5 best strikers in the UFC right now

#2. Israel Adesanya – UFC middleweight champion

Israel Adesanya has blossomed into one of the most entertaining and talented fighters on the UFC roster since making his promotional debut in 2018.

'The Last Stylebender' accrued a professional kickboxing record of 75-5, winning multiple titles at promotions like Glory and King in the Ring. He made his MMA debut in 2012 and improved his record to 11-0 before signing with the UFC.

Since joining the world's premier MMA organization, Adesanya has become the middleweight champion and has defended his belt four times.

With his TKO victory over Paulo Costa in 2020, Israel Adesanya picked up the 100th victory of his professional combat sports career, having secured wins in kickboxing and boxing prior to committing to MMA.

He picked up the 101st win of his professional career after putting on a striking clinic against Marvin Vettori last year. In his most recent outing, he put on a striking clinic against Robert Whittaker. He is one of the most decorated combat sports athletes on the planet today.

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#1. Valentina Shevchenko – UFC women's flyweight champion

Valentina Shevchenko has established herself as one of the best fighters in the UFC in recent years, irrespective of gender. The lifelong martial artist has enjoyed an incredible career so far. She is one of the most dominant champions in the UFC, having defended her flyweight title six times.

Shevchenko spent almost half her UFC career competing at bantamweight before dropping down to the 125 lbs division. Despite clearly being undersized, ‘Bullet’ emerged as one of the best fighters in the bantamweight division, picking up wins over Holly Holm and Julianna Pena.

Shevchenko’s impressive bantamweight run pre-dated the promotion’s flyweight division altogether. When the division was eventually created, she secured a title shot with a win over Priscila Cachoeira and beat Joanna Jedrzejczyk to become the new champion. She has been defending her 125 lbs title ever since.

In her first title defense, Shevchenko took on Jessica Eye. She repeatedly kicked Eye's body throughout the first round and the damage to the midsection was clearly mounting. In the second round, the champion landed a few more body kicks before throwing a perfectly placed head kick.

With Eye anticipating another blow to her body, she dropped her hands, which was the last conscious action she took in the fight.

Valentina Shevchenko's win over Jessica Eye set the tone for the Kyrgyzstani phenom's championship reign. She went on to defend the title against Liz Carmouche, Katlyn Chookagian, Jennifer Maia, Jessica Andrade and Lauren Murphy.

'Bullet' is still the champion at 125 lbs and her stunning head-kick KO victory over Eye remains the most resounding win of her reign so far.

Watch a compilation of Valentina Shevchenko's performances below: