Heavyweight · “Chosen”
Kennedy Nzechukwu
14-6-1 UFC 8-7-1
Finisher
Forward Pressure
6'5"Height
83"Reach
SouthpawStance
34Age
6KO wins
1Sub wins
87.5%Finish rate
8:25Avg fight
Skill profile
striking
good
1 read
grappling
decent
1 read
wrestling
not yet read
cardio
not yet read
durability
not yet read
Finisher
88% of wins by knockout or submission (6 KO, 1 sub)
Forward Pressure
4.7 landed and 4.5 absorbed per minute — he turns fights into firefights
Career rates — the raw numbers behind the chart
Sig. strikes landed / min4.65
Sig. strikes absorbed / min4.49
Striking accuracy49.6%
Striking defense51.2%
Knockdowns / 15 min0.33
Takedowns / 15 min0.56
Takedown accuracy45.5%
Takedown defense80.8%
Sub attempts / 15 min0.22
Control time17.8%
Record vs .500+ opponents2-5
Insider info
Shamil Gaziev favored — picked against Kennedy Nzechukwu coinflip UFC Fight Night: Hernandez vs. Rodrigues · August 17, 2026
strikinggood
grapplingdecent
Named as the underdog in a matchup the analyst explicitly declines to back with real confidence.
A talented but inconsistent heavyweight whose tools don't show up reliably from fight to fight, with a general lack of urgency the analyst calls his biggest issue.
Strengthreal power, good knees up the middle
Strengthkicking game that stands out for a heavyweight
Strengthgood takedown defense and opportunistic submissions when they appear
Weaknessinconsistent output, drops his guard between strikes
Weaknessrarely initiates grappling even when it could help him
Weaknessgeneral lack of urgency across the fight
Striking trend
Fight history
L Shamil Gaziev 14-3 walk-in KO/TKO · R1 1:20 — UFC Fight Night: Hernandez vs. Rodrigues · August 22, 2026
3/7Sig. strikes
2/5Absorbed
0/0Takedowns
0:00Control
0Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
D Marcus Buchecha 5-2 walk-in Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00 — UFC Fight Night: Royval vs. Kape · December 13, 2025
24/48Sig. strikes
27/44Absorbed
0/0Takedowns
3:37Control
0Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
L Valter Walker 13-1 walk-in Submission · R1 0:54 — UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Teixeira · July 12, 2025
0/0Sig. strikes
4/11Absorbed
0/0Takedowns
0:03Control
0Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
W Lukasz Brzeski 1-4 walk-in KO/TKO · R1 4:51 — UFC 310: Pantoja vs. Asakura · December 7, 2024
29/70Sig. strikes
32/69Absorbed
0/0Takedowns
0:04Control
1Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
W Chris Barnett 23-8 walk-in KO/TKO · R1 4:27 — UFC 308: Topuria vs. Holloway · October 26, 2024
51/74Sig. strikes
12/34Absorbed
0/0Takedowns
0:00Control
0Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
L Ovince Saint Preux 26-17 walk-in Decision - Split · R3 5:00 — UFC Fight Night: Tuivasa vs. Tybura · March 16, 2024
106/250Sig. strikes
143/276Absorbed
0/1Takedowns
0:08Control
0Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
L Dustin Jacoby 18-7-1 walk-in KO/TKO · R1 1:22 — UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Font · August 5, 2023
4/18Sig. strikes
10/33Absorbed
0/0Takedowns
0:00Control
0Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
W Devin Clark 14-7 walk-in Submission · R2 2:28 — UFC 288: Sterling vs. Cejudo · May 6, 2023
62/81Sig. strikes
36/58Absorbed
0/1Takedowns
3:42Control
0Knockdowns
1Sub attempts
W Ion Cutelaba 16-8-1 walk-in KO/TKO · R2 1:02 — UFC Fight Night: Nzechukwu vs. Cutelaba · November 19, 2022
24/42Sig. strikes
9/26Absorbed
0/1Takedowns
1:14Control
1Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
W Karl Roberson 9-5 walk-in KO/TKO · R3 2:19 — UFC Fight Night: Dos Anjos vs. Fiziev · July 9, 2022
20/43Sig. strikes
9/19Absorbed
5/7Takedowns
10:46Control
0Knockdowns
1Sub attempts
L Nicolae Negumereanu 11-1 walk-in Decision - Split · R3 5:00 — UFC 272: Covington vs. Masvidal · March 5, 2022
95/190Sig. strikes
64/160Absorbed
0/0Takedowns
0:00Control
0Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
L Da Woon Jung 14-2-1 walk-in KO/TKO · R1 3:04 — UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Rodriguez · November 13, 2021
6/18Sig. strikes
16/49Absorbed
0/0Takedowns
0:00Control
0Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
W Danilo Marques 11-2 walk-in KO/TKO · R3 0:20 — UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Volkov · June 26, 2021
31/80Sig. strikes
10/18Absorbed
0/0Takedowns
0:00Control
0Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
W Carlos Ulberg 4-0 walk-in KO/TKO · R2 3:19 — UFC 259: Blachowicz vs. Adesanya · March 6, 2021
82/148Sig. strikes
146/227Absorbed
0/1Takedowns
0:05Control
1Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
W Darko Stosic 13-2 walk-in Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00 — UFC Fight Night: Covington vs. Lawler · August 3, 2019
50/123Sig. strikes
60/134Absorbed
0/0Takedowns
0:00Control
0Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
L Paul Craig 10-3 walk-in Submission · R3 4:20 — UFC Fight Night: Barboza vs. Gaethje · March 30, 2019
40/72Sig. strikes
25/77Absorbed
0/0Takedowns
4:22Control
0Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
Walk-in records count UFC bouts in this database. For the pre-UFC career, see the record breakdown below or the Tapology button up top.
Record breakdown
Wins by method
KO/TKO
10
Submission
1
Decision
3
Other
0
Losses by method
KO/TKO
2
Submission
2
Decision
2
Other
0
Draws: 1
Fights by organization
UFC
15
Xtreme Knockout
3
Dana White's Contender Series
2
LFA
1
Full career — 21 fights, every organization
| Opponent | Method | Event | Org | Rd | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | Marcus Buchecha | Draw (unanimous) | UFC on ESPN: Royval vs. Kape
December 13, 2025 |
UFC | 3 | 5:00 |
| L | Valter Walker | Submission (inverted heel hook) | UFC on ESPN: Lewis vs. Teixeira
July 12, 2025 |
UFC | 1 | 0:54 |
| W | Łukasz Brzeski | TKO (punches) | UFC 310
December 7, 2024 |
UFC | 1 | 4:51 |
| W | Chris Barnett | TKO (knee to the body and punches) | UFC 308
October 26, 2024 |
UFC | 1 | 4:27 |
| L | Ovince Saint Preux | Decision (split) | UFC Fight Night: Tuivasa vs. Tybura
March 16, 2024 |
UFC | 3 | 5:00 |
| L | Dustin Jacoby | TKO (punches) | UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs. Font
August 5, 2023 |
UFC | 1 | 1:22 |
| W | Devin Clark | Technical Submission (guillotine choke) | UFC 288
May 6, 2023 |
UFC | 2 | 2:28 |
| W | Ion Cuțelaba | TKO (flying knee and punches) | UFC Fight Night: Nzechukwu vs. Cuțelaba
November 19, 2022 |
UFC | 2 | 1:02 |
| W | Karl Roberson | TKO (elbows) | UFC on ESPN: dos Anjos vs. Fiziev
July 9, 2022 |
UFC | 3 | 2:19 |
| L | Nicolae Negumereanu | Decision (split) | UFC 272
March 5, 2022 |
UFC | 3 | 5:00 |
| L | Jung Da-un | KO (elbows) | UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Rodríguez
November 13, 2021 |
UFC | 1 | 3:04 |
| W | Danilo Marques | TKO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Volkov
June 26, 2021 |
UFC | 3 | 0:20 |
| W | Carlos Ulberg | KO (punches) | UFC 259
March 6, 2021 |
UFC | 2 | 3:19 |
| W | Darko Stošić | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on ESPN: Covington vs. Lawler
August 3, 2019 |
UFC | 3 | 5:00 |
| L | Paul Craig | Submission (triangle choke) | UFC on ESPN: Barboza vs. Gaethje
March 30, 2019 |
UFC | 3 | 4:20 |
| W | Dennis Bryant | TKO (head kick and punches) | Dana White's Contender Series 16
August 7, 2018 |
Dana White's Contender Series | 1 | 1:48 |
| W | Corey Johnson | TKO (punches) | LFA 40
May 25, 2018 |
LFA | 2 | 1:18 |
| W | Andre Kavanaugh | TKO (punches) | Xtreme Knockout 40
March 10, 2018 |
Xtreme Knockout | 1 | 2:40 |
| W | Anton Berzin | Decision (split) | Dana White's Contender Series 7
August 22, 2017 |
Dana White's Contender Series | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Thai Walwyn | Decision (unanimous) | Xtreme Knockout 34
January 28, 2017 |
Xtreme Knockout | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Matt Foster | TKO (punches) | Xtreme Knockout 33
November 5, 2016 |
Xtreme Knockout | 1 | 2:06 |
Career history from the fighter's Wikipedia record table (Kennedy Nzechukwu) — results only, no strike stats; UFC bouts are marked and carry full stats in the fight history above.