The UFC roster is bigger than ever – and it continues to expand.
Fresh faces appear on nearly every card, whether onboarded as short-notice opening fillers, Dana White’s Contender Series signees, or the increasingly rare straight-up additions. Sometimes, it’s hard to keep track of the hustle and bustle of the mixed martial arts news beat, but here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got you covered.
“Fresh Ink” is your list of fighters added to the UFC roster the previous month and provides background on who they are and where they came from.
Check out the April 2023 list below.
Assu Almabayev
Record when signed: 17-2
Signing type: Straight up
Weight class: Flyweight
Age: 29
Debut: TBA
The Kazakhstani influx continues. Assu Almabayev enters the UFC on a 13-fight winning streak that includes victories over UFC alumni Zach Makovsky and Chris Kelades. Opponents over the baker’s dozen fights have had a combined 90-27 at the time of their fights vs. Almabayev. He does not have a publicly known promotional debut on the books at this time.
Azat Maksum
Record when signed: 16-0
Signing type: Straight up
Weight class: Flyweight
Age: 27
Debut: July 15 vs. Tyson Nam (21-13-1 MMA, 3-4 UFC) at a UFC Fight Night event at a location TBA
From the time he’s first billed for his UFC debut, Azat Maksum will turn heads. With an outstanding 16-0 record, Maksum is no can crusher. The last eight opponents he’s faced have had a combined 63-17 record at the time of their matchups, many of which have taken place for respected promotions BRAVE CF and Octagon League.
Marcus McGhee
Record when signed: 6-1
Signing type: Short notice
Weight class: Featherweight
Age: 32
Debut: April 29 win over Journey Newson (10-5 MMA, 1-4 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 223 via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:03
Marcus McGhee only needed five days’ notice and a little more than seven minutes to submit Journey Newson in his UFC debut. The MMA Lab product replaced Brian Kelleher just days before UFC Fight Night 223, but looked no worse for the wear when it came to the short notice. McGhee extended his winning streak to three and preserved his 100 percent finishing rate in victories.
Ivana Petrovic
Record when signed: 6-0
Signing type: Straight up
Weight class: Flyweight
Age: 29
Debut: July 1 vs. Luana Carolina (8-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) at a UFC Fight Night event at a location TBA
UFC fans, meet the next big female prospect out of Europe: Ivana Petrovic. The undefeated Norwegian flyweight is an ARES FC titleholder with five finishes in six victories including three TKOs and two submissions.
Braxton Smith
Record when signed: 5-1
Signing type: Straight-up
Weight class: Heavyweight
Age: 33
Debut: Saturday vs. Parker Porter (13-8 MMA, 3-3 UFC) at UFC 288 in Newark
Heavyweights don’t grow on trees, and Braxton Smith’s traps weren’t built in a day. A bulky specimen, Smith has wrecked five opponents in a row – since May 2022 when he returned from a hiatus of more than eight years. All five of his pro wins have come by first-round knockout.
Trey Waters
Record when signed: 7-1
Signing type: Short notice
Weight class:
Age: 28
Debut: April 29 win over Josh Quinlan (6-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 223 via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Trey Waters stepped into the UFC spotlight for the first time and shined bright himself. At UFC Fight Night 223, Waters dominated Josh Quinlan and swept the judges’ scorecards. Outside of a DWCS loss to Gabriel Bonfim in 2022, Waters has conquered every pro test he’s faced.
