Where does 2025 rank among the best (or worst) years in UFC history? How will the fight sports world remember Terence Crawford? And what is the best-case scenario for the UFC’s White House event in 2026?
All that and more in this week’s mailbag. To ask a question of your own, hit up @BenFowlkesMMA on X or @Ben_Fowlkes on Threads.
@NeedXtoseePosts: How would you rank this year out on 10 for enjoyment in the UFC
Obviously purely on business it’s likely 10 with their Paramount deal
If we’re just looking at output in the cage, this has not been the UFC’s greatest year. Beginning with Islam Makhachev vs. Renato Moicano at UFC 311 in January, it seems like we ended up with a lot of title fights that felt very much like backup plans. Some of that was out of the UFC’s control, but some wasn’t.
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Coming into 2025, there were two big fights we hoped to see: Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall and Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria. We got neither. Again, not all of that was the UFC’s fault. But we keep being told the UFC is the lone fight sports brand that makes the fights fans want to see, all while getting something different.
My hope is this was a table-setting kind of year. Maybe this first year on Paramount will be big, if only because there’s pressure to bring in a ton of subscribers and make that huge price tag seem worth it. The UFC and its parent company, TKO, still continue to make a ton of money, so good for them. But I don’t think any of us will look back on 2025 as a particularly great year inside the Octagon.
@BFTDMMA: Terrence Crawford retired today.
How would you rate his career?
I don’t see how anyone could look at his record and his trophy case and say he had anything other than an incredible career. I also think part of the discussion around his legacy will include this stubborn suspicion that he could have done more, though I don’t think that will bother Crawford all that much.
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Fight sports tend to favor big personalities. They are not always as appreciative as they should be of the quiet masters. But anybody with the wisdom and discipline to walk away undefeated and rich and loaded down with title belts deserves a lot of respect — if only because of how rare that combination is.
@loyd_bj: Who is the first noteworthy “retired” fighter to get back into the cage in 2026?
I fully expect some disappointing 2026 return for Jon Jones in a fight that is not at all what he or anyone else asked for, but which he will inevitably accept for a fraction of what he would have made to fight Tom Aspinall, all because he doesn’t know what else to do with himself.
@JohnRayMMA: Which Montana are you rooting for?
First of all, how dare you. I’m a University of Montana alumnus. I was in attendance for the Griz’s quarterfinal victory over South Dakota last week. I was right there with the rest of the crowd chanting “FTC” once it became clear that the Griz would, in fact, be moving on to play the hated Bobcats of Montana State in the semifinal round this Saturday.
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After Montana lost this year’s Brawl of the Wild, with help from some VERY questionable referee calls (but whatever), I think we’ve all been hoping the Griz would get a rematch in the playoffs. Now here it is. Just too bad it’s in Bozeman, since that means it won’t look nearly as cool on TV. Plus the crew who works the game will have to put up with all of Bozeman’s Silicon Valley transplants walking around the city in the cowboy hats they bought off a site selling “Yellowstone” merch.
But seriously, I don’t know if people outside the state can grasp how big this game is in Montana. These two teams are basically the closest thing we have to pro sports. The rivalry divides families and marriages and workplaces. And to have them face each other in the playoffs for the very first time? With the winner in a great position to then capture the national championship? It’s huge. And I can’t wait. Go Griz.
@shadore66: Do you think Nunes can come back and beat Harrison? The oddsmakers seem think that won’t happen
I would be … surprised. As of right now Amanda Nunes is, to me, unquestionably the greatest fighter in the history of women’s MMA. But coming out of a two-year retirement at age 37 and jumping right into a fight with Kayla Harrison, who seems to be in her prime, is asking a whole hell of a lot of herself. I respect Nunes for taking on that challenge, and she’d level up to a whole new tier of GOATness if she pulls it off. But even the greats are susceptible to ring rust and the ravages of time.
@jaypettry: What is the UFC’s best-case scenario headliner for the White House card that we’re getting, come heck or high water?
Honestly, I think the best we could hope for is a heavyweight title fight. A real one. Which means it would have to involve UFC heavyweight champ Tom Aspinall. There’s still six months for Aspinall to get medically cleared and then get into training camp, which, as long as he doesn’t need surgery to repair his eye, is not unreasonable.
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He wouldn’t necessarily have to fight Ciryl Gane, either. If the UFC decides Gane forfeited his shot when he went knuckle-deep into both of Big Tom’s eye sockets, I doubt there’d be too much outrage. And since Jones wants so very desperately to fight at the White House, maybe that could be the leverage necessary to get him to accept a fight with Aspinall (for waaaay less money than he would have made doing it in 2025).
But if the hope is to use this one-off event to attract new fans — and new Paramount+ subscribers — the headliner needs to be something big that everyone can understand. A heavyweight title fight fits that bill. I’m not sure a whole lot else does.
@logsupacoowacky: Predictions for Women’s MMA in 2026?
Feels like we’re due for some changing-of-the-guard moments this new year. I predict that Valentina Shevchenko, as great as she’s been, will not be champion by the end of year. Neither will Mackenzie Dern. Though that one doesn’t exactly feel like I’m going out on a ledge.
@LCombatsports: What keeps you going in your combat sports media work? As someone venturing into it, I would love to hear what you still enjoy about? Given the current environment, what would be good steps to progress in this career?
Whenever I start feeling like I’m stuck in a rut and it’s just the same stuff every week, I remind myself that the cure for this is talking to people and searching out new stories. As soon as I start doing that — interviewing fighters or other people in and around the sport, hearing them talk about topics or memories or experiences they’re passionate about — I feel reinvigorated. It also typically happens that, once I start talking to people, I get other ideas for other stories.
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As for getting started, the key is to just start creating some form of content, whether it’s writing or podcasts or video, and keep at it consistently. Stay after it and build an audience gradually, but never underestimate the importance of maintaining that consistency.
@SplitDecisionnn: Ben, I watch the crac every week. I super chat every day. Why won’t you at the very least acknowledge my human existence?
I acknowledge you. I see you. You exist. We both exist. Hallelujah.
@EyeofMihawk: If, in the Paramount era, it seems like we are going to get somewhat better, more stacked fight cards with wacky-ass title fights, is that a worthwhile tradeoff? Also will we get title fights on fight nights again? Van wants to fight in Houston soon, for instance
At least so far, I’m not convinced that much will change about the rhythm or quality of UFC events. If anything, having no more pay-per-views to sell might remove the incentives to put on really great numbered events. But the pace of events isn’t slacking, so the demands on the roster will still be roughly the same. It just seems like it will cost us, the fans, a lot less.
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I’ll take that. It’s the first time in the 25 years or so that I’ve been following this sport that the price for being a fan has actually gone down from one year to the next.
