Top 10 Undefeated Fighters
1. Ilia Topuria (17-0, 9-0 UFC)
Ilia Topuria made his pro debut in April of 2015 in his home country of Spain. Fighting out of Spain, by way of Georgia, Topuria went 7-0 on the regional scene including two first-round victories for the Brave CF organization in 2019.
Topuria made his UFC debut in October of 2020 defeating Youssef Zalal by unanimous decision. “El Matador” returned two months later in December of 2020 and defeated Damon Jackson by first round KO.
Topuria returned to the octagon in July of 2021 at UFC 264: Poirier vs. McGregor 3, where he defeated Ryan Hall by first round KO. He moved up to lightweight for his next fight against British fighter Jai Herbert in March of 2022 on Herbert’s home soil in London, England. Topuria won by second round KO and earned his first UFC performance bonus. He returned in December of 2022 and became the first man to finish Bryce Mitchell, winning the fight by second round arm-triangle choke and earning his second straight performance bonus.
Topuria fought in his first UFC main event in June of 2023 when he took on previous featherweight title challenger Josh Emmett on the UFC on ABC 5 card in Jacksonville, Florida. Topuria won a dominant five round unanimous decision in what was the fight of the night.
In 2024, Topuria had one of the best years of any MMA fighter. In February of 2024, he fought one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the sport in Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 in Anaheim, California. Topuria won by second round knockout to become the UFC featherweight champion.
Topuria returned for his first title defense at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi against Max Holloway. He won by third round knockout to cap off a career year, having finished the top two featherweights in UFC history.
Topuria made headlines this past year when he announced that he was relinquishing his UFC featherweight title, citing that he could no longer cut the weight in a healthy fashion. He moved up to lightweight and fought Charles Oliveira for the vacant UFC lightweight title at UFC 317 in June. Topuria continued his amazing run and became the 10th fighter in UFC history to win titles in two different weight divisions as he knocked out Oliveira in the first round.
The 28-year-old is currently the No. 2 pound for pound fighter in the UFC rankings. Topuria has not only been one of the most dominant fighters in MMA, but he has also been one of the most exciting, having won performance bonuses in his last six fights.
It was thought that Topuria may defend his title on the first Paramount + card in 2026; however, Topuria announced in November that he would not be defending his title until at least the second quarter of 2026 due to personal reasons. He may return to fight the winner of Justin Gatje and Paddy Pimblett who are fighting for the UFC interim lightweight title on January 24th on the first Paramount + card.
2. Khamzat Chimaev (15-0, 9-0 UFC)
Khamzat Chimaev made his pro debut in May of 2018. After winning his first two fights in smaller promotions in his home country of Sweden, Chimaev signed to fight for the Brave CF promotion where he went 4-0 with four finishes. Chimaev fought tough competition in Brave CF where his opponents had a combined record of 25-3.
The Chechnya born Chimaev made his UFC debut on July 15, 2020 in Abu Dhabi, taking a short notice fight in the middleweight division against British fighter John Phillips. Chimaev dominated the first round with ground and pound and won the fight in the second round by D’Arce choke. Chimaev returned just 10 days later in a welterweight fight against Irish fighter Rhys McKee. Chimaev earned his second straight performance bonus and broke the record for quickest turnaround between wins in the modern UFC era. He defeated McKee by first round TKO.
Chimaev returned in September of 2020 as he fought middleweight veteran Gerald Meerschaert in what appeared to be a step up in competition. This time the fight didn’t hit the ground as Chimaev landed the knockout punch, just 17 seconds into the fight. This win set another UFC modern era record for Chimaev as he earned the quickest three fight win streak, at 66 days.
After taking over a year off, Chimaev returned in October of 2021 at UFC 267 to fight his first ranked opponent in Chinese welterweight Li Jingliang who was ranked No. 11 at the time. Chimaev steamrolled Jingliang, winning by first round rear naked choke.
Chimaev had barely had a punch landed on him in his first four UFC fights until he fought Gilbert Burns at UFC 273 in April of 2022. The former title challenger Burns was ranked No. 2 in the UFC welterweight division at the time. Chimaev showed he could take some punishment as well as dish it out as he defeated Burns by unanimous decision in a fight of the year candidate. The pair won the fight of the night and for Chimaev this was five performance bonuses in five fights in the UFC.
Chimaev was scheduled to headline UFC 279 against Nate Diaz in September of 2022. After missing weight for the welterweight fight, he ended up fighting Kevin Holland in a 180-pound catchweight fight in the co-main event. Chimaev dominated Holland and won by first round D’Arce choke.
Due to injury and visa issues, Chimaev fought only once in 2023. In a middleweight bout, he won a majority decision over former welterweight champ Kamaru Usman at UFC 294 in October of 2023, in Abu Dhabi.
After another year off, Chimaev returned in October of 2024 with vengeance against former middleweight champion Robert Whitaker. The fight was scheduled for five rounds as the co-main event for UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi. Chimaev defeated Whitaker in the first round with one of the most brutal submissions you will see. He broke Whitaker’s jaw in a face crank, in a submission of the year candidate.
Chimaev got his much-awaited title shot against Dricus Du Plessis in August at UFC 319 in Chicago. He became the UFC middleweight champion by dominating Du Plessis in a unanimous decision.
The 31-year-old Chimaev is ranked No. 3 in the UFC pound for pound rankings. Chimaev is expected to defend his UFC middleweight title against Nassourdine Imavov in the second quarter of 2026.
3. Shavkat Rakhmonov (19-0, 7-0 UFC)
Shavkat Rakhmonov made his pro debut in October of 2014 for the Russian based M-1 Challenge promotion. Rakhmonov went 7-0 for the M-1 Challenge promotion including winning their welterweight championship and defending it one time. Rakhmonov went 5-0 for the Kazakhstan Mixed Martial Arts Federation where he won the KZMMAF welterweight title and defended it once.
Rakhmonov was 12-0 with 12 finishes when he made his UFC debut in October of 2020 at UFC 254 in Abu Dhabi. The Kazakh fighter defeated Alex Oliveira by first round guillotine choke. He returned in June of 2021 and defeated Michel Prazeres by second round rear naked choke. In his next fight, Rakhmonov earned his first KO in the UFC with a first-round spinning hook kick followed by ground strikes versus Carlston Harris in February of 2022.
In June of 2022, Rakhmonov fought his first ranked opponent in the UFC and defeated Neil Magny by second round guillotine choke. In March of 2023 Rakhmonov fought his first top 10 opponent in Geoff Neal. He defeated Neal by rear naked choke with less than a minute to go in the fight. The pair won fight of the night.
Rakhmonov got another step up in competition when he fought Stephen Thompson at UFC 296 in December of 2023. Rakhmonov became the first man to submit “Wonderboy”, winning by rear naked choke in the second round.
Rakhmonov was set to fight for the UFC welterweight title against Belal Muhammad at UFC 310 in December of 2024. After Muhammad had to withdraw due to injury, Rakhmonov put his title shot on the line when he agreed to face fellow undefeated fighter Ian Machado Garry who was 15-0 at the time, in the co-main event. Going into the Machado Garry fight, Rakhmonov was 18-0 with all 18 wins coming by way of stoppage. Rakhmonov went to a decision for the first time in his career, defeating Machado Garry by a unanimous, five round decision.
Rakhmonov was inactive due to injury in 2025. He recently stated that he is healthy and ready to go in 2026.
The 31-year-old Rakhmonov is currently ranked No. 2 in the UFC welterweight division. Due to his recent inactivity, Rakhmonov will likely have to win one more fight to secure a title shot in a division that has a log jam of fighters at the top vying to fight the champ, UFC’s top pound for pound fighter Islam Makhachev.
4. Michael Morales (19-0, 7-0 UFC)
Morales made his pro debut in August of 2017 at just 18 years old. He went 11-0 on the regional scene, fighting mainly in his native country of Ecuador.
In September of 2021, Morales got his shot on Dana White’s Contender Series where he defeated Nicolay Veretennikov by unanimous decision, earning a UFC contract.
Morales had a tough matchup in his UFC debut against Trevin Giles who at the time was 14-3, 5-3 UFC. Morales won by first round TKO.
Morales won four straight in the UFC before fighting his first ranked opponent in Neil Magny in August of 2024. Morales won by first round TKO earning his first performance of the night bonus.
The Ecuadorian fighter had a huge year in 2025 that has him in talks of a title shot in the UFC welterweight division. In May, Morales headlined his first UFC event against former title challenger and perennial welterweight contender Gilbert Burns. Morales made quick work of Burns with a first round TKO. Morales returned in November in his highest profile fight to date on the UFC 322 pay per view main card against Sean Brady who was ranked No. 2 at the time in the UFC welterweight division. Morales earned yet another first round TKO over world class opposition and earned his third straight performance bonus.
The 26-year-old is currently ranked No. 4 in the UFC welterweight division.
5. Usman Nurmagomedov (20-0, 7-0 Bellator, 2-0 PFL)
The younger brother of top UFC bantamweight contender and recent UFC title challenger Umar Nurmagomedov, Usman looks to follow in his cousin Khabib’s footsteps as a top undefeated MMA fighter. He made his pro debut in March of 2017. Usman has fought for the Federation of MMA Samara and Gorilla Fighting Championships in Russia and Brave CF and UAE Warriors in the Middle East.
Nurmagomedov was 11-0 when he made his Bellator debut in April of 2021. He went 4-0 in Bellator before fighting Patricky Pitbull for the Bellator lightweight title in November of 2022. Nurmagomedov won by unanimous decision after five hard fought rounds against his more experienced Brazilian opponent.
He returned in March of 2023 to defend his title against former UFC lightweight champ and Bellator title contender Benson Henderson. The young Dagestani fighter defeated Henderson by first round rear naked choke submission.
Nurmagomedov headlined the Bellator 300 card, which featured three title fights, in October of 2023. He defeated Brent Primus by unanimous decision; however, the fight was later overturned to a no contest when Nurmagomedov failed a drug test due to a banned substance in a prescription medication.
Nurmagomedov had just one fight in 2024. He defended his Bellator lightweight title against fellow countryman Alexander Shabliy (24-3) at a Bellator Champions Series event in San Diego in September of 2024.
Nurmagomedov had two of the best fights in the PFL this past year as he fought top PFL lightweight contender Paul Hughes to two exciting, hard fought decision victories. The Dagestani fighter defeated his Irish rival by majority decision in January to retain his Bellator title in a fight of the year candidate. In October, he defeated Hughes by unanimous decision to win the inaugural PFL lightweight world championship.
The 27-year-old is set to defend his PFL lightweight title against 2025 PFL lightweight world tournament winner Alfie Davis in February.
6. Movsar Evloev (19-0, 9-0 UFC)
Movsar Evloev made his pro debut in November of 2014 for the M-1 Challenge organization in his native Russia. He went 10-0 for the promotion including winning and defending the organization’s bantamweight title.
Evloev moved up to featherweight when he made his UFC debut in April of 2019 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. He defeated Seung Woo Choi by unanimous decision.
From 2021 to 2023, Evloev made his way up the UFC featherweight ranks with notable victories over Nik Lentz, Hakeem Dawodu, Dan Ige and Diego Lopes.
In January of 2024 at UFC 297, Evloev won a unanimous decision against Arnold Allen who was ranked No. 4 at the time. Evloev returned at UFC 310 in December to defeat former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling, by unanimous decision.
Evloev was inactive in 2025 due to injury. The undefeated Russian will likely have to win one more fight to get a shot at the UFC featherweight title, currently held by Alexander Volkanovski.
The 31-year-old is currently ranked No. 1 in the UFC featherweight division and looks to be one fight away from a title shot.
Related: Top 20 Undefeated Fighters – Part One
7. Seika Izawa (18-0, 12-0 Rizin)
Seika Izawa made her MMA debut in October of 2020 for the Deep Jewels promotion in her native Japan. In June of 2021, in her third pro fight, she won the Deep Jewels interim strawweight title by first round armbar over Miki Motono.
At 4-0, Izawa made her Rizin debut against super atomweight (108 pound) champ Ayaka Hamasaki in a non-title bout. This was on a big stage at the Saitama Super Arena on New Years Eve in 2021. Izawa defeated Hamasaki, who was 23-4, by second round TKO. This set up the rematch for the title in April of 2022. Izawa won by unanimous decision to become the Rizin super atomweight champion.
Izawa returned in July of 2022 to fight fellow undefeated fighter Laura Fontoura (7-0) in the quarter finals of the Rizin Super Atomweight Grand Prix. Izawa won by guillotine choke in the first round. She returned in September of 2022 to defeat Anistasiya Svetkivska by second round armbar in the semifinals. Izawa returned on New Year’s Eve of 2022 and defeated Si Woo Park by split decision to win the Rizin super atomweight grand prix.
After defending her Rizin super atomweight title, Izawa returned to Deep Jewels in March of 2024 to fight for their atomweight (105 pound) title. She defeated Si Yoon Park by second round ninja choke become the Deep Jewels atomweight champion. Izawa won two more fights in Rizin to round out her 2024 with three wins.
Izawa won another nontitle fight in Rizin in July. She defended her Rizin title for the second time in November with a unanimous decision victory over Saori Oshima (15-6). The 28-year-0ld returned in just under two months to defend her title once again at the Rizin New Year’s Eve show. She defeated Rena Kubota (15-5) by guillotine choke in the second round.
Izawa is widely considered the top atomweight in the world and one of the top pound for pound female fighters in the world. With talks of the UFC returning to Japan in 2026, could we see the UFC bring in Izawa and the atomweight division?
8. Lerone Murphy (17-0-1, 9-0-1 UFC)
Murphy made his pro debut in March of 2016. He went 8-0 on the UK regional scene.
The British featherweight made his UFC debut at UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi in September of 2019, fighting Russian veteran Zubaira Tukhugov to a hard-fought draw. Murphy returned in July of 2020 with a first round TKO over Ricardo Ramos.
Murphy scored impressive victories over veterans Douglas Silva de Andrade and Makwan Amirkhani in 2021.
After not fighting in 2022, Murphy won a pair of decisions in 2023 against Gabrial Santos and Josh Culibao.
Murphy had a breakout year in 2024, with wins over two ranked featherweights. He fought in his first UFC main event against perennial contender Edson Barboza, winning a unanimous decision in what was the fight of the night. Murphy won a hard-fought unanimous decision over Dan Ige at UFC 308
The 34-year-old British fighter is coming off a career year that had him in talks for a title fight in the UFC featherweight division. He defeated Josh Emmett by unanimous decision in April. At UFC 319 in August, Murphy capitalized on his highest profile fight to date against Aaron Pico who was coming to the UFC with much hype from PFL / Bellator. Murphy won by first round KO from a spinning back elbow that was a knockout of the year candidate.
Murphy is currently ranked No. 4 in the UFC featherweight division.
9. Razhabali Shaydullaev (17-0, 6-0 RIzin)
At 18 years old, Shaydullaev made his professional debut in March of 2019 and went 5-0 on the regional scene in his native Kyrgyzstan. He then had three fights in 2022 in ACA Young Eagles events in Russia where he had three second round finishes over Russian prospects.
In June of 2023, the Kyrgyzstani fighter defeated Ji Yong Yang (5-0) by first round rear naked choke in the Road FC promotion in South Korea. In October of 2023, he stepped up in competition again defeating Magomed Al-Abdullah (12-1-1) by second round rear naked choke in the UAE Warriors promotion in Abu Dhabi.
At 11-0, Shaydullaev made his Rizin debut in June of 2024 at Rizin 47. He defeated Koji Takeda (16-6) by first round rear naked choke. He returned in September of 2024 at Rizin 48 where he fought his most credentialed opponent in former Rizin and Bellator bantamweight champion Juan Archuleta (29-6). He won by first round armbar. He capped off his breakout 2024 year at the Rizin New Year’s Eve show with a second round TKO over Yuta Kubo.
This past May, Shaydullaev fought for the Rizin featherweight title against Brazilan Kleber Koike (35-7-1) and won by TKO in just 1:02 of the first round. He returned to the Rizin ring in September and defeated Viktor Kolesnik (26-4-1) in just 33 seconds of the first round. Shaydullaev is coming off headlining Rizin’s signature New Years Eve card where he defended his featherweight title for the second time. He defeated Mikuru Asakura (19-5) by first round TKO at the 2:54 mark.
The youngest fighter on this list at just 25-year-old, Shaydullaev has finished all 17 of his opponents with eleven submissions and six KO’s. In his three Rizin title fights, all in 2025, he fought for only 4:29 in total.
10. Dakota Ditcheva (15-0, 10-0 PFL)
Ditcheva’s mother, Lisa Howarth, was a multiple-time world kickboxing champion. Ditcheva followed in her mother’s footsteps entering combat sports through kickboxing and muay thai. After a decorated early career in the striking arts, Ditcheva made her pro MMA debut in April of 2021. The British fighter went 5-0 on the regional scene before making her PFL debut in August of 2022. Ditcheva turned heads with a first-round knee to the liver KO in an undercard bout on the PFL Playoffs card. She returned in November of 2022 on the PFL Championships card and won again by first round knockout.
Ditcheva entered the first PFL Europe season in March of 2023 and earned her first and only submission victory with a first-round rear naked choke over Malin Hermansson. She returned in September in the semifinals with a third round KO over Cornelia Holm. She returned in December of 2023 to win the first PFL Europe title with a doctor stoppage victory at the end of the first round over Valentina Scatizzi. This earned Ditcheva $100,000 check and a spot in the 2024 PFL global season.
In the 2024 PFL season, Ditcheva won her two regular season matchups in April and June with first round knockouts over Lisa Mauldin and Chelsea Hackett, respectively. The two first round knockouts earned Ditcheva the first seed going into the semifinals. Ditcheva faced her toughest test to date in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Jenna Bishop. “Dangerous” Dakota passed with flying colors with another first round knockout.
In her 2024 PFL Championship fight, Ditcheva faced by far her most experienced and toughest fighter in Taila Santos (22-3). Santos had fought Valentina Shevchenko to a split decision loss in 2022 in a UFC flyweight title fight. Going into the Ditcheva fight, Santos was widely considered a top five flyweight in the world. Dicheva stopped Santos in the second round with body shots to win the one-million-dollar check, becoming PFL’s first flyweight champion.
After a very active 2024, Ditcheva wasn’t nearly as active in 2025, having only fought once this past year. Ditcheva defeated Sumiko Inaba by unanimous decision in July.
Ditcheva was scheduled to face Denise Kielholtz in February but unfortunately had to pull out of the fight due to injury.
In a women’s flyweight division where the finishing rate is not high, the 27-year-old Ditcheva has stopped 13 out of her 15 opponents, 12 by KO.
*Jon Jones (28-1, 22-1 UFC)
The youngest champ in UFC history, Jones would easily be at the top of this list if it wasn’t for a disqualification loss to Matt Hamill in 2009. Jones was disqualified for a 12 to 6 downward elbow, a rule that was changed in 2024.
It’s worth mentioning Jones here, as many consider him undefeated. The MMA GOAT has numerous UFC records, the most impressive being the most wins in UFC title fights, with 16. To put it in perspective, that’s one more title fight win than Khamzat Chimaev has pro fights.
Will we see Jones fight again? He has been campaigning to fight on the White House card in June. Will we see Jones have his first “real” loss before he calls it a career for good?
Who will keep their O’s in 2026?
It always makes it more interesting when an “O” is on the line. After highlighting the careers of the top 20 undefeated mixed martial artists, it will be interesting to see which fighters will remain undefeated. Being undefeated makes a fighter more marketable, however, when fighters keep fighting the best in the world, there is an increased chance of losing their O’s.
