Iwo Baraniewski (born November 20, 1998) is a Polish professional mixed martial artist and former judoka. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Background Baraniewski initially competed in judo. He started training at Nastula Club, before later switching to Aligatores Fight Club, which to this day is his gym. He competed in multiple International Judo Federation (IJF) tournaments, but did not place in the top 3.
Baraniewski's first podium place came at the 2018 World Judo Juniors Championships where he won the bronze medal after defeating Mathias Madsen. His next two medals were in submission wrestling, where he obtained a bronze and gold medal at the ADCC Polish Nationals in 2019 and 2020 respectively. Also in 2020, Baraniewski won the gold medal at the Polish Youth Judo Championships in Józefów after beating Eryk Ryciak in the final.
Transitioning to mixed martial arts, Baraniewski competed in the GAMMA European Championships in Kyiv in 2021, where he won the silver medal after losing to Stanislav Khmilkovsky in the finals. In 2022, Baraniewski competed in both the GAMMA European Championships and World Championships, where he won a gold medal in both after beating Arturs Skabarnieks and Giorgi Chochishvili respectively. In 2024, Baraniewski won another GAMMA European Championships gold medal after beating Cristian Constantinov in the finals.
Mixed martial arts career
Babilon MMA On September 30, 2023, under Babilon MMA, at Babilon MMA 39, Baraniewski won his professional MMA debut via armbar against Kamil Bartosiński in the first round. His last fight with the promotion came on March 14, 2025, when he faced Kamil Stachura. Baraniewski won the fight via first-round technical knockout, improving his record to 5–0.
Dana White's Contender Series Baraniewski faced Mahamed Aly on the ninth season of Dana White's Contender Series on September 16, 2025, winning via knockout in the first 20 seconds and securing a contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Ultimate Fighting Championship Baraniewski made his UFC debut against İbo Aslan on December 6, 2025, at UFC 323. He won the fight via first-round knockout. This fight earned him his first Performance of the Night award.
Baraniewski faced Austen Lane on March 21, 2026, at UFC Fight Night 270. He won the fight via knockout early into the first round. This fight earned him a $100,000 Performance of the Night award.
Baraniewski was scheduled to face Billy Elekana on June 6, 2026 at UFC Fight Night 278. However, Elekana withdrew for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Junior Tafa. Baraniewski won the fight via technical knockout early into the first round. This fight earned him another $100,000 Performance of the Night award.
Baraniewski faced Alonzo Menifield on September 19, 2026 at UFC 331. He lost the fight by split decision, marking his first loss in mixed martial arts.
Championships and accomplishments Mixed martial arts Professional Ultimate Fighting Championship Performance of the Night (Three times) UFC.com Awards 2025: Ranked #5 Fight of the Year MMA Fighting 2025 Round of the Year 2025 Third Team MMA All-Star theScore 2025 Round of the Year
Amateur 2021: GAMMA European Championships - 2nd place in 120 kg category (Kyiv) 2022: GAMMA European Championships - 1st place in 120 kg category (Tbilisi) 2022: GAMMA World Championships - 1st place in 120 kg category (Amsterdam) 2024: GAMMA European Championships - 1st place in 120 kg category (Vysoké Tatry)
Judo 2018: World Judo Juniors Championships — 3rd place in 100 kg category (Nassau) 2020: Polish Youth Judo Championships — 1st place in 100 kg category (Józefów)
Grappling 2019 ADCC Polish Nationals - 3rd place in 100 kg category (Warsaw) 2020 ADCC Polish Nationals - 1st place in 100 kg category (Warsaw)
Mixed martial arts record
|Loss |align=center|9–1 |Alonzo Menifield |Decision (split) |UFC 331 | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Los Angeles, California, United States
|Win |align=center|9–0 |Junior Tafa |TKO (leg kick and punches) |UFC Fight Night: Muhammad vs. Bonfim | |align=center|1 |align=center|1:25 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
|Win |align=center|8–0 |Austen Lane |TKO (punches) |UFC Fight Night: Evloev vs. Murphy | |align=center|1 |align=center|0:28 |London, England
|Win |align=center|7–0 |İbo Aslan |KO (punches) |UFC 323 | |align=center|1 |align=center|1:29 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
|Win |align=center|6–0 |Mahamed Aly |KO (punches) |Dana White's Contender Series 82 | |align=center|1 |align=center|0:20 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
|Win |align=center|5–0 |Kamil Stachura |TKO (elbows and punches) |Babilon MMA 51 | |align=center|1 |align=center|3:02 |Ciechanów, Poland
|Win |align=center|4–0 |Sylwester Borys |TKO (punches) |Babilon MMA 49 | |align=center|1 |align=center|3:01 |Radom, Poland
|Win |align=center|3–0 |Cemey dos Santos |TKO (punches) |Babilon MMA 47 | |align=center|1 |align=center|1:11 |Wieliczka, Poland
|Win |align=center|2–0 |Miroslav Uchytil |Submission (armbar) |Babilon MMA 42 | |align=center|1 |align=center|3:54 |Żyrardów, Poland
|Win |align=center|1–0 |Kamil Bartosiński |Submission (armbar) |Babilon MMA 39 | |align=center|1 |align=center|3:17 |Radom, Poland |
See also List of current UFC fighters List of Dana White's Contender Series alumni List of male mixed martial artists
References
External links