Justin Gaethje has spent most of his UFC career making lists like this. In 2026, he might have produced the best fight of the year twice.
Gaethje’s battles with Paddy Pimblett and Ilia Topuria both make our current shortlist, but there has been plenty beyond the lightweight division. Joshua Van and Tatsuro Taira gave us five brilliant rounds at flyweight, Brandon Royval dragged Lone’er Kavanagh into another chaotic scrap and Raul Rosas Jr somehow found a finish after four rounds of problems against Raoni Barcelos.
This ranking covers UFC fights from January through early October 2026. It is subjective, obviously, and there are still enough major events left for the order to change before December.
For markets across the upcoming cards that could produce the next contender, visit BetVictor’s UFC betting and odds page.
1. Justin Gaethje vs Ilia Topuria
UFC Freedom 250, 14 June
Result: Gaethje def. Topuria by TKO, end of Round 4
If the year ended today, this would be my pick. It had almost everything.
Topuria entered unbeaten and holding the lightweight title. Gaethje was 37, had already failed twice in undisputed title fights and realistically knew this could be his last opportunity.
For a while, it looked like the younger champion would break him.
Topuria went after the body in round two, hurt Gaethje badly and followed him to the mat looking for submissions. Gaethje survived, recovered and slowly turned the fight around.
By the third, Topuria was tiring. By the fourth, his face was taking serious damage.
His corner eventually stopped the fight before the fifth could begin, making Gaethje undisputed lightweight champion and handing Topuria the first defeat of his professional career.
The UFC itself called it an instant classic and said in June that anything beating it to Fight of the Year would need to be special.
I agree. The latest on whether Gaethje actually fights again can be found in our Justin Gaethje retirement article.
2. Joshua Van vs Tatsuro Taira
UFC 328, 9 May
Result: Van def. Taira by TKO, Round 5
UFC.com actually had this first in its official half-year staff voting. Fair enough.
Van vs Taira was a better back-and-forth fight than Gaethje vs Topuria if you remove the wider story and simply judge what happened inside the cage.
Taira dominated much of the first two rounds with his wrestling. Then Van started finding him.
The champion hurt Taira late in the second, took over large parts of the third and suddenly looked like he had solved the grappling problem.
Taira responded by getting back to his wrestling in the fourth. That left everything beautifully set up for the final round.
Van came out flying, stuffed the early attempts to get him down and stopped Taira with strikes after just 1:32 of round five.
Both fighters were still only in their mid-20s. I would be surprised if that is the last time they meet.
Our UFC rankings 2026 page tracks where both men now sit in the flyweight picture.
3. Brandon Royval vs Lone’er Kavanagh
UFC 329, 11 July
Result: Royval def. Kavanagh by submission, Round 3
Flyweight has been ridiculous over the last couple of years. Royval vs Kavanagh was another example.
Royval took the first round using his reach and experience. Kavanagh responded in the second by dropping him and suddenly making the veteran look much less comfortable. Then the third turned into chaos.
They traded clean shots in the centre before Kavanagh attacked a guillotine and gave Royval an opening on the mat. The former title challenger took advantage, worked towards the back and eventually finished the fight with a rear-naked choke at 3:39.
Kavanagh lost, but this did not feel like the sort of defeat that damages a young contender.
He went into a frantic fight with one of the most experienced flyweights in the world and looked completely at home.
UFC’s July report immediately put the fight into the wider Fight of the Year conversation.
4. Justin Gaethje vs Paddy Pimblett
UFC 324, 24 January
Result: Gaethje def. Pimblett by unanimous decision
The first major UFC event of the year gave us an early benchmark.
Gaethje and Pimblett fought for the interim lightweight title and spent five rounds reminding everyone why putting Gaethje into a boring fight is apparently impossible.
Gaethje started aggressively and hurt Pimblett early. Pimblett settled down rather than falling apart, landed good shots of his own and made several rounds much more competitive than the final cards suggested.
Gaethje still deserved the decision. The scores were 48-47, 49-46 and 49-46, but those numbers make the fight sound more comfortable than it felt while watching it.
What makes it even better in hindsight is what happened next. That win gave Gaethje one final route to Topuria. Five months later, he finished the job.
Gaethje now sits among the leading names in our most UFC bonuses rankings, which is hardly surprising considering two of this year’s best fights belong to him.
5. Raul Rosas Jr vs Raoni Barcelos
UFC Vegas 121, 26 September
Result: Rosas Jr def. Barcelos by TKO, Round 5
This one is still fresh. Rosas started brilliantly in his first UFC main event. Then Barcelos began taking it away from him.
The veteran mixed his striking with trips and takedowns, disrupted Rosas’ rhythm and looked increasingly comfortable as the middle rounds disappeared.
It felt like the classic story of a young prospect discovering that experience matters. Then Rosas changed the ending.
He came out aggressively in the fifth and slammed Barcelos to the canvas. Barcelos went limp on impact, with Rosas immediately recognising something was wrong and alerting the referee.
The official finish came at 1:38 of round five. That pushed Rosas’ winning streak to six and gave him a huge result at only 21.
He still has time on his side if he wants to chase the records covered in our youngest UFC champions article.
6. Josh Hokit vs Curtis Blaydes
UFC 327, 11 April
Result: Hokit def. Blaydes by unanimous decision
Heavyweight fights do not need five rounds to feel exhausting. Hokit vs Blaydes only went three and still made the UFC’s half-year podium.
Hokit entered as the exciting newcomer. Blaydes was supposed to be the reality check.
Instead, Hokit cracked him almost immediately and made it clear that the step up was not going to overwhelm him.
Blaydes had plenty of success of his own and won the first round on all three judges’ cards, but Hokit kept coming and slowly shifted the fight in his favour.
He eventually took a 29-28 decision across all three cards. The fight has aged well too.
Hokit followed it by stopping Derrick Lewis and is now preparing to challenge Ciryl Gane for the heavyweight championship at UFC 334. That is some rise.
7. Mason Jones vs Axel Sola
UFC London, 21 March
Result: Jones def. Sola by unanimous decision
No title. No top-five ranking. No complicated story needed. Jones and Sola just battered each other.
Sola dropped Jones early and looked capable of making his unbeaten UFC run miserable.
Jones recovered, pushed the pace and turned the remaining fight into exactly the sort of scrappy contest he regularly claims he wants to avoid.
He won 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 at The O2. UFC’s half-year panel ranked this fifth despite neither fighter being close to a championship at the time.
That says plenty. Some fights make these lists because of what was at stake. Others get here because watching them was brilliant. Jones vs Sola is firmly in the second group.
8. Gregory Rodrigues vs Anthony Hernandez
UFC Sacramento, 22 August
Result: Rodrigues def. Hernandez by unanimous decision
This was less chaotic than some of the fights above it. I still think it belongs. Rodrigues entered with the usual question hanging over him.
Can someone with that much power and aggression still look dangerous if the fight reaches rounds four and five?
Anthony Hernandez seemed like a horrible person to test that against. His pace and cardio have broken plenty of fighters.
Instead, Rodrigues went the full 25 minutes and actually finished strongly.
He won the fourth round on every scorecard and took the fifth on two of them, eventually earning scores of 48-47, 49-46 and 48-47.
It was not simply entertaining. It changed how I look at Rodrigues as a contender. Sometimes that is enough to get a fight onto this list.
What Other UFC Fights Deserve a Mention?
There are a few I would not argue against.
Sean Strickland vs Khamzat Chimaev received votes in UFC’s half-year awards after Strickland shocked Chimaev by split decision to regain the middleweight championship.
Regina Tarin vs Ernesta Kareckaite was UFC.com’s February Fight of the Month. Brendan Allen vs Edmen Shahbazyan was also singled out among June’s best bouts.
The list is going to move again anyway. UFC 333 still has Volkanovski vs Evloev and Yan vs Dvalishvili 3. UFC 334 brings Gane vs Hokit and Harrison vs Nunes.
Then Oliveira vs Lopes closes the current numbered schedule at UFC 335. There is plenty of time for somebody to ruin Gaethje’s lead.
What Is the UFC Fight of the Year for 2026?
Right now, Justin Gaethje vs Ilia Topuria. Van vs Taira probably produced the more even contest.
Royval vs Kavanagh may have been more frantic. But Gaethje vs Topuria had everything around the action as well.
An undefeated champion. A 37-year-old challenger on what looked like his final title run.
Gaethje getting badly hurt. Topuria beginning to fade. Then a complete reversal ending with the champion unable to answer the bell for round five.
Add the White House setting and Gaethje finally becoming undisputed champion, and another fight will need to be exceptional to knock it from No.1 for me.
We will keep this article updated as the remaining cards play out. For every winner and result from 2026, visit our UFC results page.
For everything still to come, check the UFC schedule 2026. For more rankings, previews and UFC features, head to the BetVictor UFC and MMA News hub.
