With another action-packed year of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie takes a look at the best knockouts from January to December. Here are the top five and the winner of MMA
The UFC continues to build the card for its return to Mexico. On March 29 at Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Kelvin Gastelum will return to action to face Joe Pyfer in a middleweight contest at UFC on ESPN 64. Pfyer confirmed the matchup on Instagram, a
Luke Rockhold offered his insight on the big upcoming light heavyweight clash at UFC 311. Jiri Prochazka (30-5-1 MMA, 4-2 UFC) and Jamahal Hill (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) square off in a key divisional matchup on Jan. 18 at Inuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. The event stream
Ian Machado Garry thinks he should be ranked a lot higher after losing to Shavkat Rakhmonov. Machado Garry (15-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) rallied late in a unanimous decision loss to Rakhmonov earlier this month at UFC 310. It was a close affair, but given his five-round matc
Rodolfo Vieira will remain on UFC Fight Night 251 after all. Vieira (10-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) was originally scheduled to face Jacob Malkoun at the event on Feb. 15 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, but was forced out due to injury. The BJJ specialist Vieira w
Cigarettes, booze, and brutal knockouts. That was Carlos Prates' recipe to enamor the MMA world and become one of its biggest standout fighters of 2024. In short, the Brazilian striker fought four times, scored four knockouts, and won four $50,000 Performance…
Two male fighters stood out above the rest in 2024, but the final choice for MMA Junkie's Male Fighter of the Year was Ilia Topuria. The UFC featherweight champion had a year for the ages. Topuria began his year by knocking out Alexander Volkanovski in February at
Sayif Saud still thinks Brandon Moreno has the best chance to dethrone UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja. Moreno (22-8-2 MMA, 10-5-2 UFC) has lost to Pantoja three times, most recently falling short by split decision in their title fight at UFC 290 in July 2
Check out these photos from the fights at RIZIN 49, their big New Year's Eve show featuring three title fights at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. (Photos courtesy of RIZIN FF)
Michael Bisping doesn't see Magomed Ankalaev dethroning UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. Ankalaev (19-1-1 MMA, 10-1-1 UFC) is projected to be next in line to challenge Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC), although "Poatan" recently hinted that the UFC could have other plans f
After a big 2024, Youssef Zalal has earned himself a marquee matchup. At UFC Fight Night 251 on Feb. 15, Zalal (16-5-1 MMA, 6-3-1 UFC) will battle perennial featherweight contender Calvin Kattar (23-8 MMA, 7-6 UFC) in a three-round bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas
Mike Valle's work has been seen in premiere MMA for a long time. However, 2024 was the year when his coaching really stood out. The veteran trainer, who operates out of Chicago with VFS Academy, helped create two UFC champions this year and helped further the…
Ali Abdelaziz made a very bold statement about UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. Makhachev (26-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC) runs things back with Arman Tsarukyan (22-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) Jan. 18 in the UFC 311 main event from Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., and airs on
Kevin Holland sees Belal Muhammad as an easier fight than Dricus Du Plessis. Holland, who has extensive experience under the UFC banner across multiple weight classes, was asked how he would stack up against both welterweight champion Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC)…
Luke Rockhold expects Umar Nurmagomedov to pose serious problems for Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 311. Nurmagomedov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) challenges bantamweight champion Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) in the Jan. 18 co-main event from Inglewood, Calif. (