Top 7 UFC Muay Thai Fighters Over The Years

As the premier combat sports promotion, UFC encompasses and houses a diverse range of combat styles that have achieved success. While not style-oriented bracket fighting or those like ONE FC, many singular techniques have found their fame in UFC. Depending on the fighters themselves, their shot selections, and how they ended up winning it, here are the Top 7 UFC Muay Thai fighters, many of whom have even realized UFC undisputed gold.

The UFC has an abundance of fighters whose origin is Muay Thai, a combat sport originating from Thailand that involves a combination of martial arts, close-body clinching, and kicking. To defeat opponents, it is essential to use striking and grappling/clinch moves inside the octagon.

Fighters like ex-UFC lightweight Paul Felder, GOAT Jon Jones, the Brazilian-American deep striker Edson Barboza, and Anderson Silva have utilized the martial art to great effect. Here is a brief look at some of the most triumphant Muay Thai fighters.

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#7 Leon Edwards

One does not range-check and then go ‘headshot, dead’ unless with absolute prowess. A former BAMMA welterweight Champ, the Englishman studied Muay Thai early on, and the results showed. Leon Edwards is and has always been a prolific striker.

Edwards’s eight-second KO of Seth Baczynski at UFC Fight Night 64 is the third-fastest finish logged in UFC 170lbs competition history. Jorge Masvidal and his 5-second jumping knee KO of Ben Askren is still the highest and quite a KO. ‘Rocky’ has a stout 7-0 (T)KO stat to his name as of yet. His southpaw shift also helps to accentuate short but apt striking while routinely shifting onto his target.

#6 Petr Yan

Close-body clinching, pulling opponents to pockets and tripping them for strikes/kicks, closelining them for ground-and-pound; if it quacks like Muay Thai, it probably is. Petr Yan is not only a good striker, one of the best boxers, but also worthy of the top 7 best UFC Muay Thai fighters spot.

Yan primarily trained in ITF taekwondo and boxing for nearly a decade. But the Team BK Arkhangel Mikhail bantamweight has tailored a top-notch switch striking method that helps accentuate better angles and hits.

#5 Valentina Shevchenko

While other gold-dreaming names are getting there, Valentina Shevchenko is already in her second reign. Her skills have put her there, and she deserves her stripes as one of the Top 7 UFC Muay Thai fighters.

The #1 Women’s Pound-for-pound fighter, Shevchenko, while known for her WFCA and K1 kickboxing days, also learned Muay Thai. 2003-2015, Shevchenko bagged a total of 90 amateur/pro matches in K-1, Muay Thai, and kickboxing. Eight came in the way of technical knockout. Two were won by knockouts.

During her IFMA World and  IMFA Royal World Cup competition run, Valentina Shevchenko won 8 medals in Muay Thai till 2014. The competition southpaw trains out of Team Tiger Muay Thai (TMT) to hone her clinch-style and striking.

#4 Rafael Fiziev

Much like the Kyrgyz two-time flyweight champ, Azerbaijani Rafael Fiziev is characterized as a Muay Thai fighter; one of the top 7 or even top 5 UFC Muay Thai fighters in fact. ‘Ataman’, also out of Tiger Muay Thai, took up the sport at just age 11 to stop getting bullied!

His KOs in the sport (Phakhow Darbphong 191) often got wide attention. A part of the Toyota Marathon Muay Thai tournament (—154 lb bracket), Rafael Fiziev dropped a few decision losses, but his closing distance, acute striking, and lean back defensive measures went viral. Many YouTube handles still play snippets of the UFC lightweight and his early career. He had a few knockouts in Muay Xtreme as well.

A 2016 Jönköping (−71 kg bracket; B class) fighter, his last pro foray into it was vs. Leyton Collimore at Phoenix FC 3, London, which he won. Fiziev is currently ranked #10 in the UFC lightweight rankings and is known for his striking.

#3 Khalil Rountree Jr.

The prime reason why this makes the list above someone like Fiziev is because of how good he has been with it. Khalil Rountree Jr., a recent UFC LHW title challenger, even gave a striker like Alex Pereira a run for his money before a bloody fourth-round TKO. He studied the sport early on and wanted to model himself after Wanderlei Silva, but took to solely martial arts.

The current No.4-ranked UFC light heavyweight, ‘Warhorse,’ primarily had an MMA background. But ahead of his UFC 236 fight against Eryk Anders, Khalil Rountree switched it up and started learning in Thailand. He has gone 6-3 since then, got a top shot while ranked #8 or so, and has showcased a good mix of clinch-fighting, heavy striking like none other.

Rountree vibes around understanding the opponent at length. But, unlike the usual techniques of clinch-fighting, the 6’1″ fighter with a 76.5″ reach separates for big hands at range, hammerfists, and Muay Thai elbows that is quite a demolisher. In his short time, the 35-year-old has made sure to be a part of the Top 7 UFC Muay Thai fighters list. His 4 knockdowns logged at UFC 236 are the single-fight record for a UFC LHW bout.

#2 Anderson Silva

Anderson Silva is a blast from the past. While primarily known as a heavy-handed middleweight striker/boxer and someone who sensationalized the front kick, ‘The Spider’ also knew Muay Thai.

Along with capoeira, Silva started Muay Thai as a teen and hardcore MMA enthusiasts often remember him incorporating it early on. Silva’s use of accessorizing his palm, feet, and elbows in snappy bursts and clinch-fighting techniques gave way to some of the best striking in MMA. Much like Silva, the legacy of his wins is here to stay.

#1 Jon Jones

Consensus GOAT for a reason, ‘Bones’ isn’t a typical fighter. Think of how Rountree takes his clinch-fighting, scouts out openings, and separates for big ones. Well… Jon Jones would do much the same, but with a piercing effect and ginormous 84.5″ reach. Jones would systematically use his skills to break down the opposition fighter and flip with a clinch-fight, distancing, and something like a low kick or a spinning kick combo!

While starting out as an NHSCA Senior All‑American, the fighter soon took to other skills, and Muay Thai was one. He has showcased his skills many times, and it saved his hide in the biggest of instances; Jones has never been finished or outscored in a UFC fight. Jones is famous for his shot selections and justifiably makes the top spot in a Top 7 UFC Muay Thai fighters list.