UFC 2025 Year in Review: Spinning Elbows, New Champions and the End of the ESPN Era

Overview

• Bloody Elbow selected Lerone Murphy’s spinning‑elbow finish of Aaron Pico as its 2025 KO of the Year, underscoring widespread year‑end lists that dubbed 2025 the year of the spinning elbow.
• Ilia Topuria became a two‑division champion with a knockout of Charles Oliveira at UFC 317, a centerpiece on lists of the year’s top events.
• Khamzat Chimaev captured UFC gold at UFC 319, a card also remembered for consecutive spinning‑elbow knockouts by Murphy and Carlos Prates.
• UFC Paris set a promotional record with nine knockouts in a single event, reinforcing 2025’s finish‑heavy trend.
• The ESPN era concluded with UFC Vegas 112 as rewinds also revisited disruptions and controversies, including Arman Tsarukyan’s UFC 311 withdrawal, reported paint‑fume complaints in Saudi Arabia, and an NSAC eye‑poke review that led to a restart.