Ryan Loder Record: 7-3-0

The Ultimate Fighter 32 title

Loder joined the cast of The Ultimate Fighter 32 as a member of Valentina Shevchenko's team and made the most of it. He submitted Tom Theocharis with an arm-triangle choke in the quarterfinals and outpointed Omran Chaaban over three rounds in the semifinals to reach the show's middleweight final. With a UFC contract on the line, he closed the deal in dominant fashion.

UFC career

Loder's official UFC debut came in the TUF 32 finale in August 2024 against Robert Valentin, whom he stopped with elbows in the second round to capture the tournament title and his six-fight UFC deal. The step up in competition proved unforgiving from there. In May 2025 he ran into the heavy-handed Azamat Bekoev, who finished him with punches in the first round, and in November 2025 the veteran Ismail Naurdiev caught him with a knockout punch in the opening round. The back-to-back stoppage losses left the powerful wrestler looking to reassert the grappling-first approach that carried him to the Octagon.

Fighting style

Loder is a wrestler with finishing instincts, and his finish breakdown shows it: five of his seven wins have come by knockout or TKO and the other two by decision, for a 71% finish rate with zero submission wins despite his grappling pedigree. His best work comes when he uses his takedowns and top control to set up ground-and-pound and brutal elbows, as he did against Valentin and Sean Sullivan, and his slam knockout in his debut hinted at the raw power he carries. The honest concern is on the feet against the division's sharper strikers: both of his UFC losses came by first-round knockout, suggesting that controlling distance and getting the fight to the mat quickly will be central to his success at the top level.

Career highlights

• The Ultimate Fighter 32 champion — stopped Robert Valentin with elbows in the second round to win the middleweight tournament and a six-fight UFC contract.
• NCAA Division I All-American — placed seventh at the 2013 NCAA Championships for Northern Iowa, a four-time qualifier who built his MMA game on that wrestling base.
• 71% finish rate — five of seven career wins by knockout or TKO, including a first-round slam knockout in his professional debut.