UFC Fantasy Draft, Season 2: Which 60 UFC fighters will start 2025 the strongest?
We’re back!
For the back half of 2024, the MMA Fighting crew debuted a fun project we’d been planning for some time: a UFC Fantasy League.
Instead of fantasy MMA where you pick teams ahead of a specific event, this was more like traditional fantasy sports, drafting a team for a full season (or in our case, the final 13 events of 2024). The esteemed Alexander K. Lee became our inaugural champion — thanks in large part to drafting Khamzat Chimaev, Jon Jones, and Ilia Topuria — and it was so much fun that we wanted to run it back, so that’s exactly what we’re doing. It’s time to Fantasy Draft UFC fighters!
We’ve tweaked the rules slightly to make things a little simpler, and we’ve added a few more people to the party, but otherwise, things are the same as the first go around: every contestant drafts fighters to fill out an MMA roster, with slots in each of the 11 UFC weight classes, plus one wild card spot that can go to anyone. Each fighter earns points for their team based on the scoring criteria below, and fighters can earn points for multiple fights. This season runs through June 30, and then we’ll move on to Season 3!
SCORING CRITERIA
- +100 points for a win
- +50 points for a finish
- +50 points for a Performance of the Night or Fight of the Night bonus
- +50 points for beating an opponent in the UFC rankings
- +25 points for being in a title fight
- +25 points for being in a main event fight
Easy enough? We sure hope so.
This season Guilherme Cruz, E. Casey Leydon, and Damon Martin join the returning champion Alexander K. Lee, Mike Heck, and Jed Meshew to fill out our six-man league, and after spinning the Wheel of Justice, Lee has the first overall pick, followed by Meshew, Cruz, Leydon, Martin, and then Heck taking the wheel in this snake draft format.
So without further ado, let’s get drafting!
Round 1
Lee — Umar Nurmagomedov (bantamweight)
Based on the scoring criteria, there’s a huge premium on fighters who compete more than once and on fighters who win titles/big fights. Given that he’ll be competing for the bantamweight title in a little over a week, Nurmagomedov has a good opportunity to score major points and then get back in the cage before July.
Meshew — Tatiana Suarez (strawweight)
Do you see a theme developing? Suarez fights Zhang Weili for the strawweight title at UFC 312 next month. Granted, betting on Suarez to compete more than once in a year is risky, much less six months, but there aren’t a lot of strawweight fights booked yet and Suarez presents the biggest upside.
Cruz — Alex Pereira (light heavyweight)
The first overall pick in the 2024 draft falls to No. 3 this year, in part because he doesn’t have anything on the books at the moment. Pereira was incredibly active in 2024 so it’s possible he slows down some this year, but if he does compete it will be either a light heavyweight title defense or a shot at one of the heavyweight belts, which could be huge.
Leydon — Dricus du Plessis (middleweight)
The surprise of the draft happens on just the fourth pick as known DDP hater Casey Leydon swerves everyone by taking the middleweight champion. Du Plessis is scheduled to defend his title against Sean Strickland at UFC 312 next month, so if he does retain the title, he may get back in there against Khamzat Chimaev before International Fight Week.
Martin — Islam Makhachev (lightweight)
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Makhachev is the top pound-for-pound fighter in MMA currently and is set to make the fourth defense of his lightweight title against Arman Tsarukyan next week at UFC 311. Given his dominance, it’s hard to feel bad about selecting the P4P champ, and though he isn’t the most active, he’s got a lot of time to fit in a second bout for this fantasy season.
Heck — Ilia Topuria (featherweight)
Unsurprisingly it’s all champs or possible champs off the board in Round 1 and Heck completes that by taking the 145-pound king. Topuria delivered big points for Lee last season and while he’s not currently booked, most expect him to defend his title in a rematch against Alexander Volkanovski sometime this year.
Round 2
Heck — Payton Talbott (bantamweight)
A savvy pick from Heck here. Talbott is a popular choice for the potential breakout fighter of 2025, and he’s a massive favorite in his bout against Raoni Barcelos next weekend at UFC 311. Assuming the undefeated prospect picks up the win and avoids injury, it’s almost a certainty he’ll get back in the cage again soon.
Martin — Brandon Royval (flyweight)
The flyweight division is pretty thin of scheduled fights at the moment, so Martin swoops in and takes one of the few fighters that is booked. Royval faces Manel Kape in the main event of an APEX card on March 1, meaning Martin is at least locking in some points, and possibly a big bump if Royval gets the win and cements himself as a title challenger.
Leydon — Charles Oliveira (lightweight)
An entirely speculative choice from Leydon here. The former lightweight champion doesn’t currently have anything booked, though he’s been attached to rumors of a fight with Max Holloway and Dan Hooker. If he does compete though, you could do a lot worse than having the UFC leader in bonuses earned.
Cruz — Renato Moicano (lightweight)
Moicano takes on Beneil Dariush next weekend at UFC 311, meaning the surging lightweight has a great chance to earn double points if he can get past Dariush. Add in that a win over Dariush could put Moicano on the shortlist for a lightweight title shot and this pick has a lot of upside to it.
Meshew — Jailton Almeida (heavyweight)
Ruthless drafting here from Meshew, who snipes one of Lee’s favorite fighters right from under his nose. Almeida faces Serghei Spivac next weekend at UFC 311, and given how often he scores quick finishes, there’s a high potential for Almeida to score big points and get another bite at the apple soon.
Lee — Jean Silva (featherweight)
One good steal deserves another, I suppose. Silva is one of Meshew’s favorite up-and-comers and Lee nabs him here to fill out his featherweight spot, which is doubly helpful considering the relative lack of depth in the weight class right now. Silva faces Melsik Baghdasaryan at UFC Seattle on Feb. 22, where he’s expected to score a nice finish as he continues climbing the ranks.
Round 3
Lee — Jiri Prochazka (light heavyweight)
Now AK is just twisting the knife. Prochazka is one of Jed’s favorite fighters, so that’s two he’s sniped. It’s also a tremendous pick as Prochazka faces Jamahal Hill next weekend at UFC 311. Given his style, Prochazka is probably locked in for a bonus of some kind with a win, and may even nab Fight of the Night honors should he lose.
Meshew — Sergei Pavlovich (wild card)
Mr. Meshew learned a few lessons from Season 1; namely, that winning is the most important thing. Few heavyweights do that better than Pavlovich, and when he wins it’s with authority. His scheduled fight against Jairzinho Rozenstruik at UFC Saudi Arabia should be a quick win, setting him up for another outing in the near future. Plus, this pick has the added benefit of really monopolizing the best heavyweights out there.
Cruz — Nassourdine Imavov (middleweight)
Imavov faces former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in the main event of UFC Saudi Arabia next month, so he certainly has the potential to score big if he can keep riding his current wave of momentum.
Leydon — Tom Aspinall (heavyweight)
Another speculative pick from Mr. Leydon. If Aspinall competes, he’s obviously a good choice given all of his fights end in first-round finishes, but the question is, will he? It’s unclear how close the UFC is to making a fight between Aspinall and Jon Jones, so there is a world where the interim champion spends the next six months stuck in limbo.
Martin — Jamahal Hill (light heavyweight)
Our first head-to-head fight and it comes in the same round! Lee has Prochazka and now Martin has Hill, meaning their 205-pound fight next weekend will have double the intrigue for the MMA Fighting staff. Can the former champion get back on track? We’ll find out.
Heck — Anthony Hernandez (middleweight)
One of the least surprising picks possible. Mike Heck has a brand and that brand is supporting Arman Tsarukyan and “Fluffy” Hernandez until the cows come home. Hernandez rematches Brendan Allen at UFC Seattle next month (Hernandez won their first matchup for the LFA title in 2018) and looks poised to deliver at least one big win.
Round 4
Heck — Kayla Harrison (women’s bantamweight)
Quite possibly the most difficult weight class to draft, Heck makes the first women’s bantamweight selection and does so by taking the odds on favorite to claim the 135 title. It remains to be seen whether Harrison can actually make 135 pounds, but if she does, she’ll be a prohibitive favorite over champion Julianna Peña, whenever that fight gets booked.
Martin — Shara Magomedov (middleweight)
Another middleweight competing at UFC Saudi Arabia off the board! That event features a lot of marquee middleweight matchups, and this one appeals to Damon Martin, especially as he’s never been a big believer in Michael “Venom” Page. MVP’s move up to middleweight is certainly a risky one and “Shara Bullet” has a history of violent wins.
Leydon — Zhang Weili (strawweight)
Another head-to-head matchup! Jed drafted Tatiana Suarez in the first round and now Casey takes the defending champion in the fourth. Against anyone other than Rose Namajunas, Zhang has looked dominant, so if that continues, this will be a big win for Casey in a weaker weight class.
Cruz — Shavkat Rakhmonov (welterweight)
Many people’s choice to become the next welterweight champion whenever he gets the opportunity, the question with Rakhmonov is timing. The undefeated No. 1 contender suffered some sort of injury in his UFC 310 fight and so it’s unclear when he will actually get to face Belal Muhammad for the welterweight title.
Meshew — Macy Chiasson (women’s bantamweight)
Again, arguably the most difficult weight class to draft for, Meshew grabs Chiasson off the board, leaving not a lot of great options for everyone else. Chiasson is surging right now and faces Ketlen Vieira at UFC Seattle next month. She’s as good a pick as anyone for women’s 135 pounds.
Lee — Reiner de Ridder (middleweight)
OK, now this is starting to seem personal. AK has drafted a team almost exclusively of guys that Jed Meshew loves. Fortunately, there’s at least a good reason to do so this time around. “RDR” takes on Kevin Holland next weekend at UFC 311 in a matchup that should favor his grappling abilities. Should he get the win, “The Dutch Knight” will then be set up for a quick turnaround later this season.
Round 5
Lee — Carlos Prates (welterweight)
The reigning champion selects the reigning Rookie of the Year to kick off the fifth round of this draft. Prates doesn’t currently have anything booked, but the Fighting Nerds product competed four times in 2024 and it seems certain he’ll fight at least once this season if not multiple times.
Meshew — Austin Bashi (featherweight)
Our first selection that will be completely unknown to many. Bashi is an undefeated prospect coming off the most recent season of Contender Series where he was one of Jed’s favorite prospects. This weekend he fights Christian Rodriguez at UFC Vegas 101, and while it’s a tough test, the 23-year-old is favored to win. From there, he’ll likely step back in the cage sooner rather than later.
Cruz — Amanda Ribas (strawweight)
It took a while, but now some of the UFC Vegas 101 fighters are coming off the board. Ribas headlines this weekend’s fight card in a rematch against Mackenzie Dern. Their first fight was in 2019 and Ribas won a wide unanimous decision, so there’s a good chance history repeats itself and Ribas will get another bite at the apple soon.
Leydon — Belal Muhammad (welterweight)
Casey is really going heavy on champions and speculative picks. Muhammad was supposed to face Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310 until a toe injury forced him out of action. The injury is all healed up now for the welterweight champion and a date with Rakhmonov still looms, but nothing is official yet, and even if it does happen, that’s a big test for “Remember the Name.”
Martin — Curtis Blaydes (heavyweight)
Jed took all the good heavyweights already, but Martin snags the next best option. Blaydes takes on former PFL fighter Rizvan Kuniev at UFC Seattle next month, which probably means Martin is locking up some win points if nothing else.
Heck — Jasmine Jasudavicius (women’s flyweight)
The first women’s flyweight off the board! Jasudavicius has been on a tear lately and she hopes to keep that going against former women’s bantamweight title challenger Mayra Bueno Silva when they face off at UFC Saudi Arabia.
Round 6
Heck — Molly McCann (strawweight)
A shameless bit of genius here from Mike Heck. McCann faces Istela Nunes at UFC London in March in an almost transparent setup fight for “Meatball.” Nunes joined the UFC in 2021 and has lost four consecutive fights, three of those by stoppage. McCann seems extremely likely to make that five in a row and hand Nunes her walking papers.
Martin — Michael Morales (welterweight)
This is a very speculative pick, showing a lot of moxie. Only 25 years old, Morales broke through to the top 15 at welterweight last year and seems poised for a big 2025, but he’s not currently booked and there’s no telling who he might even get paired against next. Certainly plenty of upside here, but also a fair bit of risk.
Leydon — Carlos Ulberg (light heavyweight)
Much less risk for Casey who takes a man already booked and who will be a sizable favorite. Ulberg looks like he might be a light heavyweight title challenger sooner or later and he gets the opportunity to make his case for that when he fights former champion Jan Blachowicz at UFC London in March.
Cruz — Deiveson Figueiredo (bantamweight)
Back to the speculative picks. Figueiredo is not currently booked but Guilherme Cruz makes a savvy pick here as there are a lot of options for “Figgy Smalls” right now. Of course, there are plenty of viable bantamweight for Figueiredo to face, but there’s also some talk of the former champion dropping back down to flyweight to rematch Alexandre Pantoja. Points are points, no matter the weight class so Gui may have snuck one in here.
Meshew — Bogdan Guskov (light heavyweight)
Have we mentioned how bad light heavyweight is? Aside from being a bad weight class, there also aren’t many great fights already lined up, so Jed takes the low-hanging fruit and selects Guskov, who fights Johnny Walker next weekend at UFC 311. If Guskov wins, it’ll be by knockout, and if he loses, well, still time for another fight this season.
Lee — Joshua Van (flyweight)
Sneaky great pick from Lee here. Van fights Bruno Silva at UFC 313, and he’s a man who loves to be active. Van fought four times in 2024, so there’s a real chance he tries to make a quick turnaround again, win or lose in March.
Round 7
Lee — Jacqueline Cavalcanti (women’s bantamweight)
Not every pick can move the needle. Cavalcanti faces Julia Avila at an APEX card in February and she’s on a good run right now, going 3-0 in the UFC. Sure, those have all been decision wins, but as Dominic Toretto once said, winning is winning.
Meshew — Rei Tsuruya (flyweight)
Similarly, Jed takes a flyweight super-prospect here that fails to get anyone that excited. Tsuruya is 22 years old, undefeated, and looks like the real deal. Also, he’s scheduled to fight Stewart Nicoll at UFC 312, so there is some possibility the Japanese prospect can double dip.
Cruz — Diego Lopes (featherweight)
Lopes has an exceptional 2024, going 3-0 in the UFC with wins over Sodiq Yusuff, Dan Ige, and Brian Ortega. The Ortega win set Lopes up to potentially fight for the title, except he appears to be stuck behind Alexander Volkanovski for the moment. Will Lopes wait it out or stay busy with a matchup against Movsar Evloev? I guess we’ll find out.
Leydon — Ailin Perez (women’s bantamweight)
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Perez isn’t the most exciting choice but she’s fighting Karol Rosa at UFC 311, making her a women’s bantamweight with a fight booked and the potential for more fights to come.
Martin — Steve Garcia (featherweight)
A sneaky good pick from Damon here. Garcia is a terrific finisher and faces the aging Edson Barboza at UFC Seattle in February. Might be the steal of the seventh round.
Heck — Ronaldo Rodriguez (flyweight)
Rodriguez has a strong debut year in the UFC in 2024, picking up two wins in the flyweight division. Now he hopes to make it 3-0 when he faces Kevin Borjas at UFC Mexico City in March.
Round 8
Heck — Arman Tsarukyan (lightweight)
Mike finally did it. The rest of the group believes Islam Makhachev will successfully defend his lightweight title at UFC 311, making Tsarukyan a risky pick; but Mike is backing his boy. If Tsarukyan does win, this would be a steal of a pick from Mike so late.
Martin — Cory Sandhagen (bantamweight)
When in doubt, draft good fighters. Sandhagen does not have anything booked at the moment but he’s one of the best bantamweights in the world and has not competed since August so chances are good that he gets some sort of fight in the next six months.
Leydon — Manel Kape (flyweight)
Casey has been high on Kape since the RIZIN days and now it looks like his support might finally get paid off. Kape faces Kai Kara-France in the main event of an APEX card in March, potentially setting him up for a flyweight title shot next.
Cruz — Alexandre Pantoja (flyweight)
If Kape does get a flyweight title shot, it likely comes against this man. Pantoja is the reigning flyweight champion and has beaten just about everyone in the weight class already. He just headlined UFC 310 so he’s not booked yet, but whoever he does get paired with, Pantoja will be a solid betting favorite.
Meshew — Rafael Fiziev (lightweight)
Fiziev has not competed since September of 2023, but when active he’s one of the best lightweights in the world. Fiziev was also linked to a possible rematch with Mateusz Gamrot in February, but that seems to no longer be the case so this could be a disastrous pick for Jed.
Lee — Natalia Silva (women’s flyweight)
AK’s team is almost entirely comprised of other people’s favorite fighters. Mike Heck has been the “Natty Ice” bandwagon driver, but AK sneaks her away in the eighth round. Silva is not currently booked but she last competed in September so it’s likely she will fight soon.
Round 9
Lee — Leon Edwards (wild card)
The former welterweight champion is not currently booked but rumors continue that “Rocky” will return to the cage for the UFC’s upcoming return to London in March, potentially against Jack Della Maddalena.
Meshew — Cody Haddon (bantamweight)
Jed clearly has a plan here. Haddon is another Contender Series product that Jed was quite high on, but unlike others, this one already made his UFC debut. Haddon beat Dan Argueta in October and now faces Aleksandre Topuria at UFC 312.
Cruz — Karol Rosa (women’s bantamweight)
Another head-to-head matchup! Rosa faces Ailin Perez next week at UFC 311, making her as good a choice as any other for the thing women’s bantamweight division.
Leydon — Wang Cong (women’s flyweight)
Wang suffered a massive upset against Gabriella Fernandes in November but the UFC is clearly still high on her as she now has a favorable matchup with Bruna Brasil on deck for UFC 312.
Martin — Paddy Pimblett (wild card)
Though not officially booked yet, rumors are that Pimblett may face off with Michael Chandler, perhaps for the promotion’s return to London.
Heck — Jan Blachowicz (light heavyweight)
Blachowicz faces Carlos Ulberg at UFC London and while he will likely be an underdog, his “Legendary Polish Power” has led to more than a few upsets in his time.
Round 10
Heck — Shamil Gaziev (heavyweight)
So this is what it’s come to. Gaziev faces Thomas Petersen in a heavyweight matchup at UFC Saudi Arabia that everyone will probably forget as soon as it ends.
Martin — Virna Jandiroba (strawweight)
Jandiroba appears next in line for a strawweight title shot, but the question is will she get it? If Zhang Weili beats Tatiana Suarez maybe, but if Suarez wins, Jandiroba could be stuck waiting for a rematch to go down.
Leydon — Merab Dvalishvili (bantamweight)
Talk about no respect. The reigning men’s bantamweight champion defends his title next weekend and no one was willing to take a flyer on him until the tenth round. Dvalishvili has an uphill task against Umar Nurmagomedov, but if he wins, this will be the best pick of the entire draft.
Cruz — Gregory Rodrigues (wild card)
“Robocop” has a big opportunity to jump into the rankings when he takes on former middleweight title challenger Jared Cannonier in the main event of a Fight Night card next month.
Meshew — Valentina Shevchenko (women’s flyweight)
Extremely risky pick given how infrequently Shevchenko’s competed the past few years, but she is the 125-pound champion and has a reasonable matchup against Manon Fiorot next.
Lee — Terrance McKinney (lightweight)
McKinney is a boom-or-bust pick as he delivers epic finishes or gets epically finished every time out. Hopefully, for AK it’s the former when he takes on Damir Hadzovic at UFC Saudi Arabia.
Round 11
Lee — Amanda Lemos (strawweight)
For his penultimate pick, AK takes the former strawweight title challenger who faces Iasmin Lucindo at UFC 313 in March.
Meshew — Jacobe Smith (welterweight)
Again, Jed stays on brand by taking a Contender Series product fighting this weekend against Preston Parsons.
Cruz — Luana Carolina (women’s flyweight)
Carolina is on a pretty good run right now, having won three in a row inside the octagon. She looks to make it four in a row when she faces Montana de la Rosa at a Fight Night event on March 1.
Leydon — Bryce Mitchell (featherweight)
Mitchell defeated Kron Gracie at UFC 310 to get back on the winning track, but the Top-15 featherweight is not currently booked for anything.
Martin — Norma Dumont (women’s bantamweight)
Undefeated over her past five bouts, Dumont is suddenly a player in the bantamweight division, though she is not currently booked.
Heck — Sean Brady (welterweight)
You’ll notice as the draft nears its end, the picks are getting much more speculative. Brady is one of those as he has nothing booked for the moment, but since he is a Top-10 welterweight, his next fight will likely be a big one.
Round 12
Heck — Youssef Zalal (wild card)
“The Moroccan Devil” is undefeated since returning to the UFC, with two Performance Bonuses to his name. He faces Calvin Kattar at an APEX card on Feb. 15.
Martin — Manon Fiorot (women’s flyweight)
The woman who ostensibly will challenge Valentina Shevchenko for the flyweight title next, Fiorot is 7-0 inside the UFC.
Leydon — Zhang Mingyang (wild card)
“Mountain Tiger” is 2-0 with two first-round finishes and two Performance Bonuses in his short UFC tenure. He’s not booked, but should he fight, there’s a lot of upside.
Cruz — Jhonata Diniz (heavyweight)
The former Glory kickboxer suffered his first MMA defeat against Marcin Tybura at UFC 309 but looks to rebound with a win over Vitor Petrino at UFC 313 in March.
Meshew — Israel Adesanya (middleweight)
It’s not every day you get a former champion in the final round of the draft. Adesanya faces Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Saudi Arabia in what looks to be a favorable matchup, at least on paper.
Lee — Jon Jones (heavyweight)
It’s really not every day that you get *puts on Dana White voice* THE GREATEST FIGHTER WHO EVER WAS OR WILL BE AND THE POUND-FOR-POUND GOD OF FIGHTING!! Jon Jones was arguably the MVP of AK’s league-winning team in Season 1 and he trusts the heavyweight champion once more, but this time as Mr. Irrelevant.
And there you have it! The second MMA Fighting UFC Fantasy Draft is in the books! Fewer notable names were left off this time around, though a few still were (Julianna Peña was the only champion not drafted). Who got snubbed and which picks were reaches? Let us know in the comments, and we’ll see you in July with the results and the next season.
Final Draft Results: