The 2026 NFL Draft kicks off tonight in Pittsburgh. It’s a fun and hopeful time in the world of the NFL, where for at least one night, franchises can look to the future and dream of a better tomorrow. There’s nothing like it in MMA. So, many years ago, we here at MMA Fighting decided to change all that.
For the last five years, MMA Fighting has circled the wagons like the Buffalo Bills and divvied up the biggest stars in combat sports across the premier promotions in the game. And it’s time to do it again. Welcome to the 5th annual MMA Fighting Promotional Draft!
If you don’t remember how it all works, the concept is simple: Mike Heck, Alexander K. Lee, Damon Martin, and Jed Meshew each take the reins of one of the top combat sports promotions in the world, and then draft their choice of fighters to build the franchise around. Once it’s all said and done, the fine readers of MMAFighting.com determine who has assembled the best collection of talent.
All fighters are eligible to be drafted, and drafting a fighter locks them into a five-year contract with the organization.
Getting a fighter under contract does not mean the fighter has to fight for that organization; they just cannot compete for any other organization. This rule is especially important this year, as it means the end of all the niceties between the RAF and UFC.
The draft is seven rounds, mirroring the NFL draft, and at the end of the exercise, any fighter who goes undrafted reverts to the company they are currently under contract with.
Last year, the MMA promotions were BKFC, PFL, the UFC, and the upstart GFL promotion. Uhhh, that didn’t work out so hot. So, as has been the case every year we’ve done this, we’ve once again shuffled the deck, relegating GFL to the developmental league, and elevating the new kid on the block, Real American Freestyle!
All general managers have been randomly reassigned to new organizations, with Jed Meshew helming RAF, Damon Martin taking over the PFL, Mike Heck running BKFC, and Alexander K. Lee becoming the new Dana White. As the newest member of the team, RAF has the first pick, then PFL, then BKFC, with the UFC ending each round.
Got it? Good. Let the 2026 MMA Fighting Promotional Draft commence!
Meshew: As the new kids on the block, RAF is thrilled to be invited to such a storied and wonderful spectacle like the Promotional Draft, and we hope to bring the same sort of fast-paced excitement that we’ve brought to the combat sports world in our brief lifetime.
With that in mind, RAF firmly believes in following the “dance with the girl who brought you” policy of promotion building, and we wouldn’t be where we are today without Arman Tsarukyan. The man headlines every other card for us, and we’re happy to make things official with Arman. We think we’ll be very happy together.
Martin: First off, we are finally rebranding, so from here on out, the PFL is known as FIGHTS. Yes, just FIGHTS.
And with our first selection, we know that name value and star power matter a lot in this sport, but you also can’t ignore talent, and that’s why we are taking the best of all worlds with our first pick. That’s none other than the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the sport — Islam Makhachev. He’s got everything you could want to represent an organization, especially as we kick off the FIGHTS era.
Heck: We need headlines. We need a spark, and we’ve made one with arguably the UFC’s current biggest star.
It also doesn’t hurt that he’s one of the best and most exciting fighters in the world right now. On a roster that’s lacking real star power these days, having “El Matador” bring the UFC lightweight title over to BKFC gives us the most street cred we’ve ever had. Now, to figure out who he can fight.
Lee: Traditionally, whoever has the UFC as their promotion has had to play defense, desperately clinging on to champions and marquee fighters in a desperate attempt to stem the rising tide.
No more. Our new motto is “attack, attack, attack,” and if that means letting some malcontents and barely active fighters go, then so be it. In their absence, we’re happy to bring back a young man who made a name for himself in the octagon and went on to become the face of BKFC: Mike Perry. Welcome home.
Meshew: Arman Tsarukyan is the straw that stirs the drink for us here at RAF, but the man needs a running mate. And who better to fill that role than his good friend, the current (now former) UFC middleweight champion, Khamzat Chimaev! We’ve yet to actually see “Borz” on the RAF mats, but we just asked him to come over, and he said yes, and we’re very excited about the possibilities, so we’re locking this down early.
Martin: From the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter to quite possibly one of the most electric athletes in combat sports today, Alex Pereira.
A man who can fight across three divisions and demolish the competition, and he needs to say nothing more than “Chama” after delivering another jaw-rattling knockout. Heavyweight may be on life support in many other promotions, but with Pereira anchoring that division in FIGHTS, we are confident in the future.