Another roller-coaster year in MMA has been up and down and all around, giving us a lot to shout about. Fighters at the top of their game, like merab dvalishvili And Valentina ShevchenkoPushed himself to the brink of history. A 24-year-old defeated veterans to become UFC champion. And of course, everyone was left in awe at some of the most creative and gruesome finales ever made.
With cage action on hold for the year-end break, a 13-member ESPN panel voted on the best of the best in 2025, including their favorite events, fighters, submissions and knockouts. These are the results, along with analysis on each winner from Brett Okamoto and Andreas Hell.
Event of the Year: UFC 317
Percentage of votes: 50%
Others getting votes: UFC 322, UFC 323 and UFC 314
Reinforced by a spectacular throwdown in the middle joshua van And Brandon RoyvalUFC 317 ends with a bang in June gregory rodrigues, Haider Amil, terence mckinney and some boy’s name Ilya TopuriaWho needed less than one round to take them out Charles Oliveira To win the Lightweight title in the main event and become a two-division UFC champion. There wasn’t a bad fight on the card, and when it takes so long to mention it alexandre pantojahas complete dominance Kai Cara-France In the co-main event, you know it was a special night of fights. –hel
Fight of the Year: Brandon Royval vs. Joshua Van at UFC 317
Percentage of votes: 69%
Others getting votes: diego lopez versus jean silvaDvalishvili vs. Omar Nurmagomedov, Nicolas Motta versus nazim sadikhov
Do you remember the time when there were discussions about closing the flyweight division? After this barn burning of battle, this notion will never be said again. Van and Royval beat and bloody each other for 25 minutes in June, setting a record for total significant strikes in a single fight (419 combined). The swings of the pendulum were dramatic and neither fighter took their foot off the gas at any moment. Van managed to seal the deal by knocking out Royval in the final seconds to win the round, leading to a memorable fight and breakout night for the 24-year-old, who ultimately defeated Pantoja to become flyweight champion in December. –hel
Male Fighter of the Year: Merab Davlishvili
Percentage of votes: 40%
Others getting votes: alex pereravan, Islam Makhachev and topuria
We can debate whether Dvalishvili ate too many bites of the apple in 2025, but it’s been nothing short of an incredible year for the former UFC bantamweight champion. He started the calendar year by dominating Omar Nurmagomedov in a Fight of the Night performance at UFC 311 in January. they slammed it shut sean o’malley with a submission in their June rematch at UFC 316. Then he entered the clinic, outclassing Corey Sandhagen At UFC 320 in October. Did Dvalishvili’s decision cause harm petr yan Whether due to burnout or his opponent making proper adjustments after their first meeting at UFC 323 two months later, we won’t know until they meet a third time. But in an era in which it’s rare to see a champion fight twice a year, Dvalishvili’s bold four-fight year sets him apart from the rest of the field. –hel
Female Fighter of the Year: Valentina Shevchenko
Percentage of votes: 79%
Others getting votes: kayla harrison
After going winless in 2023 and managing a single appearance in 2024, Shevchenko made a full return to dominance in 2025. She stands alone as not only the best flyweight in the world, but the best pound-for-pound female fighter. He faced a real challenge to his title in May, when he fought Manon “The Beast” Fiorot At UFC 315 in Montreal. Fiorot had defeated all of her opponents since 2019 before Shevchenko, who won that bout by unanimous decision. Shevchenko dominates former strawweight champion to end year zhang weili in November, in a match that never looked competitive. Dominating at the top of the sport is nothing new for Shevchenko, who goes 11-2-1 in UFC title fights, but there’s a dominant feeling to this year’s reign that has been lacking in recent years. –Brett Okamoto
Breakout Fighter of the Year: Joshua Vann
Percentage of votes: 69%
Others getting votes: michael morales And Anthony Hernandez
when the van was turned out charles johnson In 2024, this felt like a teachable moment for the young flyweight. They took stock, recalculated and won the next two contests that year. Van won in 2025, improving to 4-0 and winning the flyweight title at UFC 323 in December, although Pantoja suffered a shoulder injury in the opening seconds of the fight. The van was excellent at outpointing Rei Tsuruya And was demolished at UFC 313 in March bruno da silva Three months later at UFC 316 with strikes to earn a third-round TKO. But nothing compared to his emphatic decision win over Royval, which set him up for a title opportunity. Most young MMA fighters have to take off their lumps before they can really take off. No van. He has reached the top of the flyweight food chain at the age of 24 and is the second youngest champion in UFC history. john jones, –hel
KO of the Year: mauricio rafispinning wheel kicks against king green at ufc 313
Percentage of votes: 39%
Others getting votes: Prets defeated. Neal by KO1; Topuria defeated. Oliveira by KO1; Malcolm Wellmaker Defeated. chris moutinho By KO1; Perera defeated. Magomed Ankalev By KO1; Jiri Prochazka Defeated. Khalil Rountree Jr. by KO3
Almost every fighter in The Fighting Nerds camp has a tendency to finish opponents with a flurry, but Rafi’s beautifully powerful spinning wheel kick that knocked out Green was a sight to behold. Midway through the first round, Green did what he always does and fought with his hands down. Raffi pretended to keep his distance and delivered a spectacular spinning wheel kick that hit Green in the head, sending him face-first into a heap. Rafi’s follow-through was equally impressive, as he stood over his fallen opponent, hands on hips, praising his work. This was art. –hel
Submission of the Year: Jean Silva’s Ninja Choke vs. bryce mitchell at ufc 314
Percentage of votes: 46%
Others getting votes: costello van steenis Defeated. johnny eblen by SUB5; walter walker Defeated. louis sutherland by SUB1; And Dvalishvili defeated. SUB3 by O’Malley
When it comes to finishes, the 2025 awards might as well be called “The Fighting Nerds Finish of the Year.” The breakout team from Sao Paulo, Brazil suffered its first loss in the UFC this year, but still delivered some great finishes. This choke of Silva remains in the mind of the audience for a minute. Silva overpowered Mitchell on the legs before applying a choke while they were standing along the fence. Mitchell eventually went to the ground and tapped out, but Silva’s pressure and technique were so clean that Mitchell was knocked out cold before the referee could intervene. Disgusting actions by one of the most aggressive fighters in the game at the moment. — Okamoto
Memorable Moment of the Year: Back-to-back Spinning Back Elbow KOs at UFC 319
Percentage of votes: 39%
Others getting votes: Harrison and Amanda Nunes Face-off at UFC 316; derrick lewis‘ Post-Fight Night Interview; Topuria became a two-division champion; Makhachev became a two-division champion; Yan deposed Dvalishvili
What could be better than a spinning back elbow finish? Two And what’s better than two? Watching them constantly happen in fights that might as well be the MMA version of Halley’s Comet. Prats took things further, knocking Neal down with a full-length spinning back elbow in the final seconds of the opening round of the August fight. Neil was out even before he could enter the field. But leron murphy welcomingly aaron pico Going into the UFC with his own reverse elbow in the co-main event could have been even more impressive. The former Bellator MMA fighter was putting heavy pressure on Murphy, looking for a surefire win in his UFC debut, but Murphy was having none of it. His entrance with a well-timed elbow stunned Chicago’s United Center. –hel
Percentage of votes: 67%
Others getting votes: mackenzie dern, Brendan Allen And benoit saint denis
The details of Talbot’s improvement as an MMA fighter defy logic. Really. How does a 27-year-old male bantamweight move on from surrendering eight takedowns during an upset loss? raoni barcelos in january take down olympic gold medal winning wrestler henry cejudo Three times during a win in December? The label on Talbot went from bright prospect to legitimate contender – all in the span of 12 months. Sometimes, a defeat can turn into a blessing in disguise for a young fighter, and that appears to be the case with Talbot. No one made a more pronounced leap in skills and experience in 2025. — Okamoto
