Ranking the Top Contenders for MMA's 2025 Fight of the Year So Far
The year 2025 has been a fantastic one for UFC fans.
Over the past nine months, UFC fans have witnessed numerous unforgettable fights.
Here are the top four contenders for the best contest of 2025 so far.
Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier III
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Fans always expect excitement from Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier.
Their third matchup, with the "BMF" title on the line this August, was highly anticipated, especially as it marked Poirier's final fight in his home state of Louisiana.
That's exactly what we got. For five rounds, Poirier and Holloway flaunted all of the best weapons in their arsenals, and both stung each other with hard shots on multiple occasions.
In the end, Holloway spoiled Poirier's plans of going out with a win on home soil with a unanimous-decision victory earned with speed, volume, and power.
However, the fight was so entertaining and competitive that even Poirier's most ardent fans couldn't really complain. If winning wasn't an option, it was the best way he could have closed out his amazing career.
Jiri Prochazka vs. Jamahal Hill
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There aren't a lot of fighters like Jiri Prochazka.
In fact, it's fair to say the former light heavyweight champion is one of a kind, both in terms of enigmatic personality, and his unique brand of violence.
His style is incredibly unusual—so much so that it often looks like it shouldn't work at all. However, outside of a pair of losses to Alex Pereira, it has been incredibly effective in the UFC's Octagon.
Jamahal Hill, also a former champ at 205 lbs, learned how effective Prochazka's strange and aggressive style is when they met at UFC 311—the first pay-per-view of the year in January.
However, Hill proved to be a great challenge for the Czech star until he finally hit the deck in the last minutes of the fight.
For roughly 13 minutes of a possible 15, Prochazka and Hill traded heavy artillery at a high clip, which made for some intense moments, given the punishing punching power they both possess.
As the final bell approached, it was still anybody's fight, but Prochazka claimed the victory with a thunderous right hand and torrent of ground-and-pound.
It was a clear front-runner for Fight of the Year honors in 2025, but Prochazka may just one up himself when he meets another tremendously entertaining fighter in Khalil Rountree at UFC 320 on October 4.
Jack Della Maddalena vs. Belal Muhammad
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Most people expected Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena's May welterweight title fight to go one of two ways: either champion Muhammad would win a decision over five rounds, or Della Maddalena would win by way of strikes sometime before the final bell.
Not many expected the pair to deliver a 2025 Fight of the Year contender. Yet that's what they did, and it was largely due to a Muhammad making a shocking break from his usual style, which is based on relentless pressure and takedowns.
Instead of focusing on getting the fight to the ground, the champion willingly engaged his challenger—one of the best punchers in the division—in a wild, five-round slugfest. By the time it was over, the pair had thrown well over 300 strikes apiece.
Unfortunately for Muhammad, the decision to spend so much time striking with Della Maddalena resulted in a unanimous-decision defeat, and the loss of the welterweight title.
However, if there was a silver lining, it's that the contest helped him dampen a growing reputation for somewhat boring fights. It was a barn-burner.
For the entertaining Della Maddalena, meanwhile, it set up a superfight with former lightweight champ Islam Makhachev in his first title defense. That one goes down at UFC 322 in New York City on November 15.
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Joshua Van vs. Brandon Royval
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Joshua Van was incredibly bold for stepping in the Octagon with Brandon Royval at UFC 317 in June.
Royval, the flyweight division's No. 1 contender at the time, had originally been set to meet Manel Kape on the card. When Kape was sidelined with an injury, however, Myanmar's Van agreed to step in on short notice.
Van, who was just 21 days removed from a knockout of Bruno Silva at the time, had recently entered the division's top 15, but he was facing a gargantuan step up in competition.
Royval, a former title challenger, was unlike anyone he'd ever fought before, with ample experience against the best in the division, and finishing prowess on the mat and on the feet. The short-notice circumstances made circumstances even tougher for Van.
It's safe to say Van rose to the occasion, though. He showed no fear of the No. 1 contender and met him in the middle of the Octagon, where they remained for the majority of a frenetic, 15-minute slugfest.
Royval was every bit the challenge we expected him to be and outlanded his young opponent 215 strikes to 204. However, Van landed the more impactful strikes—including a crucial knockdown in Round 3—which helped lead him to a split-decision victory that cemented him as the next man in line for flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja.
It's possible Van will shock the world again when he meets Pantoja at a still undetermined date later this year or early next. Yet no matter the outcome of that matchup, he can take pride in his role in one of the best UFC fights of the 2020s—just like Royval can in defeat.
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