Written by Merab Dvalishvili, Ilia Topuria, Jack Della Maddalena, and Kayla Harrison
We’re halfway through the 2025 campaign and while there’s been plenty to gripe about in the world of MMA, fans have also been given some fantastic first-half highlights that we’ll still be buzzing about by year’s end.
Despite the PFL putting on a bunch of fun cards, these mid-season awards are unsurprisingly dominated by UFC fighters. But who are the current leaders of the pack? MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck, Jed Meshew, Damon Martin, and Alexander K. Lee make their picks for the best fighter, knockout, submission, and fight of the year so far.
Best Fighter — Merab Dvalishvili is DOMINANT
It’s Merab Dvalishvili, ladies and gentlemen.
The bantamweight champion began the year taking a matchup against the undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov, the boogeyman of 135 pounds, a fighter some believed to be the uncrowned champion. Not only did Dvalishvili beat him over the five rounds as an underdog, but “The Machine” also got a bonus for his participation in the Fight of the Night.
Dvalishvili could have stopped there and waited until late summer or early fall to compete again, but he ended up headlining UFC 316 less than five months later against Sean O’Malley. This time, with no lingering issues for O’Malley, “Sugar” was as sharp as he’s ever been heading into a fight, and Dvalishvili still ran him over before getting the stoppage with a nasty choke in Round 3. 2-0, two title defenses in one of the toughest divisions in the sport, that gets you the nod in my book. — Heck
Honorable mentions: Waldo Cortes-Acosta, Magomed Ankalaev, Jack Della Maddalena, Kayla Harrison, Terrance McKinney, Jesus Pinedo, Gadzhi Rabadanov, Jean Silva, Ilia Topuria, Joshua Van
Best Knockout — Ilia Topuria SLEEPS Charles Oliveira at UFC 317
I’ve been a fan of MMA for a very long time. Longer than I care to say at this point. And in over two decades of watching the sport, there are only a handful of moments that truly transcend it, that signal a paradigm shift from one way of things to another.
When Royce Gracie submitted Gerard Gordeau, it redefined what we knew about fighting. When Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar went to war, you could sense the sport come out of the dark ages and into the light. And when Conor McGregor dummied Eddie Alvarez, you felt the entire sport jolt forward like Dominic Toretto just smashed the NOS button.
Ilia Topuria’s KO of Charles Oliveira kinda felt like that.
Not only did Topuria become the 10th fighter to claim a title in two weight classes in UFC history, he became the first to do so while undefeated, and he’s still just 28 years old. Aside from the knockout being aesthetically beautiful, it’s one that looks to be historically significant—the official moment that Topuria became the face of MMA. — Meshew
Honorable mentions: Gregory Rodrigues KOs Jack Hermansson, Juan Archuleta flying knees Dennis Linton, Yoo Joo-Sang KOs Jeka Saragih, Randy Brown KOs Nicolas Dalby, Jaron Lathrop ninja kicks Yevgeni Shinkarevsky, Mauricio Ruffy spinning heel kicks Bobby Green
Best Submission — Kayla Harrison TAPS Julianna Peña at UFC 316
Magnitude matters when it comes to finishes in MMA, and a kimura may not be the most exciting or rarely seen submission, but Kayla Harrison delivering on her promise to dethrone Julianna Peña to become UFC champion was a picture worth a thousand words.
As a two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo, Harrison was already one of the most accomplished athletes to ever try MMA. Still, her ultimate goal was winning a UFC title and that finally happened at UFC 316 in June.
Harrison controlled the fight on ground for the better part of two rounds, but with time running out in the second, she latched on to Peña’s arm and immediately twisted it behind her back to lock on the submission. It was a tough position with the fighters pressed up against the cage, but Harrison torqued the arm so violently that Peña had no choice but to tap out and she still ended up with a medical suspension requiring her to get clearance on a potentially damaged shoulder afterwards.
Harrison didn’t necessarily provide the flashiest submission win in history, but finally claiming UFC gold while dispatching Peña in dominant fashion puts her at the top of the list for the first half of 2025. — Martin
Honorable mentions: Jean Silva’s ninja choke over Bryce Mitchell, Mackenzie Dern with a last-second armbar to finish Amanda Ribas, and Sean Brady’s mounted guillotine choke to become the first person to ever finish Leon Edwards.
Best Fight — Joshua Van and Brandon Royval go to WAR at UFC 317
Joshua Van wasn’t even supposed to fight at UFC 317, but when he stepped in the cage to square off with longtime flyweight contender Brandon Royval, it was like the pairing was meant to be.
Royval’s trademark relentlessness meshed perfectly with Van’s youthful exuberance and the two proceeded to throw down for 15 minutes, knowing that a championship opportunity was likely on the line with Alexandre Pantoja scheduled to compete later that evening. “Raw Dawg” gave Van everything he could handle, daring the 23-year-old to match his ferocity. Van did so in spades and proved to be the more accurate fighter, too, especially in the closing moments of the fight when he scored a knockdown that sealed the win for him on the scorecards.
Afterwards, somehow Van wasn’t even breathing heavy as he stated his case to challenge for the flyweight title to Joe Rogan. Van went to the back, cleaned up, and returned to the octagon to face off with Pantoja, who defended his belt with a one-sided drubbing Kai Kara-France. The moment was the icing on the cake for what was already a star-making evening for Van. — Lee
Honorable mentions: Nazim Sadykhov vs. Nikolas Motta (UFC Baku), Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Paul Hughes (PFL Dubai), Jiri Prochazka vs. Jamahal Hill (UFC 311), Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov (UFC 311)