Draft:Joanderson Brito

Niklas Stolze (born December 28, 1992) is a German mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Background
Stolze began his career in combat jiu-jitsu at the age of 15, then switched to kickboxing two years later through his coach Sascha Poppendieck. But the goal was always MMA, deciding in 2014 to pursue a career as an MMA professional. On top of MMA, Stolze also completed training as a welder.

He is the first East German to be signed to the UFC.

Early career
Stolze spent most of his pre-UFC career fighting on the European regional scene, compiling a 12–3 record, with two of his losses coming the way of unanimous decision at BAMMA, losing to Terry Brazier at BAMMA 27 and Chris Stringer at BAMMA 30.

Ultimate Fighting Championship
Stolze made his UFC debut, as a replacement for Shavkat Rakhmonov, against Ramazan Emeev on July 26, 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till. Stolze lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Stolze was scheduled to face Mounir Lazzez on July 31, 2021 at UFC on ESPN: Hall vs. Strickland. However, Lazzez pulled out just a few days before the event due to visa issues and was replaced by Jared Gooden. He lost the fight via knockout in round one.

Stolze faced Benoît Saint-Denis on June 4, 2022 at UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Rozenstruik.