The choice for MMA Junkie’s Female Fighter of the Year was Dakota Ditcheva, and it wasn’t really close. Ditcheva had a star-making 2024 as she dominated the PFL season, standing out in a year when no UFC women’s champion defended their title more than once. After claiming the PFL Europe championship in December, Ditcheva entered
Day: January 1, 2025
When it seemed like there was no hope for him at UFC 297, Neil Magny showed the world that things aren’t always as they seem. Dominated for nearly 14 minutes in enemy territory in Toronto, Magny turned the tables on surging Canadian prospect Mike Malott for a TKO at 4:45 of Round 3. Mounted in
If the UFC returns to Japan, Sean O’Malley wants in. The former UFC bantamweight champion was a guest fighter at the New Year’s Eve show RIZIN 49, which took place at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The UFC hasn’t held an event in Japan since UFC Fight Night 117 in September 2017, but O’Malley
With another action-packed year of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie takes a look at the best knockouts from January to December. Here are the top five and the winner of MMA Junkie’s Knockout of the Year award for 2024. At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by
Luke Rockhold offered his insight on the big upcoming light heavyweight clash at UFC 311. Jiri Prochazka (30-5-1 MMA, 4-2 UFC) and Jamahal Hill (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) square off in a key divisional matchup on Jan. 18 at Inuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. The event streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and
Michael Bisping doesn’t see Magomed Ankalaev dethroning UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. Ankalaev (19-1-1 MMA, 10-1-1 UFC) is projected to be next in line to challenge Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC), although “Poatan” recently hinted that the UFC could have other plans for him. With Ankalaev saying he wouldn’t utilize his ground game in
Sayif Saud still thinks Brandon Moreno has the best chance to dethrone UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja. Moreno (22-8-2 MMA, 10-5-2 UFC) has lost to Pantoja three times, most recently falling short by split decision in their title fight at UFC 290 in July 2023. He went on to lose a unanimous decision to Brandon
Two male fighters stood out above the rest in 2024, but the final choice for MMA Junkie’s Male Fighter of the Year was Ilia Topuria. The UFC featherweight champion had a year for the ages. Topuria began his year by knocking out Alexander Volkanovski in February at UFC 298 to claim the title. Then, in
Rodolfo Vieira will remain on UFC Fight Night 251 after all. Vieira (10-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) was originally scheduled to face Jacob Malkoun at the event on Feb. 15 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, but was forced out due to injury. The BJJ specialist Vieira will get to keep the date and face
Ian Machado Garry thinks he should be ranked a lot higher after losing to Shavkat Rakhmonov. Machado Garry (15-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) rallied late in a unanimous decision loss to Rakhmonov earlier this month at UFC 310. It was a close affair, but given his five-round matchup with Rakhmonov (19-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) was dubbed
Cigarettes, booze, and brutal knockouts. That was Carlos Prates’ recipe to enamor the MMA world and become one of its biggest standout fighters of 2024. In short, the Brazilian striker fought four times, scored four knockouts, and won four $50,000 Performance of the Night bonuses. While those stats paint a great story, there’s much more