Islam Makhachev hasn’t LOST in 11 YEARS 😳 But he’s not the only UFC champion riding a crazy unbeaten run. Carlos Ulberg and Ciryl Gane are both past five years, while Petr Yan, Alexander Volkanovski, Justin Gaethje, Joshua Van and Sean Strickland are all building streaks of their own. Eight champions. Eight different runs 🔥 [ h/t @redcorner.mma ]
Islam Makhachev has not lost a fight in 11 years, and he is far from the only UFC champion carrying a long unbeaten run. A look at the current title picture shows eight champions, each building a streak of their own.
Makhachev, 34, is the headline name. The Russian southpaw trains out of Eagles MMA and holds a 29-1 record as welterweight champion. His grappling remains his calling card, with 3.22 takedowns per 15 minutes and 0.9 submission attempts per 15 minutes. He also lands 2.27 significant strikes per minute at 58 percent accuracy.
Carlos Ulberg and Ciryl Gane are both past the five-year mark without a defeat. Ulberg, 35, is the light heavyweight champion out of City Kickboxing in New Zealand. He stands six-foot-four with a 77-inch reach, carries a 15-1 record, and is the volume leader in this group, landing 6.54 significant strikes per minute at 55 percent accuracy.
Gane, 36, is the top-ranked heavyweight at 14-2. The Frenchman from MMA Factory is also six-foot-four, with an even longer 81-inch reach. He lands 5.29 significant strikes per minute at 61 percent accuracy, the best accuracy of the three.
Petr Yan, Alexander Volkanovski, Justin Gaethje, Joshua Van and Sean Strickland round out the list. Each is building a streak that has not yet reached the length of the three men above.
Why it matters
- Long unbeaten runs across eight champions point to unusual stability at the top of several divisions.
- Makhachev's 11-year stretch is the longest of the group, with Ulberg and Gane both beyond five years.
- Any of these streaks could end the next time a champion defends or a contender gets a title shot.
