With another action-packed year of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie takes a look at the best fights from January to December 2025.
As voted on by our entire staff, here are the top five and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Year.
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Honorable mentions
Chris Duncan def. Mateusz Rebecki, UFC on ESPN 71
American Top Team teammates and occasional training partners Chris Duncan (15-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC) and Mateusz Rebecki (20-4 MMA, 4-3 UFC) put on an absolute banger.
Rebecki was about a 2-1 favorite in the fight, but left disappointed as Duncan was awarded the unanimous decision victory. Both fighters left the cage a bloody mess and had to be transported to an area hospital following the bout.
Diego Lopes def. Jean Silva, UFC Fight Night 259
Diego Lopes got back on track when he halted the momentum of Jean Silva in one of the most thrilling fights of the year.
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After losing a vacant featherweight title fight against Alexander Volkanovski in April, Lopes (27-7 MMA, 6-2 UFC) capped off the third annual Noche UFC celebration in spectacular fashion when he stopped Silva (16-3 MMA, 5-1 UFC) with a spinning elbow TKO finish.
Lopes nearly finished Silva with ground-and-pound in the opening round, but then in the second Silva turned the tide and inflicted some serious damage. Just when he got too eager and aggressive, though, Silva walked into the spinning elbow and went down, allowing Silva to land a few more punches and seal the deal.
Adrian Luna Martinetti def. Mark Vologdin, DWCS 85
UFC CEO Dana White called it one of the best fights he’s ever witnessed, so by all accounts, Adrian Luna Martinetti vs. Mark Vologdin was special.
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The two UFC hopefuls both earned contracts – and unprecedented $25,000 bonuses – on Dana White’s Contender Series for their three-round war that was full of twists, turns, and excessive amounts of violence.
Martinetti (17-1) defeated Vologdin (12-4-1) by unanimous decision, but it was almost as if the bout didn’t have a loser. White stopped the card mid-show, grabbed the microphone, and announced the double-signing and bonuses.
Merab Dvalishvili def. Umar Nurmagomedov, UFC 311
Despite Umar Nurmagomedov’s best efforts in his first crack at UFC gold, Merab Dvalishvili (19-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC) proved his championship metal by getting better as the fight reached deep waters.
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The UFC bantamweight championship remained around the Georgian’s waist after outpacing Nurmagomedov (18-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) with unanimous scores of 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46 in an extremely high-level contest that featured multiple momentum swings and engaging moments.
The winner
Joshua Van def. Brandon Royval, UFC 317
If it wasn’t already apparent that he’s elite, Joshua Van (16-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) proved that at UFC 317 when he defeated Brandon Royval (17-9 MMA, 7-5 UFC) by unanimous decision in an elite and record-setting flyweight fight.
It was the first and only fight in UFC history where both athletes landed 200 or more significant strikes, and the pair needed just 15 minutes to etch their names all over the record books.
Van’s power and timing proved the difference. In Round 1, he out-timed Royval in the exchanges and appeared to land the more effective shots. Although Rovval came on strong in Round 3, Van dug deep and out-dogged “Raw Dawg.”
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In the final moments of the bout, Van may have stole the fight on the judges’ scorecards as he badly stunned and dropped Royval. Though the buzzer saved Royval, he was still wobbly when he got up the shake hands with Van after the horn.
Prior to the bout, Dana White said the winner of the bout would be next for flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja. Van got that chance in December at UFC 323 and won by injury TKO, completing an unforgettable year for the 24-year-old.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: MMA Junkie’s 2025 Fight of the Year: Joshua Van vs. Brandon Royval
