Ryan Kuse, the 32-year-old known as the “Third Street Savage,” grew up in Broward County, Florida, around Pembroke Pines. The nickname comes from the stretch of Third Street where he and his friends would gather as kids. There, they got into the kind of scrapes that built him a local reputation long before he ever stepped into a cage. High school wrestling gave him an early organized outlet. However, the real transition came when he channeled that background into formal MMA training at The Goat Shed Academy in Miami under Asim Zaidi.
Kuse turned pro in 2020 after an 8-3 amateur career. He quickly found a home at Titan FC. There, he picked up early finishes over Earnest Walls and Jamal Johnson. Notably, he got a stoppage of Micaias Ureña sandwiched between them on a Fighting Force card in the Dominican Republic.
His first professional setback came against Leonardo Morales on Combate Global in 2022. Kuse rebounded with a kimura finish of Jarod Grant at Gamebred Bareknuckle and a decision win over Thiago Belo on Combat Night. However, he then saw his momentum halted by a split-decision loss to Cameron Smotherman at Fury FC 89. More recently, he picked up a unanimous decision over Kevin Natividad at LFA 220. He later stopped Leandro Camargo at Samurai Fight House 28. We’ve also seen him in Karate Combat, where he went 2-0 with two knockouts.
That run earned him a UFC contract, and the “Third Street Savage” is now set to make his promotional debut against Marcio Barbosa in Sacramento on August 22, 2026.
Kuse is the kind of fighter who wants to climb on top of you and stay there. His takedowns are solid, his wrestling sits somewhere in the okay-to-good range. Once he gets the fight to the mat, he becomes a positional pest. He scrambles well, chains positions together, and constantly looks to advance until he finds somewhere unpleasant to work from.
Ground-and-pound, particularly elbows from top position, is one of his favorite weapons. He’s comfortable settling into dominant spots and raining down damage while looking for the next positional upgrade. Scrambles are a genuine strength. However, don’t expect him to consistently catch opponents with slick submissions. That part of his game is far less developed. His fight with Camargo showed that vulnerability particularly well. This was clear when Camargo began actively hunting submissions from underneath.
On the feet, things are considerably more basic. Kuse throws good knees and kicks, pushes forward with a brawling mentality, and, at 135 pounds, showed some legitimate speed and power. At 145, however, that pop doesn’t translate quite as well. He doesn’t look particularly imposing physically. His striking is built more around individual power shots than layered combinations. Meanwhile, his defensive habits can be downright uncomfortable to watch. He tends to retreat in a straight line, leaving himself available to clean counters. For example, Natividad was able to land on him cleanly on several occasions. The durability is therefore at least worth monitoring.
His cardio held up reasonably well against Natividad at bantamweight, although the Camargo fight painted a different picture. Kuse appeared to burn through his gas tank trying to force the finish. As a result, things became increasingly sketchy as the fight wore on. He has been reliable enough at finishing overmatched opponents. However, that finishing ability tends to dry up as the level of competition rises.
Overall, I think Kuse is much more effective at 135 pounds than he is at 145. This naturally tempers my enthusiasm for him at featherweight. The problem is that I don’t expect him to move back down to bantamweight. Therefore, we’re likely looking at a fighter competing in the division where I think he’s less physically imposing. He also carries less of the speed and power that made him interesting at 135. That makes it harder for me to rate his UFC ceiling that high, even if his pressure, wrestling, and opportunistic ground-and-pound can translate to the promotion.
His fight with Marcio Barbosa
Kuse will have the height advantage over Barbosa, but that’s nothing new for him. The bigger concern is the stylistic matchup. Barbosa is a calm, composed counter-puncher with plenty of experience and legitimate fight-ending power in his hands. That countering game should line up beautifully against Kuse. After all, Kuse likes to march forward, pressure his opponents, and initiate exchanges.
Kuse actually reminds me a bit of Damon Wilson. Barbosa thoroughly outclassed Wilson in every area on the Contender Series. The more I look at this matchup, the harder it is to find something Kuse brings to the table that Barbosa hasn’t already seen and dealt with.
I expect Barbosa to stay patient, let Kuse come to him, and wait for the opening. Eventually, I think he finds one of those signature counters, likely early in the fight, and puts Kuse away cleanly in the first round.
