5 Top Fighters Signed By The UFC In 2018

With the number of shows that the UFC put on each year seemingly ever-growing, and the roster always in flux due to retirements, cuts, free agency and USADA suspensions, it’s no surprise that the world’s biggest MMA promotion is forever adding talent to its ranks.

2018 hasn’t seen any major free agents make their way into the Octagon just yet – at least nobody on the level of 2017’s debutants Justin Gaethje and Marlon Moraes, for instance – but already some of the year’s new signings have made a splash in the rankings.

Here are 5 top fighters who have signed with the UFC in 2018.

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#1 Israel Adesanya

Adesanya is already ranked in the top ten at Middleweight

Of all of 2018’s Octagon debutants, perhaps nobody has made as big an impact as Israel Adesanya. ‘The Last Stylebender’, a Nigerian born, New Zealand based Middleweight, joined the UFC after an extensive career in both professional boxing and kickboxing. By the time he made his UFC debut in February, he’d racked up an unbeaten professional MMA record of 11-0, with all of his wins coming via KO or TKO.

In his debut win at UFC 221 over Rob Wilkinson was to be expected, what Adesanya has achieved since has been far more surprising. Wilkinson was comfortably dispatched despite being able to pin Adesanya into the fence on numerous occasions, and when the Stylebender struggled past Marvin Vettori in April due to the Italian’s grappling, it appeared that the hype train surrounding the striker would slow down.

That wasn’t the case though, as Adesanya was next matched with top ten contender Brad Tavares in the main event of July’s Ultimate Fighter XXVII Finale. Despite being Adesanya’s toughest test to date, the Hawaiian was comfortably beaten over five rounds, as he had no answer for the Stylebender’s striking, speed, and perfect use of distance and timing.

Now sitting at #9 in the UFC’s official rankings and set to face #6 ranked Derek Brunson at November’s UFC 230, if Adesanya can pick up his fourth win of 2018, he’ll likely find himself in title contention come 2019. Not bad for a fighter who only debuted in February!

#2 Curtis Millender

Curtis Millender has picked up two UFC victories in 2018

Oddly nicknamed ‘Courteous’, Curtis Millender debuted in the UFC in February 2018 and was anything but polite and respectful, as his nickname would suggest. Instead, Millender used his powerful striking game to absolutely destroy respected veteran and former Welterweight title challenger Thiago Alves, dispatching him with a knee to the head in the second round.

Discounting a doctor stoppage loss to Carlos Condit in 2015, it was only the second time Alves had been stopped with strikes in his career – the previous coming back in 2006. While the Brazilian is now in the twilight of his career, the way that Millender put him away certainly opened some eyes. A second win over tough contender Max Griffin at UFC 226 sent the message even further – Millender is for real.

Standing at 6’3”, the former Bellator contender is large for a Welterweight and judging by his performances against Alves and Griffin, he knows exactly how to use his long reach to his advantage in the striking department. His grappling game is more of a mystery – two of his three pre-UFC losses came by submission and Griffin had some success with takedowns early in that fight. Based on his striking skill alone he’s definitely someone to keep an eye on.

At the time of writing, Millender doesn’t have another UFC fight scheduled, although to see him appear on another card before 2018 is out, would hardly be a surprise. If he can win his third fight of the year, then his name could appear on the rankings sooner rather than later.

#3 Alexander Hernandez

Alexander Hernandez upset Beneil Dariush in his UFC debut

Due to the unforgiving nature of professional MMA training, injuries happen in the build-up to UFC fights all of the time. Each year sees plenty of unknown fighters signed by the world’s biggest promotion to step in on late notice as last-minute replacements. If we’re honest, few of them see real success in the Octagon.

There’s always the odd exception though, and in 2018, that exception has been Alexander Hernandez. Signed by the UFC in March, Hernandez stepped in as a replacement for the injured Bobby Green to face top fifteen-ranked Beneil Dariush at UFC 222. It sounded like an awful way to debut – Dariush hadn’t won since 2016, but names like Michael Johnson, James Vick and Jim Miller counted amongst his victims.

Evidently, Hernandez didn’t care for Dariush’s reputation. In one of the biggest upsets in recent memory, he came out aggressively; caught Dariush with a haymaker left hand, and the fight was over in just 42 seconds. It was the most impressive UFC debut in some time.

Better still, Hernandez has since followed up the win by defeating Olivier Aubin-Mercier in his own wheelhouse – out-grappling the Canadian to a three-round decision. Now ranked as the #13 Lightweight in the UFC, it appears the sky is the limit for this 2018 signing going into his third Octagon appearance, and judging on what he’s done so far, who’d bet against him?

#4 Blagoy Ivanov

Blagoy Ivanov gave former Heavyweight champ Junior Dos Santos a tough fight

Highly-ranked Heavyweight fighters outside the UFC are few and far between these days, and so it was a nice surprise in April when the signing of Blagoy Ivanov – a former WSOF champion with just one loss to his name, against current UFC contender Alexander Volkov – was announced. A former world Sambo champion who defeated the legendary Fedor Emelianenko in that sport in 2008, Ivanov was faced with a tough test for his UFC debut – former Heavyweight champ Junior Dos Santos.

Ivanov ended up losing the fight with ‘Cigano’ by unanimous decision, but for the most part, he acquitted himself well against the former champ. Admittedly, the fight wasn’t a barnburner as fans would’ve liked, but Ivanov still fought hard and took two rounds from the Brazilian, stunning him with punches on a handful of occasions for good measure.

Now waiting on his second UFC assignment, it isn’t out of the realm of possibility that Ivanov could still develop into a genuine contender at Heavyweight. At just 31 years old he’s still relatively young for a big man and is probably just entering into his prime years. And with the likes of Alistair Overeem and Mark Hunt still kicking around, it’s impossible to deny that Heavyweight is an ageing division – meaning the Bulgarian could yet make a major impact in the UFC’s rankings. That alone ranks him as one of 2018’s most interesting signings.

#5 Nikita Krylov

Nikita Krylov is returning to the UFC in September

When Ukraine’s Nikita Krylov – somewhat a cult hero online and nicknamed ‘Nikki Thrills’ by his fans – was released from the UFC in February 2017, it came as a massive shock. Not only was he one of the few rising stars in the now-thin Light-Heavyweight division, but he’d lost just once in his last six fights, to fellow contender Misha Cirkunov. But there was more of a method behind the seeming madness than was initially thought.

According to reports, Krylov had actually requested his release, feeling that he’d be able to gain valuable experience outside of the UFC against somewhat less dangerous opponents and that he preferred to fight closer to his home country of Ukraine in order to be nearer to his young family. So unlike many fighters exiting the promotion, there was seemingly no bad blood.

That’s probably why it came as no surprise this June when it was announced that ‘The Miner’ was on his way back to the UFC having been released by the Fight Nights Global promotion – where he’d won three of his four fights outside the Octagon since leaving there.

Whether Krylov’s skills have improved as much as he would’ve liked in the relatively brief two years he’d been away from the UFC is a question mark, but realistically he was well on his way to contendership before he left anyway. He’s now signed to face #4 ranked Jan Blachowicz in September and if he can win that one, then an unlikely title shot could be in his future in 2019.