MMA

Top 5 Active Undefeated UFC Fighters

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Ilia Topuria, right, hits Bryce Mitchell during a UFC 282 mixed martial arts featherweight bout Saturday, Dec. 10, 2022.
(AP Photo/John Locher)
Anatoly Pimentel @AnatolyPimentel Apr 13, 2023, 10:41 PM

Being an undefeated fighter in any combat sport is a gigantic task to accomplish, primarily in MMA, as one punch or moment can change the outcome of a match. 

Khabib Nurmagomedov is the best example of this incredible feat as the Russian athlete retired from the UFC with a perfect 29-0 record and as the undisputed lightweight champion, which is why we wish there were UFC odds on his returning to the Octagon.

As of April 2023, there are still fighters who haven’t tasted defeat in their professional careers, and we have sourced and listed the top five among them.

Here are your top five active undefeated UFC fighters in 2023 (as of April 13), many of whom have favorable UFC fight odds each time they face an opponent.

Umar Nurmagomedov (16-0)

Umar Nurmagomedov, the cousin of Khabib Nurmagomedov, one of the greatest UFC fighters ever, is on track to replicate the immaculate record of the former UFC Lightweight, who was 29-0 when he ended his career. 

The 27-year-old Dagestani recently added Raoni Barcelos to his win record by knocking him out in the first round in their match this past January 2023 in UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs. Imavov to record his 4th UFC win.

His UFC debut happened in January 2021 against Sergey Morozov when he submitted him in the second round of their bantamweight clash. Fourteen months later, the Eagles MMA representative replicated this technique and defeated Brian Kelleher in the first round in March 2022, before outpointing Nate Maness in June 2022.

Before Nurmagomedov signed with the UFC, he was 12-0 in other MMA promotions, including six victories via stoppage, where five came in by way of submission and one through TKO.

Khamzat Chimaev (12-0)

Khamzat Chimaev is arguably the hottest prospect today in the UFC. With 12 wins (six in the UFC), Chimaev has indeed burst into stardom. He is one of the leading contenders to receive a title shot soon.

Almost all of his victories in the UFC were stoppages, both via TKO and submission. In his debut, he submitted John Philips, stopped Rhys McKee ten days after, and knocked out Gerald Meerschaert within 17 seconds.

Chimaev then fought a ranked contender in Jingliang Li in October 2021 and dominated the Chinese fighter en route to a rear-naked choke finish. The win allowed him to fight another top contender Gilbert Burns. Chimaev and Burns put on an entertaining match in April 2022.

The Swedish MMA star came away with the unanimous decision win to catapult him to the top of the 170-pound division. Chimaev’s latest victory was against Kevin Holland in a catchweight bout this past September 2022, and he made quick work of him through a first-round Brabo choke victory. 

Muhammad Mokaev (10-0)

One of the fast-rising flyweight contenders in the UFC today is Muhammad Mokaev, who holds a record of 10 wins with no losses. The fighter out of Manchester, England, has won all four of his UFC fights so far and barged into the 125-pound division rankings as the number 12 contender.

Mokaev did quick work of Cody Durden in his March 2022 debut when he used a guillotine choke submission to finish him in the first round. Four months later, he added Charles Johnson to his win tally by handily beating him via unanimous decision. Then, he submitted Malcolm Gordon in October 2022. 

His most recent promotional win came at the expense of Jafel Filho. The “Punisher” used his grappling expertise to set up a neck crank submission against Filho and submit him in the third round of their flyweight bout this past March 2023. This win extended his unbeaten professional career win to 10.

Before signing with the UFC in 2021, Mokaev already racked up six wins from different MMA organizations, including four finishes, two via submissions and two via TKO/KO. If the 22-year-old athlete can continue this rate of piling up wins, a title shot should be on the horizon for him.

Movsar Evloev (16-0)

Another Russian who is currently undefeated in the UFC is Movsar Evloev, with 16 wins across his name. Evloev is riding a six-fight winning streak in the Las Vegas-based promotion. He signed with the UFC in 2019 and made his debut against SeungWoo Choi and picked up a unanimous decision win.

The now-American Top Team representative followed up this win with four more decision victories over Enrique Barzola (in October 2019), Mike Grundy (in June 2020), and Nik Lentz (in Hakeem Dawodu (in June 2021). His latest casualty is Dan Ige, whom he defeated via unanimous decision in June 2022.

This win earned him the tenth spot in the featherweight division rankings. Before joining the leading MMA promotion in the world, Evloev dominated the M1 Global, where he collected ten victories en route to becoming the featherweight champion. He scored seven stoppages (four submissions and three TKO/KO wins).

Ilia Topuria (13-0)

Aside from Evloev, there is another undefeated featherweight contender in the division, and his name is Ilia Topuira. The Georgian mauler is currently rated as the No.9 contender in the 145-pound weight class. He made his UFC debut in October 2020 and unanimously beat Youssef Zalal. It was his first decision victory as he had finished all of his opponents previously.

From that point on, Topuria made sure to finish his opponents as he scored three straight knockout wins over Damon Jackson (first-round knockout in December 2020), Ryan Hall (first-round knockout in July 2021) and Jai Herbert (second-round knockout) in March 2022. His most recent win came against Bryce Mitchell in December 2022 via second-round Arm-Triangle choke.

Before coming into the UFC and beefing up the featherweight division, “El Matador” already had eight wins, all by way of stoppages (seven submissions and one knockout) from the MMA organizations he competed in, like the Cage Warriors and BRAVE Combat Federation. This impressive run has earned him a UFC contract.

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About the Author

Anatoly Pimentel

Read More @AnatolyPimentel

Anatoly Pimentel is an NBA and MMA writer previously featured in ASEAN Sports, Asian Persuasion MMA, and Overtime Heroics MMA. He graduated from Adamson University with a B.A in Communication and is a Web Content Writer for BetMGM.

Anatoly Pimentel is an NBA and MMA writer previously featured in ASEAN Sports, Asian Persuasion MMA, and Overtime Heroics MMA. He graduated from Adamson University with a B.A in Communication and is a Web Content Writer for BetMGM.