5 most durable fighters in the UFC

Talent and skill are invaluable assets a fighter can hope to possess in the UFC. However, in the world’s premier MMA promotion, fighters need a little more if they are to reach the upper echelons of the sport. Intangibles like durability and heart are crucial factors that determine how far a fighter can go in his/her career.

Some of the greatest fighters to have competed in the UFC were insanely durable. Legends like Jon Jones, Demetrious Johnson and Khabib Nurmagomedov have absorbed powerful blows from skilled strikers on numerous occasions in the past, but had the innate will to keep fighting.

The following quote from the movie Rocky Balboa sums up exactly what we mean:

That said, we thought we’d rank the five most durable fighters in the UFC right now. Honorable mentions include Jiri Prochazka, Dustin Poirier, Alexander Volkanovski, Cory Sandhagen and Pedro Munhoz.

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#5. Nate Diaz – UFC welterweight

Nate Diaz doesn't really lose fights. He just runs out of time.

At UFC 202, Nate Diaz took on Conor McGregor in a highly anticipated rematch. Diaz choked out 'The Notorious' in their first bout and the Irishman was eager to redeem himself. McGregor dominated Diaz in the opening three rounds, knocking him down to the canvas several times with his infamous left straight.

Nevertheless, Diaz survived and swarmed McGregor in the last two rounds. The Irishman came away with a majority-decision victory and acknowledged Diaz's durability in his post-fight interview. He told Joe Rogan:

"He [Diaz] took them better than I expected. He didn't show, he didn't let me know [that he was hurt]. In the first three rounds, I proved the class difference. I was [on] another level to him. And then that toughness and that durability that he has crept back in the later rounds but I'm still happy to come away with the win. Hell of a fight! He's a hell of a competitor. [He] brought out the best in me."

Watch Diaz and McGregor's post-fight interviews below:

At UFC 263 earlier this year, Diaz took on rising welterweight contender Leon Edwards. Edwards was a sizeable betting favorite going into the bout and the first four and a half rounds showed why. The Brit picked apart Diaz for 24 minutes straight and appeared to be cruising to a comfortable unanimous decision victory.

However, Diaz baited Edwards into over-extending on a punch and caught the Englishman with a slick left cross. Edwards was noticeably stunned as he stumbled around the octagon to evade additional strikes from the Californian. He managed to survive and came away with a decision victory.

Legendary MMA trainer Firas Zahabi, following Nate Diaz's fight with Leon Edwards, gave his take on the UFC star's toughness during a Q&A on the Tristar Gym YouTube channel. He said:

“If you put [Nate Diaz] in a fight where there is no time limit, I think he beats 99 percent of fighters. You can’t sub him. You can’t finish him. The guy doesn’t stop walking forward. He puts volume on you. He is the scariest, in my opinion, street fighter in MMA."

#4. Brian Ortega – UFC featherweight

Brian Ortega is among the best fighters in the UFC at 145 lbs. The former two-time title challenger has never been properly finished in his professional career. Sure, he has a TKO loss to Max Holloway on paper, but that instance was a doctor stoppage in-between rounds rather than a fight-ending sequence.

The Californian, during his ascent up the UFC featherweight division rankings, developed a reputation for taking a lot of damage early on in his fights. In his wins over Thiago Tavares, Diego Brandao, Clay Guida and Renato Moicano, Ortega consistently lost the first two rounds before finding a finish in the third.

It was his two championship fights, however, that added to the legend of Ortega’s toughness and durability. In his first attempt at gold, ‘T-City’ took on then-champion Max Holloway for the title. Holloway overwhelmed Ortega with his volume-striking throughout the bout, but the latter stayed on his feet and fired back as often as he could.

Holloway landed 290 strikes during the bout. After the fourth round, the doctor called off the fight after noticing that Ortega’s eye was almost sealed shut from all the swelling on his face.

Earlier this year, Brian Ortega took on reigning featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski in the main event of UFC 266 in Las Vegas. Unfortunately for ‘T-City’, he suffered a similar fate this time around as well, taking a ton of damage throughout the bout. He lost via unanimous decision but showed tremendous heart on the night.

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#3. Marvin Vettori – UFC middleweight

Marvin Vettori has emerged as one of the best middleweights in the UFC over the last year or so. ‘The Italian Dream’ is as durable as they come and his performances in the octagon are testament to this notion. He has never been finished in his professional career and all of the losses on his record so far have come by way of decision.

Vettori has fought reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya twice, coming out on the wrong side of a decision on both occasions.

Adesanya is one of the most technical and masterful strikers in the sport. His KO/TKO victories over the likes of Derek Brunson, Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa are perfect examples of ‘The Last Stylebender’s finishing ability. The fact that he struggled to put away Marvin Vettori says a lot about the latter’s toughness.

Vettori took on Paulo Costa at UFC Vegas 41 earlier this year. He bagged a unanimous decision victory but absorbed a ton of heavy blows from Costa in the fight, including a perfectly placed head kick and a series of thunderous body shots.

Check out some of the heavy blows Vettori absorbed against Costa in the video below:

Michael Bisping recently heaped praise on Vettori, saying the Italian would’ve been the champion at 185 lbs if it wasn’t for Israel Adesanya. The former UFC middleweight champion lauded the 28-year-old for taking heavy strikes from the powerful Costa and continuing to move forward. ‘The Count’, in a Q&A session on his YouTube channel, said:

“That fight he [Vettori] had against Paulo Costa was sensational. I called that fight, I was right there, he won that fight fair and square but Paulo Costa had a lot of success and some of the shots that Marvin ate, some of those kicks and punches and the power that Costa has, Marvin took every single f***ing one of them. Never took a backwards step and fired right back every single time. It was a really inspiring performance. I was already a fan but after that I was like wow, this guy is incredible, man.”

#2. Kamaru Usman – UFC welterweight champion

Kamaru Usman is one of the most dominant champions in the UFC. ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ is also considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world at the moment.

Usman is extremely well-rounded. His background in wrestling, coupled with his undeniable improvements in the striking realm, makes him a terrifying matchup for almost every fighter at 170 lbs. However, an underrated facet of Usman’s game is his granite chin.

He has shared the octagon with the likes of Jorge Masvidal (twice), Gilbert Burns and Tyron Woodley, all of whom possess one-punch knockout power. Usman was noticeably stunned after absorbing strikes from Masvidal and Burns in the first round of their respective bouts. However, his ability to reset and stay composed saw him weather the early storm and find the finish in the second round of both championship bouts.

At UFC 268, Kamaru Usman took on Colby Covington in a highly anticipated grudge match. Notably, in the fourth round of the bout, Covington landed a series of hooks that wobbled the champion. ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ managed to recover and make it to the fifth round before eventually securing a unanimous decision victory.

Chael Sonnen, following Usman’s victory over Covington at UFC 268, praised the former’s ability to recover in the fight. In a video posted to his YouTube channel, Sonnen said:

“Kamaru Usman is as close to a perfect fighter as there has ever been. And Kamaru Usman’s ability to reset in the moment, to be hurt, to get hit, to get frustrated… You can see what happens. You could read Kamaru’s face like a poker player. You can see when he resets, as if that [him getting wobbled] never happened. He gets hit with a hook, he’s hurt, his legs stumble, [and] Kamaru will reset and it's nowhere in his mind.”

Watch Chael Sonnen discuss Kamaru Usman’s durability in the video below:

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#1. Max Holloway – Former UFC featherweight champion

Max Holloway has been in some grueling wars during his time in the UFC. He is one of the best strikers in the history of the sport, having captured numerous striking records during his time in the promotion.

Holloway relies on his ability to drown his opponents in punches, considering he doesn’t possess a lot of power in his strikes. Hence, the Hawaiian often takes quite a bit of damage in his fights.

At UFC 236 in 2019, Holloway took on Dustin Poirier for the interim UFC lightweight title. ‘Blessed’ struggled against the power of ‘The Diamond’ despite out-striking the latter throughout the bout.

Poirier is one of the more powerful lightweights in the UFC. The Lousianan has KO/TKO victories over the likes of Eddie Alvarez, Justin Gaethje and Conor McGregor, all of whom succumbed to his power. However, Holloway didn’t even get knocked down by Poirier and managed to make it an extremely close fight despite the obvious power discrepancy.

Poirier came away with a unanimous decision victory while Holloway further solidified his status as one of the toughest fighters in the world.

At UFC Vegas 42 earlier this year, Max Holloway took on Yair Rodriguez in the main event. Holloway landed 230 significant strikes but also absorbed 159 strikes from 'El Pantera' in return. The Mexican fighter presented a tough challenge for ‘Blessed’, taking the fight to the Hawaiian at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Both fighters took a ton of damage in the fight. Holloway came away with a unanimous decision victory and heaped praise on his Mexican counterpart after the bout.

Alexander Volkanovski, who has fought Holloway twice, recently expressed his opinion on the Hawaiian’s famed toughness and ability to absorb shots. The Australian questioned the longevity of Holloway's seemingly unbreakable chin. Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Alexander Volkanovski said:

"Man, Max eats a lot of shots! He's a volume striker but he's happy to eat one and give a couple but how long can that last? I feel like I say this every time that he's got a great chin... but man, I'm telling you that chin's going to go soon. It is going to go soon. You can not [absorb] that kind of damage. Yeah, they're talking about 3000 strikes, which is incredible but he's probably in thousands or two thousands of absorption as well!"