While there are quite a few undefeated fighters in professional MMA, there are a select few that stand out from the pack — fighters who are doing it at the highest level against the best competition that the sport has to offer.
In addition to the obstacle of facing progressively tougher opponents with each fight, as a fighter’s unbeaten streak extends, so does the list of divisional rivals looking to end it. But not all undefeated runs are equal. Some unbeaten fighters, such as UFC middleweight Bo Nickal and UFC welterweight Michael Morales are still rising prospects, while others, such as former UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria, have maintained their perfect records all the way to a championship and beyond.
Nickal and Morales will be in action this month, as Nickal takes on former One Championship title holder Reinier de Ridder in the co-main event at UFC Fight Night on Saturday (10 p.m. ET on ESPN2, prelims at 7 p.m. ET), and Morales faces Gilbert Burns in the main event at UFC Fight Night on May 17 (7 p.m. ET on ESPN+, prelims at 4 p.m. ET).
To help separate the best unbeaten records from the rest, ESPN ranks the top 12 undefeated fighters in MMA today, based on a combination of résumé and future potential.
12. Ramazan Kuramagomedov (13-0), PFL middleweight
Kuramagomedov seemingly came out of nowhere to win a Bellator championship in 2024, but quietly, he had been around for a minute. Fighting out of Makhachkala, the same Russian city that once housed former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and reigning UFC lightweight champ Islam Makhachev, Kuramagomedov first appeared in the PFL in 2018 and showed up on “Dana White’s Contender Series” in 2019. He wasn’t ready for prime time back then, but a decision victory over Jason Jackson for the Bellator title last June put him on the map in a way he never was before.
11. Bo Nickal (7-0), UFC middleweight
When Nickal first joined the UFC, everyone assumed he’d be fast-tracked to stardom. It hasn’t played out that way, as he has fought only four times in two years. That actually might be the best sign of any that this former NCAA wrestling superstar will enjoy a long reign once he gets to the top. He’s not in a rush to make things happen, instead, he has developed his game and taken appropriately matched fights, including this Saturday’s bout against proficient grappler Reinier de Ridder. Eventually, yes, the sport will demand to see his ceiling, but so far, his career has played out in a way that should make us all very excited about his future.
10. Dakota Ditcheva (14-0), PFL women’s flyweight champion
The biggest question around Ditcheva in 2024 was whether she was being rushed into a level of competition for which she wasn’t ready. As it turned out, that level of competition wasn’t ready for Ditcheva. Not only did she win the PFL’s flyweight season last year, she did so in spectacular fashion — a TKO finish over Taila Santos, who once challenged for a UFC title. This year, the biggest concern around Ditcheva is finding her a suitable opponent because of her dominance.
9. Muhammad Mokaev (14-0, 1 NC), Brave CF men’s flyweight
It has been an uncertain time for Mokaev, ever since the UFC declined to re-sign him last summer. The organization publicly labeled him difficult to work with, a harmful claim for any MMA fighter. Working in Mokaev’s favor, however, is talent and time. He’s still young at 24 years old and clearly has all the talent in the world. Time — and breakout performances — can mend relationships. He’s with Brave CF now, but a return to the UFC at some point is not impossible.
8. Michael Morales (17-0), UFC welterweight
Morales is not only undefeated, he’s undoubtedly one of the best prospects in MMA right now. He’s only 25 years old and already has five wins in the UFC. His next fight on May 15 is against one of the best fighters of the past decade, Gilbert Burns, and it barely even feels like a step up for Morales because he already has proved he belongs here. His style is dynamic, and his highlight reel has more than a few devastating finishes. He’s a budding star at welterweight.
7. Johnny Eblen (16-0), PFL middleweight
Eblen has been the epitome of consistency — first as a Bellator MMA champion and now a PFL standout. His fights aren’t always blowouts, but in a way, that makes what he has done even more impressive. He’s just a winner. He has been winning for so long, he’s starting to run out of good options for opponents, and it’ll be on the PFL matchmakers to find ways to keep him appropriately busy. Eblen is a true talent at 185 pounds, and the sport will want to continue to see him challenged.
6. Lerone Murphy (16-0), UFC featherweight
One of the quietest active win streaks in the UFC is getting a little noisier. Murphy has now won eight in a row inside the Octagon, and his most recent victory came in the form of a main event against a former title challenger in Josh Emmett. Murphy’s style and personality are somewhat understated. He’s not a grab-the-mic, yell-into-the-camera kind of guy. He is, however, buttoned up in every way. There are no real questions about his mindset or commitment to the sport. He is on the rise.
5. Movsar Evloev (19-0), UFC featherweight
Six years in the UFC, nine straight wins. All of Evloev’s victories have come via decision, which is probably why he hasn’t fought for a UFC championship yet. The company can’t deny him much longer, though. Evloev is a dominant grappler, whose confidence has risen from fight to fight. He once said he didn’t care if he had to go 100-0 to earn his first UFC title shot. That probably won’t be necessary, but it shows his mindset. He’s a problem at 145 pounds.
4. Shavkat Rakhmonov (19-0), UFC welterweight
Rakhmonov went the distance in his last fight, a five-round unanimous decision victory against Ian Machado Garry. That was the first time in 19 appearances that Rakhmonov failed to get a finish, ending one of the most impressive streaks in MMA. Even though his run of finishes came to an end, his dominance remains intact. He has missed time in 2025 with injury, but when this man gets healthy, he’s in line for a title shot. And that’s a scary proposition for whoever is holding the belt at that time.
3. Khamzat Chimaev (14-0), UFC middleweight
Inactivity remains the biggest threat to Chimaev’s standing in the sport. The UFC is working on booking him his first title fight with the company against a pound-for-pound powerhouse in Dricus Du Plessis. When Chimaev finally gets that shot, it’ll be one of the year’s biggest fights. Chimaev fought only once in 2024, but he could not have been any more impressive in that single appearance — a first-round, dominant submission over former champion Robert Whittaker.
2. Usman Nurmagomedov (19-0), PFL lightweight
No surprise to see a Nurmagomedov on this list. Bellator MMA is no more, but Nurmagomedov remains a champion in the sport’s eyes. He had a serious challenger to his throne in Paul Hughes in January, and it’s likely the PFL, which now owns Nurmagomedov’s contract, will run that fight back at some point. No matter who he fights next, Nurmagomedov will almost certainly be favored to win. He’s as legit as they come.
1. Ilia Topuria (16-0), UFC featherweight
Topuria is coming off arguably the most impressive year in MMA featherweight history, having knocked out two all-time greats in former champions Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway. It’s nearly impossible to top a year like that, but Topuria is trying. He did the unthinkable earlier this year, willingly vacating the UFC featherweight title to try to become a two-weight champion at lightweight. In anticipation of the move, he changed his nickname to “La Leyenda” — The Legend.
Source link
