In a sport filled with conflict and animosity, there are also instances of positivity in the combat world, as well.
With 2025 nearly complete, these are some of the most wholesome UFC moments from the past 12 months – most of which took place outside of the octagon.
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Former middleweight champions Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker were once key rivals after a tense two-fight series between them, both won by Adesanya. They kicked off 2025 by putting it all behind them and training together, recording a podcast and strengthening a newfound friendship.
Alexandre Pantoja and Belal Muhammad started 2025 as UFC champions in the flyweight and welterweight divisions, respectively, but their egos were not too big to travel to a local gym in Los Angeles during UFC 311 fight week and pass along wisdom to the next generation.
Jiri Prochazka cuts hair for cancer patient, Dana White matches donation
Jiri Prochazka surprised many when he showed up to the UFC 311 pre-fight press conference with a shaved head. A longtime fan of Prochazka’s, Ashley McGarity, paid homage to his “war hair” just before undergoing her cancer treatment, which immediately caught his attention.
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Prochazka revealed that he’s donating 1 million Czech Koruna to support cancer research, which UFC CEO Dana White said he would match.
Shara Magomedov thanks Michael Bisping for one-eyed motivation
UFC middleweight Shara Bullet, who only has vision in on eye, told Michael Bisping face-to-face at UFC Saudi Arabia about the degree to which the UFC Hall of Famer has inspired him to compete and rise to prominence inside the octagon.
Vinicius Oliveira, Said Nurmagomedov play ping pong before UFC Saudi Arabia fight
UFC bantamweights Vinicius Oliveira and Said Nurmagomedov couldn’t wait until fight night in Saudi Arabia to compete against each other – so they took to the ping pong table.
After fighting each other in February 2024, there is no lingering hostility between Alexander Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria, who took a photo together backstage at UFC 312 ceremonial weigh-ins from Sydney in February. Charles Oliveira, who ended up fighting Topuria for the vacant lightweight title in June, also hopped in there.
Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan coach Russian reality show
There was some legitimate bad blood between Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan after a two-fight series for the UFC bantamweight title in March 2021 and April 2022, which were both won by Sterling. They put the beef to rest while being opposing coaches on the ALF Reality series, which is a Russian show similar to “The Ultimate Fighter.”
Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira watch UFC 312 together
The history between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira is known to any MMA fan. Two fights in kickboxing and two for UFC championships have created a monumental storyline between the pair, but it appears there will be no more additional chapters if UFC 312 spoke for anything.
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Adesanya and Pereira watched the February event together from cageside, chatting about the fights that were happening and discussing the idea of training together in the future.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Zhang Weili embrace at UFC 312
Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Zhang Weili never appeared to have bad blood before or after their pair of memorable fights, one of which is an all-timer and likely headed to the UFC Hall of Fame. Jedrzejczyk went into the locker room before Weili’s successful UFC 312 title defense vs. Tatiana Suarez with some words of encouragement.
A few months after their first fight at the Sphere and a couple months prior to their UFC 316 rematch being announced, Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili linked up together at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas and had a viral jacuzzi moment.
Georges St-Pierre congratulates Merab Dvalishvili on record
The two most prominent takedown artists in UFC history had a moment at UFC Vegas 104 when Georges St-Pierre congratulated Merab Dvalishvili for breaking his longstanding record for most takedowns landed in company history.
Paddy Pimblett and Ilia Topuria greet at UFC London weigh-ins
Paddy PImblett and Ilia Topuria have shown far more often than not that they have no love for each other, which could lead to a big fight in 2026. However, at March’s UFC London ceremonial weigh-ins, they showed a small moment of respect by bumping fists during a passing moment on-stage.
Michael Bisping interviews Brad Tavares in cage after tying record
Michael Bisping last registered a win in the UFC middleweight division in October 2016. He retired with the all-time wins record for the weight class with 16, and after nearly nine years unthreatened, Brad Tavares finally stacked enough victories to equal “The Count.”
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Bisping was on commentary the night it happened at UFC Vegas 105, and he entered the octagon to congratulate Tavares on the feat in a classy exchange.
Michael Chandler and Patricio Freire squash their beef prior to UFC 314
After a heated rivalry under the now-defunct Bellator banner, former champs of that promotion Michael Chandler and Patricio Freire both found themselves as UFC fighters in 2025. In fact, “Pitbull” made his octagon debut on the same UFC 314 card where Chandler was defeated by Paddy Pimblett.
The pair were asked many questions about their history leading up to fight night, but instead of adding a new layer to the feud, went out of their way to put any bad blood to rest.
Amanda Nunes’ reaction to Hall of Fame announcement
Although her moment to enshrined into the UFC Hall of Fame was inevitable given all the accomplishments of an iconic career, Amanda Nunes’ reaction to the surprise announcement of her induction as part of the 2024 class at UFC 314 was nothing short of touching.
Alexander Volkanovski embraces father after UFC 314 title win
Alexander Volkanovski was honest about his family wishes to have him retire from MMA after back-to-back knockout losses against Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria. He had a lot riding on his vacant featherweight title bout with Diego Lopes, and when he won by unanimous decision, the post-fight embrace with his father and family showed the significance of the moment.
Three legends hilariously reflects on their losses
Kamaru Usman, Israel Adesanya and Henry Cejudo are some of the greatest fighters and champions the UFC has ever seen, but when they got together for a podcast earlier this year, they were all positioned in a similar career spot: With three consecutive losses.
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Instead of dwelling about it, though, Cejudo made light of the situation with a perfectly-timed comment about their skids that had everyone laughing.
Ian Machado Garry and Carlos Prates show love after UFC Kansas City and beyond
After an entertaining five-round scrap to headline an April event, Ian Machado Garry and Carlos Prates were all respect. The welterweight contenders offered encouragement to each other backstage. Then, a few months later, they sat cageside at an event and looked like good friends.
Sep 6, 2025; Paris, FRANCE; UFC Fighters Ian Machado Garry (left) and Carlos Prates (right) watch the fight between Benoit Saint Denis (red gloves) and Mauricio Ruffy (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Accor Arena. Mandatory Credit: Per Haljestam-Imagn Images
Islam Makhachev visits boy with cancer
UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev showed again that he has a heart of gold when he took time from his busy schedule to visit a 16-year-old boy fighting cancer and make a wish come true.
Valentina Shevchenko embraces Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 315
Valentina Shevchenko and Joanna Jedrzejczyk had history in Muay-Thai before becoming two of the greatest female fighters in UFC history, and even sharing the octagon once in a vacant women’s flyweight title bout in December 2018.
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They’ve since become good friends, however, and we saw an example of it when Jedrzejczyk waited to greet Shevchenko outside the octagon following her UFC 315 win over Manon Fiorot.
Kayla Harrison and Merab Dvalishvili celebrate UFC 316 title wins
UFC 316 in June was a big night for Kayla Harrison and Merab Dvalishvili, who dispatched of respective opponents Julianna Peña and Sean O’Malley with submissions to exit with championship belts around their waists.
The celebration was on backstage afterward, with Harrison and Dvalishvili embracing each other and raising their arms high in victory.
Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira cut weight together before UFC 317 title fight
Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira showed respect to each other in the buildup to their UFC 317 vacant lightweight title fight in June, which Topuria won by first-round knockout. In fact, the animosity was so little that they were comfortable enough to cut weight side-by-side in the hours before weigh-ins for the bout.
Dustin Poirier and Rush Holloway at UFC 318
When Dustin Poirier defeated Max Holloway in the second fight of their trilogy in 2019, Holloway’s son, Rush, was in tears and had to be comforted by “The Diamond.”
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Years later, following Holloway’s victory at UFC 318 in Poirier’s retirement fight, a now-teenage Rush respectfully greeted Poirier backstage in a heart-warming exchanging.
Charles Oliveira bringing family into octagon at UFC Rio
In what might’ve been his final opportunity to compete on home soil during his UFC run, Charles Oliveira made the most of the moment when, after submitting Mateusz Gamrot in the main event, he brought his family into the octagon to soak in the emotional moment.
Mackenzie Dern gives belt to daughter at UFC 321
Mackenzie Dern finally touched gold at UFC 321 when she defeated Virna Jandiroba in their rematch to become undisputed strawweight champion.
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As nice as it was to see Dern hold the belt, the moment became even more special when she handed the title to her daughter, Moa, who has grown up throughout the duration of Dern’s rise to the top of the sport.
Max Holloway shows support to Ilia Topuria
Although they’ve had their disputes and a fight inside the octagon, Max Holloway once again showed the degree of his character and class when he offered public support for Ilia Topuria’s decision to take a hiatus from MMA in early 2026 in order to resolve issues in his personal life.
Max Holloway, Alexander Volkanovski chat at ‘IT’S ON’ press conference
Frequenters on this list Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski made one final contribution at the “IT’S ON” seasonal press conference in December when they definitively proved they have no ill will when the three-time opponents sat side-by-side on the dais and chatted with smiles on their faces.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: The most wholesome UFC and MMA moments of 2025
