Top MMA Fighters to Watch in 2025
MMA is a star driven sport. Viewers are attracted by star power. Luckily for us, there are plenty of names to go around these days. Promotions such as UFC, Rizin, ONE and FNC do a great job in creating MMA superstars. As you probably know, UFC is the biggest promotion in the world, so the majority of fighters will be from that company. With more than enough events to go around till the end of 2025, we have more than a few names to give you this time around. Here are the top fighters you ought to pay attention to in 2025.
Tom Aspinall
Now that it is clear that Tom Aspinall and Jon Jones are not going to fight, and after the heavyweight title was stripped of Jones after the former champ retired, Tom is standing at the top of the division. The former interim champion lost a few months of his prime waiting for Jones to make up his mind, so he is now more than eager to fight, and defend his title for the first time. The only issue for Aspinall is that the UFC heavyweight division is scarce when it comes to top talent. There are not too many fighters eager to fight Tom, and even less of those who are close to his current level. Both fans and pundits are sure that Aspinall is going to fight Ciryl Gane once again, as the only true contender for the heavyweight title. Other names in the mix include Alex Pereira as it is believed that he’s going to bulk up a little bit and try to compete for the heavyweight title, but that’s only a rumour. At the end of the day, the spotlight belongs to Tom Aspinall, and we are sure that Dana White is looking to schedule Tom to fight before the year ends.
Ilia Topuria
El Matador is close to being the top superstar UFC has at the moment, if he isn’t the one already. The undefeated double champion holds both the featherweight and lightweight titles and is the tenth double champion in the history of the UFC. His style of fighting garnered him a ton of fans as he is known as an KO master being able to strike down any of his opponents. So far he has a 17-0-0 score, with 7 knockout wins, 8 submissions, and only 2 decisions. He is currently the No1 fighter in the UFC pound for pound rankings, and has been favoured to win by Stake and other sports betting outlets in each of his last five fights. Considering that he took out Charles Oliveira pretty fast in his last bout, it would be no surprise to see Topuria fighting again this year. Names such as Justin Gaethje, Arman Tsarukyan, or Paddy Pimblett are being thrown into the mix, while we all know that Ilia is eyeing a duel against Islam Makhachev. After showing the world what he can do against the likes of Max Holloway, Alexander Volkanovski, and Charles Oliveira, we are sure he can take on any opponent and we can’t wait for Topuria to enter the octagon once again.
Alex Pereira
Pereira was having one of the best arcs in recent UFC memories, but in recent months he’s been inactive since his loss to Magomed Ankalaev. In his last ten UFC bouts he only lost twice to Magomed and to his long time rival Israel Adesanya. The former middleweight and light heavyweight champion still has some gas left in the tank, but he is waiting for the right opportunity to get back to the ring. In the case of his 2025 return we are sure that he will be slotted in a title fight considering his stature and name recognition. Poatan has been cryptic on social media platforms in recent weeks, leaving fans guessing as to what he plans to do next. As we mentioned he could be bulking up to fight Tom Aspinall which would be a holiday for MMA betting fans, but more likely we will see him in a rematch against Magomed Ankalaev. Names such as Dricus Du Plessis and Jiri Prochazka are being thrown into the mix, and having a trilogy with the Czech fighter could be in the cards.
Israel Adesanya
The Last Stylebender had one of the best rises to stardom in recent UFC memory, and the fans are still in love with his style of fighting, charisma, and confident demeanour. Yet, we must be honest and conclude that his fall from grace has been notable. Adesanya is far removed from his glory days when he fought Alex Pereira for the middleweight title. In February he lost to Nassourdine Imavov who managed to cough the former champ in the second round and knock him down. It was noticeable that Israel was looking good before he was knocked out, so it is evident that we haven’t seen the last of him. The only question that remains is whether he will be trying his luck in the middleweight or he will be moving to light heavyweight. One thing is clear, if he plans on getting back into title contention, he needs to rake up a few wins first. Winning only one in his last five bouts is not a good sign, but we believe Israel can turn around his fortunes. Considering he’s about to turn 36 in a few days, Izzy will most likely fight again before the year ends.
Dricus Du Plessis
Du Plessis has come a long way since his KSW days. The reigning UFC middleweight champion is a fighter you need to see this year. The best part is that the fans will have this opportunity at the UFC 319 event. As far as his UFC career goes, Dricus stands undefeated, and with his title run being quite impressive, he is one to be followed in the future too. Before he won the title against Sean Strickland, Du Plessis managed to rake up 6 impressive wins, with 5 of those coming via stoppage.
His title is one of the most solid ones as he won and defended against the likes of Strickland and Israel Adesanya. Professionally, Du Plessis stands at 23-2 and is equally dangerous as a submission master and knockout expert. With a few days less than a month to go till UFC 319, you can put August 16th on your schedule and check out how Dricus fares against Khamzat Chimaev. According to Stake odds, Chimaev is the betting favourite at the moment.
Khamzat Chimaev
Chimaev is a rising UFC star in his own right. Currently undefeated, he will pose a real challenge for Dricus du Plessis at the UFC 319 when the two men face for the title. Professionally, Chimaev stands at 14-0, and his rise to stardom was only slowed down due to a few injury issues. It was believed he will be a top draw for years to come after he fought three times in three months to kick off his UFC career. So far he fought 8 times in the UFC, and in one month’s time he will be fighting for the middleweight title. His style of fighting is similar to Dricus and it will be interesting to see which fighter will be able to close down this bout.
Islam Makhachev
Makhachev conquered the lightweight division and has moved up to welterweight, aiming to make history. There aren’t many fighters that were able to stand their ground against Islam. So far in his MMA career, Makhachev has only lost once, surprisingly to Adriano Martins. Since that loss he has racked up wins against the likes of Arman Tsarukyan, David Ramos, Dan Hooker, Dustin Poirier, Alexander Volkanovski, and Charles Oliveira among few others. Nowadays, he is aiming to shoot at the welterweight belt, and that fight could be on schedule in November if everything goes to plan for Islam. He wants to fight at the Madison Square Garden, and has set his eyes on Jack Della Maddalena. Dana White still hasn’t confirmed this bout, but even if it doesn’t get scheduled, Islam was more than clear that he plans to fight in 2025. Once he’s scheduled to fight, we all know that Islam is a must watch TV in terms of MMA fighters.
Merab Dvalishvili
As far as the bantamweight goes, Merab is the king. He was more than dominant in his most recent title defence against Sean O’Malley, and his hold on the division is quite strong. While many people believe that he could move up a division, and take on bigger opponents, Merab has no plans of doing so. After all, he is not lacking competition in the bantamweight with plenty of fighters aiming for his belt. While he is not yet scheduled to fight again this year, we can see him in the octagon before the year ends. His biggest opponents and current title challengers are Bryce Mitchell and Cory Sandhagen. Regardless of which of these men face Merab next, you ought to watch how one of the most dominant bantamweight title reigns ends or continues.
Marko Bojkovic
This is a bit of a detour from the UFC fighters who are more than familiar to a broader audience. Bojkovic is a rising star in the regional promotion called FNC. A fighter nicknamed The Skull Crusher has had a meteoritic rise to prominence in the Balkans. So far he holds an 8-1 record, with his only defeat coming in the hands of Milos Janicic. Both men are the best Balkan has to offer, and both are rumoured to be on the verge of UFC contracts. Bojkovic is a stalwart known for his fast movement and hard hits that often result in knockouts. As far as his homeland Serbia goes, he is the highest prospect the country has seen in recent years. His defeat in the hands of Montenegrin Janicic was a sobering experience and the first loss of his career. If Marko manages to get up from this defeat, and get the best out of Janicic in their rematch, we can see him moving to UFC in no time. While a bit of an unknown promotion worldwide, FNC is doing an amazing job regionally, and you ought to tune to one of their PPV events in the future. If it is Bojkovic vs. Janicic 2, it is a must see regional fight.
Kai Asakura
Asakura has a long way to go to make a name for himself in the UFC the way he did at Rizin. Former Rizin bantamweight champion made his UFC debut against Alexandre Pantoja in a title fight, but lost. It is rare to see a fighter making a debut in a title fight, but considering that Kai came as a champ this fight made a lot of sense. Unfortunately, Pantoja is on a different level, and has managed to defend his title once again after he won against Kai. In the meantime, Asakura got another opportunity to kick start his UFC career, and in his second bout he will fight Tim Elliot at UFC 319. We are sure that Asakura has a lot more to show in the UFC than he has managed to do against Alexandre Pantoja. Considering how his career started, we will have to wait a bit before he is back in the title contention, but a win here would put him right back on track to face Alexandre Pantoja once again in the foreseeable future.
If you are a true MMA fan, you have been following most of the names on this list for some time now. These lads are top draws in their respective divisions and promotions, and if their bouts get scheduled this year, and some already are, you need to see them in action. We can’t wait to see Alex Pereira fight again, regardless of weight division he chooses, and the same goes for Izzy, du Plessis, Islam, Chimaev, Merab, and less known Bojkovic. We’re in for an interesting 2025, and with the show Topuria already put on, and the one we expect from Aspinall it’s a great year for MMA fans.
