The 9 Most Jacked Fighters In UFC History

The UFC has been home to a ton of impressively athletic freaks of nature since it held its first event more than 30 years ago, and it’s hard not to be in awe of most of the fighters who step into the Octagon thanks to the amount of work they put in to transform their bodies into MMA machines.

Most people can only dream of reaching the level of fitness you need in order to hold your own in a UFC match, and it’s a bit hard for fighters to stand out from the rest of the pack as far as their physique is concerned when you consider the almost laughable standard that’s been set.

With that said, there are more than a few people who’ve managed to do exactly that with the help of the muscle they’ve packed on in their quest to dominate anyone they face off against—including the guys who comprised the list of the most jacked fighters in UFC history.

Alistair Overeem

There’s a reason Alistair Overeem earned the nickname “Ubereem,” as the heavyweight was around as close to the Nietzschean ideal of the “Superman” as you can be when it came to his physical form.

Overeem tended to favor his legs when it came to handling business in the cage, but he was an incredibly well-rounded fighter who was usually rocking around 250 pounds on his 6’4″ frame during his time in the UFC.

He finished his pro career with a 47-19 record, with 25 of those victories coming via knockout and another 17 by submission.

Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar was a college wrestler who eventually took his talents to the WWE, and he won five of his first six fights after making his UFC debut in 2007 (around a year before he beat Randy Couture to secure the Heavyweight Championship belt).

Lesnar’s torso was simply a sight to behold thanks to his massive back and the absurd traps that may or may not have been made possible with the help of the performance-enhancing drugs linked to the banned substance that led to him being suspended after his fight with Mark Hunt at UFC 200.

Lesnar used his size to his advantage (he’s 6’3″ and tended to weigh in at around 265 pounds), but it also had the potential to be a hindrance during a relatively short-lived UFC career where he posted a 5-3 record.

Yoel Romero

A good chunk of the guys on this list are known for what they achieved in the heavyweight division, but Yoel Romero is a notable exception.

The 5’10” Cuban with a wrestling background competed at light heavyweight before making his UFC debut while debuting as a middleweight at 185 pounds in 2013 (a KO victory over Clifford Starks that marked the start of an eight-bout winning streak).

Romero may have built his skills on a foundation of wrestling, but he tended to use the muscle he managed to pack on to take care of business with his striking game; he went 16-7 during his MMA career, with 13 of those wins coming via knockout.

Francis Ngannou

You really only need to take a look at Francis Ngannou to know you do not want to take a punch from a man with a reputation for being one of the hardest hitters to ever step into the Octagon.

Ngannou stands at 6’4″ and usually competed at close to 260 pounds during a UFC career that kicked off in 2015 with a win over Luis Henrique—the first of six in a row on that particular circuit.

The heavyweight who now competes in the PFL likes to get things done with his fists more often than not (Overeem learned that the hard way in 2017); he’s gone 18-3 with 13 knockouts, and all of those KOs can be attributed to punches.

Anthony Johnson

Anthony Johnson started his MMA career as a 6’2″ welterweight, but he slowly but surely bulked up over the years before spending the bulk of his UFC career as a light heavyweight (he had a single fight as a standalone heavyweight in 2013).

Johnson went 23-6 as a pro before passing away in 2022 at the age of 38 following a battle with cancer and also tended to prioritize his striking despite coming from a wrestling background; 17 of his wins were knockouts, and while he threw some head kicks into the mix to secure them, punches were the most common culprit.

Kamaru Usman

Kamaru Usman is a member of a fairly rare breed that can check both the “Jacked” and “Shredded” boxes—a lethal combination that played a big role in his lengthy stretch of dominance in the UFC.

Usman made his UFC debut in 2015 and was 20-1 as a pro MMA fighter before dropping to 20-4 thanks to losses in his last three fights (the most recent of which saw the 6’0″ Nigerian Nightmare fight as a middleweight for the first time at 185 pounds).

The 37-year-old’s best years may be behind him, but he certainly put his physique to good use during his prime.

Vitor Belfort

Vitor Belfort was a UFC O.G. who earned two wins at the promotion’s 12th event all the way back in 1997; the 6’0″ Brazilian initially competed as a heavyweight but tended to gravitate toward the light heavyweight and middleweight divisons over the course of his lengthy career.

Belfort transformed into a specimen with the help of the testosterone replacement therapy that was eventually banned by the UFC in 2014 after it was outlawed by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, and it had a noticeable impact on his physique.

He went 2-4 in MMA fights after that development (although he was already entering the twilight of his career at that point) and retired with a 26-14 record after leaving his gloves in the ring in the wake of a loss to Lyoto Machida in 2018.

Sage Northcutt

Sage Northcutt probably falls closer to the end of the “Shredded” side of the spectrum than the “Jacked” one, but he still deserves some credit where credit is due on that second front.

The 6’0″ Northcutt was 5-0 as an MMA pro when he made his UFC debut as a 160 lb. catchweight in 2015 but quickly started to bulk up and had gone up to 180 by the time he faced off against Cody Pfister as a lightweight just a few months later.

The 29-year-old signed with PFL at the end of 2024 and is currently 12-3 in the cage as he nears the second anniversary of his most recent fight.

Cheick Kongo

Cheick Kongo had an MMA career spanning more than two decades that included lengthy stints in Bellator in the UFC, with his debut in the latter coming in 2006.

He never really came close to superstar status, but the 6’4″, 240 lb. heavyweight was a sight to behold when he was clicking on all cylinders; around half of the wins he secured while going 31-12 as a pro came courtesy of the punches, elbows, and knees you really wanted to avoid when you were facing off against him.