After passing the mid-way point of the year, the UFC’s anti-doping test numbers have been updated.
2025 has been a mixed year for the UFC thus far even if the promotion continues to break records and dominate the sport of mixed martial arts.
There have been some major criticisms thrown at the promotion, whether it’s regarding the overall strength of the fight cards of the drawn-out saga between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall.
A strong run of PPV main events could help to change this as Dustin Poirier’s retirement fight with Max Holloway promises to be a classic while Dricus du Plessis vs Khamzat Chimaev is one of the most highly anticipated title fights in some time.
So far in 2025, there is one UFC champion who appears to be leading the way in early fighter of the year predictions, but that’s not the only list that they’re sitting at the top of.
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Merab Dvalishvili is the most tested UFC fighter so far in 2025
Merab Dvalishvili was recently named as ESPN MMA’s male fighter of the midyear, though Ilia Topuria did receive the same amount of votes.
The UFC’s bantamweight champion has defended his title twice this year to continue his incredible win streak that may go down in the history books.
Dvalishvili recently shared a photo on Instagram following a meeting with the UFC’s Hunter Campbell where he teased for fans to “stay tuned”, with many expecting him to face Cory Sandhagen before the end of the year.
After passing the midway point of the year, the UFC’s anti-doping system recently updated their statistics for 2025 which show how many times each fighter on the roster has been tested this year.
It’s not necessarily surprising to see Dvalishvili near the top considering that he has competed in two title fights this year, having beaten Umar Nurmagomedov and Sean O’Malley.
‘The Machine’ has been tested seven times, making him the most tested athlete on the entire roster so far in 2025.
In comparison, Dvalishvili was tested nine times in total throughout the entirety of 2024, where he competed twice inside the Octagon.
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Another fighter of the year standout is the second most tested UFC champion in 2025
While there are three names, including Arman Tsarukyan, who have been tested six times in 2025, the next UFC champion on the list has five.
Interestingly, they’ve also had a strong year so far having recently been named ESPN MMA’s female fighter of the midyear.
Kayla Harrison won the women’s bantamweight title at UFC 316, the same night that Merab Dvalishvili defeated Sean O’Malley in a rematch.
Notable names that are one spot below Harrison on four tests include Charles Oliveira, Islam Makhachev and Khamzat Chimaev.