Dylan Budka

Dylan Budka is a 25-year-old middleweight from Baltimore who trained in wrestling at Notre Dame College before turning professional in 2022. He made early waves with one of the fastest professional knockouts on record - a nine-second finish - and earned his UFC contract by unanimous decision over Chad Hanekom on Dana White's Contender Series in September 2023. Budka's early professional record and finishing prowess suggested he could be a rising force at 185 pounds.

Since stepping into the UFC Octagon in April 2024, however, Budka has faced a steep climb against elite middleweight competition. In his first three UFC fights, he has gone 1-3, suffering knockout losses to Cesar Almeida and Edmen Shahbazyan sandwiched around a grinding unanimous decision defeat to Andre Petroski. The losses reveal a fighter still developing his defensive instincts and durability at the highest level - while his striking output and wrestling base remain real assets, he absorbs significant strikes at nearly 1.80 per minute and has shown vulnerability to pressure and elite power.

Fighting out of a freestyle background with a preference for left-hook combinations and rear-naked choke submissions, Budka remains a heavy-handed threat capable of early finishes. His wrestling credentials and submission record (two RNCs in the UFC) give him paths to victory, but his recent setbacks against ranked opponents suggest he needs to refine his defensive fundamentals and footwork before making a real run at contention. At 25, he has time to learn - but the gap between Contender Series prospect and UFC regular has proven wider than anticipated.