Boxing and MMA's Biggest Turkeys of 2025

This may come as a shock to combat sports fans, but there are a lot of turkeys in both boxing and mixed martial arts.

You might have missed us putting our tongues in our collective cheeks with that comment ahead of Thanksgiving.

There are no shortage of characters we can pick on, but in the spirit of giving, our Lyle Fitzsimmons and Tom Taylor have decided to hand out special turkey awards in both sports.

Boxing: Gervonta Davis

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Jake Paul is a lot of things to a lot of people.

One of those things is a hell of a boxing promoter. Whatever you think about him, he certainly knows how to sell a fight and get buzz for an upcoming bout.

Which brings us to Gervonta Davis, B/R's undisputed boxing turkey for 2025.

Though surely accomplished in the ring, the 31-year-old had an opportunity for a big payday go up in smoke after being labeled unprofessional, among other things, and his fight against the social media influencer in November was canceled.

Davis was in line to cash in as the B-side in this year's most-hyped novelty clash, a 10-round exhibition with Paul initially set for Atlanta (and later moved to Miami) that would have added significantly to his bank account, if not his reputation.

Until Paul, of all people, deemed him unworthy.

Paul replaced Davis with an even bigger—both literally and figuratively—adversary in Anthony Joshua and rescheduled the show for a week before Christmas.

MMA: Justin Gaethje

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Justin Gaethje is one of the most beloved fighters in the UFC today. There's a good reason for that.

He is pure entertainment, and he's got the accolades to prove it, with nine Fight of the Night bonuses, five Performance of the Night bonuses, and a "BMF" title to his credit.

Despite not yet winning an undisputed UFC title, the 37-year-old is a legend of the lightweight division, and we're lucky to have him. None of that precludes him from acting like a turkey, though.

Gaethje has spent the bulk of this year calling for a crack at the lightweight title, now the property of Ilia Topuria. On its own, that's standard behavior for a ranked fighter.

The problem is that Gaethje has also been threatening to retire if he doesn't get what he wants. It's all very foolish for two reasons.  

The first problem is that the American simply doesn't deserve a title shot right now—at least, not more than Arman Tsarukyan or Paddy Pimblett. 

Even before Tsarukyan thrashed Dan Hooker in Qatar last weekend, he was ahead of Gaethje in a race for a title shot. He had four straight wins behind him, including a decision victory over Charles Oliveira.

The same goes for Pimblett, who hasn't beaten anyone as good as Oliveira but has won seven straight UFC fights after a win over Michael Chandler.

Gaethje, in contrast, is 1-1 in his last two. Last year, he was famously knocked out cold by Max Holloway. This year, he rebounded from that loss with a decision win over Rafael Fiziev—a man he had already beaten, who accepted the rematch on very short notice. On merit, he's way behind both of his lightweight rivals. It's that simple.

The other big problem with Gaethje's ultimatum—that he'll retire if he doesn't get what he wants—is that he'd only be hurting himself if he followed through on it.

Remember when Dustin Poirier retired earlier this year? "The Diamond" got a lavish and emotional sendoff in his home state of Louisiana, in front of thousands of adoring onlookers. He earned that extravagant exit by entertaining UFC fans for years and beating some of the best lightweights in the game in the process.

Gaethje deserves a similar sendoff. If he hangs up the gloves because the UFC refused to give him a title shot before Tsarukyan or Pimblett, he deprives himself of that beautiful goodbye to the sport. 

With utmost respect, Gaethje needs to drop the entitlement—or stop listening to whoever convinced him his silly ultimatum is a smart play. He's not going to get the next title shot. It will go to Tsarukyan or Pimblett. He needs to accept that and fight whichever man doesn't get the opportunity. If he wins that fight, he'll undoubtedly get another opportunity to fight for the belt.

Whether he wins or loses, he can revisit his retirement plans afterward. That seems like a better course of action than quietly retiring after a close, decisive victory over a short-notice opponent.

It's hard to imagine a more anticlimactic ending to his legendary career. 

Who's your turkey in combat sports? Submit your thoughts in the comments section of the app, share your thoughts on our picks and don't be afraid to sound off.