Year in Review: Best UFC moments of 2025

The year 2025 is about to end, but the UFC Octagon has delivered a year to remember: jaw-dropping knockouts, five-round thrillers, unexpected upsets, tested legacies, emerging champions, and history-making performances all happened during the 12 months.

Let's take a look at the best UFC moments of 2025 that made the year memorable for MMA fans.

Islam Makhachev achieves legend status

Islam Makhachev becoming a two-division champion was the biggest moment in the UFC in 2025.

The Dagestani fighter defeated former welterweight title holder Jack Della Maddalena by unanimous decision, 50-45, 50-45, 50-45, on November 15 at UFC 322 in the main event at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Former UFC lightweight champion Makhachev (28-1 MMA) became the 11th fighter in UFC history to win multiple titles across divisions.

Ilia Topuria’s breakout moment on biggest stage

Spain’s Ilia Topuria became an overnight star after knocking out Brazil’s Charles Oliveira in the first round of the lightweight title fight at UFC 317 at the T-Mobile Arena on June 28.

Topuria rocked Oliveira with a powerful right hook and followed it up with a crushing left, sending the Brazilian crashing to the canvas.

With glazed eyes and no response, the referee quickly stepped in, sealing Topuria’s emphatic victory and fulfilling his pre-fight prediction of a first-round knockout.

In his post-fight interview, Topuria expressed gratitude and declared himself a representative of a new era in MMA.

“I already said it, I represent the new generation of mixed martial arts. This is the next level of the game. This is what I represent,” Topuria said.

“I did exactly what we had planned: lots of jabs, right hand, left hook — and boom — lights out.”

Topuria, who remained undefeated and extended his professional record to 17-0, moved up from the featherweight division, vacating his previous belt after a dominant run that included wins over top contenders like Josh Emmett and Bryce Mitchell.

Crazy Fight of the Year war (Van vs Royval)

Joshua Van won an absolutely thrilling fight against Brandon Royval at UFC 317 main card, which was considered likely to be the Fight of the Year.

Rising flyweight prospect Van entered the bout on short notice after Manel Kape injured his foot and withdrew from the fight.

Van, who was in the Octagon for his previous fight three weeks ago, extended his win streak to five at UFC 317 in Las Vegas by winning the match on unanimous decision with the judges scoring the fight 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 in favour of the 23-year-old.

Alexander Volkanovski reclaims featherweight title at age 36

Alexander Volkanovski reclaimed the UFC featherweight title at UFC 314 on April 12 in Miami at the age of 36 by defeating Diego Lopes.

With the win, he became the first male fighter in the history of UFC to win a championship fight in the lighter classes after the age of 35.

Volkanovski had previously defended his title four times before challenging Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title, which he lost by decision on February 11, 2023. He later defended his featherweight belt by defeating Yair Rodriguez in a title unification bout five months later, but he eventually lost his gold to Ilia Topuria by knockout in February 2024.

Alex Pereira reclaims title in 80-second TKO

Brazilian Alex Pereira dethroned Magomed Ankalaev with a stunning first-round knockout win at UFC 320, reclaiming the light heavyweight title on October 04.

When the two rematched at the T-Mobile Arena, the 38-year-old Pereira, who had lost the title to Ankalaev by unanimous decision in March, wasted no time in pursuing his Russian opponent, charging forward from the first bell.

After one minute and twenty seconds of the first round, referee Herb Dean had to step in and end the fight because Pereira's tremendous right hand had injured his opponent, and when Ankalaev tried to grapple, the Brazilian followed him to the ground, punishing him with blows to the head and body.

Khamzat Chimaev captures middleweight title at UFC 319

Khamzat Chimaev maintained his undefeated record by claiming the UFC middleweight title after dominating South Africa’s Dricus du Plessis for all five rounds at UFC 319 on August 16 at the United Center.

He broke the UFC record of Max Holloway in the bout by landing 529 total strikes in a single fight.

The Chechen-born fighter maintained complete control for most of the fight, showing great wrestling and grappling skills, earning a unanimous decision win, with all three judges scoring the contest 50-44 in his favour.

The Russian fighter improved his unbeaten record to 15-0 with the victory in the title fight.

Merab Dvalishvili defends bantamweight title against Sean O'Malley

Georgia’s Merab Dvalishvili successfully defended his UFC bantamweight title with a second-round submission victory over Sean O'Malley at UFC 316 on June 7 at Prudential Center.

O'Malley showcased impressive defence throughout the bout, but Dvalishvili maintained relentless pressure, consistently working for position and attempting several submission manoeuvres.

He ultimately secured a chokehold, forcing O'Malley to tap out at four minutes and 42 seconds of the second round.

The fighters first fought at UFC 306 in September 2024, when O’Malley was the champion, and Dvalishvili dethroned him via unanimous decision to win the bantamweight title.

The rematch between Dvalishvili and O’Malley at UFC 316 was one of the most anticipated bantamweight fights of 2025.

Della Maddalena dethrones Belal Muhammad

Jack Della Maddalena claimed the welterweight title at the main event of UFC 315, stamping his incredible rise in the promotion by defeating American Belal Muhammad on May 10 in Montreal, Canada.

The Australian secured a unanimous decision victory with judges scoring the five-round contest 48-47, 48-47, and 49-45 in his favour.

Della Maddalena extended his MMA winning streak to 18 consecutive fights after that victory, while Muhammad suffered a setback in what was his first title defence following an impressive 11-fight win streak.

UFC legend Dustin Poirier’s last dance

Dustin Poirier could not get the victory in the final fight of his storied UFC career against Max Holloway at UFC 318 at the Smoothie King Center on July 19.

The match delivered an electrifying final 15 seconds when Holloway and the retiring Poirier traded blows in Round 5.

The match resulted in a victory after a unanimous decision on the three judges' cards, 48-47, 49-46, 49-46 for Holloway.

It was the third fight between Holloway and Poirier, in which the former was better than he had been in the first two clashes; he had lost the first two fights of the series before returning the favour in the Louisiana native's last MMA bout.

Dricus du Plessis' title defence against Sean Strickland

Dricus du Plessis defeated his bitter rival, Sean Strickland, at UFC 312, defending his UFC middleweight belt, and inflicting a cut on his opponent’s nose during the title fight in Sydney on February 9.

Du Plessis won the fight by a unanimous decision with judges scoring 50-45, 50-45, 49-46 in his favour.

Jiri Prochazka stops Jamahal Hill in defining 2025 UFC moment

Jiri Prochazka stopped Jamahal Hill after showing enough defence to keep his opponent guessing while he scored several knockdowns to finish the fight in the third round at UFC 311 on January 18 at Intuit Dome, Los Angeles, California.

Prochazka and Hill were both former UFC light heavyweight kings coming off defeats to then-champion Alex Pereira, making this an important fight for title contention.

Petr Yan reclaims bantamweight title at UFC 323

Merab Dvalishvili was on his way to becoming the first UFC champion to defend his title four times in a calendar year. However, Petr Yan ruined his plans when he brought an A game in their rematch and reclaimed the bantamweight title after four years.

Yan won the match via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47) at the main event of UFC 323 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on December 06, ending the 14-match winning streak of Dvalishvili.