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This weekend sees Alistair Overeem step back into the Octagon for what will be his 19th UFC fight and the 66th of his MMA career overall.
With a career that dates all the way back to October 1999, ‘The Reem’ is naturally one of the most experienced fighters in the UFC. But surprisingly enough, despite turning 40 this May, the Dutchman isn’t amongst the 5 oldest fighters currently on the UFC roster.
High-level athletes these days are lasting at the top for longer than ever before, but the following 5 fighters are somehow still competing at the very pinnacle of the UFC despite being in their mid-40’s.
Here are the 5 oldest fighters currently competing in the UFC.
#5 Demian Maia – 42 years, 9 months
Grappling expert Demian Maia is one of the most accomplished submission artists in UFC history, with a ridiculous 11 tapouts to his name in the Octagon alone. The fact that he’s largely avoided wild stand-up battles could go a long way to explaining his incredible longevity.
The Brazilian – who last appeared in the UFC in March, suffering just the second knockout loss of his career at the hands of Gilbert Burns – turns 43 this November. The loss to Burns bought into question exactly how much longer he can last at the top of the UFC, but just 5 months earlier he’d looked fantastic in his submission win over Ben Askren.
Overall, Maia has a total of 22 wins in the UFC and has fought for UFC titles on two occasions, coming up short against Anderson Silva and Tyron Woodley respectively. He arguably ranks as one of the best fighters to never hold UFC gold.
As of the time of writing, Maia is not been booked for a fight before the end of 2020, but recently he confirmed he isn’t planning to retire just yet. This means we may well see him fight again after his 43rd birthday.
#4 Aleksei Oleinik – 43 years, 2 months
Along with Overeem, Ukrainian Heavyweight Aleksei Oleinik is one of the few currently active UFC fighters whose professional MMA career dates back to the 1990’s. In fact, ‘The Boa Constrictor’ made his debut way back in 1996 in an 8-man tournament known as the ‘Minamoto Cup’.
It should come as no surprise then that Oleinik is the oldest active Heavyweight on the UFC’s roster, as he turned 43 years old this June. And somehow, despite having 74 professional fights under his belt, ‘The Boa Constrictor’ still seems capable of competing with the world’s best in his division.
He’s picked up two UFC victories in 2020 alone – one over former UFC Heavyweight champ Fabricio Werdum – and despite losing his last fight to Derrick Lewis just weeks after his 43rd birthday, there have been no suggestions of an imminent retirement.
Oleinik’s longevity can perhaps be put down to his grappling-heavy style and the fact that despite such a storied history, he hasn’t been knocked out too many times.
In fact, prior to making his UFC debut in 2014, ‘The Boa Constrictor’ had only been stopped by strikes on 4 occasions. Since entering into the Octagon, that number has increased to 7 – still impressive considering the heavy hitters he’s squared off against.
#3 Marion Reneau – 43 years, 2 months
Comfortably the oldest female fighter on the UFC’s current roster, Marion Reneau actually turned 43 years old just 5 days before Oleinik did this past June. Unlike the Ukrainian though, ‘The Belizean Bruiser’ doesn’t have such an extensive MMA record.
Reneau debuted professionally in March 2010 – when she was already 32 years old – and only fought sporadically, putting together a 4-1 record before her UFC debut in 2015.
Strangely enough, she might’ve gained many more fans had she been slightly younger when she broke into the promotion. Reneau actually tried out for the 18th season of The Ultimate Fighter in 2013, but despite impressing in tryouts, she was told that at 35, she was simply too old for the reality show.
Thankfully, that hasn’t stopped her having a relatively successful UFC career. Still an extremely talented athlete despite her advanced age, Reneau has put together a record of 5-5-1 in the Octagon, and has secured wins over Sara McMann and former UFC Strawweight champion Jessica Andrade.
‘The Belizean Bruiser’ was last seen in a tough loss to Raquel Pennington, but her next fight is already booked. She will face the highly rated Ketlen Vieira in September – with a win potentially moving her up into the top five at 135lbs.
#2 Yoel Romero – 43 years, 5 months
One of the greatest pure athletes in UFC history, Yoel Romero somehow turned 43 years old in April – just one month after coming up slightly short in his UFC Middleweight title clash with reigning champion Israel Adesanya.
Had Romero won the title, he would’ve joined Daniel Cormier and Randy Couture as one of the only fighters to win UFC gold in their 40’s.
Romero’s active MMA career doesn’t actually date too far back. He made his professional debut in December 2009 and after a run in StrikeForce, debuted in the UFC in April 2013, just weeks after his 36th birthday.
Prior to his MMA career of course, ‘The Soldier of God’ was a world-renowned Greco-Roman wrestler. Representing Cuba, Romero won numerous medals on the Greco-Roman circuit, peaking in Sydney at the 2000 Olympic Games, where he won a silver medal. He also finished in 4th place in the same event at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
Romero is now on a three-fight losing streak – the first such run of his UFC career. However, all three of his losses were extremely close and there has been no suggestion that he’s ready to hang up his gloves just yet.
He was scheduled to fight Uriah Hall last month before pulling out due to undisclosed reasons, but it’s expected that we’ll see him back in the Octagon before 2020 is out. If he can win his next fight, his dream of another run towards a UFC title shot will remain intact.
#1 Anderson Silva – 45 years, 5 months
The oldest fighter on the UFC’s current roster is legendary former UFC Middleweight champion Anderson Silva. If we’re being quite honest, unlike the aforementioned 4 fighters, ‘The Spider’ should probably have hung up his gloves a long time ago, but instead – despite not winning a fight since 2017 – he has continued to soldier on.
Silva is scheduled to face Uriah Hall in the main event of October’s UFC Fight Night 182, and following that he’ll have one fight remaining on his contract. Whether the UFC allows him to take it – risking him jumping to a rival like Bellator afterwards – or tries to usher him into retirement appears to be a major question mark right now.
At any rate, despite his current slide, ‘The Spider’ will go down as an all-time great of the UFC and will most likely be entered straight into the promotion’s Hall of Fame upon his retirement.
Silva held the UFC Middleweight title from October 2006 to July 2013 – the longest title reign in UFC history – and his 16-fight win streak during that period remains the promotion’s longest, too. Nobody has finished more opponents in UFC title fights than Silva (9), and nobody has finished more Middleweight fights (11) either.
If ‘The Spider’ can turn back the clock and defeat Hall – particularly if he pulls off another jaw-dropping finish – then it would probably be the perfect capper on his storied career.
