Benardo Sopaj
“The Lion King”
Record 13-3Albania
Next fight
vs. Marcus McGhee — UFC 332, October 3, 2026
The style
Aggressive Finisher
High finish rate · Professional since age 15 · Scrambles
GrapplingStriking
Benardo 'The Lion King' Sopaj is a 25-year-old Albanian bantamweight, fighting out of Stockholm, Sweden, who turned professional at 15 and built a 13-3 record largely on the European regional circuit before joining the UFC. He was knocked out by a flying knee from Vinicius Oliveira in his promotional debut, one of 2024's most replayed knockouts, but has won his last two, a decision over Ricky Turcios and a second-round submission of Timmy Cuamba in May 2026. His exact win-method split for his full regional record is not fully confirmed across sources. He now faces a durable UFC veteran in Marcus McGhee.
Tale of the tape
| Record | 13-3 |
| Age | 25 |
| Height | 5'6" |
| Reach | 66" |
| Stance | — |
| Country | Albania |
| Team | — |
The numbers
Career UFC averages.
| Sig. strikes landed / min | — |
| Striking accuracy | — |
| Sig. strikes absorbed / min | — |
| Striking defense | — |
| Takedowns / 15 min | — |
| Takedown accuracy | — |
| Takedown defense | — |
| Submission attempts / 15 min | — |
How they win
6 KO/TKO4 SUB3 DEC