Combat Sports' 2026 Fantasy Draft

Setting the Stage: The Fifth Annual Draft

It’s that time of year again. As the NFL world turns its eyes to Pittsburgh for its annual draft, we here at MMA Fighting circle the wagons for our own version: the fifth annual Promotional Draft. The premise is simple but tantalizing: what if every fighter in the world was a free agent? Four of our experts take the helm of a major combat sports organization and draft a seven-round roster, building their promotion from the ground up with five-year exclusive contracts.

This year’s draft sees a shake-up in the promotional landscape. The established titans, UFC and PFL, are joined by the ever-growing Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC). And, in a new twist for 2026, the upstart Real American Freestyle (RAF) takes the fourth spot, looking to make a splash. Our drafters were assigned their promotions at random: Jed Meshew takes the reins of the new kid on the block, RAF; Damon Martin heads up the PFL; Mike Heck steps into the bloody world of BKFC; and Alexander K. Lee is tasked with the toughest job of all, defending the throne as the UFC.

RAF Makes a Statement with Pick Number One

With the first overall pick, Jed Meshew and Real American Freestyle had a decision to make. Build with a proven star? A young prospect? Instead, they opted for the face of their brand, a fighter who embodies the RAF ethos for better or worse. “I’m not even sure this is a smart draft pick, guys, but it is the obvious one,” Meshew admitted before announcing his selection: Arman Tsarukyan. The controversial and immensely talented lightweight is now locked into a five-year deal with RAF, a move designed to build the promotion squarely around its biggest, if most volatile, star.

PFL and BKFC Snag Reigning Champions

Picking second, Damon Martin and the PFL—rebranded for the draft simply as “Fights”—made a move that was both logical and brutal for the competition. They selected the #1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Islam Makhachev. Martin cheekily noted that since the PFL already features Makhachev’s coach, Khabib Nurmagomedov, in all its promotional material, they might as well acquire the fighter himself. It’s a blue-chip pick that immediately gives the promotion a pillar of undisputed excellence.

At number three, Mike Heck aimed to inject pure, unadulterated excitement into BKFC. He did just that by drafting the reigning UFC lightweight champion, Ilia Topuria. The goal? To sign the “biggest name we’ve ever had to actually compete under the BKFC banner” and create a must-see spectacle. The thought of Topuria’s ferocious power in a bare-knuckle context is a promoter’s dream, and Heck is betting that star power will elevate the entire brand, perhaps even to the “Ilia Fighting Championship” by 2027.

The UFC Plays a Surprising Defensive Game

Picking last is always a challenge, but for AK Lee and the UFC, it’s a uniquely difficult position. With the deepest roster in the sport, the draft is often an exercise in watching your top talent get poached. But Lee’s reaction to the first three picks was pure relief. “I felt nothing but joy seeing all those names go off,” he declared. He labeled the departed trio “unlikable,” “divas,” and “a headache,” expressing his happiness at letting other promotions deal with them. It’s a bold defensive strategy: by letting his rivals take on challenging personalities, Lee retains the vast majority of the UFC’s talent by default, turning a disadvantage into a calculated roster-management victory. The war room is buzzing, and the draft has only just begun.