Lightweight · “The Monster”
Kyle Nelson
17-7-1 UFC 5-7-1
Hard To Take Down
Submission Grappler
KO-Prone
5'11"Height
71"Reach
SwitchStance
35Age
2KO wins
0Sub wins
40.0%Finish rate
8:51Avg fight
Skill profile
striking
good
1 read
grappling
good
1 read
wrestling
not yet read
cardio
not yet read
durability
not yet read
Hard To Take Down
average td defense — rates 65 of 100 among UFC veterans
Submission Grappler
average grappling — rates 60 of 100 among UFC veterans
KO-Prone
5 of 7 losses came by knockout
Career rates — the raw numbers behind the chart
Sig. strikes landed / min3.63
Sig. strikes absorbed / min4.64
Striking accuracy46.0%
Striking defense53.8%
Knockdowns / 15 min0.13
Takedowns / 15 min1.17
Takedown accuracy23.1%
Takedown defense66.7%
Sub attempts / 15 min0.52
Control time20.4%
Record vs .500+ opponents4-4
Insider info
Kyle Nelson favored over Terrance McKinney coinflip UFC Fight Night: Adesanya vs Pyfer · March 22, 2026
strikinggood
grapplinggood
Picked with the analyst framing this explicitly as a 'survive the opening burst' matchup rather than a clean skill comparison.
Well-rounded but unflashy on the feet -- a solid body kick, a high guard for defense, and enough power to keep opponents honest. The grappling mirrors that: reliable takedown defense and strong control once on top.
Strengthsolid body kick with a high, defensively sound guard
Strengthreliable takedown defense paired with strong top control
Weaknesshas to weather a furious, high-intensity start from this particular opponent to have a chance
Striking trend
Fight history
L Cristian Perez 0-1 walk-in KO/TKO · R1 0:27 — UFC Fight Night: Buckley vs. Malott · October 17, 2026
5/7Sig. strikes
10/21Absorbed
0/0Takedowns
0:00Control
0Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
L Terrance McKinney 17-8 walk-in KO/TKO · R1 0:24 — UFC Fight Night: Adesanya vs. Pyfer · March 28, 2026
1/3Sig. strikes
13/27Absorbed
0/0Takedowns
0:00Control
0Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
W Matt Frevola 11-5-1 walk-in Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00 — UFC Fight Night: De Ridder vs. Allen · October 18, 2025
63/135Sig. strikes
43/136Absorbed
2/5Takedowns
3:11Control
1Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
L Steve Garcia 16-5 walk-in KO/TKO · R1 3:59 — UFC Fight Night: Burns vs. Brady · September 7, 2024
1/2Sig. strikes
22/37Absorbed
0/0Takedowns
2:13Control
0Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
W Bill Algeo 18-7 walk-in KO/TKO · R1 4:00 — UFC Fight Night: Blanchfield vs. Fiorot · March 30, 2024
32/59Sig. strikes
30/58Absorbed
0/0Takedowns
0:48Control
0Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
W Fernando Padilla 15-4 walk-in Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00 — Noche UFC: Grasso vs. Shevchenko 2 · September 16, 2023
82/184Sig. strikes
72/208Absorbed
0/3Takedowns
0:00Control
0Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
W Blake Bilder 1-0 walk-in Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00 — UFC 289: Nunes vs. Aldana · June 10, 2023
59/126Sig. strikes
45/120Absorbed
0/1Takedowns
2:21Control
0Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
D Dooho Choi 14-4 walk-in Decision - Majority · R3 5:00 — UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Spivac · February 4, 2023
20/58Sig. strikes
50/78Absorbed
5/10Takedowns
5:34Control
0Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
L Jai Herbert 11-4 walk-in Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00 — UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Aspinall · July 23, 2022
41/62Sig. strikes
36/64Absorbed
0/4Takedowns
3:06Control
0Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
L Billy Quarantillo 14-2 walk-in KO/TKO · R3 0:07 — UFC Fight Night: Waterson vs. Hill · September 12, 2020
56/114Sig. strikes
79/150Absorbed
0/4Takedowns
1:27Control
0Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
W Marco Polo Reyes 8-6 walk-in KO/TKO · R1 1:36 — UFC Fight Night: Rodriguez vs. Stephens · September 21, 2019
12/16Sig. strikes
6/10Absorbed
0/2Takedowns
0:50Control
0Knockdowns
0Sub attempts
L Matt Sayles 0-1 walk-in Submission · R3 3:16 — UFC Fight Night: Iaquinta vs. Cowboy · May 4, 2019
26/93Sig. strikes
75/147Absorbed
2/10Takedowns
3:47Control
0Knockdowns
4Sub attempts
L Diego Ferreira 4-2 walk-in KO/TKO · R2 1:23 — UFC 231: Holloway vs. Ortega · December 8, 2018
20/50Sig. strikes
54/102Absorbed
0/0Takedowns
0:14Control
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
6
Submission
4
Decision
7
Other
0
Losses by method
KO/TKO
4
Submission
1
Decision
2
Other
0
Draws: 1
Fights by organization
UFC
12
Real Xtreme Fighting
3
Substance Cage Combat
2
BTC
1
Z Promotions
1
Elite
1
Triple X Cagefighting
1
Provincial FC
1
+ 3 more organizations in the full career list
Full career — 25 fights, every organization
| Opponent | Method | Event | Org | Rd | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| L | Terrance McKinney | TKO (head kick and punches) | UFC Fight Night: Adesanya vs. Pyfer
March 28, 2026 |
UFC | 1 | 0:24 |
| W | Matt Frevola | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: de Ridder vs. Allen
October 18, 2025 |
UFC | 3 | 5:00 |
| L | Steve Garcia | TKO (elbows and punches) | UFC Fight Night: Burns vs. Brady
September 7, 2024 |
UFC | 1 | 3:59 |
| W | Bill Algeo | TKO (punches) | UFC on ESPN: Blanchfield vs. Fiorot
March 30, 2024 |
UFC | 1 | 4:00 |
| W | Fernando Padilla | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Grasso vs. Shevchenko 2
September 16, 2023 |
UFC | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Blake Bilder | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 289
June 10, 2023 |
UFC | 3 | 5:00 |
| D | Choi Doo-ho | Draw (majority) | UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Spivac
February 4, 2023 |
UFC | 3 | 5:00 |
| L | Jai Herbert | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Aspinall
July 23, 2022 |
UFC | 3 | 5:00 |
| L | Billy Quarantillo | KO (punch) | UFC Fight Night: Waterson vs. Hill
September 12, 2020 |
UFC | 3 | 0:07 |
| W | Polo Reyes | TKO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Rodríguez vs. Stephens
September 21, 2019 |
UFC | 1 | 1:36 |
| L | Matt Sayles | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | UFC Fight Night: Iaquinta vs. Cowboy
May 4, 2019 |
UFC | 3 | 3:16 |
| L | Carlos Diego Ferreira | TKO (punches) | UFC 231
December 8, 2018 |
UFC | 2 | 1:23 |
| W | Morteza Rezaei | TKO (punches) | Real Xtreme Fighting 32
November 19, 2018 |
Real Xtreme Fighting | 1 | 4:57 |
| W | Khama Worthy | KO (punches) | BTC 1
May 27, 2017 |
BTC | 1 | 1:03 |
| W | Gabriel Mănucă | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Real Xtreme Fighting 26
April 25, 2017 |
Real Xtreme Fighting | 1 | 3:50 |
| W | Jonathan Brookins | Decision (split) | Z Promotions: Fight Night 2
October 28, 2016 |
Z Promotions | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Zoltán Turi | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Real Xtreme Fighting 23
June 6, 2016 |
Real Xtreme Fighting | 1 | 1:23 |
| W | Justin Bourgeois | TKO (punches) | Elite 1 MMA: Meltdown
April 23, 2016 |
Elite | 1 | 2:01 |
| L | Adrian Hadribeaj | Decision (unanimous) | Triple X Cagefighting: Legends 6
September 12, 2015 |
Triple X Cagefighting | 5 | 5:00 |
| W | Ainsley Robinson | Technical Submission (guillotine choke) | Substance Cage Combat 2
May 30, 2014 |
Substance Cage Combat | 1 | 0:42 |
| W | Alex Halkias | Decision (unanimous) | Provincial FC 2
March 8, 2014 |
Provincial FC | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Neelan Hordatt | Decision (split) | Substance Cage Combat 1
June 29, 2013 |
Substance Cage Combat | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Maxime Dubois | TKO (punches) | Ultimate Generation Combat 32
May 10, 2013 |
Ultimate Generation Combat | 2 | 1:36 |
| W | Jo Petahtegoose | Submission (armbar) | Score Fighting Series 6
September 19, 2012 |
Score Fighting Series | 1 | 2:54 |
| W | Michael Dufort | Decision (unanimous) | Ringside MMA 13
March 17, 2012 |
Ringside MMA | 3 | 5:00 |
Career history from the fighter's Wikipedia record table (Kyle Nelson (fighter)) — results only, no strike stats; UFC bouts are marked and carry full stats in the fight history above.
Division context
Hero photo of Kyle Nelson by MM-eh · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons