Top 10 Most Followed UFC Fighters On Instagram 2023

MMA is one of the fastest-growing sports in the world and has generated billions in income from impressive PPV rates. The UFC has created some of the world’s biggest sports stars from Conor McGregor, and Ronda Rousey to Khabib Nurmagomedov. We look at the top 10 most followed UFC fighters on Instagram.

This list includes fighters who are still active and those that have retired from MMA.

10. Anderson Silva (4.8 Millions)

Anderson “The Spider Silva is one of the greatest UFC fighters of all time and a former middleweight champion. The Brazilian holds records for the longest winning streak (16) in UFC history and the longest title reign in the promotion’s history (2457 days).

He was recently inducted into the UFC Hall Of Fame last weekend after a stellar career inside the Octagon.

9. Khamzat Chimaev (5.6 Millions)

The Swede is one of the hottest prospects in the UFC as he’s run through most of his opponents in his short UFC career. The 29-year-old has the ability to become a champion in multiple divisions and could be one of the biggest stars to come out of the promotion in a few years’ time. He holds records for the fastest consecutive wins (10 days) and the quickest three-fight win streak (66 days) in Modern UFC history.

8. Islam Makhachev (6.4 Million)

The current UFC lightweight champion Islam Mahachev is currently on a 12-fight win streak and won the title in impressive fashion at UFC 280 last year by submitting Charles Oliveira in the second round. Like his long-time friend and training partner Khabib Nurmagomedov, he hails from Dagestan and is a former combat sambo world champion.

Makhachev holds the record for the least significant strikes absorbed per minute in UFC Lightweight division history (1.24).

7. Nate Diaz (6.4 Million)

Nate Diaz is one of the most popular UFC fighters of all time, with that largely due to his personality and win against Conor McGregor on 11 days’ notice in 2016. He has the fourth most submissions in UFC history (10) and won his last fight in the UFC via submission against Tony Ferguson.

6. Charles Oliveira (6.8 Million)

Charles Oliveira is one of the hottest and most entertaining fighters on the UFC roster at the moment. The former UFC lightweight champion gained a lot more fans and followers after his recent performance against Beniel Dariush at UFC 289, knocking him out in the first round.

The Brazillian has the most finishes (20) and submissions (16) in UFC history.

5. Jon Jones (7.4 Million)

Arguably, the greatest UFC fighter of all time Jon Jones comes in at number 5 on this list. He was the youngest UFC champion in history when he won the light heavyweight belt at the age of 23. Jones also became a two-division champion earlier this year when he submitted Ciryl Gane in the first round to become the UFC heavyweight champion.

4. Israel Adesanya (8.1 Million)

Israel Adesanya is one of the UFC’s most charismatic and entertaining fighters today. “The Last Stylebender” gained a lot of followers after he finally got the better of his arch-nemesis Alex Pereira at UFC 287 earlier this year. Adesanya won the fight with a brutal knockout after losing to the Brazilian three times in their previous fights.

3. Ronda Rousey (17.2 Million)

In 2012, Ronda Rousey was the first female fighter to sign with UFC. She also became the first UFC women’s bantamweight champion when UFC president Dana White announced it at a pre-fight press conference. After she made a record for most UFC title defences by a woman, Rousey retired after her first professional loss in MMA when she lost her title to Holly Holm. 

In 2018, she became the first female fighter to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.

2. Khabib Nurmagomedov (34.8 Million)

Khabib Nurmagomedov is arguably the most dominant fighter in the history of the promotion. The Dagestani hardly lost a round and never bled inside the Octagon. He retired undefeated and as the lightweight champion with an impressive record of 29-0 (13-0 in the UFC).

He already had a massive following on Instagram, but what elevated him to superstardom was his dominant win over Conor McGregor at UFC 229 in 2018.

1. Conor McGregor (46.3 Million)

The Notorious Conor McGregor is the main reason why the UFC and MMA in general have grown so much over the last 10 years. His skills on the mic and the ability to back them up made him a superstar as he became the first simultaneous two-division champion in the UFC. 

He defeated Jose Aldo in December 2015 to become the undisputed UFC Featherweight Champion by knocking out the Brazilian in just 13 seconds. He then beat Eddie Alvarez to become the lightweight champion.