PFL star Paul Hughes is excited for Khabib Nurmagomedov to have a cageside view to his recent claim about Ireland being proved emphatically wrong later this month.
Khabib, a former UFC lightweight champion, has put considerable time into coaching since ending his career as a 29-0 professional. And after cornering Islam Makhachev and Umar Nurmagomedov in Los Angeles on Jan. 18, “The Eagle” will head to Dubai for Usman Nurmagomedov’s Bellator title defense.
Ahead of the PFL Champions Series: Road to Dubai event on Jan. 25, the Dagestani has been doing some promotional work on social media by claiming his region’s superiority over that of his cousin’s opponent, Ireland’s Hughes.
You can say whatever you want, but if we’re talking about facts, you can’t compare Irish fighters with fighters from Dagestan. We dominate amateur MMA, and it’s not even close—not just compared to Irish fighters but the whole world. I’m absolutely confident that if we were to…
During a recent interview with BBC Sport NI, Hughes recalled his first time seeing Khabib suggest that Ireland ‘doesn’t have fighters’, a remark that brought back memories of his crushing triumph over Conor McGregor in 2018.
The 27-year-old expects to prove the UFC legend wrong come fight night in Dubai, and he’s got some words ready to tell “The Eagle” in the aftermath.
“I was out with a friend, and I saw it and thought, ‘I don’t really care.’ It’s just fight stuff but it’s good for marketing, it’s good he’s doing that, but I don’t really care,” Hughes said. “I respect him as a fighter, but I don’t care what his opinion is.
“Knowing he’ll be in Usman’s corner, I think when I win, I’ll be like, ‘I told you so,’ and that will be pleasurable but that is the competitor in me,” Hughes added.
Should Kayla Harrison’s first UFC title fight come in the interim variety, one fellow contender has thrown her name into the hat.
Harrison staked her claim for a championship opportunity with a 2-0 debut year in the UFC, which saw her submit former champion Holly Holm and defeat Ketlen Vieira on the scorecards.
But should recent remarks from Harrison’s manager prove to be true, the two-time Olympic gold medalist may have some work to do before facing “The Venezuelan Vixen.”
“This is what I was being told. Julianna Peña, if she’s not ready to fight Kayla, she might have some health problem, it’s going to be an interim title,” Ali Abdelaziz told MMA Junkie. “Hundred percent this is what’s going to happen. And the UFC is just not going to hold the division because somebody don’t want to fight or are injured.”
And in terms of who an interim title fight could come against, Norma Dumont evidently sees herself as the only logical choice.
“I hope they don’t accept a fight for the interim belt with an athlete who is coming off a defeat to Julianna. I am the athlete with the longest streak in the (weight class) and the only one who has the physical and technical capacity to overcome it, Dumont was quoted as saying by Brazilian outlet Ag. Fight. “And you know it! So we’re going to have a really interesting fight for the bantamweight (interim title).”
Dumont has risen to #4 in the rankings courtesy of two straight wins since returning to bantamweight. After getting the better of former champ Germaine de Randamie, the 34-year-old most recently outpointed Irene Aldana at the Sphere-held UFC 306 pay-per-view.
Topping the lineup will be top 10 strawweight contenders Mackenzie Dern and Amanda Ribas, with the former looking to avenge the first defeat of her professional career from back in 2019.
Before they go to battle, the co-main event will see two veterans collide in Santiago Ponzinibbio and Carlston Harris. And also set to make the walk on Saturday will be the likes of Chris Curtis, Abdul Razak Alhassan, and Christian Rodriguez
UFC Vegas 101: Dern vs. Ribas 2 Betting Odds
Listed below are the latest betting odds for UFC Vegas 101 (as of 1/6), courtesy of DraftKings.
Main Card:
Mackenzie Dern (+180) vs. Amanda Ribas (-218)
Santiago Ponzinibbio (-110) vs. Carlston Harris (-110)
César Almeida (-298) vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan (+240)
Chris Curtis (+220) vs. Roman Kopylov (-270)
Christian Rodriguez (+218) vs. Austin Bashi (-265)
Punahele Soriano (+164) vs. Uroš Medić (-198)
Preliminary Card:
Jose Johnson (-192) vs. Felipe Bunes (+160)
Marco Tulio (-500) vs. Ihor Potieria (+280)
Thiago Moisés (-198) vs. Trey Ogden (+164)
Preston Parsons (+280) vs. Jacobe Smith (-355)
Ernesta Kareckaite (-298) vs. Nicolle Caliari (+240)
Magomed Gadzhiyasulov (-225) vs. Bruno Lopes (+185)
The odds are in for the UFC’s champions in 2025, and betting lines for a number of divisions have stirred debate.
As always, titles are expected to change hands on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage in the new year. DraftKings doesn’t, however, have the light heavyweight class as one in which a new kingpin could be crowned.
For that to be the case, the Brazilian would seemingly need to get past the challenge of top contender Magomed Ankalaev. The Russian has long staked his claim for a shot at Pereira, and despite the champ pointing to a different assignment next time out, many still expect the one-time challenger to get his opportunity this year.
The odds have Ankalaev as the second favorite to finish 2025 as the UFC light heavyweight titleholder at +195, being pipped to the post by “Poatan’s” -120 line.
That, in addition to the figures beside names like Khamzat Chimaev, Jamahal Hill, and Jan Błachowicz, have split opinion in the MMA community online.
Whoever made this is petty af for even lumping Ja-bum Hill into this conversation at all… and then to top it off slapped him with the +600 odds😂😂😂 https://t.co/y7HTpTK4lu
While “Iron” has scored memorable knockouts of Dan Hooker and Tony Ferguson, he’s tasted defeat twice as much as he has victory in the UFC, falling to Charles Oliveira twice in addition to Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje.
Despite the state of his Octagon record, however, Chandler remains highly ranked at #7. During a recent interview with Inside Fighting, the unranked Grant Dawson gave his assessment of that, calling for the veteran to be booted from the top 15.
“There are people who do not belong in the top 15 let alone the top 10,” Dawson said. “If you like at somebody like Michael Chandler, he’s 2-4 in the UFC. You put his record up against my record, 11-1 in the UFC, assuming I beat Diego (Ferreira). 11-1 in the UFC compared to 2-4 in the UFC, and you say, ‘Yeah, the 11-1 guy (is) not ranked. The 2-4 guy ranked in the top 10, top seven.’ It doesn’t make any sense.
“You’ve got these guys, they’re not looking to fight the up-and-comers,” Dawson continued. “They need to take Michael Chandler out of there.”
After going unbeaten across his first nine UFC fights and defeating the highly regarded Damir Ismagulov, Dawson broke through into the lightweight rankings. But a shock 33-second knockout loss to King Green quickly changed that.
The American Top Team standout has since been looking to work his way back up the ladder. Thus far, that’s seen him outpoint Joe Solecki and stop Rafa Garcia via TKO in back-to-back contests.
He’ll next look to make it three wins on the bounce when he collides with lightweight vet Diego Ferreira at UFC 311 in Los Angeles on Jan. 18.
MMA News has you covered with this week’s UFC matchmaking bulletin, featuring all the additions to upcoming fight cards.
With events being held most weekends, Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby have their matchmaking work cut out if they’re to fill them, meaning new bouts are confirmed each and every week.
Between Monday, December 23, and Sunday, January 5, a few notable fights were made official by the UFC or reported as being in the works by reputable sources. For more information on those matchups, see the links below:
Former UFC flyweight title challenger Steve Erceg will seemingly need to stall the surge of a highly touted up-and-comer if he’s to return to winning ways this year.
While Erceg’s (12-3) year started out well with a brutal knockout win over Matt Schnell to remain undefeated in the UFC and further climb the ladder, he finished 2024 on a losing skid.
With back-to-back losses on his record, Erceg will be fighting slightly further down pecking order next time out. And the man looking to extend his woes in the cage at the UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas on March 1 will reportedly be Asu Almabayev (21-2).
The news was first reported by @darteam.kazakhstan on Instagram before being corroborated by known Australian MMA insider Benny P.
Steve Erceg vs Asu Almabayev set for March 1st had heard about this match up and it not being on UFC 312 but was hoping they’d change there mind because 312 is already so weak https://t.co/tL5MuL6D4z
Almabayev has established himself as one to watch at 125 pounds since joining the UFC from Brave CF in 2023. The Kazakh fighter has reeled off four wins in the Octagon, most recently outpointing Matheus Nicolau to ascend to #8 in the rankings and extend his winning streak to 17.
2024 PFL Women’s Flyweight Champion Dakota Ditcheva sees one area in which her current promotion firmly surpasses the mixed martial arts leader.
The Professional Fighters League and its higher-ups like founder Donn Davis have long outlined its intentions to reach “co-leader” status in MMA. But while the acquisition of rival promotion Bellator MMA appeared to mark a potential step toward that, 2024 didn’t exactly go to plan.
The year ended with multiple Bellator fighters, including champions Patrício “Pitbull” Freire” and Patchy Mix, publicly calling out the PFL over canceled fights and events, even requesting their releases.
With that, plenty remain skeptical about the organization’s long-term future, let alone ability to rival the UFC. But that doesn’t mean the PFL hasn’t excelled in some areas — namely, Europe.
During a recent interview with MMA Fighting, Dakota Ditcheva — one of the biggest names to emerge from the promotion’s first regional expansion, PFL Europe — lauded her employer for placing focus on discovering the next generation of top MMA fighters in the continent.
“One thing I will say about that, people were commenting all the time, ‘UFC missed out on PFL [Europe],’ and what PFL did right was they went to Europe and picked up that young talent, and that’s how they ended up with me,” Ditcheva said. “They’ve kind of gone out of that top-level zone, picked up the young talent, and now look what they’re getting.
“I do think they’re very clever with it and think they’ll come up with something cool (next),” Ditcheva concluded.
After establishing herself as one to watch with a few wins under the PFL banner, Ditcheva — MMA News’ Female Fighter of the Year for 2024 — competed as part of the inaugural PFL Europe season. She breezed through the competition en route to the women’s flyweight title in 2023.
That secured her spot in the very first PFL Global 125-pound season this year, placing her on a roster that included the likes of Taila Santos, Liz Carmouche, and Juliana Velasquez. “Dangerous” proved that the hype behind her name is warranted, recording three finishes to reach the final before obliterating Santos for the belt and $1 million prize money.
Many have since expressed a desire to see Ditcheva under the UFC banner, especially with her next step in the PFL unknown. The Brit has already suggested that a return to the season format wouldn’t make sense, instead pitching herself as part of the PFL Super Fights events.
Given the difficult many have seemingly had securing fights, it remains to be seen whether such a switch would provide the level of activity that the undefeated 26-year-old is after.
According to the manager of Khabib Nurmagomedov, there is just one fighter capable of surpassing the former UFC lightweight champion’s unblemished record in mixed martial arts.
Khabib is widely regarded as one of the all-time best in MMA, having never tasted defeat throughout his career. The Dagestani secured the throne with a victory over Al iaquinta before recording successful defenses over Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, and Justin Gaethje.
“The Eagle” ultimately decided to hang up his gloves owing to the passing of his father. But while many believe he exited the sport prematurely, there’s still doubt over whether anyone will even come close to his unbeaten run.
During a recent interview with MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn, however, his manager Ali Abdelaziz pinpointed another Nurmagomedov who could accomplish such a feat.
“There’s no doubt in my mind Umar (Nurmagomedov) will be a champion at 135 pounds, and I believe Umar is going to be a champion for a long time,” Abdelaziz said. “I think Umar is the only guy who can really challenge Khabib’s record. He can retire undefeated, 29-0, 30-0. Of course he has a tough opponent, but I believe Umar is better everywhere.
“Umar is one of the best fighters I’ve ever seen,” Abdelaziz continued. “He is so good everywhere, and he’s so humble and so nice. He was offered Merab in Madison Square Garden and he said yes. He was offered Merab in December and he said yes. … Obviously Merab did not want this fight, he didn’t think Umar deserves it. … Sometimes you have to defend your turf. His turf is his title. He was pushed into this fight, he did not want this fight, he didn’t think Umar deserves this fight.”
Nurmagomedov will need to win another 11 straight fights to match Khabib’s record and 12 to surpass it, having gone 18-0 as a professional to date.
PFL founder and chairman Donn Davis continues to battle what he’s branded “disinformation” in the mixed martial arts community.
2024 turned out to be a mixed year for the Professional Fighters League, a promotion that entered it off the back of acquiring rival organization Bellator MMA.
While that brought across prominent champions and plenty of notable fighters, the past 12 months have been littered with issues relating to the merger, from complaints over unpaid medical expenses from before the PFL purchased Bellator to canceled events.
The ultimately failed Bellator Champions Series didn’t produce the number of cards or title fights that were laid out at the start of last year, leaving champions like Patricio Freire and Patchy Mix without their desired level of activity. Both have even publicly requested their releases.
And in his latest post, the 62-year-old commented on another seemingly disgruntled Bellator name, Aaron Pico.
During a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Pico’s manager stated that his man is now a free agent entering 2025 and is looking for regular fights having not competed since the PFL vs. Bellator event 11 months ago.
But despite inactivity seemingly bothering the 28-year-old featherweight, Davis claimed a “major” deal and title fight is on the table for Pico.
2025 hopefully brings less MMA noise and disinformation …
@PFLMMA has offered Pico title fight and major new contract … We love Aaron and look forward to him having big fights at #PFL for the long-term. https://t.co/JMP5OCjK4P
“2025 hopefully brings less MMA noise and disinformation,” Davis wrote, before addressing Pico’s situation. “@PFLMMA has offered Pico title fight and major new contract … We love Aaron and look forward to him having big fights at #PFL for the long-term.”
Pico was expected to challenge “Pitbull” on New Year’s Eve before that became the latest event to fall by the wayside.
It remains to be seen what will come next for the decorated wrestler, who has won his last three fights opposite James Gonzalez, Pedro Carvalho, and James Kennedy.
Should something force bantamweight kingpin Merab Dvalishvili out of UFC 311, challenger Umar Nurmagomedov would not be the least bit shocked.
The undefeated Dagestani is set to mark the first threat to the Georgian’s reign this year after his crowning at the expense of Sean O’Malley last September.
They’ll co-headline the opening pay-per-view event of 2025, UFC 311 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. Top spot on the lineup has fallen to Nurmagomedov’s teammate, lightweight champ Islam Makhachev, and his rematch with Arman Tsarukyan.
But according to the surging bantamweight, it would come as a surprise to nobody if he ended up watching proceedings from the audience instead of competing on the night.
During a recent interview uploaded to the UFC’s YouTube channel, Nurmagomedov assessed the likelihood of Dvalishvili withdrawing.
“I will not be surprised and nobody will be surprised. Even right now, I saw like commentary on Twitter, they said he will pull out, but he never pulled out before. I hope he will not and the fight is going to happen,” Nurmagomedov said.
Dvalishvili was vocal in expressing displeasure at having to face Nurmagomedov for his first defense. “The Machine” branded the Russian undeserving of the shot and pitched numerous other opponents.
Nevertheless, the titleholder has remained confident of getting the job done and emerging from the heated rivalry with the gold still in his possession.
Former UFC prospect Paige VanZant is set to make her mixed martial arts comeback in 2025 under the banner of a new organization.
The one highly touted “12 Gauge” started life on MMA’s biggest stage 3-0 but had her momentum stalled by losses to the likes of Rose Namajunas and Michelle Waterson-Gomez. And a submission setback to Amanda Ribas in 2020 that marked her third setback in four fights ultimately came as the end of her UFC journey.
Since then, VanZant has tried her hand at just about everything, from OnlyFans content creation and professional wrestling away from combat sports to bare-knuckle boxing, influencer boxing, and Power Slap in it.
Now, the 30-year-old Oregon native is set to come full circle with a return to MMA, which she announced during a recent episode of her podcast alongside husband Austin Vanderford.
VanZant revealed that she’s become the latest notable name to put pen to paper on a deal with the newly created Global Fight League (GFL) as it gears up to launch this year.
“I need to be in the gym harder and stronger than ever,” VanZant said. “I’m changing gears again. I’m going to shock the world again. … I’m lucky I’m in such a good position that I do get a lot of opportunities that I get to wade through and pick what kind of sparks my interest the most and what’s the most exciting.
“Yeah, I think that I’m stepping back into the world of MMA,” VanZant added. “They (GFL) offered me a contract and I said, ‘Yes’. So, I’m going back to MMA, and I think this is the perfect opportunity because I definitely didn’t leave MMA because I wasn’t passionate about it anymore.”
The former UFC fighter continued, explaining the appeal of adding her name to the upcoming GFL draft this month ahead of the inaugural season.
“Now there’s this new MMA organization that actually made me really excited to fight for them. They are legit paying their athletes,” she said. “Everyone that I’ve heard that has negotiated their contracts so far is extremely excited and happy.
“They’re doing a pension fund for the fighters, and I think health insurance. … You just never know when it’s over, so I wanna do everything I can to make the most money while I can, and be able to provide for my family forever.”
The GFL is claiming to be firmly fighter-first, with a number of advantages for those who compete under its banner. The promotion is adopting a historically debated format in MMA, with city teams competing throughout the year after choosing a roster of 20 fighters split two per weight class.
Former interim UFC lightweight champion Tony Ferguson has entered the new year with his sights firmly set on a return to the cage.
Retirement has been on the lips of many when discussing Ferguson in recent times. The 40-year-old has lost eight straight fights, leaving him with the unwanted record for the longest losing skid in UFC history.
“Completely Destroyed Myself,.. To Re-Invent It’ As an Artist I Aim To show Something You’ve Never Seen Before 🥋 Happy New Year Crew🍃 2025 in my sights- Champ 🦹♂️ -CSO- 🇺🇸🏆🇲🇽 # Stay Tuned & Watch The Magic Unfold 🪄💨🍃 New Missions Acknowledged 🔥 # MrDestiny 🚣♂️💨🍃 Fight News Coming Soon 📈”
It remains to be seen what will come next in the career of Ferguson, and whether his upcoming fight news relates to the UFC.
UFC CEO Dana White has been vocal in his desire to see the former interim champ retire, leading to speculation that “El Cucuy” could be forced to compete elsewhere this year.
But “The Boston Finisher” hasn’t had his hand raised since. He fell on the wrong side of a contentious split decision against Josh Emmett, lost to Arnold Allen after tearing his ACL mid-fight, and most recently failed to spoil Aljamain Sterling’s featherweight debut at UFC 300.
With that losing skid in mind, Kattar will unsurprisingly be fighting down the pecking order in 2025. And should plans come to fruition, that’ll seemingly be against the charging Youssef Zalal (16-5-1).
Zalal exited the UFC in 2022 after going 0-3-1 across a four-fight run, in which he lost to Ilia Topuria, Seungwoo Choi, and Sean Woodson. But since working his way back with three wins on the regional scene, he’s been unstoppable.
The UFC is set to return to Mexico in the first quarter of this year, and the promotion appears to be bringing a former title challenger with it in the form of Kelvin Gastelum.
It’s been a difficult few years for Gastelum (19-9, 1 NC). After going 2-5 across a seven-fight run that started with his memorable interim championship clash with Israel Adesanya, the 33-year-old most recently experienced a failed return to welterweight.
After being submitted by Sean Brady in late 2023, Gastelum did have his hand raised over Daniel Rodriguez. But owing to a weight miss in Saudi Arabia that left UFC CEO Dana White less than happy, his stock didn’t rise in victory.
Unsurprisingly, the Californian looks to have once again been forced to close the book on his 170-pound plans. And he seems close to being booked for a difficult welcome back to the 185-pound class.
Per MMA Mania’s Alex Behunin, a clash between Gastelum and the highly touted Joe Pyfer (13-3) is in the works for the UFC Fight Night in Mexico on March 29.
After breaking through in a big way on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2022, Pyfer began Octagon life on the front foot with three straight wins.
But after knocking out Alen Amedovski and Gerald Meerschaert and submitting Abdul Razak Alhassan, “Bodybagz” was unable to get past his toughest test to date, falling via decision to perennial contender Jack Hermansson in an Apex main event last February.
Pyfer, however, wasn’t coming off a defeat for long. He returned to his violent ways during International Fight Week four months later by sleeping Marc-André Barriault. He’ll now look to return to a win streak at Gastelum’s expense.
The addition of Gastelum vs. Pyfer would mark the third bout on the UFC Mexico lineup. Thus far, Edgar Cháirez and Ronaldo Rodríguez both have home country fights set, with the former facing CJ Vergara and the latter dueling Kevin Borjas.
But the Georgian won’t have long to celebrate the start of a fresh year before getting back to work inside the cage. He’s slated to co-headline the very first pay-per-view of 2025, defending his belt against the undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov.
During a recent interview uploaded to the UFC Espanol YouTube channel, Dvalishvili outlined his target of four defenses this calendar year, including three in the first two quarters.
“I want to win this fight and I want to be busy in 2025,” Dvalishvili said. “I’m fighting early this year, Jan. 18, and I just want to be busy. I know (Sean) O’Malley wants to come back in April. I think Petr (Yan) will be ready in March. So maybe fight Petr in March, rematch (O’Malley) in April, and whoever will be the next contender (after that), I will take. I will clean the division again.”
O’Malley, meanwhile, headed for the operating room to repair a torn labrum in the aftermath of his decision loss to Dvalishvili a few months back. He’s made clear his plan to secure redemption against the Georgian upon his recovery.
But as the organization battles issues away from the cage, the action inside it has still often delivered, with 2024 seeing some of the promotion’s most brutal finishes to date.
And the PFL recently counted down the top 15 in a YouTube video, featuring Francis Ngannou’s rapid knockout of Renan Ferreira in his MMA return and Dakota Ditcheva’s punishing attack on Taila Santos’ body in their flyweight title clash.
2025 will no doubt see plenty more memorable finishes added to the PFL’s highlight packages, with the first opportunity for additions coming on Jan. 25 in Dubai.
The odds are in for the UFC’s champions in 2025, and the betting line for one particular division has caused a stir…
As always, titles are expected to change hands on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage in the new year. DraftKings has the middleweight class as one in which a new kingpin could be crowned.
As it stands, he’d have to unseat Dricus Du Plessis to do so. The South African will enter the year with the crown after a 2024 in which he took it from Sean Strickland and defended it against Israel Adesanya.
The odds have “Stillknocks” as the second favorite to finish 2025 as champ at +120, being pipped to the post by “Borz’s” -200 line.
That, in addition to the figures beside names like Caio Borralho, Sean Strickland, Nassourdine Imavov and Adesanya, have split opinion in the MMA community online.
The first chance to dent Du Plessis’ chances of another Christmas as king has fallen to Strickland, who is set to face the South African in a rematch next February. The pair will headline UFC 312 in Sydney, Australia 13 months on from their close five-round contest in Canada.
Before the matchup came to fruition a year on from its initial cancellation, Jones came under heavy flak for facing a veteran returning from a near four-year layoff over his division’s interim champ, Tom Aspinall.
But the Rochester native didn’t budge in his dismissal of the Brit and ultimately had his hand raised as many had predicted, landing a thunderous spinning back kick to the body to stop Miocic at UFC 309.
And while listing his 2024 triumphs in a recent X post, Jones included his victory over “the greatest heavyweight in UFC history,” alongside actions like voting in a presidential election for the first time and traveling the world to spread his MMA knowledge.
Reflecting on the year
•Performed for the President: Had the honor of showcasing my skills in front of our country’s leader. •First-Time Voter: Took part in democracy and voted for the first time ever—a major personal milestone. •Global Traveler & Educator: Traveled to…
In a subsequent post, Jones revealed his plans to decide on some New Year’s resolutions ahead of 2025, a year in which he intends to produce a similar list of achievements.
It feels amazing to look back at the last year and make a list of achievements like that. I’m sure if I spent more time on it, I’d realize just how many things I left out. Now, I’m excited to start writing down some New Year’s resolutions and even more excited to see the list of…
“It feels amazing to look back at the last year and make a list of achievements like that. I’m sure if I spent more time on it, I’d realize just how many things I left out. Now, I’m excited to start writing down some New Year’s resolutions and even more excited to see the list of things I accomplish after 2025.”
Should something UFC-related appear in Jones’ post 12 months down the line, it would seemingly come via a long-awaited unification fight with Aspinall.
While “Bones” has continued to favor other assignments such as Alex Pereira for the new year, UFC CEO Dana White has been clear in stating that any return for Jones would come in the form of a clash with the British interim titleholder.
Of all the great pieces of art — from the Mona Lisa and The Kiss to The Scream and The Birth of Venus — I think we can all agree that nothing comes close to the esthetic of a perfectly done UFC/MMA event poster.
And of all the great artists throughout history — from Leonardo da Vinci and Vincent van Gogh to Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso — I think we can all agree that nothing comes close to the creators of the UFC’s posters… Okay, that might not be true.
While most major promotions have a generic background for headliners, the UFC produces unique posters for all of its events. Unfortunately, a number of them are negatively received by the fanbase, some of whom actually create better ones for each card themselves.
But just how good (or bad) were the UFC’s selection of event artwork in 2024? Let’s find out by ranking them all — good, bad, and ugly — from worst to best.
42. UFC 300: Pereira vs. Hill
There are not enough words in the English language to do justice to how disastrous this poster truly was.
On the face of it, was it the worst design this year? I’m sure you’ll be seeing at least a few that are worse. But when it comes to the magnitude of the event and expectation? I’m not sure a design in sporting history has ever fallen so far short.
A flag with the event name on it. That is literally it. And it’s even a stretch to call the flag golden. It’s more a Colman’s English Mustard (other mustard brands are available) shade of yellow.
An incredible event. Undoubtedly the best I’ve covered in my career. But an absolutely diabolical poster.
41. UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Pyfer
Excuse me, you can’t park there.
The poster for Jack Hermansson vs. Joe Pyfer appears to have stopped in the middle of the road. For me in the UK, yellow lines mean no parking zones. A brief Google search has taught me that in the Unites States, a solid yellow line indicates that passing is prohibited.
While clearly unintended given how much the promotion likely wanted Pyfer to win, that is an incredible piece of symbolism. The veteran contender whom many expected “Bodybagz” to make his name off of and rise into the rankings at the expense of held his ground and did not allow the young prospect to pass.
George Orwell would be proud.
If only that was deliberate, because the poster is ultimately garbage and has only been saved from bottom spot by the UFC 300 travesty.
40. UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Gaziev
One of the worst posters of the year to accompany the worst main event.
It’s UFC 297 with blue instead of red. But to be honest, I’m not sure I’d try to create a good design for this absolute heavyweight slop.
So for that, congratulations. You created a boring poster that perfectly encapsulates the effort that went into forming that event.
39. UFC Fight Night: Pereira vs. Hernandez
I’m not sure any poster this year demonstrates the lack of creativity most struggle with quite like this.
I feel like I’ve seen this design at least 25 times in the last three years.
38. UFC Fight Night: Perez vs. Taira
The strip of color that “flyweight bout” is written on actually looks like a great concept for a poster. It’s just a shame they decided to go with 10 percent of that and 90 percent f**k all else, if you’ll excuse my French.
37. UFC Fight Night: Tuivasa vs. Tybura
Erm, are we sure this wasn’t just taken from the music video for Technotronic’s Pump Up The Jam?! It’s got to be either that or a graph signaling the epicenter of a hurricane…
36. UFC 304: Edwards vs. Muhammad
This will be the only poster where I use the vertical version, because the UFC isn’t getting away with the saving grace that comes with landscape.
I’m not one to advocate for sackings, but whoever pitched sideways fighters as a good poster idea needs at the very least a performance review.
Perhaps it’s supposed to represent how the headline athletes felt competing at 5 AM in the morning?!
35. UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Aliskerov
Saudi Arabia = green.
That’s how I imagine the creative process for this poster went.
34. UFC Fight Night: Royval vs. Taira
Poor Tatsuro Taira, man. Give the boy a good poster, dammit!
I don’t hate the colors so, sure, let’s put this higher than Taira’s first headliner of the year.
33. UFC Fight Night: Namajunas vs. Cortez
If a poster this year had any interesting detail at all — and didn’t have a background that looks like skin — it’s probably higher than this…
32. UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Nascimento
What is it with Derrick Lewis and contour lines?
The poster for “The Black Beast’s” clash against Serghei Spivac last year looked like some kind of terrain guide for a mountain range, and the same can be said for his St. Louis battle with Rodrigo Nascimento.
But hey, at least the color scheme is unique this time. Every cloud…
31. UFC Fight Night: Nicolau vs. Perez
This event came one week after UFC 300. This event was nowhere near at the level of UFC 300. This event had a much better poster than UFC 300.
Make it make sense.
30. UFC Fight Night: Ribas vs. Namajunas
Can someone explain to me why the black paint covers the entire bottom of the poster but stops two thirds of the way across the top?!
I can’t unsee that.
29. UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs. Walker
I’ve seen worse, much worse. But I feel as though I also would have seen similar posters for a teen-centric vampire television series. 5/10, I guess?
28. UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Royval
Events overseas such as those in Mexico always present opportunities to create eye-catching designs connected to the country hosting Octagon action. But as far as this year’s visit to Mexico, slightly underwhelming.
It’s not bad, but it feels somewhat lazy for the location.
27. UFC Fight Night: Magny vs. Prates
My word, that is a luminous font.
If the Stake F1 Team had a UFC poster equivalent, this would be it.
26. UFC 309: Jones vs. Miocic
Don’t let your anger at Tom Aspinall not getting the fight influence where you put this poster. Don’t let your anger at Tom Aspinall not getting the fight influence where you put this poster. Don’t let your anger at Tom Aspinall not getting the fight influence where you put this poster.
It wouldn’t be a year of UFC action without at least one city skyline getting a look in. Unfortunately, this one slightly underwhelmed, in the same way a champion facing an ageing veteran coming off a near four-year layoff instead of the division’s interim titleholder does.
25. UFC Fight Night: Covington vs. Buckley
It’s not often you see orange.
That is my analysis for UFC Tampa.
24. UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Borralho
I do like this poster (overall), and it probably should be much higher. I just can’t stop noticing the fact that Caio Borralho’s ear is clear and Jared Cannonier’s isn’t.
It’s the small things.
23. UFC Fight Night: Tybura vs. Spivac 2
This is the kind of poster I’d expect to see outside an underground fight club in which bails of hay create the ring.
For Central and Eastern European behemoths, it’s appropriate.
22. UFC Fight Night: Lemos vs. Jandiroba
It’s sometimes difficult to judge a poster for what it is rather than the fighters who have been chosen for it. Amanda Lemos vs. Virna Jandiroba is among the most questionable main event matchups in recent memory.
The poster itself, however? Solid futuristic vibes. It got some slack from the community, but had it been some bigger names and faces on it, I imagine this would have received better reviews.
21. UFC Fight Night: Burns vs. Brady
Let’s use some AI to explain why this poster isn’t the worst.
“Yellow and blue make a striking combination, and are often used together in design and fashion. Blue is a cool and calming colour, while yellow is warm and vibrant. Together, they can create a sense of balance and harmony.”
Nothing says balance and harmony like cagefighting.
20. UFC 297: Strickland vs. Du Plessis
I’m hoping the red mist between Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis wasn’t meant to be a prediction of a bloody brawl between the pair. Anyone expecting that of a Strickland fight at this point is sorely mistaken…
That aside, a nice color scheme that makes for a solid design — despite the fact it likely took all of 15 minutes to create. But hey, at least that’s longer than UFC 300!
19. UFC 302: Makhachev vs. Poirier
If vanilla ice cream was a UFC poster.
Everybody likes it, but nobody loves it. At the end of the day, it’ll do.
18. UFC Fight Night: Dolidze vs. Imavov
I’m torn. On one hand, it’s different. On the other hand, the UFC’s graphic designer has brought in a piece of A4 paper that their kid went to town on with some crayons and added the heads of Roman Dolidze and Nassourdine Imavov…
A for creativity. C for delivery.
17. UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Nurmagomedov
It was a good year for orange (see UFC Tampa).
16. UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Imavov
It’s giving cargo ship container.
Some lovely shadow work though, I must say.
15. UFC 307: Pereira vs. Rountree
Simplicity can go one of two ways. In this instance, I think it worked.
Black and gold (shoutout Sam Sparro) is hard to beat as a combination, and that just about saves this from steering toward the outright bad section of this list.
14. UFC Fight Night: Allen vs. Vettori
Well how about that? It’s not often you see purple.
The design is super simple, but also satisfyingly clean. Sharp, that’s the word to describe this. Double point for strong purple utilization has this poster in the mid range (it’s saying something that we’re approaching the top 10 and still describing posters as “mid”).
13. UFC Fight Night: Blanchfield vs. Fiorot
Any poster that doesn’t follow a ‘choose a color, add fighters facing each other’ format tends to find itself relatively high up this list, even if they aren’t that spectacular.
That was the case for the Atlantic City-held event this year, which was solid enough without being special. Although, I’m not sure about the red space created in the outline of each fighter’s head. It’s given Joaquin Buckley a somewhat Vulcan look…
12. UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Albazi
I feel almost tied to putting this right next to UFC Atlantic City because they are so similar. So, which was better?
Well, I prefer the blue and black over red, and the addition of the matchups in brick-like blocks is a nice touch. Oh, and there’s no shoddy Microsoft Paint work with shadows.
11. UFC Fight Night: Yan vs. Figueiredo
Pink to make the MMA fans wink.
Image: UFC
10. UFC Fight Night: Moicano vs. Saint Denis
I appreciate the fact that the designer was so desperate to sneak the Eiffel Tower in while avoiding a cliche “we’re in Paris” poster that they snuck in a little drawing in the bottom corner.
I’m a fan of rippy posters — to use a technical term. With that, it’s a shame Imavov and Brendan Allen block the bottom of it, but this design is still good nonetheless.
9. UFC Fight Night: Barboza vs. Murphy
We often get two to four big heads plastered on posters, so it was refreshing to see half-body Edson Barboza and Lerone Murphy donning a cracked wall for their Apex-held UFC Fight Night main event.
8. UFC 306: O’Malley vs. Dvalishvili
I’m not one to question somebody’s choice of tattoo, but the green “Suga” ink on Sean O’Malley’s face gets a prominent look here…
Nevertheless, the poster itself was one of the year’s strongest, largely because of the glimpse of the Sphere at the bottom. Basically, lots of golden spherical lines equals something suitable for such an event.
7. UFC 310: Pantoja vs. Asakura
“I’m a fan of rippy posters” – Harvey Leonard, two posters up.
6. UFC 299: O’Malley vs. Vera
Eye. Catching.
UFC 299 was one of the most stacked and highly anticipated events of the year. And in somewhat of a rarity, the poster design matched the occasion. The gold glints are cool, but how about the shining outline of the fighters?
Dustin Poirier really was shining bright like a…you know the rest.
5. UFC 308: Topuria vs. Holloway
This poster almost has a stained glass window affect to it, sort of akin to what you’d see behind the alter in a church.
I’m not a religious man, but Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway was such a good matchup that I’d happily pray to a higher power if knelt underneath this design.
4. UFC 303: Pereira vs. Procházka 2
I didn’t think much of this poster when it was Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler headlining International Fight Week. After all, an inactive Irishman who often has beer in hand and an inactive Chandler who does whatever said Irishman says isn’t exactly fitting for what are supposed to be intimidating screams.
But a stoic knockout machine like “Poatan” and an opponent who sits in a dark room alone for days on end?! Better.
3. UFC 305: Du Plessis vs. Adesanya
In a word? Atmospheric.
If you swap Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya for Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway, Christopher Nolan would have a decent poster for Interstellar.
2. UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria
Yes, yes, yes. Yes. YES.
Sometimes the UFC’s poster simplicity pays off in a big way. UFC 298 was one such moment. Perhaps that’s because the beautiful gold font looks like it was written by the prized gel pens that teachers used to keep behind lock and bolt in school art lessons.
1. UFC 301: Pantoja vs. Erceg
An absolute beauty.
You could have told me this was a recently discovered design from Vincent van Gogh that fetched millions at a Sotheby’s auction and I’d have believed you.
Jiří Procházka is aware of the mistakes he made during a brief stint as UFC light heavyweight champion in 2022.
Procházka enjoyed a quick ascent to top spot on MMA’s biggest stage, capturing UFC gold in just his third fight in the promotion. After knockouts of Volkan Oezdemir and Dominick Reyes, he submitted Glover Teixeira to avoid certain defeat on the scorecards in Singapore.
But the era of “BJP” was a short one, not reaching his planned first defense against Teixeira after a shoulder injury forced the Czech star to vacate the belt.
The 32-year-old has since failed in two bids to regain champ status against Alex Pereira, with two knockout losses to “Poatan” sandwiching a memorable bounce-back performance against Aleksandar Rakić at UFC 300 this past April.
Like that result accomplished, Procházka will be looking to put in a display worthy of another crack at recapturing the title when he meets a fellow ex-champion in Jamahal Hill at UFC 311 on Jan. 11.
During an interview with MMA Fighting‘s Mike Heck, Procházka looked ahead to what a victory over “Sweet Dreams” would bring, reiterating his desire for a third shot at blemishing Pereira’s perfect light heavyweight record.
And were he to succeed in that ambition, “BJP” is confident he knows how to better approach a second reign.
“Maybe first time, when I won, I didn’t really realize that it was a big, a big thing in my life, and I was not so — like I say — grateful for that,” Procházka said. “I took that like, automatically, I will be the champion. OK, I’m the champion, and that’s all, yeah. I [didn’t have] these feelings to be humble, grateful in that.
“So I said to myself, ‘I want to go this way one more time,’ not just one more time, but I want to go there, take this belt, take that position of the best man in the light heavyweight [division], and one more time, but grateful. Be humble. And really appreciate that moment. Really appreciate the life that gave you this chance to fight for that again. And right now, I’m in this process. This is what I feel right now.”
Procházka features in one of the most prominent and crucial undercard bouts at UFC 311, a pay-per-view that will be headlined by highly anticipated title defenses for lightweight champ Islam Makhachev and bantamweight kingpin Merab Dvalishvili.
UFC welterweight contender Ian Garry believes his performance in defeat against Shavkat Rakhmonov cemented him as second in the chasing pack.
Garry had a late-notice opportunity to secure his first title shot on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage earlier this month at UFC 310. He stepped in for the injured Belal Muhammad to face Shavkat Rakhmonov, a fellow undefeated up-and-comer at 170 pounds.
While “Nomad’s” championship opportunity had turned into a defense of his top contender status, the Kazakh star emerged with his date opposite champ Muhammad still intact after narrowly outpointing Garry.
“The Future” didn’t lose stock, however, given the competitive nature of his display. But that doesn’t mean he was rewarded with a strong push up the welterweight ladder, on which he remains a few positions off the top five at #7.
During a recent interview with MMA Knockout, Garry was firm in rejecting that placement, insisting that the way he challenged the highly regarded Rakhmonov leaves him as the division’s clear number two contender.
“The way I look at this is that the fight against Shavkat was to be the number one contender in the world and go out and fight for the belt next,” Garry said. “If I’m not the number one contender, of which Shavkat got his hand raised and has now cemented himself, I’m definitely number f**king two.
“That’s the way I look at it. Because there’s no way after that performance, you can’t sit there and say that I’m (not) one of the best in the division,” he continued. “So whatever the rankings want to officially say, it’s okay.”
It remains to be seen what lies in Garry’s future next year. While he was briefly linked toward the headline spot opposite Leon Edwards at UFC London in March, “The Future” has dismissed talk of an outing in Europe if it isn’t in his home country of Ireland.
2024 saw some spectacular knockouts inside the UFC Octagon.
With the calendar year at its conclusion, recent weeks and days have seen fans and pundits reflecting on what the past 12 months brought us in mixed martial arts.
Nothing beats a violent striking stoppage, and 2024 wasn’t short on some special ones. From Max Holloway’s buzzer-beating finish of Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 to “Doctor” Ming Shi’s head kick to sleep Xiaocan Feng at UFC Macau, the year had plenty of KOs worthy of getting fans up from there seats.
And the UFC recently uploaded a compilation of 2024’s best on YouTube for fans’ viewing entertainment before the new year arrives.
2025 will no doubt see plenty more memorable finishes added to the UFC’s highlight packages, with the first opportunity for additions coming on Jan. 11 at the Apex in Las Vegas.
The opening event of the new year sees strawweight contenders Mackenzie Dern and Amanda Ribas run it back in the main event, with the likes of Chris Curtis, Abdul Razak Alhassan, Santiago Ponzinibbio and Uroš Medić making up the key undercard contests.
Former UFC welterweight title challenger Darren Till will still be making his combat sports return next month.
Since departing mixed martial arts’ leading promotion following a defeat to then-future middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis, which left him 1-5 across six fights since a main event win over Stephen Thompson, “The Gorilla” hasn’t been too active outside the cage.
His return came this past July in Dubai, where he faced Mohammad Mutie in an exhibition boxing match. The bout ended controversially after some rabbit punches to the back of Mutie’s head saw him choose not to continue, sparking a brawl with the Liverpudlian.
Months later, it was announced that Till would be kicking off his 2025 in a more high-profile spot, headlining the Misfits Boxing event on Jan. 18 against Tommy Fury. But “TNT,” who has already boxed both Jake Paul and KSI, withdrew recently due to fears of Till engaging in MMA tactics — a threat the former UFC star made at the press conference.
While that left Till’s status on the card uncertain, a replacement opponent has been confirmed. The promotion announced Sunday that ex-Bellator fighter and Misfits veteran Anthony Taylor will step in to face “The Gorilla” at Manchester’s Co-op Live.
The main event will be contested at heavyweight for a maximum of eight rounds.
Though Taylor has risen to prominence as part of the influencer boxing game, his combat sports tenure started out with 11 professional outings as a mixed martial artist.
With that in mind, perhaps he’ll be better suited to any “MMA tactics” Till will bring to the ring than Fury.
It seems that Roman Kopylov is doing everything he can to gain an advantage over Chris Curtis ahead of their middleweight clash at UFC Vegas 101 next month.
MMA’s leading promotion will kick off its schedule for 2025 with a UFC Fight Night at the Apex in Las Vegas on Jan. 11, where Kopylov and Curtis make up one of the undercard matchups.
Both men will no doubt be keen to start the new year on the front foot with a victory, but the Russian appears to have gone to extreme lengths to boost his chances.
Curtis recently accused his rival of planting spies in his camp, writing on his Instagram Stories that two Russian fighters joined Xtreme Couture before leaving and linking up with Kopylov upon his arrival in “Sin City.”
“Couple weeks ago, 2 Russians show up looking to be part of the team,” Curtis wrote. “After 2 weeks they vanish as soon as Kopylov comes to town and are now training together. Scumbag move Kopylov.”
Whether or not the pair’s insight into Curtis’ preparation will aid Kopylov remains to be seen.
But the incident will likely add some extra heat to this bout, which is among those setting the stage for the main event rematch between strawweight contenders Mackenzie Dern and Amanda Ribas.
