Who is Darya Zheleznyakova? Your ultimate guide on the rising 8-1 bantamweight contender set to enter the UFC octagon

Darya Zheleznyakova is a professional mixed martial arts fighter from St. Petersburg, Russia. She is currently ranked No.1 in the women's pound-for-pound rankings in Russia, France, and Eastern Europe. Her record is eight wins and one loss, with five of those wins coming via knockout and three via unanimous decision.

The 28-year-old has previously participated in fights for organizations such as Fight Club Sech, ARES Fighting Championship, Open Fighting Championship, and MMA Series Russia.

The Russian is currently training in France at the MMA Factory under Fernand Lopez. It is considered France's largest MMA gym and is well-known for producing former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and former UFC interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane.

MMA Orbit was the first to report Zheleznyakova's signing with the UFC on X (formerly known as Twitter). They captioned the post:

''The UFC have signed 27yo women’s bantamweight Dariya Zheleznyakova (8-1). Five T(KO), three decisions and one T(KO) loss to new signing Melissa Dixon. #UFC #MMA''

Zheleznyakova's lone defeat in her career came at the hands of Melina Dixon, who was also signed by UFC last year. She had won seven straight fights before falling to Dixon. During that run, she defeated fighters like Meruert Ibraeva, Andreina Reis, Gozel Zutova, Iryna Kyselova, and a few others. Her most recent fight was against Marie Loiseau at Ares FC 14: Lebout vs. Staropoli, which she won via TKO in the opening frame.

The rising bantamweight contender is set to make her octagon debut against Montserrat Rendon at UFC Fight Night: Ribas vs. Namajunas on March 23. The event will take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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Darya Zheleznyakova opened up about signing with UFC

Darya Zheleznyakova signed with UFC last year. In an exclusive interview, she candidly talked about joining the promotion.

The Russian disclosed that Fernand Lopez broke the news to her, causing her to burst into tears. She said:

''It was on July 5, if I am not mistaken. When Lopez told me the details, I burst into tears. He warned me it was secret information, and I couldn't share it because UFC must be its source.''

Zheleznyakova was scheduled to face Tainara Lisboa at UFC Vegas 81, but the former withdrew from the bout due to an undisclosed issue. She has been scheduled to make her promotional debut in the UFC twice and will hope that nothing will come in the way of her fight this weekend.