5 best strikers in the UFC right now

#4. Ciryl Gane – former UFC interim heavyweight champion

Ciryl Gane was a lethal striker long before he joined the UFC. He made his professional Muay Thai debut in 2014 and amassed a 13-0 record over the next four years. This included 9 KO/TKO victories before transitioning to MMA under the tutelage of Fernand Lopez.

‘Bon Gamin’ put together a dominant 3-0 run in Canada’s premier MMA promotion, TKO Major League MMA, before signing with the UFC in 2019. The Frenchman went on a six-fight win streak upon joining the UFC, including victories over Junior dos Santos, Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Alexander Volkov.

Gane represents a new breed of heavyweights taking over the sport. The undefeated Frenchman incorporates a Muay Thai-style form of striking with agile movement on the feet. He moves like a welterweight, constantly on his toes as if he’s skipping rope. All of his opponents have had trouble landing punches on him, largely thanks to his unorthodox movement.

Gane’s phenomenal win streak earned him a shot at interim gold against Derrick Lewis at UFC 265. He secured a dominant TKO win on the night.

Watch a compilation of his incredible performances below:

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#3. Petr Yan – UFC interim bantamweight champion

You’d be hard-pressed to find a challenging stylistic matchup for Petr Yan at 135 lbs. ‘No Mercy’ is an intimidating figure atop the pecking order in the bantamweight division. The rest of the fighters in the weight class will have their work cut out for them when they eventually square off against the formidable Russian.

Barring a disqualification-loss to Aljamain Sterling in 2021, Yan’s professional record is near-perfect. He has beaten the likes of Jimmie Rivera, Urijah Faber, Jose Aldo and Cory Sandhagen in his most recent octagon outings and has emerged as one of the best strikers in MMA.

Petr Yan, who sometimes trains at renowned MMA gym American Top Team, has earned plaudits from ATT members Dustin Poirier and Jorge Masvidal. Both Poirier and Masvidal, who are excellent strikers in their own right, claim 'No Mercy' is among the best stand-up fighters in the sport.

Jorge Masvidal, during a recent appearance on the Punchin' In podcast, hailed Yan's fight IQ and praised the Russian's mental fortitude. Masvidal believes Yan is one of the most complete fighters in the sport.

'Gamebred' said:

"Petr is one of my favorite guys, period. [I like to] watch fights since his first fights in the UFC... I love this guy. A computer, a cold-blooded computer. Can wrestle, can strike, can grapple, great gas and he's mentally tough as it gets. You're not breaking that guy bro. Anybody can get caught but that guy is not breaking."

Check out Masvidal's comments here:

Watch a compilation of Petr Yan's performances below: