Because UFC fans love nothing more than active fighters. What we don’t like is that our favorite fighters never fight. So we ask the question: what is the most inactive division in the UFC numerically?
We look at the official UFC rankings and find the most inactive division according to the statistics. We give each division a ‘marker’ for each fighter in the top 15 who hasn’t had a fight since 2024.
The most inactive division in the UFC by numbers
Most active
Congratulations to all the ranked middleweight and strawweight fighters. Every fighter currently ranked in the top 15 at 185 and 115 pounds has competed in 2025, with several competing regularly.
The most impressive thing is that Reinier de Ridder will appear at the start for the fourth time this year on October 18.
Mid level
The men’s bantamweight division has only one fighter who hasn’t competed in 2024: Marlon Vera. Like De Ridder, he will compete on October 18 and remove men’s bantamweight from the list of inactive divisions.
The Flyweight, Featherweight, Lightweight, Welterweight and Light Heavyweight divisions all have two fighters in the top 15 who have not competed in 2025.
At flyweight, Amir Albazi and Alex Perez are the two fighters yet to compete this year. Albazi was scheduled to compete in August, but suffered an injury and had to withdraw. Perez was also scheduled for August, but had to withdraw. He will face Asu Almabayev in November.
At featherweight, Movsar Evloev and Arnold Allen have yet to make the octagon walk in 2025. Evloev was booked against Aaron Pico in July, but was replaced by Lerone Murphy. Allen has not been in action since July 2024, when he returned to winning ways against Giga Chikadze.
The lightweight division only features two fighters yet to compete in 2025: Dan Hooker and Arman Tsarukyan. Luckily, these two men will meet in November in the main event of UFC Qatar.
The light heavyweight division is strong right now. Champion Alex Pereira has plenty of competition at the top of the division. Only two fighters have not competed since 2024. Aleksandar Rakic last competed in October 2024, extending his losing streak to three in a row. However, he will return to action at UFC 321. Former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir will compete for the first time since 2024 on November 22.
The welterweight division is the most concerning division in the mid-range. While there are only two ‘inactive’ fighters, they are not booked and don’t appear to be anywhere near the competition. Shavkat Rakhmonov and Colby Covington are the two we haven’t seen making the walk in 2025. Worryingly, Rakhmonov has only had two fights since March 2023. Although he has suffered from injuries, it is frustrating. He’s 19-0 with 18 finishes and potentially the best welterweight in the world, but we won’t know if he can’t make the cut.
Covington was once one of the most talked-about fighters on the entire roster. His decline has been rapid, but he has only competed twice since March 2022.
Inactive women
The women’s bantamweight and flyweight divisions are the second most inactive divisions in the UFC. Both divisions have three fighters who have been inactive since 2024.
At 135 pounds, former champion Raquel Pennington has yet to compete since losing the title in October 2024. She was scheduled to face Norma Dumont in September, but withdrew with an injury. Dumont herself has not participated since 2024, but she will make the walk on November 1.
Irene Aldana is the third women’s 135er not to compete in 2025, but after the horrific cuts she suffered last time out, it was wise for her to take some time off from the sport.
In the flyweight division, Erin Blanchfield, Maycee Barber and Casey O’Neill are yet to compete in 2025. Blanchfield bounced back from her first UFC loss last time out to defeat Rose Namajunas over five rounds. She meets Tracy Cortez in a rematch at UFC 322.
Barber was scheduled to meet Blanchfield in May, but he was not medically cleared to fight on fight night, leading to the fight being canceled. The future will look to continue her impressive form when she meets Karine Silva at UFC 322 as well.
King Casey O’Neill has had a frustrating 2025. The young Scottish-Australian burst onto the scene and after suffering back-to-back losses, she got back into the win column last time out. Injuries have kept the No. 11-ranked flyweight out of action this year, but with a clean bill of health in 2026, she could be a dangerous prospect at 125.
The most inactive division in the UFC
No surprises here, the heavyweight division is the least active. We have a champion who has been largely avoided in Tom Aspinall. He hasn’t competed for 440 days because Jon Jones is avoiding him and doesn’t want to fight for the undisputed title.
The next challenger for the title, Ciryl Gane, has also not been in action since 2024. record a Netflix movieinstead of fighting in the octagon. Disappointing to say the least. Gane and Aspinall will meet in the UFC 321 main event for the heavyweight title, hopefully getting the division back on track.
Alexander Volkov and Tai Tuivasa haven’t made the octagonal walk in 2025 either. Russia’s Volkov will also compete at UFC 321, taking on Jailton Almeida.
Tuivasa is somehow still in the heavyweight rankings, at number 11. This is despite the fact that he hasn’t competed since August 2024. Not only this, but he hasn’t won a fight since 2022 and has lost five straight fights, four of which have come via finish. Recent photos show him looking very out of shape and it seems unlikely he will make £265 anytime soon.
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