Ion CuÃÂelaba (born 14 December 1993) is a Moldovan professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Born and raised in ChiÃÂinÃÂu, CuÃÂelaba began training and competing in Greco-Roman wrestling as a clone. He additionally competed in Sambo and Judo, becoming a national champion in both. In 2012, representing Moldova, CuÃÂelaba finished first in the 90 kg category of the European Sambo Championships.
CuÃÂelaba made his professional debut in April 2012, competing primarily for regional promotions across Eastern Europe. He amassed a record of 11-1 (1) before signing with the UFC in the spring of 2016.
CuÃÂelaba made his promotional debut against Misha Cirkunov on 18 June 2016, at UFC Fight Night 89. He lost the fight via submission in the third round.
CuÃÂelaba next faced Jonathan Wilson on 1 October 2016, at UFC Fight Night 96. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
CuÃÂelaba next faced Jared Cannonier on 3 December 2016, at . He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Subsequently, both fighters earned Fight of the Night honors.
CuÃÂelaba faced Henrique da Silva on 11 June 2017, at UFC Fight Night 110. He won the fight via knockout in the opening minute of the first round.
CuÃÂelaba was expected to face Gadzhimurad Antigulov on 4 November 2017, at UFC 217. However, Antigulov pulled out of the fight on 26 September citing an injury and was replaced by newcomer Michaà  Oleksiejczuk. In turn after the weigh-ins, CuÃÂelaba was pulled from the event by USADA due to a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from its investigation into voluntary disclosures by CuÃÂelaba during an out-of-competition sample collections on 18 and 19 October. He was provisionally suspended and the bout was scrapped. USADA handed down a six-month suspension for ozone therapy involving a blood transfusion which is prohibited under 2018 World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) list on manipulation of blood component. CuÃÂelaba became eligible to fight again on 6 May 2018.
The bout with Antigulov eventually took place on 28 July 2018, at UFC on Fox 30. CuÃÂelaba won the fight via TKO in the first round.
CuÃÂelaba was scheduled to face Glover Teixeira on 19 January 2019, at UFC Fight Night 143. However, on 10 January 2019, CuÃÂelaba was pulled out of the bout due to an injury. The pair was rescheduled to meet at on 27 April 2019. CuÃÂelaba lost via a rear-naked-choke submission at 3:37 in the second round.
CuÃÂelaba faced Khalil Rountree Jr. on 28 September 2019, at UFC Fight Night 160. He won via TKO in the first round.
CuÃÂelaba faced Magomed Ankalaev on 29 February 2020, at UFC Fight Night 169. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round. The loss was controversial as referee Kevin MacDonald stopped the bout believing CuÃÂelaba was out on his feet after a flurry of strikes from Ankalaev, which CuÃÂelaba immediately protested. The stoppage was heavily criticized by media outlets, fighters, and fans as being premature. CuÃÂelaba appealed the loss, which was subsequently denied by the Virginia athletic commission.
Due to the controversy of the stoppage, the UFC rebooked the pair on 18 April 2020, to meet at UFC 249. However, Ankalaev was forced to withdraw from the event due to COVID-19 pandemic travel restriction, with CuÃÂelaba being rescheduled to face Ovince Saint Preux on April 25, 2020. However, on 9 April, UFC president Dana White announced that the event was postponed to a future date The rematch with Ankalaev was expected to take place on 15 August 2020, at UFC 252. CuÃÂelaba then pulled out on 11 August after testing positive for COVID-19 and the bout was rescheduled for UFC Fight Night 175. However, the day of the event, the bout was once again scrapped after CuÃÂelaba tested positive for COVID-19 for a second time. The bout rescheduled for the third time and they met on 24 October 2020 at UFC 254. CuÃÂelaba lost the fight via knockout in round one.
CuÃÂelaba was scheduled to face Devin Clark on 1 May 2021, at . However, Clark pulled out from the event, citing injury, and he was replaced by Dustin Jacoby. CuÃÂelaba dominated the first round, however Jacoby came back in the second and third rounds with the fight ending in a split draw.
The bout between CuÃÂelaba and Clark took place on 18 September 2021, at UFC Fight Night 192. CuÃÂelaba knocked down Clark in round one, going on to dominate the bout and won by unanimous decision.
CuÃÂelaba was scheduled to face Ryan Spann on 26 February 2022, at UFC Fight Night 202. However, Spann was pulled from the event due to injury and the bout was rescheduled for UFC on ESPN 36. He lost the bout via guillotine choke in the first round.
CuÃÂelaba faced Johnny Walker on 10 September 2022, at UFC 279. He lost the fight by a rear-naked choke submission in the first round.
CuÃÂelaba faced Kennedy Nzechukwu on 19 November 2022, at UFC Fight Night 215. He lost the fight via technical knockout in round two.
CuÃÂelaba faced Tanner Boser on 15 April 2023, at UFC on ESPN 44. He won the fight via first-round technical knockout.
CuÃÂelaba was scheduled to face Ovince Saint Preux on 5 August 2023, at UFC on ESPN 50. However, the bout was cancelled on 20 July for unknown reasons.
CuÃÂelaba was scheduled to face Philipe Lins on 7 October 2023 at UFC Fight Night 229. However the bout was cancelled the day of the event for unknown reasons.
CuÃÂelaba faced Philipe Lins on 9 March 2024, at UFC 299. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.
Cutelaba faced promotional newcomer Ivan Erslan on 28 September 2024 at UFC Fight Night 243. He won the fight by split decision.
CuÃÂelaba faced Ibo Aslan on 22 February 2025 at UFC Fight Night 252. He won the fight via an arm-triangle choke submission in the first round.
CuÃÂelaba faced former Cage Warriors Light Heavyweight Champion Modestas Bukauskas on 10 May 2025 at UFC 315. He lost the fight by split decision.
CuÃÂelaba faced Oumar Sy on 14 March 2026 at UFC Fight Night 269. He won the fight via a guillotine choke submission in the first round.
CuÃÂelaba and his wife Olga have two daughters.
|- |Win |align=center|20âÂÂ11âÂÂ1 (1) |Oumar Sy |Submission (guillotine choke) | | |align=center|1 |align=center|4:24 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|19âÂÂ11âÂÂ1 (1) |Modestas Bukauskas |Decision (split) |UFC 315 | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |- |Win |align=center| |ðbo Aslan |Submission (arm-triangle choke) | | |align=center|1 |align=center|2:51 |Seattle, Washington, United States | |- |Win |align=center| |Ivan Erslan |Decision (split) | | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Paris, France | |- |Loss |align=center| |Philipe Lins |Decision (unanimous) |UFC 299 | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Miami, Florida, United States | |- |Win |align=center|17âÂÂ9âÂÂ1 (1) |Tanner Boser |TKO (punches) | | |align=center|1 |align=center|2:05 |Kansas City, Missouri, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|16âÂÂ9âÂÂ1 (1) |Kennedy Nzechukwu |TKO (flying knee and punches) | | |align=center|2 |align=center|1:02 ||Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|16âÂÂ8âÂÂ1 (1) |Johnny Walker |Submission (rear-naked choke) |UFC 279 | |align=center|1 |align=center|4:37 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|16âÂÂ7âÂÂ1 (1) |Ryan Spann |Submission (guillotine choke) | | |align=center|1 |align=center|2:22 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Win |align=center| 16âÂÂ6âÂÂ1 (1) |Devin Clark |Decision (unanimous) | | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Draw |align=center| (1) |Dustin Jacoby |Draw (split) | | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|15âÂÂ6 (1) |Magomed Ankalaev |KO (punches) |UFC 254 | |align=center|1 |align=center|4:19 |Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | |- |Loss |align=center|15âÂÂ5 (1) |Magomed Ankalaev |TKO (head kicks and punches) | | |align=center|1 |align=center|0:38 |Norfolk, Virginia, United States | |- | Win |align=center|15âÂÂ4 (1) |Khalil Rountree Jr. |TKO (elbows) | | |align=center|1 |align=center|2:35 |Copenhagen, Denmark | |- |Loss |align=center|14âÂÂ4 (1) |Glover Teixeira |Submission (rear-naked choke) | | |align=center|2 |align=center|3:37 |Sunrise, Florida, United States | |- |Win |align=center|14âÂÂ3 (1) |Gadzhimurad Antigulov |TKO (punches and elbows) | | |align=center|1 |align=center|4:25 |Calgary, Alberta, Canada | |- |Win |align=center|13âÂÂ3 (1) |Henrique da Silva |KO (punches) | | |align=center|1 |align=center|0:22 |Auckland, New Zealand | |- |Loss |align=center|12âÂÂ3 (1) |Jared Cannonier |Decision (unanimous) | | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- | Win | align=center| 12âÂÂ2 (1) | Jonathan Wilson | Decision (unanimous) | | | align=center| 3 | align=center| 5:00 | Portland, Oregon, United States | |- | Loss | align=center| 11âÂÂ2 (1) | Misha Cirkunov | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | | | align=center| 3 | align=center| 1:22 | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | |- | Win | align=center| 11âÂÂ1 (1) | Malik Merad | KO (punch) | World Warriors FC: Cage Encounter 4 | | align=center| 1 | align=center| 0:08 | Paris, France | |- | Win | align=center| 10âÂÂ1 (1) | Vitali Ontishchenko | Submission (omoplata) | World Warriors FC: Cage Encounter 3 | | align=center| 1 | align=center| 2:37 | Kyiv, Ukraine | |- | Win | align=center| 9âÂÂ1 (1) | Yuri Gorbenko | TKO (punches) | World Warriors FC: Ukraine Selection 5 | | align=center| 1 | align=center| 1:10 | Kyiv, Ukraine | |- | Win | align=center| 8âÂÂ1 (1) | Izidor Bunea | TKO (punches) | World Warriors FC: Cage Encounter 2 | | align=center| 1 | align=center| 1:13 | ChiÃÂinÃÂu, Moldova | |- | Win | align=center| 7âÂÂ1 (1) | Alexandru Stoica | KO (punch) | World Warriors FC: Cage Encounter 1 | | align=center| 1 | align=center| 0:07 | ChiÃÂinÃÂu, Moldova | |- | Win | align=center| 6âÂÂ1 (1) | Constantin Padure | KO (punch) | Combat Sambo Federation of Moldova: Adrenaline | | align=center| 1 | align=center| 1:05 | ChiÃÂinÃÂu, Moldova | |- | Win | align=center| 5âÂÂ1 (1) | Igor Gorkun | KO (punch) | Grand European FC: Battle on the Gold Mountain | | align=center| 1 | align=center| 0:28 | Uzhhorod, Ukraine | |- | Loss | align=center| 4âÂÂ1 (1) | Michaà  Andryszak | DQ (punches to back of head) | Cage Warriors 58 | | align=center| 1 | align=center| 4:07 | Grozny, Russia | |- | NC | align=center| 4âÂÂ0 (1) | Murod Hanturaev | NC (referee error) | Alash Pride: Grand Prix 2013 | | align=center| 1 | align=center| 0:24 | Almaty, Kazakhstan | |- | Win | align=center| 4âÂÂ0 | Anatoli Ciumac | TKO (punches) | European Combat Sambo Federation: Battle of Bessarabia | | align=center| 2 | align=center| 0:29 | ChiÃÂinÃÂu, Moldova | |- | Win | align=center| 3âÂÂ0 | Igor Kukurudziak | Submission (omoplata) | European Combat Sambo Federation: Adrenaline | | align=center| 1 | align=center| 0:42 | ChiÃÂinÃÂu, Moldova | |- | Win | align=center| 2âÂÂ0 | Julian Chilikov | TKO (punches) | The Battle for Ruse | | align=center| 1 | align=center| 0:25 | Ruse, Bulgaria | |- | Win | align=center| 1âÂÂ0 | Daglar Gasimov | TKO (punches) | CIS Pankration Cup 2012 | | align=center| 1 | align=center| 0:27 | Nizhny Novgorod, Russia | |-