MMA
MMA
Guide

Top 10 Oldest UFC Fighters

Find out the top 10 oldest UFC fighters as of their final fight in the organisation, including legends like Aleksei Oleinik, Mark Coleman and Andrei Arlovski.

Jake Staniland
Jake Staniland

Last Updated: 2024-08-27

Louis Hobbs

6 minutes read

 Mark Coleman (white shorts) def. Stephan Bonnar (black American flag shorts)

Image Credits: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Mixed Martial Arts is very much a young mans sport like the rest of combat sports, nevertheless, fighters in the UFC tend to stick around a little longer than boxers do for example.

Here are the top ten oldest UFC fighters in history as of their last fight in the organisation.
 

Fighter

D.O.B

Age of last fight

Weight

Achievements

Marion Reneau 

20th June 1977

44 years

Bantamweight 

Top Bantamweight contender 

Francisco Trinaldo

24th August 1978

44 years

Lightweight and Welterweight 

Top contender in UFC for almost a decade

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira 

2nd June 1976

44 years

Light-heavyweight 

Top contender in UFC and Pride FC

Andrei Arlovski 

4th February 1979

44 years

Heavyweight 

Former UFC Heavyweight Champion 

Mark Coleman 

20th December 1964

45 years

Heavyweight 

First ever UFC heavyweight champion 

Aleksei Oleinik 

25th June 1977

45 years

Heavyweight 

Top contender in UFC Heavyweight 

Anderson Silva 

14th April 1975

45 years

Middleweight 

Former UFC middleweight champion and one of the GOATs

Dan Henderson 

24th August 1970

46 years

Welterweight 

Former Strikeforce and Pride champion

Randy Couture 

22nd June 1963

47 years 

Light-heavyweight, Heavyweight 

Former two-weight and multiple time UFC champion 

Ron van Clief 

25th January 1943

51 years

Heavyweight

Fought Royce Gracie at UFC 4

10. Marion Reneau – Last UFC Fight: 44 years, 3 weeks, 6 days

The former UFC women's bantamweight top contender retired in 2021 after beating some of the top names on the women's roster like Jessica Andrade, who then went on to become a UFC champion.

Reneau was one of the very first female fighters introduced to the UFC women's bantamweight division.
 

Marion Reneau prepares to fight Raquel Pennington

Image Credits: ;Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

9. Francisco Trinaldo – Last UFC Fight: 44 years, 1 month, 1 week

Francisco Trinaldo battled his way against some of the very best the UFC lightweight and welterweight division had to offer for roughly a decade. The Brazilian would get cut by the organisation in 2022 despite being 5-1 in his final six fights.

Despite never being a champion in the UFC, Trinaldo was still rated very highly by MMA fans.
 

Francisco Trinaldo of Brazil battles Randy Brown

Image Credits: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

8. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira – Last UFC Fight: 44 Years, 1 Month, 3 Weeks, 2 Days

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, while never reaching those heights which his brother set, still had a very stellar career.

“Little Nog” stayed in the UFC until 2020 after suffering back-to-back defeats, but despite the bitter ending fans still regard him as a legend of the sport due to his Pride days. 
 

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira of Brazil

Image Credits: Buda Mendes/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

7. Andrei Arlovski – Last UFC Fight: 44 Years, 11 Months, 1 Week, 2 Days

Andrei Arlovski is the only active fighter on this list, and what's crazy about that is he still looks more than capable of mixing it with some of the sports’ brightest heavyweight prospects.

The former UFC heavyweight champion has a ton of experience behind him and you can definitely see that in the way he fights; nothing fazes him despite being almost half a century old. 
 

Andrei Arlovski of Belarus

Image Credits: Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

6. Mark Coleman – Last UFC Fight: 45 Years, 1 Month, 2 Weeks, 3 Days

Despite being one of the oldest fighters in UFC history, he was also relatively a late starter, having made his professional MMA debut at the age of 31.

Coleman was the first ever UFC heavyweight champion and he retired in 2010 after his bout with Randy Couture - both men were in their 40's entering that bout.
 

 Randy Couture (red shorts) def. Mark Coleman (black shorts)

Image Credits: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

5. Aleksei Oleinik – Last UFC Fight: 45 Years, 3 Months, 6 Days

Aleksei Oleinik is one of the most experienced fighters in MMA history having amassed 80 professional bouts. Even though he was supposed to be past his prime years, the Russian fighter fought several top heavyweights between 2014 and 2022 before he retired.

He made a name for himself over the decades by making people submit with his excellent Ezekiel choke technique.
 

Aleksei Oleinik of Russia

Image Credits: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

4. Anderson Silva – Last UFC Fight: 45 Years, 6 Months, 2 Weeks, 3 Days

Anderson Silva is regarded as one of the best to ever compete in the octagon and for good reason. Not only was he highly skilled but his longevity was also pretty incredible. The former UFC middleweight champion was released by the organisation in 2020. 

Bruce Buffer introduces Anderson Silva

Image Credit: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

3. Dan Henderson – Last UFC Fight: 46 Years, 1 Month, 2 Weeks

Dan Henderson was a Strikeforce and Pride champion, but he never claimed a belt in the UFC. Although, he did win a UFC tournament back in its earlier days. He was also the only two-time Pride champion in its history.

 Dan Henderson raises his hands after facing Michael Bisping

Image Credits: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

2. Randy Couture – Last UFC Fight: 47 Years, 10 Months, 1 Week, 1 Day

Randy Couture is one of the most decorated fighters in UFC history. Couture won UFC gold at middleweight, light-heavyweight and heavyweight, the latter on multiple occasions.

The American was still at the top of his game when he decided to retire, and that is the scariest part; there is no doubt he could have fought on if he wanted to. His fight IQ was what allowed him to be ultra competitive even in his late 40's.
 

 Randy Couture (green shorts) def. Gabriel Gonzaga (black/white shorts)

Image Credits: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

1. Ron van Clief – Last UFC Fight: 51 Years, 10 Months, 3 Weeks, 1 Day

The former Marine and actor debuted at UFC 4 where he drew the legend Royce Gracie in the tournament. Van Clief would lose via submission to the Brazilian Jiu-jitsu specialist and he would never compete in MMA again. 

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Image Credits: @kaivanclief (X Account)

Jake Staniland
Jake Staniland Sports Writer

Jake Staniland is a sports writer who excels in covering a wide range of sports: football, combat sports and the NFL - All three subjects are his lifelong passions.

Jake is a boyhood Sheffield United fan, which is often a curse that he thanks his family for. His favourite Blades player ever is Billy Sharp