Merab Dvalishvili currently leads the way for the 2025 fighter of the year, but one matchup could change that.
‘The Machine’ recently extended his UFC winning streak to 14, meaning he’s only two more victories away from equalling Anderson Silva’s record.
On Saturday night, Dvalishvili defeated Cory Sandhagen via unanimous decision to successfully defend the bantamweight title for a third time this year.
The Georgian champion is easily the frontrunner to end 2025 as the consensus fighter of the year.
While Dvalishvili has already named an opponent that he wants to fight in December, there’s one upcoming matchup that could give him some serious opposition for the end of year award.
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Islam Makhachev or Jack Della Maddalena will emerge as Merab Dvalishvili’s fighter of the year competition
Merab Dvalishvili broke UFC records on October 4, and if he gets his wish to defend the belt for a fourth time this year, he’ll be incredibly hard to deny.
However, there are two other competitors who are also in contention for the fighter of the year.
The two favorites in 2024, Ilia Topuria and Alex Pereira, have produced two of the biggest wins of 2025.
However, with Pereira losing at UFC 313 and Topuria being targeted for 2026, they simply can’t match the consistency of ‘The Machine’, even if they have one victory that stands out more than any of Dvalishvili’s single performances.
Two fighters who also hold a single win this year will have the opportunity to add a massive achievement to their resumes when they collide next month.
If Islam Makhachev is able to leave UFC 322 with the welterweight title after moving up a weight class, he’ll be right up there due to the magnitude of the victory.
Jack Della Maddalena, who surprised a lot of people by winning the 170 pound gold in May, would have an even stronger case if he’s able to halt Makhachev’s 15-fight win streak.
Fans have voted for their current 2025 MMA fighter of the year on Tapology, which reflect the idea that only Makhachev or ‘JDM’ can rival Dvalishvili due to the fact that one of them is going to receive a notable boost in November.
While it currently states that the rankings were updated on October 4, it may take some time before they truly reflect the aftermath of UFC 320, as seen by Magomed Ankalaev’s position.
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| Tapology’s fan-voted 2025 MMA fighter of the year rankings | MMA fighter |
| #1 | Merab Dvalishvili |
| #2 | Jack Della Maddalena |
| #3 | Ilia Topuria |
| #4 | Islam Makhachev |
| #5 | Reinier de Ridder |
| #6 | Magomed Ankalaev |
| #7 | Joshua Van |
| #8 | Alexander Volkanovski |
| #9 | Jiri Prochazka |
| #10 | Nassourdine Imavov |
Merab Dvalishvili was named the UFC’s fighter of the year at the halfway mark
On July 5, UFC.com posted their 2025 half-year awards, with categories like newcomers, fights, knockouts, and of course, fighters.
Merab Dvalishvili took the top spot at that time, having already beaten Umar Nurmagomedov and Sean O’Malley in impressive fashion.
Two fighters who had recently produced statement wins at UFC 317 were named as his closest contenders.
| UFC’s best fighters of the first half of 2025 rankings | UFC fighter |
| #1 | Merab Dvalishvili |
| #2 | Ilia Topuria |
| #3 | Joshua Van |
| #4 | Jean Silva |
| #5 | Alexandre Pantoja |
After Jean Silva was beaten by Diego Lopes last month, his name will have fallen down the pecking order quite significantly.
As for Joshua Van and Alexandre Pantoja, their positions on the list at the end of the year will heavily depend on whether they’re matched up for December and what the outcome of that flyweight title bout is.