, as Anderson Silva has on several occasions, are fighting out of their natural weight class and then immediately returning to their previous one. "TOTT" stands for "Tale of the Tape", designating the nationality used for each fighter during a UFC broadcast. As of May 7, 2014 new section "Inactive fighters" has been added, as a way to categorize those fighters who have been inactive for more than a year, and who have no definite date of return planned for their next fight in the UFC. This list will also include fighters who have been inactive for less than a year, but have made deliberate statements that they are taking a long term break from competition. Recent Cuts These fighters have been released from their contract in the last month. If their release has not been announced they have been listed here based upon their removal from the UFC's active fighter database. Fighters in this table are listed by their release date. Date TotT Name Division Zuffa Record May 5, 2022 Ike Villanueva Light Heavyweight 1–5 May 4, 2022 Dean Barry Welterweight 0–1 May 4, 2022 Kevin Croom Bantamweight 0–3 (1 NC) May 4, 2022 Cameron Else Bantamweight 0–2 May 4, 2022 Micheal Gillmore Welterweight 0–2 May 4, 2022 Mike Grundy Featherweight 1–3 May 4, 2022 Austin Hubbard Lightweight 3–4 May 4, 2022 Brandon Jenkins Lightweight 0–2 May 4, 2022 Miles Johns Bantamweight 3–2 May 4, 2022 Gina Mazany Women's Flyweight 2–6 May 4, 2022 Kris Moutinho Bantamweight 0–2 May 4, 2022 Rongzhu Lightweight 1–2 May 4, 2022 Devonte Smith Lightweight 3–3 May 4, 2022 Bruno Souza Featherweight 0–2 May 4, 2022 Jesse Strader Bantamweight 0–2 May 4, 2022 Mark Striegl Featherweight 0–2 May 4, 2022 Rodrigo Vargas Lightweight 1–3 May 4, 2022 Luigi Vendramini Lightweight 1–3 May 4, 2022 Fares Ziam Lightweight 2–2 Apr. 13, 2022 Kay Hansen Women's Strawweight 1–3 Apr. 13, 2022 Marlon Moraes (retired) Bantamweight 5–6 Apr. 11, 2022 Alex Oliveira Welterweight 11–10 (1 NC) Mar. 31, 2022 Ben Rothwell Heavyweight 9–8 Mar. 16, 2022 Sabina Mazo Women's Flyweight 3–4 Mar. 14, 2022 Davi Ramos Lightweight 4–3 Mar. 12, 2022 Greg Hardy Heavyweight 4–5 (1 NC) Mar. 8, 2022 Carlos Felipe Heavyweight 3–2 Mar. 1, 2022 Zviad Lazishvili Bantamweight 0–1 Recent Signings The fighters listed below have been signed or come out of retirement in the last month, or have yet to make their octagon debut or return. Fighters in this table are listed by signing date. Date TotT Name Division MMA Record May 12, 2022 Yazmin Jauregui Women's Strawweight 8–0 Apr. 21, 2022 Charles Johnson Flyweight 11–2 Apr. 20, 2022 Evan Elder Welterweight 7–1 Apr. 19, 2022 Chase Sherman Heavyweight 15–10 Apr. 12, 2022 Ange Loosa Welterweight 8–3 Mar. 7, 2022 Khusein Askhabov Featherweight 23–0 Feb. 15, 2022 Isaac Dulgarian Featherweight 5–0 Feb. 15, 2022 Christian Rodriguez Lightweight 7–1 Feb. 5, 2022 Lucas Almeida Lightweight 13–1 Feb. 5, 2022 Tatsuro Taira Flyweight 10–0 Nov. 2, 2021 Maheshate Lightweight 6–1 Oct. 26, 2021 Cristian Quinonez Bantamweight 16–3 Oct. 26, 2021 Karine Silva Women's Flyweight 14–4 Oct. 26, 2021 Manuel Torres Lightweight 12–2 Oct. 19, 2021 Jonny Parsons Welterweight 8–2 Oct. 12, 2021 Jake Hadley Flyweight 8–0 Oct. 5, 2021 Fernie Garcia Bantamweight 10–1 Sep. 28, 2021 Igor Poterya Light Heavyweight 20–2 Sep. 28, 2021 Daniel Zellhuber Lightweight 12–0 Sep. 21, 2021 Victor Martinez Lightweight 13–4 Sep. 21, 2021 Kleydson Rodrigues Flyweight 7–1 Sep. 14, 2021 Lukasz Brzeski Heavyweight 9–1 Sep. 8, 2021 Josh Quinlan Welterweight 6–0 Aug. 31, 2021 Carlos Candelario Flyweight 8–1 Aug. 6, 2021 Abusupiyan Magomedov Middleweight 24–4–1 May 17, 2021 Fernando Padilla Featherweight 14–4 May 11, 2021 Askar Mozharov Light Heavyweight 23–7 Jan. 23, 2021 Rinat Fakhretdinov Middleweight 20–2 Dec. 29, 2020 Isi Fitikefu Middleweight 6–0 Nov. 24, 2020 Natalia Silva Women's Flyweight 12–5–1 Sep. 15, 2020 Danyelle Wolf Women's Featherweight 1–0 Heavyweights (265 lb, 120 kg): 40 Fighters First established in 1997 at UFC 12, the heavyweight division is the first of the modern weight classes. Mark Coleman was the UFC’s first heavyweight champion and has been followed by a string of notable fighters, including Randy Couture, Bas Rutten, and Brock Lesnar. After defeating Francis Ngannou in 2018, Stipe Miocic became the first fighter to defend the heavyweight belt more than twice. Champion: Francis Ngannou RK TotT Name Next Fight/Status Zuffa Record – Andrei Arlovski 23–15 5. Derrick Lewis Sergei Pavlovich - UFC 277 17–7 2. Stipe Miocic 14–4 – Oleksiy Oliynyk 10–7 14. Walt Harris 6–9 (1 NC) 4. Curtis Blaydes Tom Aspinall - UFC London 11–3 (1 NC) 9. Marcin Tybura 9–6 – Marcos Rogerio de Lima* 8–7 C. Francis Ngannou 12–2 – Ilir Latifi 8–6 7. Alexander Volkov Jairzinho Rozenstruik - UFC Vegas 56 8–4 – Chase Sherman 3–9 3. Tai Tuivasa Cyril Gane - UFC Paris 8–3 – Jake Collier 5–6 12. Shamil Abdurahimov 5–5 8. Jairzinho Rozenstruik Alexander Volkov - UFC Vegas 56 6–3 1. Ciryl Gane Tai Tuivasa - UFC Paris 7–1 – Sergey Spivak 5–3 – Tanner Boser Injury 4–3 13. Augusto Sakai 4–3 10. Chris Daukaus 4–2 15. Blagoy Ivanov 3–3 – William Knight 3–3 6. Tom Aspinall Curtis Blaydes - UFC London 5–0 – Alexander Romanov 5–0 – Parker Porter 3–2 – Justin Tafa Don'Tale Mayes - UFC 277 2–3 – Jared Vanderaa 1–4 11. Sergey Pavlovich Derrick Lewis - UFC 277 3–1 – Don'Tale Mayes Justin Tafa - UFC 277 2–2 – Juan Espino 2–1 – Jarjis Danho 1–1–1 – Rodrigo Nascimento 1–1 (1 NC) – Chris Barnett 1–2 – Josh Parisian Alan Baudot - UFC Vegas 57 1–2 – Alan Baudot Josh Parisian - UFC Vegas 57 0–2 (1 NC) – Jailton Almeida 2–0 – Harry Hunsucker 0–2 – Martin Buday Lukasz Brzeski 1–0 – Lukasz Brzeski Martin Buday 0–0 Light Heavyweights (205 lb, 93kg): 39 Fighters The light heavyweight division has often been described as the bellwether division of the UFC. First formed at UFC Japan as the middleweight division, it has spawned several runs of dominant champions. Tito Ortiz was the longest reigning UFC LHW champion, until Jon Jones took over the mantle. Champion: Glover Teixeira RK TotT Name Next Fight/Status Zuffa Record – Ovince St. Preux* 16–12 – Ed Herman* 13–12 (1 NC) 6. Thiago Santos Jamahal Hill 14–9 – Mauricio Rua 11–11–1 (N/A) Jon Jones 20–1 (1 NC) C. Glover Teixeira Jiri Prochazka - UFC 275 16–5 5. Anthony Smith* Magomed Ankalaev - UFC 277 13–8 1. Jan Blachowicz 12–6 – Alexander Gustafsson ↓ Nikita Krylov - UFC London 10–7 11. Nikita Krylov Alexander Gustafsson - UFC London 8–7 8. Paul Craig Volkan Oezdemir - UFC London 8–4–1 – Devin Clark ↓ Azamat Murzakanov 7–6 – Khalil Rountree 6–5 (1 NC) – Ion Cutelaba 5–6–1 9. Volkan Oezdemir Paul Craig - UFC London 5–5 4. Magomed Ankalaev Anthony Smith - UFC 277 8–1 7. Dominick Reyes 6–3 – Karl Roberson 4–5 3. Aleksandar Rakic 6–2 13. Ryan Spann 6–2 15. Dustin Jacoby Da Un Jung 5–2–1 12. Johnny Walker 4–4 14. Jim Crute 4–3 – Alonzo Menifield Askar Mozharov - UFC Vegas 56 4–3 – Tyson Pedro 4–3 10. Jamahal Hill Thiago Santos 5–1 – Kennedy Nzechukwu 3–3 – Marcin Prachnio 2–4 – Da Un Jung Dustin Jacoby 4–0–1 – Nick Negumereanu Ihor Potieria - UFC 277 3–1 – Maxim Grishin 2–2 – Tafon Nchukwi Carlos Ulberg - UFC Vegas 57 2–2 – Aleksa Camur Injury 1–2 – Philipe Lins 1–2 2. Jiri Prochazka Glover Teixeira - UFC 275 2–0 – Shamil Gamzatov 1–1 – Carlos Ulberg Tafon Nchukwi - UFC Vegas 57 1–1 – Azamat Murzakanov Devin Clark 1–0 – Askar Mozharov Alonzo Menifield - UFC Vegas 56 0–0 – Ihor Potieria Nick Negumereanu - UFC 277 0–0 Middleweights (185 lb, 84 kg): 72 Fighters It is hard to imagine the middleweight championship belt without Anderson Silva, but that’s the world we now live in. The title was first contested between Dave Menne and Gil Castillo at UFC 33, during what many remember as the “dark ages” of MMA in America. Since Silva lost the belt in 2012, Chris Weidman is the only fighter to defend the title more than once. Champion: Israel Adesanya RK TotT Name Next Fight/Status Zuffa Record 4. Derek Brunson* 17–7 – Sam Alvey Michal Oleksiejczuk 10–12–1 12. Brad Tavares Dricus Du Plessis - UFC 276 14–6 10. Kelvin Gastelum Injury 11–8 (1 NC) 1. Robert Whittaker Marvin Vettori - UFC Paris 14–4 9. Uriah Hall Andre Muniz - UFC 276 10–8 14. Chris Weidman Injury 11–6 – Krzysztof Jotko 11–5 6. Sean Strickland Alex Pereira - UFC 276 12–3 – Gerald Meerschaert Bruno Silva 9–7 7. Jack Hermansson Darren Till - UFC London 9–5 – Eryk Anders 6–7 (1 NC) – Zak Cummings Injury 9–4 – Luke Rockhold* Paulo Costa - UFC 277 9–4 2. Jared Cannonier Israel Adesanya - UFC 276 8–5 C. Israel Adesanya Jared Cannonier - UFC 276 11–1 3. Marvin Vettori Robert Whittaker - UFC Paris 8–3–1 – Misha Cirkunov 6–6 8. Darren Till Jack Hermansson - UFC London 6–4–1 – Alessio Di Chirico Injury 4–6 – Abdul Razak Alhassan Jamie Pickett - UFC Vegas 58 5–5 – Brendan Allen Jacob Malkoun - UFC 275 6–2 – Michal Oleksiejczuk ↓ Sam Alvey 4–3 (1 NC) – Marc-Andre Barriault 3–4 (1 NC) 5. Paulo Henrique Costa Luke Rockhold - UFC 277 5–2 15. Edmen Shahbazyan 4–3 – Ian Heinisch 3–4 – Joaquin Buckley Albert Duraev - UFC Austin 4–2 – Jun Yong Park 4–2 – Wellington Turman 3–3 – Anthony Hernandez 3–2 – Kyle Daukaus Roman Dolidze - UFC Austin 2–2 (1 NC) – Dalcha Lungiambula Punahele Soriano 2–3 – Jamie Pickett Abdul Razak Alhassan - UFC Vegas 58 2–3 – Dusko Todorovic 2–3 – Jordan Wright 2–3 13. Andre Muniz Uriah Hall - UFC 276 4–0 – Roman Dolidze Kyle Daukaus - UFC Austin 3–1 – Phil Hawes Deron Winn - UFC Austin 3–1 11. Nassourdine Imavov 3–1 – Julian Marquez Gregory Rodrigues - UFC Austin 3–1 – Makhmud Muradov Injury 3–1 – Bruno Silva Gerald Meerschaert 3–1 – Rodolfo Vieira Chris Curtis - UFC Vegas 57 3–1 – Punahele Soriano Dalcha Lungiambula 2–2 – Deron Winn Phil Hawes - UFC Austin 2–2 – Andre Petroski 3–0 – Jacob Malkoun Brendan Allen - UFC 275 2–1 – Nick Maximov 2–1 – Gregory Rodrigues Julian Marques - UFC Austin 2–1 – Alen Amedovski 0–3 – Dustin Stoltzfus 0–3 – Bryan Battle 2–0 – Chris Curtis Rodolfo Vieira - UFC Vegas 57 2–0 – Dricus Du Plessis Brad Tavares - UFC 276 2–0 – Chidi Njokuani 2–0 – Alex Pereira Sean Strickland - UFC 276 2–0 – Abu Azaitar 1–1 – Cody Brundage Tresean Gore - UFC Vegas 58 1–1 – Joseph Holmes 1–1 – Roman Kopylov 0–2 – Caio Borralho Armen Petrosyan - UFC Vegas 58 1–0 – Albert Duraev Joaquin Buckley - UFC Austin 1–0 – Aliaskhab Khizriev 1–0 – Armen Petrosyan Caio Borralho - UFC Vegas 58 1–0 – AJ Dobson 0–1 – Josh Fremd 0–1 – Tresean Gore Cody Brundage - UFC Vegas 58 0–1 – Gadzhi Omargadzhiev 0–1 – Denis Tiuliulin 0–1 – Isi Fitikefu Injury 0–0 – Abusupiyan Magomedov 0–0 Welterweights (170 lb, 77 kg): 80 Fighters On October 16, 1998, Pat Miletich became the first UFC Welterweight champion. Dominant title runs from Matt Hughes and Georges St-Pierre were briefly interrupted by BJ Penn and Matt Serra. In 2016, Tyron Woodley took over the role of divisional king and defended the belt four times before losing it in early 2019 to yet another wrestler, Kamaru Usman. Champion: Kamaru Usman RK TotT Name Next Fight/Status Zuffa Record – Matt Brown Takashi Sato - UFC 276 16–13 10. Neil Magny Shavkat Rakhmonov - UFC Vegas 57 19–7 – Nate Diaz Khamzat Chimaev - UFC 276 15–11 – Robbie Lawler* Bryan Barberena - UFC 276 15–11 – Francisco Trinaldo 18–7 – Tim Means Kevin Holland - UFC Austin 14–9 (1 NC) 8. Jorge Masvidal* 14–10 – Court McGee Jeremiah Wells - UFC Austin 10–9 6. Vicente Luque Geoff Neal 14–4 4. Gilbert Burns 13–5 7. Stephen Thompson 11–6–1 11. Michael Chiesa 11–6 5. Belal Muhammad 12–3 (1 NC) – Nick Diaz* 8–7 (1 NC) C. Kamaru Usman 15–0 1. Colby Covington 12–3 – Alex Morono 10–4 (1 NC) 13. Li Jingliang Muslim Salikhov 10–5 – Jake Matthews Andre Fialho - UFC 275 10–5 14. Santiago Ponzinibbio 10–5 2. Leon Edwards 11–2 (1 NC) – Kevin Holland Tim Means - UFC Austin 9–4 (1 NC) – James Krause* 9–5 – Gunnar Nelson 9–5 – Bryan Barberena Robbie Lawler - UFC 276 8–6 – Niko Price 7–5 (2 NC) – Randy Brown 9–4 – Warlley Alves 8–5 – Max Griffin 6–7 – Elizeu Zaleski 9–3 – Danny Roberts 7–5 – Mickey Gall 6–5 – Trevin Giles 5–4 12. Geoff Neal Vicente Luque 6–2 – Michel Pereira 6–2 – Nicolas Dalby 3–4–1 – Daniel Rodriguez 6–1 – Ramazan Emeev Jack Della Maddalena - UFC 275 5–2 – Claudio Silva 5–2 – Dwight Grant 3–4 – Muslim Salikhov Li Jingliang 5–1 – Kenan Song 4–2 – Khaos Williams 4–2 – Miguel Baeza 3–3 – Lyman Good 3–3 9. Sean Brady 5–0 3. Khamzat Chimaev Nate Diaz - UFC 276 5–0 – Matthew Semelsberger 4–1 – Takashi Sato Matt Brown - UFC 276 2–3 – Jason Witt 2–3 – Ramiz Brahimaj Michael Morales - UFC 277 2–2 15. Shavkat Rakhmonov Neil Magny - UFC Vegas 57 3–0 – Andre Fialho Jake Matthews - UFC 275 2–1 – Gabriel Green 2–1 – Carlston Harris 2–1 – Sergey Khandozhko 2–1 – Mounir Lazzez 2–1 – Philip Rowe 2–1 – Mike Jackson 1–1 (1 NC) – Andreas Michailidis ↓ Rinat Fakhretdinov - UFC Vegas 56 1–2 – Ian Garry 2–0 – Jeremiah Wells Court McGee - UFC Austin 2–0 – Abubakar Nurmagomedov 1–1 – Preston Parsons 1–1 – Darian Weeks 0–2 – Jack Della Maddalena Ramazan Emeev - UFC 275 1–0 – Mike Malott 1–0 – Michael Morales Ramiz Brahimaj - UFC 277 1–0 – Louis Cosce 0–1 – Orion Cosce Blood Diamond - UFC 275 0–1 – Blood Diamond Orion Cosce - UFC 275 0–1 – Evan Elder 0–1 – AJ Fletcher 0–1 – Yohan Lainesse 0–1 – Ange Loosa 0–1 – Pete Rodriguez 0–1 – Martin Sano 0–1 – Rinat Fakhretdinov ↓ Andreas Michailidis - UFC Vegas 56 0–0 – Jonny Parsons 0–0 – Josh Quinlan 0–0 Lightweights (155 lb, 70 kg): 84 Fighters Back in 2002, the lightweight division was written off a failed experiment. After a four fighter tournament produced nothing, the division was effectively put on hold until 2006. Since it's rejuvenation it has become the UFC's deepest and most competitive division. When Conor McGregor won the belt in 2016 he became the UFC's first concurrent two-division champion. However, no title holder has defended the lightweight title more than three times to date. Champion: Charles Oliveira RK TotT Name Next Fight/Status Zuffa Record – Donald Cerrone* ↓ Joe Lauzon - UFC Austin 29–16–1 (1 NC) – Jim Miller Bobby Green - UFC 276 23–15 (1 NC) – Clay Guida 17–16 6. Rafael dos Anjos Rafael Fiziev - UFC Vegas 58 20–11 C. Charles Oliveira 21–8 (1 NC) 1. Dustin Poirier* 21–7 (1 NC) – Joe Lauzon Donald Cerrone - UFC Austin 15–12 – Michael Johnson 12–13 – Bobby Green Jim Miller - UFC 276 14–9–1 4. Beneil Dariush Injury 15–4–1 7. Tony Ferguson 15–5 – John Makdessi 11–7 – Drew Dober Rafael Alves - UFC 277 10–7 (1 NC) 9. Conor McGregor 10–4 15. Carlos Diego Ferreira Drakkar Klose - UFC 277 8–5 – Renato Moicano 8–5 3. Islam Makhachev 11–1 – Scott Holtzman 7–5 – Marc Diakiese Damir Hadzovic - UFC London 6–5 – Leonardo Santos 7–2–1 – Vinc Pichel 7–3 2. Justin Gaethje 6–4 – Jared Gordon 6–4 – Alan Patrick 5–4 (1 NC) – Christos Giagos Thiago Moises - UFC Vegas 57 5–5 – Nasrat Haqparast 5–4 – Alex Hernandez 5–4 8. Gregor Gillespie 7–1 – Drakkar Klose Diego Ferreira - UFC 277 6–2 – Ricky Glenn 4–3–1 – Damir Hadzovic Marc Diakiese - UFC London 4–4 – Thiago Moises Christos Giagos - UFC Vegas 57 4–4 – Frank Camacho 2–6 – Grant Dawson 6–0–1 – Jalin Turner Brad Riddell - UFC 276 5–2 – Joaquim Silva 4–3 – Matt Frevola 3–3–1 – Chris Gruetzemacher 3–4 10. Rafael Fiziev Rafael Dos Anjos - UFC Vegas 58 5–1 – Claudio Puelles 5–1 11. Arman Tsarukyan Mateusz Gamrot - UFC Vegas 57 5–1 – Joel Alvarez 4–2 – Omar Morales 3–3 14. Brad Riddell Jalin Turner - UFC 276 4–1 – Magomed Mustafaev 3–2 – Jamie Mullarkey 2–3 – Jesse Ronson 1–4 – Damir Ismagulov Guram Kutateladze - UFC Austin 4–0 – Mark O. Madsen 4–0 – Ilia Topuria 4–0 12. Mateusz Gamrot Arman Tsarukyan - UFC Vegas 57 3–1 – Jordan Leavitt 3–1 – Joseph Solecki Alex da Silva - UFC Vegas 56 3–1 5. Michael Chandler 2–2 – Rafa Garcia 2–2 – L'udovit Klein 2–2 – Jai Herbert 1–3 – Ignacio Bahamondes 2–1 – Mike Davis 2–1 – Uros Medic 2–1 – Terrance McKinney Erick Gonzalez 2–1 – Mason Jones 1–1 (1 NC) – Alex da Silva Joe Solecki - UFC Vegas 56 1–2 – Ottman Azaitar Paddy Pimblett - UFC London 2–0 – Paddy Pimblett Ottman Azaitar - UFC London 2–0 – Rafael Alves Drew Dober - UFC 277 1–1 – Viacheslav Borshchev 1–1 – Steve Garcia Jr. Maheshate - UFC 275 1–1 – Natan Levy 1–1 – Mike Breeden 0–2 – Alex Munoz 0–2 – Charlie Ontiveros 0–2 – Niklas Stolze ↓ Benoit Saint-Denis - UFC Vegas 56 0–2 – Guram Kutateladze Damir Ismagulov - UFC Austin 1–0 – Manuel Torres 1–0 – Erick Gonzalez Terrance McKinney 0–1 – Nikolas Motta Cameron VanCamp 0–1 – Trey Ogden Daniel Zellhuber 0–1 – Benoit Saint-Denis ↓ Niklas Stolze - UFC Vegas 56 0–1 – Genaro Valdez 0–1 – Cameron VanCamp ↓ Nikolas Motta 0–1 – Maheshate Steve Garcia - UFC 275 0–0 – Victor Martinez 0–0 – Daniel Zellhuber Trey Ogden 0–0 Featherweights (145 lb, 65 kg): 71 Fighters The featherweight division has its roots back in the WEC with former champions Urijah Faber and Mike Brown. The current UFC version was taken fighter for fighter in 2010 and was ruled over by Jose Aldo until his defeat at the hands of Conor McGregor in 2015. Champion: Alexander Volkanovski RK TotT Name Next Fight/Status Zuffa Record – Cub Swanson* 18–11 12. Edson Barboza 16–11 – Darren Elkins 17–9 1. Max Holloway Alexander Volkanovski - UFC 276 19–6 – Alex Caceres 14–11 (1 NC) – Daniel Hooker 11–8 – Andre Fili 9–8 (1 NC) 5. Chan-Sung Jung* 7–6 – Makwan Amirkhani Jonathan Pearce - UFC London 7–5 – Charles Rosa 5–7 – Landon Vannata 4–6–2 C. Alex Volkanovski Max Holloway - UFC 276 11–0 3. Yair Rodriguez Brian Ortega 8–2 (1 NC) 10. Dan Ige Movsar Evloev - UFC Vegas 56 7–4 – Gabriel Benitez 5–6 7. Josh Emmett Calvin Kattar - UFC Austin 8–2 2. Brian Ortega Yair Rodriguez 7–2 (1 NC) 14. Shane Burgos 7–3 4. Calvin Kattar Josh Emmett - UFC Austin 7–3 – Julian Erosa 5–5 – Daniel Pineda 4–5 (1 NC) 6. Arnold Allen 9–0 – Ricardo Ramos Danny Chavez - UFC Austin 6–3 8. Giga Chikadze 7–1 – Hakeem Dawodu 6–2 – Zubaira Tukhugov 5–2–1 – Charles Jourdain 4–3–1 – Damon Jackson 3–2–1 (1 NC) – Steven Peterson 3–4 9. Bryce Mitchell 6–0 – Ryan Hall 5–1 11. Sodiq Yusuff 5–1 – Billy Quarantillo Bill Algeo 4–2 – Gavin Tucker 4–2 – Dooho Choi Injury 3–3 – Seung-Woo Choi Joshua Culibao - UFC 275 3–3 – Youssef Zalal 3–3 – Felipe Colares 2–4 13. Movsar Evloev Dan Ige - UFC Vegas 56 5–0 – Chase Hooper 3–2 – Mike Trizano Lucas Almeida - UFC Vegas 56 3–2 – Darrick Minner Injury 2–3 – Shane Young 2–3 – Pat Sabatini 4–0 – Lerone Murphy 3–0–1 – Jonathan Pearce Makwan Amirkhani - UFC London 3–1 – Sean Woodson Luis Saldana - UFC 278 3–1 – Bill Algeo Billy Quarantillo 2–2 – TJ Brown Shayilan Nuerdanbieke - UFC Vegas 57 2–2 – Danny Henry 2–2 – Nate Landwehr 2–2 – Kyle Nelson 1–3 – Herbert Burns Khusein Askhabov 2–1 – Austin Lingo David Onama - UFC Vegas 58 2–1 – Luis Saldana Sean Woodson - UFC 278 2–1 – Danny Chavez Ricardo Ramos - UFC Austin 1–1–1 – Josh Culibao Seung Woo Choi - UFC 275 1–1–1 – Tristan Connelly 1–2 – Jamall Emmers 1–2 – Melsik Baghdasaryan 2–0 – Joanderson Brito 1–1 – Kamuela Kirk 1–1 – Tucker Lutz 1–1 – David Onama Austin Lingo - UFC Vegas 58 1–1 – Shayilan TJ Brown - UFC Vegas 57 1–1 – TJ Laramie 0–2 – Christian Rodriguez 0–1 – Lucas Almeida Mike Trizano - UFC Vegas 56 0–0 – Khusein Askhabov Herbert Burns 0–0 – Isaac Dulgarian 0–0 – Fernando Padilla 0–0 Women Featherweights (145 lb, 66 kg): 4 Fighters First built over a series of superfights for Invicta featherweight champion Cris Cyborg at a catchweight of 140lbs, the UFC finally created a full fledged 145 lb division on December 13th of 2016. Germaine de Randamie defeated Holly Holm on February 11, 2017 to win the first UFC featherweight title, however she vacated it shortly afterward when she refused to face Cyborg as the division's top contender. Cyborg took the vacated belt in 2017, defeating fellow former Invicta champion Tonya Evinger. Champion: Amanda Nunes RK TotT Name Next Fight/Status Zuffa Record – Macy Chiasson 6–2 – Norma Dumont 3–2 – Leah Letson 1–1 – Danyelle Wolf Injury 0–0 Bantamweights (135 lb, 61 kg): 75 Fighters Also part of the 2010 merger, and the WEC before it, the bantamweight division is one of the UFC’s newest. Pre UFC notables include Miguel Torres, Chase Beebe, and Eddie Wineland. A long-extended title run from Dominick Cruz was plagued by injuries and only produced 3 title defenses over two terms and almost four years as champ. Champion: Aljamain Sterling RK TotT Name Next Fight/Status Zuffa Record – Rani Yahya* Cody Garbrandt - UFC Vegas 58 20–7–1 (1 NC) 11. Frankie Edgar 18–10–1 3. José Aldo* 21–6 – Raphael Assuncao* 14–8 – Eddie Wineland* Cody Stamann - UFC Austin 10–11 8. Marlon Vera 13–6 7. Dominick Cruz* 14–3 2. T.J. Dillashaw 13–4 10. Pedro Munhoz Sean O'Malley - UFC 276 10–7 – Louis Smolka 8–9 C. Aljamain Sterling 13–3 5. Rob Font 9–5 – Brian Kelleher 8–6 – Alejandro Perez 8–4–1 – Cody Garbrandt ↑ Rani Yahya - UFC Vegas 58 7–5 9. Song Yadong 8–1–1 1. Petr Yan 8–2 – Jonathan Martinez 7–3 4. Cory Sandhagen 7–3 – Kyung Ho Kang Batgerel Danaa - UFC 275 6–3 (1 NC) – Douglas Silva de Andrade Said Nurmagomedov - UFC Vegas 58 6–4 – Cody Stamann Eddie Wineland - UFC Austin 5–4–1 – David Grant 5–5 – Frankie Saenz 5–5 6. Merab Dvalishvili 7–2 12. Ricky Simon Jack Shore 7–2 13. Sean O'Malley Pedro Munhoz - UFC 276 7–1 – Chris Gutierrez 6–1–1 – Julio Arce 5–3 – Casey Kenney 5–3 – Guido Cannetti 3–5 – Brandon Davis 2–6 – Raoni Barcelos 5–2 – Montel Jackson 5–2 – Vince Morales 3–4 – Nathaniel Wood 4–2 – Raulian Paiva Sergey Morozov - UFC Vegas 57 3–3 15. Jack Shore Ricky Simon 5–0 – Said Nurmagomedov Douglas Silva de Andrade - UFC Vegas 58 4–1 – Kyler Phillips 4–1 – Heili Alateng 3–1–1 – Mario Bautista 3–2 – Batgerel Danaa Kyung Ho Kang - UFC 275 3–2 – Tony Gravely Johnny Munhoz Jr. - UFC Vegas 56 3–2 – Randy Costa 2–3 – Khalid Taha 2–3 – Adrian Yanez Tony Kelley - UFC Austin 4–0 – Timur Valiev 2–1 (1 NC) – Journey Newson 2–2 – Aiemann Zahabi Ricky Turcios - UFC Vegas 58 2–2 – Trevin Jones 1–2 (1 NC) – Nathan Maness Umar Nurmagomedov - UFC Vegas 57 3–0 – John Castaneda 2–1 – Tony Kelley Adrian Yanez - UFC Austin 2–1 – Benito Lopez 2–1 – Sergey Morozov Raulian Paiva - UFC Vegas 57 1–2 – Aoriqileng Jay Perrin - UFC 278 1–2 – Aaron Phillips 0–3 – Ronnie Lawrence Saidyokub Kakhramonov - UFC Vegas 58 2–0 – Umar Nurmagomedov Nate Maness - UFC Vegas 57 2–0 – Mana Martinez 1–1 – Johnny Munoz Tony Gravely - UFC Vegas 56 1–1 – Kevin Natividad 0–2 – Marcelo Rojo 0–2 – Chad Anheliger 1–0 – Javid Basharat 1–0 – Victor Henry 1–0 – Saidyokub Kakhramonov Ronnie Lawrence - UFC Vegas 58 1–0 – Ricky Turcios Aimann Zahabi - UFC Vegas 58 1–0 – Fernie Garcia 0–1 – Saimon Oliveira 0–1 – Jay Perrin Aoriquileng - UFC 278 0–1 – Daniel Santos 0–1 – Liudvik Sholinian 0–1 – Cristian Quinonez 0–0 Women Bantamweights (135 lb, 61 kg): 26 Fighters The women’s bantamweight division is the first women’s division in UFC history. Strikeforce champion Ronda Rousey was promoted to UFC champion upon the weightclass’ inception on December 6th, 2012. Her fight with Liz Carmouche became the first women’s UFC bout, and among the largest in women’s combat sports history. Rousey went on to defend her title six times, before losing it to Holly Holm. Champion: Julianna Pena RK TotT Name Next Fight/Status Zuffa Record 1. Amanda Nunes* Julianna Pena - UFC 277 15–3 4. Raquel Pennington 11–5 2. Holly Holm 7–6 8. Sara McMann Aspen Ladd 7–6 N/A Germaine de Randamie* Injury 8–3 3. Irene Aldana 6–4 C. Julianna Pena Amanda Nunes - UFC 277 7–2 5. Ketlen Vieira 7–2 12. Lina Lansberg 4–5 10. Pannie Kianzad 5–3 – Ashlee Evans-Smith 3–5 – Jessy-Rose Clark Julija Stoliarenko - UFC 276 4–3 6. Yana Kunitskaya 4–3 7. Aspen Ladd Sara McMann 4–3 – Mayra Bueno Silva Stephanie Egger 3–2–1 13. Karol Rosa 4–1 – Veronica Macedo 1–4 – Yanan Wu 1–4 14. Julia Avila 3–1 – Julija Stoliarenko Jessica-Rose Clark - UFC 276 0–4 – Stephanie Egger Mayra Bueno Silva 2–1 – Bea Malecki 2–1 – Joselyne Edwards Ramona Pascual - UFC 275 1–2 – Josiane Nunes 2–0 – Zarah Fairn ↓ 0–2 – Ramona Pascual Joselyne Edwards - UFC 275 0–1 Flyweights (125 lb, 56 kg): 40 Fighters The UFC’s flyweight division is its first truly non-transported weight class since the promotion decided to create a lightweight division all the way back in 2001. Demetrious Johnson emerged from an initial four-man tournament as the division's first champion and went on to become the most dominant champion in UFC history, with 11 title defenses. Johnson lost his title to Henry Cejudo in 2018, and was quickly released from his contract in exchange for ONE Championship fighter Ben Askren. Champion: Deiveson Figueiredo RK TotT Name Next Fight/Status Zuffa Record 11. Tim Elliott Amir Albazi - UFC Vegas 57 7–10 C. Deiveson Figueiredo 10–2–1 1. Brandon Moreno Kai Kara-France - UFC 277 8–3–2 4. Alexandre Pantoja 8–3 9. Matt Schnell 5–5 2. Kai Kara-France Brandon Moreno - UFC 277 7–2 5. Alex Perez Askar Askarov 6–2 7. Matheus Nicolau 6–1 6. Brandon Royval 4–2 8. Rogerio Bontorin Manel Kape - UFC 275 3–3 3. Askar Askarov Alex Perez 3–1–1 – Tyson Nam Tagir Ulanbekov - UFC Vegas 57 2–3 – Bruno Silva 2–3 10. David Dvorak 3–1 12. Su Mudaerji 3–1 – Malcolm Gordon 2–2 14. Manel Kape Roberio Bontorin - UFC 275 2–2 – Ode Osbourne Zarrukh Adashev - UFC Vegas 56 2–2 – Cody Durden JP Buys - UFC Vegas 57 1–2–1 – Zhalgas Zhumagulov Jeff Molina - UFC Vegas 56 1–3 – Francisco Figueiredo 2–1 15. Tagir Ulanbekov Tyson Nam - UFC Vegas 57 2–1 – Zarrukh Adashev Ode Osbourne - UFC Vegas 56 1–2 13. Amir Albazi Tim Elliott - UFC Vegas 57 2–0 – Jeff Molina Zhalgas Zhumagulov - UFC Vegas 56 2–0 – Allan Nascimento 1–1 – CJ Vergara 1–1 – JP Buys ↓ Cody Durden - UFC Vegas 57 0–2 – Daniel Lacerda 0–2 – Victor Rodriguez 0–2 – Carlos Hernandez 1–0 – Muhammad Mokaev Charles Johnson - UFC London 1–0 – Tatsuro Taira 1–0 – Victor Altamirano 0–1 – Denys Bondar 0–1 – Carlos Candelario 0–1 – Jake Hadley 0–1 – Kleydson Rodrigues 0–1 – Juancamilo Ronderos 0–1 – Charles Johnson Muhammad Mokaev - UFC London 0–0 Women Flyweights (125 lb, 57 kg): 42 Fighters In April of 2016, Joanne Calderwood vs. Valerie Letourneau was announced as the first flyweight bout in UFC history. A year later, the promotion made plans for a women's flyweight season of the Ultimate Fighter, in order to fully create the division and crown its first champion. Following injury and USADA issues a late notice bout between Mara Romero Borella and Kalindra Faria became the first fight in the newly official weight class. At the TUF 26 Finale Nicco Montano defeated Roxanne Modafferi to become the first UFC women's flyweight champion. Montano was stripped less than a year later after withdrawing from her first title defense due to weight cutting issues. Champion: Valentina Shevchenko RK TotT Name Next Fight/Status Zuffa Record 2. Katlyn Chookagian Manon Fiorot - UFC Paris 11–4 10. Joanne Wood 7–8 12. Jessica Eye Maycee Barber - UFC 276 5–9 (1 NC) – Miesha Tate* ↓ Lauren Murphy - UFC 276 8–6 – Cortney Casey Antonina Shevchenko - UFC Vegas 58 6–8 C. Valentina Shevchenko Taila Santos - UFC 275 11–2 3. Lauren Murphy Miesha Tate - UFC 276 7–5 – Gillian Robertson 7–5 11. Cynthia Calvillo Nina Nunes - UFC Vegas 58 6–4–1 – J.J. Aldrich Erin Blanchfield - UFC Vegas 56 7–3 – Sijara Eubanks Maryna Moroz - UFC Vegas 58 5–5 5. Alexa Grasso 6–3 – Maryna Moroz Sijara Eubanks - UFC Vegas 58 6–3 – Montana De La Rosa 5–3–1 9. Andrea Lee 5–4 7. Jennifer Maia 4–5 – Molly McCann Hannah Goldy - UFC London 5–3 – Nina Nunes ↑ Cynthia Calvillo - UFC Vegas 58 4–4 – Ji Yeon Kim Mariya Agapova - UFC 277 3–5 8. Viviane Araujo 5–2 14. Maycee Barber Jessica Eye - UFC 276 5–2 – Amanda Ribas 5–2 – Priscila Cachoeira 3–4 – Ariane Lipski 3–4 – Antonina Shevchenko Cortney Casey - UFC Vegas 58 3–4 – Poliana Botelho Karine Silva - UFC Vegas 56 3–3 4. Taila Santos Valentina Shevchenko - UFC 275 4–1 – Luana Carolina 3–2 – Miranda Maverick 3–2 – Tracy Cortez 4–0 6. Manon Fiorot Katlyn Chookagian - UFC Paris 4–0 13. Casey O'Neill Injury 4–0 – Mariya Agapova Ji Yeon Kim - UFC 277 2–2 – Melissa Gatto 2–1 – Hannah Goldy ↑ Molly McCann - UFC London 1–2 – Shanna Young 1–2 15. Erin Blanchfield JJ Aldrich - UFC Vegas 56 2–0 – Victoria Leonardo Mandy Bohm - UFC London 0–2 – Jasmine Jasudavicius Natalia Silva - UFC Austin 1–0 – Mandy Bohm Victoria Leonardo - UFC London 0–1 – Karine Silva Poliana Botelho - UFC Vegas 56 0–0 – Natalia Silva Jasmine Jasudavicius - UFC Austin 0–0 Women Strawweights (115 lb, 52 kg): 44 Fighters On December 11, 2013 the UFC announced it’s acquisition of 11 strawweight fighter contracts from Invicta FC. This included the contracts of the the current Invicta champion, Carla Esparza, as well as top contenders Tecia Torres and Joanne Calderwood. The first UFC 115 lb champion, Carla Esparza, was crowned following the 20th season of the Ultimate Fighter when she defeated Rose Namajunas for the title. Joanna Jedrzejczyk became the division’s first dominant champ, defending the belt 5 times between 2015 and 2017. Champion: Carla Esparza RK TotT Name Next Fight/Status Zuffa Record – Jessica Andrade 14–7 12. Angela Hill 8–12 7. Tecia Torres 9–6 2. Carla Esparza 10–4 N/A Joanna Jedrzejczyk Weili Zhang - UFC 275 10–4 1. Rose Namajunas 9–4 – Karolina Kowalkiewicz Felice Herrig 5–7 9. Michelle Waterson Amanda Lemos 6–5 – Ashley Yoder 3–7 4. Mackenzie Dern 7–2 3. Marina Rodriguez 6–1–2 – Felice Herrig Karolina Kowalkiewicz 5–4 5. Yan Xiaonan 6–2 10. Amanda Lemos Michelle Waterson 5–2 1. Weili Zhang Joanna Jedrzejczyk - UFC 275 5–2 11. Virna Jandiroba 4–3 – Polyana Viana 3–4 – Hannah Cifers 2–5 13. Jessica Penne Brianna Fortino 3–3 (N/A) Tatiana Suarez 5–0 – Lupita Godinez 3–2 – Loma Lookboonmee 3–2 – Sam Hughes 2–3 – Ariane Carnelossi 2–2 – Jinh Yu Frey Vanessa Demopoulos - UFC Vegas 57 2–2 – Diana Belbita 1–3 – Tabatha Ricci 2–1 – Cheyanne Vlismas 2–1 – Gloria de Paula Maria Oliveira - UFC Austin 1–2 – Miranda Granger Cory McKenna 1–2 – Elise Reed 1–2 15. Luana Pinheiro 2–0 – Montserrat Conejo 1–1 – Vanessa Demopoulos Jinh Yu Frey - UFC Vegas 57 1–1 – Kanako Murata 1–1 – Mizuki Inoue 1–1 14. Brianna Fortino Jessica Penne 1–1 – Cory McKenna Miranda Granger 1–1 – Silvana Gomez Juarez Na Liang - UFC 275 0–2 – Istela Nunes Yazmin Jauregui 0–2 – Piera Rodriguez 1–0 – Liang Na Silvana Gomez Juarez - UFC 275 0–1 – Maria Oliveira Gloria de Paula - UFC Austin 0–1 – Yazmin Jauregui Istela Nunes 0–0 Inactive Fighters Due to the increasing size and complexity of the UFC roster it has become necessary to start separating out those fighters who have been inactive for increasingly long stretches of time. The goal of this list has always been to present users with information as to who is fighting in the UFC currently. As such, fighters will be included in this table if they have been inactive for more than a year without a planned date of return, or have made official statements that they are stepping away from the sport for an undetermined period of time. Fighters will be organized by weight class, and alphabetically within weight class, and listed with the date of their last fight. Date TotT Name Division Zuffa Record Jul. 8, 2017 Travis Browne Heavyweight 9–7–1 N/A Jorge Gonzalez Light Heavyweight 0–0 Oct. 31, 2020 Jack Marshman Middleweight 3–5 Dec. 7, 2019 Trevor Smith* Middleweight 7–9 Oct. 12, 2019 Hector Aldana Welterweight 0–3 N/A Calen Born Welterweight 0–0 Jun. 17, 2017 Dong Hyun Kim Welterweight 13–4 (1 NC) Mar. 1, 2014 John Hathaway Welterweight 7–2 Oct. 5, 2019 Luke Jumeau Welterweight 2–2 Aug. 31, 2013 Pascal Krauss Welterweight 2–2 May 12, 2018 Alberto Mina Welterweight 3–1 Jan. 2, 2016 Sheldon Westcott Welterweight 1–2 Dec. 21, 2019 Dong-Hyun Ma Lightweight 3–5 Sep. 16, 2017 Alex Reyes Lightweight 0–1 Sep. 7, 2019 Mairbek Taisumov Lightweight 7–2 Feb. 2, 2019 David Teymur Lightweight 5–1 May 15, 2021 Kevin Aguilar Featherweight 2–4 Oct. 12, 2019 Kron Gracie Featherweight 1–1 Nov. 9, 2019 Zabit Magomedsharipov Featherweight 6–0 Jul. 18, 2020 Nad Narimani Featherweight 2–2 Dec. 14, 2019 Daniel Teymur Featherweight 1–4 N/A Zhenhong Lu Featherweight 0–0 Dec. 14, 2019 Urijah Faber* Bantamweight 19–10 May 24, 2014 Chris Holdsworth Bantamweight 2–0 Dec. 8, 2018 Matthew Lopez Bantamweight 2–4 Dec. 21, 2019 Pingyuan Liu Bantamweight 2–2

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLCAs usual, not much happened in the aftermath of UFC Vegas 55. While it was quite controversial, the main event of UFC Vegas 55 produced a new title challenger at women’s bantamweight. Ketlen Vieira didn’t do a ton to Holly Holm over five rounds, but it was enough to pull off a close split decision and move into the upper echelon at 135. People can debate the judging all the want, but it won’t change the result. In other news, not much happened. Michel Pereira fought a great fight and took a victory over a game Santiago Ponzibbio. That got him into the rankings. After that? Pretty much nada. Here’s a look at the changes this week. Men’s P4P - No changes. Heavyweight - No changes. Light Heavyweight - No changes. Middleweight - No changes. Welterweight - Pereira enters at 14 following his co-main event win. Lightweight - No changes. Featherweight - No changes. Bantamweight - No changes. Flyweight - No changes. Women’s P4P - Marina Rodriguez is up one to eight, with Holm falling to nine. Vieira enters the P4P list for the first time at 11. Yan Xiaonan, Mackenzie Dern, and Irene Aldana all drop a spot to 12 through 14 respectively. Women’s Bantamweight - Vieira is up three spots to sit at two. Holm falls to three. Aldana is down to four, with Raquel Pennington dropping to five. Women’s Flyweight - No changes. Women’s Strawweight - No changes.

Beneil Dariush at the press conference for UFC 262. | Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLCDariush doesn’t understand why Oliveira wants to fight McGregor over other contenders in the lightweight division.  Beneil Dariush is frustrated by Charles Oliveira and his pursuit of a fight against Conor McGregor. Having fought his way to contention with seven consecutive wins in three years, Dariush finds himself near the top of the lightweight division and wants to further his ascension by fighting — and defeating — his fellow contenders. Among those contenders is Oliveira, who went from UFC lightweight champion to No. 1 contender after being stripped for missing weight ahead of his defense against Justin Gaethje at UFC 274 earlier this month. There is no word yet on who Oliveira expects to fight in a No. 1 contender, but he has expressed interest in McGregor. ‘Do Bronx’ previously explained during a post-fight press conference that it would be ‘a great payday’ and ‘good’ for his legacy. That is all good and well, but Dariush would prefer if he continued to build his legacy around fighting contenders instead. During an appearance on The Fighter vs. The Writer with Damon Martin of MMA Fighting, the 33-year-old ripped the Brazilian for pursuing the ‘Notorious’ one. “What actually is really bothering me is Charles Oliveira,” said Dariush. “He’s talking about wanting to fight Conor, and he talks about how these guys never gave him a shot when he was outside the top five, blah, blah, blah. We were supposed to fight October of 2020. I have a fight contract, I can post a picture of it. I was supposed to fight Charles, and he pulled out of the fight and then a couple of months later, instead of fighting with me, he fought Tony Ferguson. He said something about family issues and I’m not going to say, ‘Oh, he had to fight me. I can’t believe he didn’t do that.’ Family comes first, I understand that. But the same thing people did to him, now he’s doing to me. “He was supposed to fight me, bailed, went and fought Tony Ferguson,” continued Dariush. “And now instead of fighting actual contenders, he wants to go fight Conor? He wants to go fight Nate Diaz? This is hypocritical, man. This is the only thing that’s bothering me.” McGregor has not fought since suffering a broken leg in his fight against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 this past July. Since undergoing surgery to fix a broken tibia and fibula, the former two-division champion has been recovering and teasing a return. Despite his declaration that he would be ‘billi walking straight to a title shot on my return,’ McGregor is 1-3 in his past four fights. There is also no indication that he would receive that title shot, so Dariush still struggles to understand why Oliveira is adamant about fighting him. If given a choice, Dariush said Oliveira should consider either him or Islam Makhachev next. “I understand the media has their thing,” said Dariush. “I understand the UFC has their part, but for him to be chasing a unicorn? It’s just super frustrating. There’s two clear contenders in front of you and you’re trying to chase a unicorn. And no one knows when Conor is going to fight again. The guy might not even fight this year. He might just be like, ‘Oh, the leg is taking too long. I’ll fight next year.’ Whatever. What is going on here? Make it make sense. It just doesn’t make sense.” Dariush was in action at UFC 262, where he defeated Tony Ferguson via unanimous decision. The Kings MMA product was scheduled to fight the aforementioned Makhachev, but was forced to withdraw after suffering an injury in training.

Bruno Silva is set to face Gerald Meerschaert on August 13. | Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLCThe hard-punching Brazilian is set to take on Gerald Meerschaert on August 13. Middleweight striker Bruno Silva is ready to restart his climb towards the division’s top 15. Following a hard-fought battle and unanimous decision loss to former GLORY champion Alex Pereira, ‘Blindado’ hopes to bounce back with an impressive finish in August. Paired up against grappling specialist Gerald Meerschaert, the Brazilian sounds like he’s preparing for a classic clash of styles—one where he hopes his striking prevails. Although Silva says his opponent is not the cleanest striker he will ever face in the Octagon, Blindado is aware that there is no such thing as an easy fight. In an interview with Combate, Silva explained what he expects from the battle and how he plans to deal with GM3’s awkwardness. “I’ve watched some of his fights. I’m not a big tape watcher, but I’m starting to do it sometimes. I watched three of his fights. I have seen him fight live twice before. He has great jiu-jitsu, above average. He’s not a wrestling specialist, but knows how to take you down. When he’s on top, he goes for it. I think he’s slow, but he’s a weird guy. He takes damage and walks forward. He’s dangerous.” Although his next fight is only scheduled for August, Silva revealed he intends to fight three more times this year, if possible. To accomplish the goal, Bruno says he is willing to take fights on short notice, provided he is not gravely injured. “I think the UFC likes my style. I don’t know how to say ‘no’. This is going to be my fifth (UFC) fight. My goal was to do five in one year, but I got booked for August. I wanted to fight in June or July. it’s my fifth fight, but I wish I could’ve fought more. I’ve taken fights to cover guys that were injured, but the opponents didn’t accept it. I’m always ready, I’m a company man. I try to be a straight guy, who doesn’t turn down fights or gives excuses about injuries. The only reason I won’t fight is if I have an extremely serious injury. If it’s a minor injury, I’ll fight anyway.” Before his loss to Pereira, Silva (22-6) was on a three-fight winning streak over Jordan Wright, Andrew Sanchez and Welington Turman, with all wins coming by way of knockout. The 32-year-old’s last loss came in December 2016. Silva is expected to take on Meerschaert at UFC Fight Night 213. An official location and headliner for the card has yet to be determined by the promotion.