5 best strikers in the UFC right now

Since the inception of the UFC in 1993, a number of striking specialists have plied their trade in the promotion. The likes of Gerard Gordeau, Mirko Cro Cop and Lyoto Machida stood out as excellent strikers during their time in the world's premier MMA organization.

Anderson Silva, at the height of his powers, was renowned for his ability to knock out his opponents. Upon joining the UFC in 2006, Silva went on a 16-fight winning streak, comprising 14 finishes. His incredible run between 2006 and 2012 saw 'The Spider' cement his legacy as one of the greatest strikers of all time.

That said, we thought we'd rank the five best strikers in the UFC right now. Honorable mentions include Rafael Fiziev, Cory Sandhagen, Sean O'Malley, Max Holloway and Conor McGregor.

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#5. Jiri Prochazka – UFC light heavyweight contender

In under a year, Jiri Prochazka has gone from being the UFC’s latest recruit to the light heavyweight division in 2020 to the No.1 contender in 2022.

The Czech’s unbelievable rise in the promotion is unprecedented. He is expected to compete for undisputed light heavyweight gold in 2022 despite the fact that he has fought just twice in the promotion. His performances have warranted everything he’s received so far.

Prochazka’s first appearance inside the octagon was a sensational knockout victory over former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir in 2020.

Somehow, he managed to produce an even better KO in his second outing in the octagon when he took on another former title challenger in Dominick Reyes. The contest was one of the best fights of the year. Both fighters, being powerful strikers, managed to land bombs on one another throughout the course of the opening round.

The second round saw Prochazka take over as he started to have more success on the feet. With 30 seconds left on the clock, Prochazka connected with an incredible spinning elbow to knock Reyes out cold.

Watch a compilation of his finishes below:

#4. Ciryl Gane – former UFC interim heavyweight champion

Ciryl Gane was a lethal striker long before he joined the UFC. He made his professional Muay Thai debut in 2014 and amassed a 13-0 record over the next four years. This included 9 KO/TKO victories before transitioning to MMA under the tutelage of Fernand Lopez.

‘Bon Gamin’ put together a dominant 3-0 run in Canada’s premier MMA promotion, TKO Major League MMA, before signing with the UFC in 2019. The Frenchman went on a six-fight win streak upon joining the UFC, including victories over Junior dos Santos, Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Alexander Volkov.

Gane represents a new breed of heavyweights taking over the sport. The undefeated Frenchman incorporates a Muay Thai-style form of striking with agile movement on the feet. He moves like a welterweight, constantly on his toes as if he’s skipping rope. All of his opponents have had trouble landing punches on him, largely thanks to his unorthodox movement.

Gane’s phenomenal win streak earned him a shot at interim gold against Derrick Lewis at UFC 265. He secured a dominant TKO win on the night.

Watch a compilation of his incredible performances below:

#3. Petr Yan – UFC interim bantamweight champion

You’d be hard-pressed to find a challenging stylistic matchup for Petr Yan at 135 lbs. ‘No Mercy’ is an intimidating figure atop the pecking order in the bantamweight division. The rest of the fighters in the weight class will have their work cut out for them when they eventually square off against the formidable Russian.

Barring a disqualification-loss to Aljamain Sterling in 2021, Yan’s professional record is near-perfect. He has beaten the likes of Jimmie Rivera, Urijah Faber, Jose Aldo and Cory Sandhagen in his most recent octagon outings and has emerged as one of the best strikers in MMA.

Petr Yan, who sometimes trains at renowned MMA gym American Top Team, has earned plaudits from ATT members Dustin Poirier and Jorge Masvidal. Both Poirier and Masvidal, who are excellent strikers in their own right, claim 'No Mercy' is among the best stand-up fighters in the sport.

Jorge Masvidal, during a recent appearance on the Punchin' In podcast, hailed Yan's fight IQ and praised the Russian's mental fortitude. Masvidal believes Yan is one of the most complete fighters in the sport.

'Gamebred' said:

"Petr is one of my favorite guys, period. [I like to] watch fights since his first fights in the UFC... I love this guy. A computer, a cold-blooded computer. Can wrestle, can strike, can grapple, great gas and he's mentally tough as it gets. You're not breaking that guy bro. Anybody can get caught but that guy is not breaking."

Check out Masvidal's comments here:

Watch a compilation of Petr Yan's performances below:

#2. Israel Adesanya – UFC middleweight champion

Israel Adesanya has blossomed into one of the most entertaining and talented fighters on the UFC roster since making his promotional debut in 2018.

'The Last Stylebender' accrued a professional kickboxing record of 75-5, winning multiple titles at promotions like Glory and King in the Ring. He made his MMA debut in 2012 and improved his record to 11-0 before signing with the UFC.

Since joining the world's premier MMA organization, Adesanya has become the middleweight champion and has defended his belt four times.

With his TKO victory over Paulo Costa in 2020, Israel Adesanya picked up the 100th victory of his professional combat sports career, having secured wins in kickboxing and boxing prior to committing to MMA.

He picked up the 101st win of his professional career after putting on a striking clinic against Marvin Vettori last year. In his most recent outing, he put on a striking clinic against Robert Whittaker. He is one of the most decorated combat sports athletes on the planet today.

#1. Valentina Shevchenko – UFC women's flyweight champion

Valentina Shevchenko has established herself as one of the best fighters in the UFC in recent years, irrespective of gender. The lifelong martial artist has enjoyed an incredible career so far. She is one of the most dominant champions in the UFC, having defended her flyweight title six times.

Shevchenko spent almost half her UFC career competing at bantamweight before dropping down to the 125 lbs division. Despite clearly being undersized, ‘Bullet’ emerged as one of the best fighters in the bantamweight division, picking up wins over Holly Holm and Julianna Pena.

Shevchenko’s impressive bantamweight run pre-dated the promotion’s flyweight division altogether. When the division was eventually created, she secured a title shot with a win over Priscila Cachoeira and beat Joanna Jedrzejczyk to become the new champion. She has been defending her 125 lbs title ever since.

In her first title defense, Shevchenko took on Jessica Eye. She repeatedly kicked Eye's body throughout the first round and the damage to the midsection was clearly mounting. In the second round, the champion landed a few more body kicks before throwing a perfectly placed head kick.

With Eye anticipating another blow to her body, she dropped her hands, which was the last conscious action she took in the fight.

Valentina Shevchenko's win over Jessica Eye set the tone for the Kyrgyzstani phenom's championship reign. She went on to defend the title against Liz Carmouche, Katlyn Chookagian, Jennifer Maia, Jessica Andrade and Lauren Murphy.

'Bullet' is still the champion at 125 lbs and her stunning head-kick KO victory over Eye remains the most resounding win of her reign so far.