UFC Fantasy Draft Season 5: 72 Fighters Set for Second Half 2026

MMA Fighting's fantasy draft for the second half of 2026 has wrapped, with staffers selecting 72 UFC fighters across 11 weight classes in hopes of overtaking reigning champion Alexander K. Lee.

Lee ran away with Season 4, posting the highest point total in league history behind Season 4 MVP Josh Hokit, as MMA Fighting's Jed Meshew reported. The league resets after UFC Baku, with Guilherme Cruz earning first pick after finishing last in the previous cycle. Each participant kept two fighters from their Season 4 roster before the snake draft began.

Season 5 Scoring and Key Keeper Picks

Fighters earn 100 points for a win, 50 for a finish, 50 for Performance or Fight of the Night honors, 50 for beating a ranked opponent, 25 for title fights, and 25 for main event slots. Cruz retained heavyweight Valter Walker and Paddy Pimblett, while José Youngs kept bantamweight contender Umar Nurmagomedov and Carlos Prates. Damon Martin locked in champions Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski, giving himself guaranteed title fight points when they compete.

Cruz used his wild card on Max Holloway, who fights Conor McGregor at UFC 329. Youngs grabbed heavyweight Ciryl Gane, viewed as a potential undisputed champion later this year. Martin selected strawweight titleholder Mackenzie Dern, setting up the draft's first head-to-head when Lee countered by keeping Gillian Robertson, Dern's scheduled opponent at UFC 330. Mike Heck took middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis, banking on a win over Kamaru Usman.

Lee used his wild card in Round 4 on Movsar Evloev, positioning himself for another featherweight title fight if Evloev gets the nod against Volkanovski. The season runs through the end of 2026, with UFC 329 kicking off scoring next weekend.

Reported via:

• MMA Fighting — UFC Fantasy Draft, Season 5: Which 72 UFC fighters will close out 2026 in style?