Natan Levy

Natan Levy (; born September 30, 1991) is a French-born Israeli professional mixed martial artist who competed in the lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a two-time winner of the Ultimate Self-Defense Championship reality competition series, which is featured on the USDC by Rokas Leo YouTube channel.

Early life Levy was born on in Paris, France to a traditional Jewish family. He moved to Israel as a toddler and grew up in Herzliya.

Prior to his professional MMA career, Levy worked as a martial arts instructor and ran a Karate dojo in Tel Aviv, Israel. he moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, in the United States at the age of 22 in order to train in mixed martial arts and pursue a professional career. Over the first few years, he was forced to travel between training in Las Vegas and work in Israel to make money.

He subsequently beat Daniel Hudson via unanimous decision on 3 December, and Geoffrey Mellor via guillotine choke submission on 17 June 2017, bringing his mixed martial arts amateur record to 4–0. His next bout in the LFA was against Cameron Underhill at LFA 45. Levy beat Underhill via guillotine choke submission in only 29 seconds of the first round.

After his win over Lugo, Levy earned a spot on Dana White's Contender Series 35 where he took on Shaheen Santana in a 160-pound catchweight bout. He beat Santana via arm triangle choke submission in the third round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship Following his victory over Santana, Levy signed a contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Initially fighting in the featherweight division, he moved up a weight class and began his UFC journey in the lightweight division. He made his debut for the organization in a fight against Rafa García at UFC Fight Night 198 on 20 November 2021 but lost the bout via unanimous decision.

After his loss to García, Levy rebounded with a win over Mike Breeden at UFC Vegas 53 via unanimous decision on 30 April 2022. He then faced Genaro Valdéz on 3 December 2022, at UFC on ESPN 42 and defeated him by unanimous decision after three rounds.

He was scheduled to face Pete Rodriguez on 29 April 2023 at UFC Vegas 72, and then on 13 May at UFC on ABC 4 but his opponent withdrew twice. However, he withdrew from the fight after failing to pass pre-fight medical tests, and he was replaced by Charlie Campbell.

Levy faced Mike Davis on March 16, 2024, at UFC Fight Night 239. At the weigh-in, Levy weighed 156.5 pounds, half a pound over the lightweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at catchweight and Levy was fined 20% of his purse which went to his opponent Davis. Levy lost the bout as a result of an arm-triangle submission in the second round.

On February 28, 2025, it was reported that Levy was removed from the UFC roster.

Ultimate Self-Defense Championship

Natan Levy won the Ultimate Self-Defense Championship Season 2 on October 13, 2024, securing the Ultimate Self-Defense belt. He competed amongst six participants, but his toughest challenge came from Craig Hunter (a truck driver with minimal martial arts experience), who ultimately claimed second place. He returned to successfully defend his title in Season 3, beating the martial arts YouTuber and sumotori Sensei Seth to claim first place on 21 December 2025.

Personal life In addition to his native French and Hebrew, he is fluent in English.

In late January 2025, after fellow UFC fighter Bryce Mitchell praised Adolf Hitler and made antisemitic comments on his podcast, Levy offered to educate Mitchell firsthand about Jewish culture and history.

Mixed martial arts record Win

Zhang Kui TKO (punches) World X-Impact Federation: APEC 2025 Korea Summit Commemorative World MMA Competition

Seoul, South Korea Loss

Mike Davis Submission (arm-triangle choke) UFC Fight Night: Tuivasa vs. Tybura

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Genaro Valdéz Decision (unanimous) UFC on ESPN: Thompson vs. Holland

Orlando, Florida, United States Win

Mike Breeden Decision (unanimous) UFC on ESPN: Font vs. Vera

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Rafa García Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Vieira vs. Tate

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Shaheen Santana Submission (arm-triangle choke) Dana White's Contender Series 35

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Ben Lugo Decision (majority) LFA 88

Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States Win

Nicholas Badis Decision (unanimous) LFA 69

Cabazon, California, United States Win

Henry Barahona Decision (unanimous) LFA 58

Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States Win

Cameron Underhill Submission (guillotine choke) LFA 45

Cabazon, California, United States Win

Marcus Sims Submission (armbar) LFA 36

Cabazon, California, United States Win

Geoffrey Mellor Submission (guillotine choke) Tuff-N-Uff - Pack The Mack

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Daniel Hudson Decision (unanimous) Heartland FC: Genesis

Marion, Illinois, United States Win

Josh Brady Submission (rear-naked choke) Real MMA 11

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Isaac Caranza Submission (guillotine choke) Tuff-N-Uff - Pack The Mack

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Kickboxing record