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It's felt like a boring year when it comes to who is grabbing gold for the most part. Even with the rise of the likes of Topuria knocking out competition in title fights and Poatan enacting his marauding vengeance, this year has been...a weird one for the UFC.
With Yan vs Merab rounding out the year, I will take the liberty of counting their upcoming fight as a decision regardless of which way it goes, as this makes it an even 20 title fights and the numbers easier.
This gives us 13/20 title fights going to the cards, or 65%.
Out of the finishes we have the following:
The finishing rate in title fights even including the fudgy ones has dipped down to around 33% compared to 50-75% in previous years.
What is happening? Are the matchups just better leading to less finishes? Are champions becoming "safe"?
Was it just a wonky year of matchups?
Will this improve in the Paramount era? Should we give fighters brass knuckles?
| Date | Event | Location | Weight Class | Fight | Method | Round | Time |
| Jan 18, 2025 | UFC 311 | Inglewood, CA, USA | Bantamweight | Merab Dvalishvili (c) def. Umar Nurmagomedov | Decision (unanimous) (48–47, 48–47, 49–46) | 5 | 5:00 |
| Jan 18, 2025 | UFC 311 | Inglewood, CA, USA | Lightweight | Islam Makhachev (c) def. Renato Moicano | Submission (brabo choke) | 1 | 4:05 |
| Feb 9, 2025 | UFC 312 | Sydney, Australia | Women's Strawweight | Zhang Weili (c) def. Tatiana Suarez | Decision (unanimous) (49–46, 49–46, 49–45) | 5 | 5:00 |
| Feb 9, 2025 | UFC 312 | Sydney, Australia | Middleweight | Dricus du Plessis (c) def. Sean Strickland | Decision (unanimous) (50–45, 50–45, 49–46) | 5 | 5:00 |
| Mar 8, 2025 | UFC 313 | Las Vegas, NV, USA | Light Heavyweight | Magomed Ankalaev def. Alex Pereira (c) | Decision (unanimous) (49–46, 48–47, 48–47) | 5 | 5:00 |
| Apr 12, 2025 | UFC 314 | Miami, FL, USA | Featherweight | Alexander Volkanovski def. Diego Lopes | Decision (unanimous) (48–47, 49–46, 49–46) | 5 | 5:00 |
| May 10, 2025 | UFC 315 | Montreal, QC, Canada | Women's Flyweight | Valentina Shevchenko (c) def. Manon Fiorot | Decision (unanimous) (48–47, 48–47, 48–47) | 5 | 5:00 |
| May 10, 2025 | UFC 315 | Montreal, QC, Canada | Welterweight | Jack Della Maddalena def. Belal Muhammad (c) | Decision (unanimous) (48–47, 48–47, 49–46) | 5 | 5:00 |
| Jun 7, 2025 | UFC 316 | Newark, NJ, USA | Women's Bantamweight | Julianna Peña (c) def. Kayla Harrison | Submission (kimura) | 2 | 4:55 |
| Jun 7, 2025 | UFC 316 | Newark, NJ, USA | Bantamweight | Merab Dvalishvili (c) def. Sean O'Malley | Submission (north-south choke) | 3 | 4:42 |
| Jun 28, 2025 | UFC 317 | Las Vegas, NV, USA | Flyweight | Alexandre Pantoja (c) def. Kai Kara-France | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 3 | 1:54 |
| Jun 28, 2025 | UFC 317 | Las Vegas, NV, USA | Lightweight | Ilia Topuria def. Charles Oliveira | KO (punches) | 1 | 2:27 |
| Aug 16, 2025 | UFC 319 | Chicago, IL, USA | Middleweight | Khamzat Chimaev def. Dricus du Plessis (c) | Decision (unanimous) (50–44, 50–44, 50–44) | 5 | 5:00 |
| Oct 4, 2025 | UFC 320 | Las Vegas, NV, USA | Bantamweight | Merab Dvalishvili (c) def. Cory Sandhagen | Decision (unanimous) (49–45, 49–45, 49–46) | 5 | 5:00 |
| Oct 4, 2025 | UFC 320 | Las Vegas, NV, USA | Light Heavyweight | Alex Pereira def. Magomed Ankalaev (c) | TKO (punches and elbows) | 1 | 1:20 |
| Oct 25, 2025 | UFC 321 | Abu Dhabi, UAE | Women's Strawweight | Virna Jandiroba def. Mackenzie Dern | Decision (unanimous) (48–47, 48–47, 49–46) | 5 | 5:00 |
| Oct 25, 2025 | UFC 321 | Abu Dhabi, UAE | Heavyweight | Tom Aspinall (c) vs. Ciryl Gane | NC (accidental eye poke) | 1 | 4:35 |
| Nov 15, 2025 | UFC 322 | New York City, NY, USA | Women's Flyweight | Valentina Shevchenko (c) def. Zhang Weili | Decision (unanimous) (50–45, 50–45, 50–45) | 5 | 5:00 |
| Nov 15, 2025 | UFC 322 | New York City, NY, USA | Welterweight | Islam Makhachev def. Jack Della Maddalena (c) | Decision (unanimous) (50–45, 50–45, 50–45) | 5 | 5:00 |
With Yan vs Merab rounding out the year, I will take the liberty of counting their upcoming fight as a decision regardless of which way it goes, as this makes it an even 20 title fights and the numbers easier.
This gives us 13/20 title fights going to the cards, or 65%.
Out of the finishes we have the following:
- Overmatched short notice Moicano choked out
- Kayla Harrison tearing off (arguably overmatched) Pena's arm
- Merab North South vs O'Maller (great finish)
- Pantoja RNC vs Kai Kara France, more or less expected, Pantoja by RNC is close to being a meme
- Topuria KO vs Chucky Olives
- Poatan execution of Ankalaev
- ...Tom's NC against Gane...
The finishing rate in title fights even including the fudgy ones has dipped down to around 33% compared to 50-75% in previous years.
What is happening? Are the matchups just better leading to less finishes? Are champions becoming "safe"?
Was it just a wonky year of matchups?
Will this improve in the Paramount era? Should we give fighters brass knuckles?
