Of the 11 current UFC men's and women's champions, four were titleholders at the start of the year. Two others began 2025 as former champions, and another was in the second year of an interim championship reign.

Joshua Van went from unranked to UFC champion in 2025. Van (16-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) logged four fights in the year, before capping things off by capturing the UFC flyweight title. It was a rather anticlimactic championship win for the 24-year-old, but his rise has been undeniable nonetheless.

The 2025 Fighter of the Year conversation was a no-brainer in its closing months. Merab Dvalishvili was on a trajectory to make his case open and shut. Petr Yan had other intentions. He upset Dvalishvili to win the UFC bantamweight title, causing a commotion among CBS Sports' panelists.

Two-division champion Will Fleury proved he’s on a different level. Fleury made shockingly quick work of former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight and ex-OKTAGON champion Martin Buday, stopping him in under two minutes in the main event of OKTAGON 81 today (Sun.

Nine out of 11 weight classes across men's and women's divisions crowned a new champion, a new UFC record. The previous highest total was eight, which occurred in 2016 and 2017.

The UFC Paramount deal will be taking effect in 2026, and Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier claims fighters have already gotten a bump in pay.