User:Thaddeus Venture/List of current ufc fighters

This is a list of current mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters within the Zuffa, LLC. promotion, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). This article reflects an up to date listing of all known fighters under contract within the UFC.

To promote ease of understanding, fighters on this list will be separated by division, and within their division by tier. These tiers are based primarily on fightmagazine.com rankings with a small portion based on perceived prominence within the UFC (UFC win/loss record and fighter marketability). For example Stephan Bonnar (27th) may be ranked lower than Tito Ortiz (21st) by the Fight ranking system, but Ortiz's place within the organization is much more tentative than Bonnar's (who recently had his career long contract with the UFC reaffirmed).

The tiers are as follows: Undisputed Champion, No. 1 Contenders, Challengers, Gatekeepers, Prospects. The Undisputed Champion tier is reserved for those fighters who have shown continuous dominance over their division, and who are clear odds on favorites over their challengers (such as Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva). No. 1 Contenders is reserved for those fighters who have either been promised a title shot, or who are considered within one fight of a title shot (fighters such as Junior dos Santos and Josh Koscheck). Challengers are fighters who have had a considerable run of wins in the UFC and could be considered on or two fights away from being a no. 1 contender (fighters like Michael Bisping and Chris Lytle). Gatekeepers are fighters with a long history of inconsistent but high level performances and/or new talent on the rise. And lastly Prospects are fighters who are either fairly new or untested in the UFC, or fighters on the verge of getting cut from the UFC.

The Light Heavyweight Champion (Mauricio Rua) and Lightweight Champion (Frankie Edgar) are not listed as undisputed champions as they are not the clear odds on favorites over their no. 1 contenders. Fight records listed below are indicative of each fighters current stint in the UFC only.