David Teymur Record: 8-2-0

UFC rise

Teymur made an immediate impression once he reached the cage for real. He opened his UFC run in February 2016 by stopping Martin Svensson with second-round punches, then knocked out Jason Novelli, again in the second round with strikes, that August. The signature win of his career followed at UFC 209 in March 2017, when he outpointed the highly touted Lando Vannata over three rounds — a result that announced him as a real lightweight prospect.

Peak and a hard stop

Teymur kept climbing through 2017 and 2018. In December 2017 he handed unbeaten prospect Drakkar Klose his first defeat by decision, then outworked veteran Nik Lentz over three rounds in June 2018 to run his UFC record unbeaten. The streak ended in February 2019 against future lightweight champion Charles Oliveira, who caught him in a second-round anaconda choke — a loss to elite competition that marked his last appearance to date.

Fighting style

Teymur is a Muay Thai-based striker through and through, and his record reflects it: four of his eight wins came by knockout and the other four by decision, with no submission victories. As a southpaw working behind a long reach, he excels at managing distance, mixing heavy kicks and crisp boxing, and breaking opponents down over rounds — both of his early UFC finishes came in the second round after he had built momentum. The clearest vulnerability is on the mat: his lone professional submission loss came against Oliveira, one of the best grapplers in the sport, underscoring that his danger lives in the striking exchanges rather than scrambles on the ground.

Career highlights

• Signature UFC win — outpointed touted prospect Lando Vannata over three rounds at UFC 209 in 2017.
• Unbeaten UFC run — opened his promotional tenure 5-0 with knockouts of Martin Svensson and Jason Novelli and decisions over Drakkar Klose and Nik Lentz.
• Decorated striking pedigree — an IFMA World Championship bronze medalist in Muay Thai who carried that base into a knockout-heavy MMA game.