Ranking the 10 Most Exciting Fighters in the UFC Right Now

It's an exciting time to be a UFC fan. The promotion is currently full of fighters that qualify as must-see TV.

These fighters can typically be broken down into two categories. On the one hand, there are the sport's most electrifying champions, who dominate all their opposition, like Anderson Silva and Jon Jones in the past. On the other hand, there are the fighters who simply never fail to entertain, even when they lose, like Robbie Lawler, Carlos Condit and Dustin Poirier.

Of course, all of those fighters are now retired, but here are 10 active UFC competitors who are building their own reputations for entertainment.

10. Diego Lopes

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You know what you're going to get when Diego Lopes fights.

The Brazilian-born Mexican featherweight has now made seven walks to the Octagon, and each time, the result has been thrilling, whether he finishes his opponent, beats them over the distance, or, on far rarer occasions, comes up short. The proof is in the bonus count: he's won one in four of his seven UFC bouts.

Lopes' last fight was one of his uncommon brushes with defeat, as he came up short in a title fight with the great Alexander Volkanovski. However, he's set to return to the cage against Jean Silva in the main event of Noche UFC on Sept. 13, and will look to entertain fans in a way that better suits his bank account.

9. Jean Silva

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As we covered above, the upcoming Noche UFC card will be headlined by a featherweight clash between Diego Lopes and Jean Silva. Silva deserves a plan on this list as much as his opponent does—perhaps even more so.

The Brazilian fan favorite is 16-2 overall. 15 of his 16 victories have been finishes, and a whopping 12 were knockouts. Highlights of his latest run—a 13-fight streak dating back to 2018—include bonus-winning finishes of Drew Dober, Melsik Baghdasaryan, and, most recently, Bryce Mitchell. When he fights, you pretty much count on him winning violently.

Let's see if he can keep it going against Lopes.

8. Alexandre Pantoja

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The first champion on our list is Brazil's Alexandra Pantoja.

The UFC flyweight king since 2022, the Brazilian has already defended his belt four times against tough opposition in Brandon Royval, Steve Erceg, Kai Asakura, and Kai Kara-France. Two of those title defenses have been entertaining five-round wars, and two were slick submissions. But his status as one of the UFC's great entertainers predates his three-year title run. He's collected six bonuses in the last six years.

His next title defense isn't official yet, but it's expected to come against surging youngster Joshua Van, another fighter who arguably deserves a place on this list, but didn't quite make the cut.

7. Alex Pereira

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Alex Pereira has accomplished a remarkable amount in the UFC in a ridiculously short time. Since joining the promotion in 2021, the former kickboxer has held the title at both middleweight and light heavyweight, and has beaten the likes of Sean Strickland, Israel Adesanya, Jan Blachowicz, Jiri Prochazka (twice), Jamahal Hill, and Khalil Rountree—all but one of them by way of knockout.

Much to the chagrin of his legions of fans, his light heavyweight title reign came to a skittering halt earlier this year, when he lost a decision to Magomed Ankalaev. However, even that losing effort was entertaining, and he will have a chance to right his ship when he fights Ankalaev again at UFC 320 on Oct. 4.

6. Jiri Prochazka

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Jiri Prochazka may never hold the UFC light heavyweight title again, but it almost doesn't matter. The former champion from the Czech Republic is a cult hero among fans, and it's due in large part to his propensity for excitement in the Octagon—with a little help from his trademark samurai persona.

Prochazka has fought in the UFC seven times since he was recruited from Japan's Rizin Fighting Federation. He's won bonuses in six of those fights—performances that include stunning finishes of Volkan Oezdemir, Dominick Reyes, Glover Teixeira, Aleksandar Rakic, and Jamahal Hill.

In his next fight, at UFC 320, he'll meet Khalil Rountree, who would probably be on this list himself if it went up to 11.

The winner may just get a title shot.

5. Khamzat Chimaev

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Khamzat Chimaev caught a bit of heat for his middleweight title-winning defeat of Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319 earlier this month. The criticism is understandable.

The new champ relied almost exclusively on his wrestling and top control to win the fight, for a display that was at once utterly dominant and a bit disappointing.

But let's not forget what he's done in the past. For the most part, all Chimaev does is dominate—and usually far for violently than he did against Du Plessis. Take, for example, his stunning wins over Robert Whittaker, Kevin Holland and Li Jingliang.

After his UFC 319 performance, fans will definitely be wanting a little more from Chimaev next time out, but precedent suggests it won't be long before he is viciously stopping somebody again.

4. Tom Aspinall

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Heavyweights typically fall into two groups: slow, lumbering giants who produce the occasional knockout, and quicker, more technical big men who are capable of winning fights from multiple positions at any moment. UFC champ Tom Aspinall falls into the second category. Decisively.

Aspinall, from the UK, moves like a middleweight and in the last few years, has dazzled fans with blistering knockouts of Curtis Blaydes, Sergei Pavlovich, Marcin Tybura, and Serghei Spivac, and brutal submissions of Alexander Volkov and Andrei Arlovski.

In his next fight, he'll try to forget the fact that he just spent years of his career chasing a fight with Jon Jones by scoring another devastating finish against Ciryl Gane.

3. Ilia Topuria

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Ilia Topuria is the UFC's No. 1-ranked pound-for-pound fighter right now, and for good reason. Over the course of his brief reigns as featherweight and lightweight champion, he's scored staggering knockouts over a trio of living legends in Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira. It's arguably the best three-fight win streak in UFC history.

It's hard to imagine Topuria slowing down, either. He's got some tough challenges ahead in the form of Justin Gaethje, Arman Tsarukyan and Paddy Pimblett, but he's going to be a big favorite against any of them. Maybe he'll turn out to be a flash in the pan, but all signs point to a sustained reign as UFC champion, and one that will provide fans with many unforgettable moments.

2. Justin Gaethje

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You had to know Justin Gaethje would be on this list.

Gaethje's hopes of winning the undisputed lightweight title may well have passed him by, particularly with a juggernaut like Topuria on the throne. However, his legacy is already set in stone.

A former interim and "BMF" champion, Gaethje has 14 bouts in the UFC. He only failed to win a bonus in two of them, which is impressive enough on its own. What's truly amazing is that, because Gaethje won double bonuses in two fights, he actually has 14 bonuses total in 14 UFC fights. That includes wins over Rafael Fiziev (twice), Dustin Poirier, Michael Chandler, Tony Ferguson, Donald Cerrone, and Edson Barboza.

That is simply the stuff of legend.

1. Max Holloway

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There's only one fighter who could leapfrog Justin Gaethje on this list, and it's the man who knocked him out at UFC 300 last year in one of the most dramatic moments in MMA history. That, of course, would be Max Holloway.

Like Gaethje, the reigning "BMF" champ has made a habit of unforgettable moments in the Octagon, and has 13 bonuses to show for it. What separates him from Gaethje is that he is also a decorated UFC champion. The Hawaiian is one of the greatest featherweights we've seen in the Octagon, having tallied four title defenses against world-class challengers.

Amazingly, Holloway still seems to be at the height of his power. He's now 2-0 in his last two lightweight bouts, with wins over Dustin Poirier and Gaethje. He'll have as tough a time winning the division's title as anybody with Topuria on the throne, but it's not impossible.