UFC 2025 Rewind: A 42-Event Year Captured in Title Swings, Shake‑Ups and Oddities

The multi-part series spotlights decisive results, offbeat moments, operational hiccups that defined the promotion’s busiest year.

Overview

Yahoo Sports released Parts 1 and 2 of its year-end retrospective covering January through June, with a companion Part 3 on MMAmania extending the review through October across a total of 42 UFC events.
Major championship turns highlighted the year: Alexander Volkanovski reclaimed the featherweight title at UFC 314, Jack Della Maddalena won welterweight gold at UFC 315, and Ilia Topuria became a two-division champion at UFC 317.
UFC 311 was upended when Arman Tsarukyan withdrew the day before the event, leading Islam Makhachev to face Renato Moicano instead and win by first-round submission.
At UFC Saudi, Nassourdine Imavov knocked out Israel Adesanya in Round 2, while fighters reported fresh paint fumes affected performance, with Yahoo Sports noting Lucas Alexander was hospitalized in connection with the issue.
Later installments recall Dustin Poirier’s retirement following his loss to Max Holloway at UFC 318 and Khamzat Chimaev securing his first UFC title at UFC 319.