The UFC 300 pay-per-view last month was a milestone for the Ultimate Fighting Championship — the mixed martial arts promotion that launched 31 years ago and has since grown into the biggest combat sports entity in the world. The UFC was recently valued at $11.8 billion by Forbes, far outpacing the likes of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and Matchroom Boxing.

At this moment in UFC history, the man who sits on top of the company (not counting CEO and public spokesman Dana White) is Islam Makhachev, the reigning lightweight champion who will headline UFC 302 on June 1 in a title defense against Dustin Poirier. Makhachev is slotted at No. 1 in the UFC’s official pound-for-pound ranking; he is one of several Muslim fighters who is thriving not only in the UFC, but also in MMA promotions around the world, from the Professional Fighters League (PFL) to ONE Championship.

Heading into UFC 302, here’s a look at the Muslim fighters whose names appear in the promotion’s most updated rankings. In each of the eight men’s weight classes and two women’s weight classes, the top 15 contenders are ranked below the respective champions, along with a top-15 men’s and top-15 women’s pound-for-pound list.

Light Heavyweight (205 lbs.)

2. Magomed Ankalaev
The 31-year-old Russian was in something of a slump going into this year Due to a no-contest and a draw in his previous two fights, Ankalaev hadn’t been victorious since July 2022. But in January 2024, Ankalaev snapped the skid with a knockout victory over Johnny Walker at UFC Fight Night. That match was a makeup for Ankalaev and Walker’s bout in October 2023, which was ruled a no-contest after Ankalaev delivered an illegal knee strike. In the rematch, Mago finished it legally in the second round, earning Performance of the Night honors.

14. Azamat Murzakanov
The 35-year-old Russian is 13-0 with 10 stoppages as an MMA professional. His last fight was over a year ago, in April 2023, when he defeated Dustin Jacoby via decision. Murzakanov is a military veteran trained in hand-to-hand combat.

Middleweight (185 lbs.)

10. Khamzat Chimaev
The 30-year-old Russian formerly represented Sweden in competition, but now reps the United Arab Emirates. Chimaev is undefeated in pro MMA (13-0, 11 stoppages), most recently beating former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman by decision at UFC 294 in October 2023. Chimaev owns the record for the fastest turnaround between UFC victories; in July 2020, he knocked out Rhys McKee just 10 days after he’d submitted John Phillips — both wins earned Chimaev respective Performance of the Night accolades. On June 22, Chimaev will main-event the UFC Fight Night card in Saudi Arabia against former middleweight champ Robert Whittaker.

Welterweight (170 lbs.)

1. Kamaru Usman
The 37-year-old was born in Nigeria and raised in the U.S., where he was a collegiate national champion wrestler at William Penn University (NAIA) and at the University of Nebraska-Kearney (NCAA Division II). He broke onto the MMA scene as a competitor on Season 21 of the reality competition show The Ultimate Fighter; Usman won the competition and earned a UFC contract. (Kamaru’s younger brother, Mohammed, won Season 30 of The Ultimate Fighter as a heavyweight.) Usman won 15 straight fights in the UFC, including his victory for the welterweight championship in 2019 and five successful title defenses, before losing to current champ Leon Edwards in 2022.

2. Belal Muhammad
Few pro athletes have been as outspoken on the atrocities happening in Palestine than Belal “Bully” Muhammad, a Chicago native whose parents are from Palestine. Muhammad’s voice and influence could reach even farther if he walks out of UFC 304 as welterweight champion — he is set to challenge Leon Edwards for the title on July 27 in Manchester, England. The 35-year-old Muhammad is 23-3 (6 stoppages) with 1 no-contest. He and Edwards fought previously in 2021, but the bout was ruled a no-contest after an accidental eye poke rendered Muhammad unable to continue.

3. Shavkat Rakhmonov
The 29-year-old from Kazakhstan was the M-1 Global welterweight champion before coming to the UFC, where he’s built on a perfect pro record that now stands at 18-0 with 18 stoppages. Rakhmonov has won his last three fights by submission, most recently choking out Stephen Thompson at UFC 296 in December 2023.

Lightweight (155 lbs.)

Champion: Islam Makhachev
The reigning king of the UFC, Makhachev is not only head of lightweight division, he’s also ranked No. 1 on the pound-for-pound list. The 32-year-old Russian is 25-1 (16 stoppages) in pro MMA, over a career that includes stints in the UFC, M-1 Global, ProFC, and a few other promotions. His only loss was back in 2015 at UFC 192, his second bout in the company. In October 2022, Makhachev claimed the then-vacant UFC lightweight title with a submission win over Charles Oliveira at UFC 280, and has successfully defended the belt twice, in back-to-back wins over Alexander Volkanovski, who is currently ranked 7th pound-for-pound.

8. Rafael Fiziev
The 31-year-old was born in Kazakhstan and raised in Kyrgzstan, and is of Azerbaijani and Russian descent. In 2021, he announced that he’d no longer represent Kyrgzstan in competition due to the country’s discrimination against Shia Muslims. Fiziev specializes in Muay Thai; he was a bronze medalist at the 2016 world championships before turning to pro MMA, where he’s 12-3 with 9 stoppages.

Featherweight (145 lbs.)

5. Movsar Evloev
The 30-year-old Russian found his way to MMA via Greco-Roman wrestling, which helps explain why the majority of victories on his 18-0 pro record are via decision instead of knockout or submission; Evloev wins by taking his opponents to the ground and using his superior grappling skills to maintain the advantage. Evloev is 8-0 in the UFC, with all of those wins coming via decision.

Bantamweight (135 lbs.)

10. Umar Nurmagomedov
The 28-year-old Russian is undefeated as a pro in MMA, having gone 17-0 with 9 stoppages. Before MMA, he was a world champion in combat sambo. Nurmagomedov has a famous last name in the combat sports world — his cousin is UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov, and his younger brother is Bellator (MMA) lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov. At UFC Fight Night in January 2023, Umar’s knockout win over Raoni Barcelos was the Performance of the Night. On August 3, Umar is scheduled to main-event the UFC Fight Night card in the UAE against 2nd-ranked Cory Sandhagen.

Flyweight (125 lbs.)

3. Amir Albazi
“The Prince” is a 30-year-old Iraqi with a 17-1 (14 stoppages) pro MMA record. Prior to signing with the UFC, he competed in Bellator and the Bahrain-based BRAVE Combat Federation. In the ranking of contenders for UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja’s title, only two men are ahead of Albazi: Brandon Royval and Brandon Moreno. Albazi has previously had fights scheduled against each of them, but each time the fight was canceled due to injury; Royval had to pull out of their bout with a broken wrist, and Albazi was scratched from the bout with Moreno after suffering a neck injury.

6. Muhammad Mokaev
The 23-year-old was born in Russia and grew up in England. He’s undefeated as a pro in MMA, going 12-0 with 8 stoppages and 1 no-contest. In March, he defeated Alex Perez via unanimous decision, but for some reason Perez is still ranked one spot ahead of Mokaev by the UFC.

7. Manel Kape
“Starboy” converted to Islam early in 2024. The 30-year-old was born in Angola but has Portuguese nationality. Formerly a champion in the Japan-based Rizin promotion, he’s 19-6 (16 stoppages) overall and 4-2 (2 stoppages) in the UFC. In September 2023, at UFC 293, Kape’s decision victory over Felipe dos Santos was voted the Fight of the Night.

12. Tagir Ulanbekov
The 32-year-old Russian has a stellar amateur background in combat sambo, winning gold medals at the national, European and World Championships in that discipline. As an MMA professional he’s 15-2 with 9 stoppages. On June 15 at UFC Fight Night, Ulanbekov is scheduled to fight Joshua Van of the U.S.