Most Famous UFC Fighters From Europe (Active)
MMA is a sport dominated by fighters from the US. But although the sport is not as developed in Europe, this hasn’t stopped many talented European fighters from reaching the pinnacle of the sport. Yes, there are no big training facilities in Europe, neither there are huge promotions. But the sport is more than present, so much that some of the most talented UFC fighters are actually from Europe.
In this article, we are going to bring you the best UFC fighters from Europe, and their interesting stories.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk
With amazing five title defenses on her UFC record, Jedrzejczyk is the most successful Polish MMA fighter in history. And for sure, she is also one of the most famous as well. At one point, she was the most dominant UFC fighter, and she holds many great records.
Fans love her because of her charming persona, and the fact that she has never been in a boring fight. Over the years, she has been in many wars, with the one against Zhang Weili being the most memorable one.
Jedrzejczyk came into the sport from Muay Thai where she was a multiple European, Polish, and World Champ. Upon joining MMA, she didn’t need much time to rise, and she signed with the UFC in 2014 as one of the best strikers.
She went on to score an amazing eight wins in a row and demolish anyone who was brave enough to stand in front of her with relentless pace, high output, and laser precision.
Islam Makhachev
The plan for Makachev is very simple. He is a man who is supposed to replace his childhood friend Khabib Nurmagomedov on the lightweight throne. Born and raised in the capital of Dagestan, Makhachkala, Makachev grew up training under the close eye of Khabib’s father, Abulmanap. In fact, Abdulmanap stated many times that the main mission of his “project” was to see Islam replacing Khabib on the lightweight throne.
When it comes to skills, the only thing you need to know about him is that most coaches and experts see him as the “Khabib 2.0”. On top of relentless wrestling and top control, Makachev has quick hands and a solid standup game, which makes him scary. Thus far, he has shown nothing but dominance inside the octagon.
Valentina Shevchenko
Shevchenko often switches between her residences in the US and Peru. But, the scariest woman on the planet actually comes from Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine. She spent her childhood and teenage years training in various arts like Muay Thai and Judo. Before she got into MMA, she had dominated the Muay Thai world scene and she won many World and European titles.
In 2015, she came into the UFC with, perhaps, the best striking resume. Over the course of the next eight years, she managed to clean the entire flyweight division, and win the belt. In fact, she destroyed an entire era of great fighters. Like her nickname “The Bullet” suggests, Shevchenko is fast, accurate, and deadly inside the octagon.
Petr Yan
The UFC 135 lbs champ, Petr Yan, grew up in the rough setting of Russia. In the early days, he trained boxing alongside his older brother and he used to often compete in amateur matches. But for some reason, Yan made a decision not to pursue a career in boxing. Instead, he switched his focus to training in MMA.
Yan kicked off his career fighting in the popular Russian promotion, ACB. After capturing the title, he received a call from the UFC and he arrived as one of the hottest European prospects. It didn’t take long for Yan to confirm that the hype is real as he needed just two years to win the UFC 135lbs title.
Yan is like a supercomputer, always analyzing his opponents and looking for their weaknesses. But once he solves the puzzle, Yan is unstoppable. From his insane Muay Thai skills to footwork and insane cardio, he is a total package.
Jan Blachowicz
Blachowicz is the former UFC 205lbs champ who was born in Cieszyn, Poland. But, he actually moved with his family to the beautiful capital of Warsaw.
Inspired by the popular action movies, Blachowicz got into judo at the age of nine and would later switch over to train in BJJ and Muay Thai. This helped him develop an all-around game, which combined with his raw strength, makes him a tricky matchup for anyone.
After winning the KSW 205 lbs title and tournament, he signed with the UFC in 2015. The first couple of years of his UFC career were a mix of solid wins and unfortunate losses. But Blachowicz finally unleashed his full potential in 2019 and 2020, years in which he went on a 5 fight winning streak that also brought him a world title.
Aleksandar Rakic
Inside the cage, Rakic represents Serbia but he was actually born and raised in Vienna, Austria. Unlike other fighters on this list, Rakic actually wanted to be a soccer player, but somewhere down the line, he switched over to kickboxing and boxing when he was 13 years old. Before joining MMA, he took part in around 40 matches and he also started grappling to become an all-around athlete.
As a vicious striker with solid defensive wrestling, Rakic made quick work of everyone on the regional scene. After scoring 4 straight knockouts, he received a call from the UFC to join their roster in 2017. Inside the UFC cage, he holds notable wins over former title challengers Anthony Smith and Thiago Santos. But his finest moment came when he knocked out Jimi Manuwa with one of the most brutal head kicks in history.
Conor McGregor
Representing his hometown Dublin, Ireland, Conor McGregor is a UFC megastar and a man who deserves a lot of credit for making the sport popular in Europe. His rise to becoming the first-ever multi-divisional UFC champ brought the company millions of new viewers, and god knows how many billions in revenue. In fact, there was a time when McGregor used to be more popular than the company itself.
McGregor grew up in Crumlin, Dublin, but instead of training in martial arts, he spend his childhood pursuing a career in soccer. At the age of 12, he would start attending boxing classes at the local club to learn how to defend against bullies. At one point, he met the UFC fighter Tom Egan who inspired him to start training in MMA, and the rest is history. He went on to capture the Cage Warriors 145 and 155 lbs titles, before achieving the same in the UFC just a couple of years later.
Khamzat Chimaev
Khamzat Chimaev was born in Chechnya but he immigrated to Sweden with his mother in 2013 when he was 18 years old, and he has Swedish nationality. He started wrestling when he was just 5 years old and would continue to do so in Sweden where he became a national champ in 2016 and 2017. This was also a time when he started training at the famous Allstar gym in Sweden, home to the former UFC champ, Alexander Gustaffson, and many other talented MMA fighters.
The UFC decided to bring him in after his dominant performances in BRAVE CF and Chimaev would go on to become a huge star after just 2 fights. In his debut, he beat John Phillips on July 16, and just 10 days after, he would step in the octagon once again to finish Rhys McKee on July 26 setting a record for the fastest consecutive wins in modern UFC history.
Jiri Prochazka
Born in Znojmo, Czech Republic, Jiri Prochazka has a very interesting story. He grew up playing soccer for the local football club and was also an active BMX rider and floorball player. During his teenage years, he started training in Muay Thai and went on to become a Czech national champ in 2011 before he fully committed to MMA.
Prochazka came into the UFC as a RIZIN 205 lbs champ and in his debut, he demolished Volan Oezdemir. Bear in mind that Oezdemir was a top 5 fighter in a division at the time which shows you how talented Prochazka is. The biggest moment came when he knocked out Dominick Reyes with the brutal spinning back elbow which secured him a shot at the title.
