5 toughest gatekeepers in the UFC right now
On the UFC's huge roster, it feels like every fighter has their role. There's the champions, the top contenders, the hot prospects and the action fighters - but perhaps most important are the gatekeepers.
The UFC's gatekeepers are the fighters who prospects have to beat to reach the elite level, and often, this task proves impossible.
Right now, there are a number of remarkably tough gatekeepers on the roster, with many close to being elite themselves. Will they ever climb into contention in their own right? It's doubtful, but that doesn't make them less important to the promotion.
Here are five of the toughest gatekeepers in the UFC right now.
#5 Jessica Andrade - UFC flyweight/strawweight contender
Few fighters in the UFC are capable of competing in more than one division, but Jessica Andrade definitely bucks that trend.
However, while 'Bate Estaca' once held the strawweight title, and later challenged for the 125 pound crown, today she's one of the promotion's best gatekeepers.
Andrade has been around a surprisingly long time. The Brazilian debuted in the octagon way back in 2013, and fought seven times as an undersized bantamweight before moving to 115 pounds in 2016.
Three years later, she unseated Rose Namajunas to claim the strawweight title, but her reign didn't last too long before she lost to Weili Zhang.
Since then, outside of her failed title shot against flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko, Andrade has become a gatekeeper extraordinaire.
Essentially, the fighters who've gotten past her - Erin Blanchfield, Yan Xiaonan, Tatiana Suarez and Natalia Silva - are all either ready for a title shot, or have already taken one.
The likes of Mackenzie Dern, Marina Rodriguez and Amanda Lemos, meanwhile, have had the gate firmly closed on their own title hopes.
At 33, Andrade's best years might be behind her now, but 'Bate Estaca' definitely stands as one of the UFC's toughest gatekeepers right now.
#4 Volkan Oezdemir - UFC light-heavyweight contender
It's now been seven years since Volkan Oezdemir debuted in the UFC, and as everyone knows, in the world of MMA, seven years is a long time.
In that period, 'No Time' has gone from being one of the hottest prospects in the light-heavyweight division, to a one-time title challenger, and now to arguably the toughest gatekeeper in the division.
The native of Switzerland flew out of the traps following his debut, and after three successive wins - including two brutal knockouts - was positioned in a title bout with then-champ Daniel Cormier.
After suffering a TKO loss to 'DC', though, Oezdemir has gone 5-5 in his next ten bouts.
Despite this, 'No Time' has never been in danger of losing his roster spot, and that's because only the elite fighters at 205 pounds tend to beat him.
Four of the last five fighters to defeat him - Anthony Smith, Dominick Reyes, Magomed Ankalaev and Jiri Prochazka - have gone onto challenge for or hold the light-heavyweight title.
More importantly, he was able to push Reyes and Ankalaev to their limits in fights that could've gone either way.
As for his wins, Oezdemir has turned back the likes of Aleksandar Rakic and Bodgan Guskov, shutting them out of title contention in the process.
Essentially, the Swiss is the perfect gatekeeper, with any fighter capable of beating him usually climbing right into the top five. And with two wins in his last two fights, he's showing no sign of allowing that to change.
#3 Rafael dos Anjos - UFC lightweight/welterweight contender
To see an ageing former champion eventually develop into a tough gatekeeper is hardly remarkable in the UFC. However, former lightweight titleholder Rafael Dos Anjos is unique in that he's a gatekeeper in two different divisions, 155 pounds and 170 pounds too.
It's now been almost a decade since 'RDA' upset Anthony Pettis for the 155 pound title. After his short reign ended in 2016 and he moved up to 170 pounds, it looked like he'd become a title contender there.
However, after losing to Colby Covington in a bout for the interim welterweight title in 2018, the Brazilian has instead embraced a new role for the matchmakers.
Essentially, if a fighter is good enough to beat 'RDA', they're usually good enough to climb into title contention. Kamaru Usman and Leon Edwards, for instance, both went onto hold welterweight gold after defeating the Brazilian over five rounds.
If they're not good enough to topple him, meanwhile, it's usually back to the drawing board for them.
What's unique about 'RDA' is that his remarkably well-rounded skills often make the fighters he faces - particularly those he beats - seemingly have to improve to progress later on.
Renato Moicano, for instance, was thoroughly beaten by Dos Anjos in 2022. Since then, after taking some time off, he's improved and gone on a tear, and is currently riding the best win streak of his UFC career.
Given he's set to turn 40 years old this month, quite how much longer the Brazilian can remain in his current role is anyone's guess, particularly as he's lost his last two fights.
For now, though, he definitely stands as one of the promotion's toughest gatekeepers.
#2 Rob Font - UFC bantamweight contender
Under normal circumstances, any fighter sporting a record of four losses in their last five fights would probably be in danger of losing their UFC roster spot altogether.
That doesn't feel like the case for bantamweight contender Rob Font, though. That's because the Massachusetts native has never really lost to a fighter who wasn't considered a high-level title contender.
It's a level that Font doesn't seem destined to reach in his own right, but instead, he sits on the level just below - as the 135 pound division's premier gatekeeper.
Despite having a strong striking game and underrated takedown defense, Font doesn't really shine in any single area. That's essentially why he fell to super-talented fighters like Cory Sandhagen, Deiveson Figueiredo and Jose Aldo.
However, he's got enough about him to not only turn back the challenge of prospects hoping to climb to the next level - the likes of Sergio Pettis and Adrian Yanez - but to also stop former contenders like Cody Garbrandt and Marlon Moraes going on a resurgence.
This weekend's event will see Font attempt to turn back the challenge of another hot prospect in Kyler Phillips. If Phillips wins, it's very likely that he'll climb into title contention.
That's an area Font is unlikely to reach, but despite that, he still fills an important niche in the bantamweight division - and is likely to remain there for some time.
#1 Neil Magny - UFC welterweight contender
Over the past decade, it's arguable that the best example of a tough gatekeeper in the UFC is welterweight contender Neil Magny.
Once considered a TUF washout, 'The Haitian Sensation' broke out in 2014 when he won five fights in a single calendar year, matching a UFC record in the process.
However, Demian Maia then stopped Magny's winning streak at seven, whitewashing him with a rear naked choke submission in August 2015.
The loss felt bad at the time, but in fact, it was simply a precursor for the majority of Magny's career since.
Essentially, Magny is a tremendous jack-of-all-trades fighter, but he doesn't truly excel in any single area. That means that he's always liable to struggle against true specialists or elite fighters, while retaining the ability to defeat basically everyone else.
Over the past few years, the general rule at 170 pounds has been that anyone who can beat Magny is propelled into the lower end of the top five, sending them into title contention.
Shavkat Rakhmonov, for instance, picked up his first "big" win over the TUF veteran in the summer of 2022. He's now set to fight for the welterweight title later this year.
The likes of Ian Machado Garry and Michael Morales, meanwhile, both of whom have defeated Magny recently, look destined to climb into contention too.
Mike Malott, Phil Rowe and Daniel Rodriguez, on the other hand, were shown to be lacking in those elite skills and subsequently fell to 'The Haitian Sensation'.
With that considered, it's easy to see why Magny is considered such a great gatekeeper. He might not climb into title contention, but it's arguable that his role is just as important as any to the matchmakers.