Darya Zheleznyakova Record: 10-3-0

European run and a key setback

Her climb wasn't without a stumble. In November 2022, she ran into the unbeaten Melissa Mullins at Ares FC 9 and was stopped by ground-and-pound in the first round, the first knockout loss of her career. Rather than derail her, the defeat sharpened her, and she bounced back with a first-round finish of Marie Loiseau in April 2023. That rebound, combined with her established European résumé, earned her a UFC contract heading into 2024.

UFC career

Zheleznyakova made her promotional debut in March 2024 against the unbeaten prospect Montserrat Rendon, handing her a first defeat via unanimous decision and validating the hype around her arrival. The step up in competition bit back in September 2024, when the well-rounded Ailín Pérez submitted her with a first-round arm-triangle choke. She regrouped with one of the most satisfying wins of her career in June 2025, avenging her earlier loss to Melissa Mullins by unanimous decision to even their series. In April 2026 she came up short against Melissa Croden, dropping a three-round unanimous decision.

Fighting style

Zheleznyakova is a striker first, and her record reflects it: five of her ten wins have come by knockout or stoppage strikes against zero submissions, for a 50% finish rate, and the rest by decision. Her kickboxing and Pankration pedigree show in her comfort at range and her willingness to throw with power, while her wrestling-heavy training base at MMA Factory has rounded out a game that started as pure striking. The honest vulnerability has been on the mat: both of her decisive UFC losses came to grappling-oriented opponents who took her down or submitted her, underscoring that her path to climbing the division runs through keeping fights standing and tightening her defensive grappling.

Career highlights

• Winning UFC debut — handed unbeaten prospect Montserrat Rendon her first professional loss by unanimous decision in March 2024.
• Avenged a knockout loss — came back to beat Melissa Mullins by decision in 2025 after Mullins had stopped her in their 2022 meeting.
• Pankration world champion — captured a Pankration world title in 2019 and a European K-1 bronze, the striking pedigree that underpins her MMA game.