10 Best Countries for MMA, Ranked

Highlights

• City Kickboxing in New Zealand shines as one of the best MMA gyms with top-ranked UFC contenders like Israel Adesanya.
• Moldova, a hidden gem, boasts impressive pound-for-pound MMA talent like Serghei Spivac, Alexandr Romanov, and Ion Cutelaba.
• Georgia showcases exciting UFC champions like Ilia Topuria and Merab Dvalishvili, representing the country’s strong presence in MMA.

The sport of MMA continues to grow exponentially across the globe. What was once a sport with an “underground” feeling around it, is now part of the mainstream media that millions of people absorb every day, in almost every country.

Let’s take a look at what countries currently have the best group of MMA athletes and rank them by accomplishments and pure martial arts skill. This list will definitely be changing over the course of the next decade, but there are clear leaders of the pack right now.

10 New Zealand Has Produced Numerous Ranked UFC Contenders

The Down Under Has One Of The Best Gyms In The World

New Zealand gets mentioned for one major reason: City Kickboxing in Auckland. CKB has one of MMA’s brightest minds, Eugene Bareman, at the helm. With countless “Gym of the Year” awards from multiple MMA publications since 2019, New Zealand is on track to continue its rise in the power rankings.

Let’s not forget that arguably one of the best UFC champions to ever do it lives and trains out of Auckland. Israel Adesanya rose to superstardom in 2018 and then went on to defend his undisputed belt five times, and became the first two-time UFC middleweight champion.

Along with the legendary career of Adesanya, you need to take fighters like Kai Kara France, Dan Hooker, and Carlos Ulberg into account as one of the best core group of MMA contenders out of any country in the world.

9 Moldova Is Arguably One Of The Best Pound-For-Pound

Eastern European Country Flying Under The MMA Radar

This might be a surprise to readers; a small Eastern European country that many people can’t even point out on a map. With a population of only about 3.5 million people, Moldova might have the best pound-for-pound MMA talent out there.

At the top of the list of great Moldova talents is the late great Iuri Lapicus, a former ONE Championship champion who turned into a superstar of the MMA scene in Europe and Asia. His performances and aura surely sparked a love for MMA in the small, proud country. The UFC has great Moldovian contenders like Serghei Spivac, Alexandr Romanov, and Ion Cutelaba.

8 Georgia Has Representation On The Throne

Two Of The Best In The World

The exciting thing about Georgia right now is that they have one of the most exciting young UFC champions in Ilia Topuria. Even though he reps Spain, he is very proud of his Georgian heritage and wears the flag along with the Spanish flag.

Another Georgian fighter to watch is the dominant bantamweight, Merab Dvalishvili. He is set to be on top of the bantamweight division for many years due to his endless gas tank and overwhelming wrestling ability.

7 China Has Women’s MMA On Lock

Women’s MMA Is Queen In The Powerhouse Of Asia

The Chinese MMA scene has never been able to compete with the Japanese promotions like PRIDE or Rizin, but they have a ton of upcoming talent that have the potential to take over other organizations.

With that being said, the Queen of Chinese MMA is Zhang Weili, who is one of the best UFC champions to ever step inside the octagon. Weili has put on performance after performance and brought excitement and dominance to the UFC women’s strawweight division. Along with Weili, Yan Xiaonan is a top-ranked women’s strawweight who challenged for the world title in 2024, making it the first ever all-Chinese world title fight in the UFC.

6 England Will Always Be A Great Fighting Country

Electricity From The Fans To The Fighters

If any readers have never experienced watching an MMA event in England, be sure to circle the next one on the schedule. Even from a living room couch, the atmosphere of the crowd and the pride of the UK fighters takes over the experience.

There are some important figures in the sport in England. Since Michael Bisping showed a whole generation what was possible, the sport has grown tenfold over the last decade. Along with Bisping, fighters like Leon Edwards and Tom Aspinall are UFC champions right now who will continue to carry the sport to great heights.

5 Fight Culture Is Ingrained In Australia

The Land Down Under Packs A Punch

The fighting culture is stronger than ever in Australia and sports like boxing and kickboxing have now bled into MMA. The upcoming talent will shine bright in major organizations over the next decade.

An all-time, pound-for-pound great UFC world champion like Alexander Volkanovski has a lot to do with it. His title reign at featherweight and the class he shows is second to none. Not to mention current pound-for-pound fighter and former world champion Robert Whittaker, who helped put his country on the map.

4 The Sport Is Rapidly Growing In Mexico

South Of The Border Is An MMA Hotbed

Alexa Grasso shocked the world by beating Valentina Shevchenko to capture UFC women’s flyweight gold, inspiring probably thousands of young girls to attempt to follow in her footsteps in MMA.Brandon Moreno put Mexico on the MMA map after his gutsy performances in fights no one was giving him a chance, en route to becoming Mexico’s first ever UFC champion.

Every event in Mexico will put the fighting pride and skill on display for all to see. There’s a reason the “Mexican style” is even a thing in boxing, and it will soon be globally known in mixed martial arts as well.

3 Russia Breeds MMA Fighters

Taking Home The Bronze, For Now

Russia is full of great athletes, currently being second all-time in Olympic medals, so it only makes sense they will be at the top of the list in any sport. There are only a few world champions in major MMA organizations, but that number will continue to grow. Russia is a massive country with many places of great fighting culture, but the Republic of Dagestan is at the top of the list.

With guys like Khabib Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev, and Magomed Ankalaev leading the way for future generations, fans will get very familiar with these people running the game. The incredible passion, pride, and work ethic these people bring to the sport should be praised throughout the world.

2 Brazil: The Home Of Mixed Martial Arts

Vale Tudo Walked So MMA Could Run

The sport of Vale Tudo was the original “No Holds Barred” fighting style that of took over Brazil and turned into Mixed Martial Arts. Brazil will always be known as the birthplace of this style of combat, along with its list of legendary athletes who helped make MMA what it is today.

From pioneers like Royce Grace at UFC 1, to the great Anderson Silva, then the incredible run of Charles Oliveira that came at the perfect time. There are champions like Alex Pereira who have taken over the sport as well, leading the way for the future of this beautiful country to showcase the sport.

1 The A-Side Of MMA Is The United States

Still A Powerhouse, Always Will Be

The UFC and other major MMA organizations like PFL and Bellator all started in the U.S. as it’s the major market. There are 8 world champions and 39 ranked fighters from those three organizations who call this country their home. Wrestling is a very popular sport in the U.S., which happens to be arguably the best base for MMA as well. A lot of high-level wrestlers naturally turn to the sport after their collegiate careers conclude, which makes for great MMA fighters.

The United States will always be where the biggest market is and where everything runs out of, but it has a lot of work to do to keep this top spot on the list in the next decade.