February 1, 2024 8: 00 am ET
The UFC roster is bigger than ever – and it continues to expand.
Fresh faces appear on nearly every card, whether onboarded as short-notice opening fillers, “Dana White’s Contender Series” signees, or rare straight-up additions. Sometimes it’s hard to keep track of the hustle and bustle of the mixed martial arts news beat, but here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got you covered.
“Fresh Ink” is your list of fighters added to the UFC roster the previous month and provides background on who they are and where they came from.
Check out the January 2024 list below.
Kayla Harrison
2023 PFL Championships at The Anthem in Washington D.C., Friday, Nov. 24, 2023. (Cooper Neill / PFL)
Record when signed: 16-1
Signing type: Straight up
Weight class: Bantamweight
Age: 33
Debut: April 13 vs. Holly Holm (15-6 MMA, 8-6 UFC) at UFC 300 in Las Vegas
She needs no introduction, but Kayla Harrison is one of the highest-profile UFC signings in recent memory. An Olympic gold medalist in judo, Harrison signed with PFL prior to her pro MMA debut in 2018. She won PFL championships in 2019 and 2021 before she was upset by Larissa Pacheco in the 2022 final. The defeat was in November 2022. Harrison has only competed once since, a November 2023 unanimous decision victory over Aspen Ladd.
Luis Rodriguez
Photo by Josh Hedges-DWCS LLC/Zuffa LLC
Record when signed: 16-2
Signing type: Straight up
Weight class: Flyweight
Age: 24
Debut: Feb. 24 vs. Denys Bondar (19-4 MMA, 0-2 UFC) at UFC Fight Night in Mexico City
“Lazy Boy” Luis Rodriguez has long been on the UFC radar, and now he’s finally with the promotion. Rodriguez fought for a UFC contract on “Dana White’s Contender Series” in 2020, but lost a controversial split decision to Jerome Rivera. Since then, Rodriguez has won five straight fights, four of which were under the Lux Fight League banner.
Carlos Vera
Carlos Vera
Record when signed: 11-3
Signing type: Short-notice
Weight class: Bantamweight
Age: 36
Debut: Feb. 17 vs. Rinya Nakamura (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) at UFC 298 in Anaheim, Calif.
Carlos Vera has been competing in mixed martial arts for over 12 years. It wasn’t the quickest journey to the UFC, but it was a successful one. Vera grew up two towns over from a more famous “Vera” (Chito) in Ecuador and began taekwondo at age 4. He moved to the United States and trained next to former ONE Championship titleholder Thanh Le. He competed at the state, national, and international level in taekwondo before turning to MMA. After a 9-4 amateur career, he went 11-3 as a professional, most notably competing for Fury FC. In 2023, Vera competed on “The Ultimate Fighter 31” and was eliminated in the quarterfinals by eventual bantamweight season winner Brad Katona.
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