We wrap up our 2025 MMA Awards with perhaps the biggest of them all: Fighter of the Year.
This year was a difficult one, as one of the top contenders on the men’s side suffered losses, while on the women’s side, many champions and contenders were less active than usual during a transition year. We had a lot of work ahead of us in this category. And don’t miss our Best of 2025 Awards Show below!
Male Fighter of the Year 2025
Eddie Wet: Merab Dvalishvili. He may have lost his last fight of the year and dropped the title, but what Merab Dvalishvili accomplished as champion was almost unprecedented. Putting his title on the line four times in one calendar year is a feat rivaled only by Demetrious Johnson’s four consecutive title defenses in 2013.
Gabriel González: Quite simply, his 3-0 run to start the year and his resilient effort in his fourth fight of the year stand above the other great efforts of 2025 in my opinion. Although he fell short in his historic bid for a fourth victory in the calendar year, his performances against Umar Nurmagomedov, Sean O’Malley and Cory Sandhagen in championship fights should not be diminished.
Jay Anderson: Can you give Fighter of the Year to someone who suffered a loss in their last fight of 2025? Well, I’m going to do that. Merab Dvalishvili all day. Trying to defend a belt four times a calendar year is exactly the kind of crazy Merab does. Aside from his loss to Yan (and there’s no doubt a rematch is coming), he had a great year and defeated the boogeyman that is Umar Nurmagomedov. Not to mention Sean O’Malley and Cory Sandhagen. Joshua Van is my number two and his fight with Alexandre Pantoja wasn’t stopped because the champion suffered an injury, he might have taken it.
Brett Cagle: The current welterweight champion captured gold in a second weight class this year by dismantling Jack Della Maddalena over five rounds. With two dominant wins this year, Islam is arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
Mathis Desjardins: It was all Merab Dvalishvili until he stumbled across the finish line. Even with the loss, Merab’s year was something to behold. It just feels wrong to give the award to someone who finished with a loss. With Merab on the outside looking in, I don’t believe anyone else pulled off a victory as impressive as Islam Makhachev’s thorough dismantling of the champion from a division 15 pounds heavier than his natural division.
Daniel Vreeland: Joshua Van. While the manner in which he captured the flyweight title may not have been the exclamation point on this accolade that he may have liked, his 2025 was nothing short of amazing. He shot a perfect 4-0 and lost only one round all year – the second round in a Candidate of the Year fight against Brandon Royval.
Bryson Hester: Merab Dvalishvili, despite losing last time out, attempted an ambitious four title defenses within the calendar year. Merab dominated top-ranked Umar Nurmagomedov in January (UFC 311 Fight of the Night), defeated Sean O’Malley in their rematch in June and picked up a win over Cory Sandhagen in October. Merab dropped his rematch against Petr Yan earlier this month, but not without turning in a fight of the night for UFC 323. For that reason, Merab surpasses Joshua Van in this category.
End result: Merab Dvalishvili, loss to Petr Yan or not, had an incredible 2025, becoming a breakout star for the UFC and successfully defending his bantamweight title three times before losing it in December. He considers it our Fighter of the Year 2025.
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