2025 will go down as another superb year in the history of mixed martial arts, especially for the UFC. In regards to their pay-per-view spectacles, specifically UFC 311 and UFC 318, the company notably broke several attendance numbers and overall gate gross. However, some numbered shows didn’t quite seem to stick the landing and left fans and bettors puzzled as to the quality of the product given to them in regards to fighter performances and lackluster bout lineups.
This sentiment also transferred over to the UFC’s Fight Night events as well. While some have played out as truly memorable nights of spectacular scraps, there were quite a few that severely missed the mark in terms of entertainment value. With the new year slowly approaching on the horizon, let’s take a moment to reflect on the Saturday nights that left us reeling with excitement and disappointment.
These are the top three best and worst UFC Fight Night cards of 2025:
Best UFC Fight Night Cards
3. UFC Fight Night: Bonfim vs. Brown
Getting into one of the more recent UFC Fight Night shows, the UFC Apex played host to a rather unexpectedly intense and thrilling main card headlined by welterweight contenders Gabriel Bonfim and Randy Brown. Boasting five fights, the main festivities saw an equal amount of finishes, with all matches on the card ending via stoppage.
Perhaps the performance that stood out the most was none other than Ultimate Fighter winner Joseph Morales, who recorded a swift submission triumph over fellow TUF alumni Matt Schnell. The victory saw Morales climb to 3-2 in the organization across his two separate stints in the UFC. Previously seen at UFC 319 almost three months earlier, “Bopo” defied a mammoth amount of odds by defeating Ultimate Fighter Season 33 tournament favorite Alibi Idiris, who was 10-0 at the time.
Other impressive showings included Uroš Medić scoring his second first round knockout win in a row when he starched the veteran Muslim Salikhov in just over a minute. Christian Leroy Duncan also continued to shine in the spotlight after he finished highly-touted Brazilian striker Marco Tulio. Not only did earn a Performance of the Night bonus for his efforts, he also handed “Matuto” his first setback as a professional since 2018.
2. UFC Fight Night: Prates vs. Machado Garry
As spring began to clear away the winter snow, the UFC brought the heat with a stellar night of action at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. In the top-billed bout of the evening, South American finisher and Fighting Nerds product Carlos Prates endeavored to continue his climb towards a title shot when he locked horns with Irish star Ian Machado Garry. Money from Bettors was coming in, with Bet365 MO promo code coming in handy.
For the European, it was his first ever main event booking in the UFC since joining the promotion in 2021. In the case of Prates, his headlining affair in the States was not new ground to him, as “The Nightmare” had already bested Neil Magny in the last scrap of UFC Vegas 100 last year.
Taking the early rounds with his masterful timing and placement of his punches, Machado Garry had seemed to gain complete control of the pace of the potentially 25 minute affair. However, as time began to fly by, the damage caused by Prates was beginning to take its toll on the Irishman, with “The Future” noticeably starting to become tired and wobbly in the fifth.
Showcasing his excellence as a complete fighter, Machado Garry utilized his grappling to keep Prates on the ground after receiving some heavy blows in the last stanza to earn a close unanimous decision victory.
Elsewhere on the card, Chinese up-and-comer Zhang Mingyang sent perennial light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith spiraling into retirement after a blistering four miniature knockout. Also, David Onama punched his ticket into the featherweight rankings by toppling Georgian standout Giga Chikadze.
1. UFC Fight Night: Hill vs. Rountree Jr.
Making their long-awaited touchdown in Azerbaijan, the UFC prepared a special card packed to the brim with world-class talent for their first showing in the country on UFC Fight Night. Taking top billing for the occasion, former light heavyweight king Jamahal Hill stepped up for his second bout of 2025 in a striking battle with Khalil Rountree Jr. Although many expected the pairing to produce fireworks, both men seemed tentative to fire their weapons first, with the most significant moment of the tilt being a flashy knockdown from Rountree Jr.
While the main attraction of this night left something to be desired, the rest of the card seriously brought the action, including a stunner scrap between lightweight prospects Nikolas Motta and Nazim Sadykhov. In what turned out to be not just the greatest fight of the event, but one of the best 155-lb tussles of the year, the two delivered a back-and-forth fire fight for the ages.
Bloodying and rocking each other over the course of their two-round war, it was Sadykhov that prevailed with a hellacious right hook that put the Brazilian down for good. Earning high praise from UFC officials, they both were given Fight of the Night honors, as well as a consideration for Fight of the Year.
Worst UFC Fight Night Cards
3. UFC Fight Night: Adesanya vs. Imavov
For the first time since July 2018, previous middleweight king Israel Adesanya was going to be fighting on a UFC Fight Night card and not his usual home on pay-per-view. Stepping up at the third event of the year, “The Last Stylebender” crossed paths with French star Nassourdine Imavov at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Although many hoped for a triumphant return to form from the once dominant title-holder, what happened was nothing short of tragic after Adesanya was quickly dispatched by “The Sniper” with a marvelous overhand that flattened the Nigeria native. While Imavov’s performance was rightfully praised as one of the biggest upsets of 2025, it still felt very disheartening to see an icon of the sport fall even lower after being at the head of the pack at 185-lb for so long.
Other favorites on the main card didn’t fare any well either on that edition of UFC Fight Night, with fan-favorite Dagestan juggernaut Shara Magomedov falling to former Bellator attraction Michael Page. Looking like a shell of himself, the Russian had absolutely no answer for the Englishman’s awkward striking game, causing him to record his first loss as a professional.
Finally, a once-believed to be potentially thrilling boxing match between heavyweight bruisers Sergei Pavlovich and Jairzinho Rozenstruik wholly fell flat of expectations. Throughout the three round engagement, both men failed to connect with anything substantial when it came to punches, with Pavlovich using his mostly-unseen grappling ability to take the African down at several points.
After what turned out to be a snooze-fest of a fight, the Russian ended up getting his hand raised to end a two-bout losing skid dating back to December 2023.
2. UFC Fight Night: Burns vs. Morales
What was gearing up to be an incredible night of contests at the UFC Apex wound up becoming a forgettable romp of a UFC Fight Night after a one-way traffic confrontation between one-time title welterweight challenger Gilbert Burns and the surging Michael Morales. Initially, the card was meant to host a couple of notable matchups like Serghei Spivac and Shamil Gaziev, Johnny Walker and Azamat Murzakanov, and also Paul Craig and Rodolfo Bellato. The former two were moved to entirely different shows, while Craig and Bellato’s tilt was axed during the event itself following the Brazilian’s sudden case of herpes that rendered him unable to compete.
Getting back to the headliner, it would soon be made apparent that Burns was no longer in the top contender talks after a disappointing knockout defeat to the Ecuadorian, Morales. Lasting all but three minutes, the younger man put down the aging Durinho with a barrage of punches, ending a bout that felt more like a showcase for the talented 26-year old slugger.
With only three other matches on the main card, this UFC Fight Night struggled to gain any sort of traction with fans and pundits alike. It also didn’t help that all those other contents went to the score cards after what felt like more one-sided destructions from all the winners.
1. UFC Fight Night: Klein vs. Gamrot
On the outset, UFC on ESPN 68 had the potential to go down in the books as a mostly memorable show. Originally pegged to end the festivities, top women’s flyweight names Erin Blanchfield and Maycee Barber were slated to throw down in their separate bids for a possible number one contender tilt later in 2025 on the May 31 UFC Fight Night. Unfortunately, Barber would be taken off the card after issues with her weight cut caused her to suffer a seizure the day of the event.
Already billed as the penultimate fight of the night, lightweights Mateusz Gamrot and Ľudovít Klein were suddenly propped up to be the headlining pair. Despite the encounter technically being a top-billed scrap for UFC Fight Night, it ultimately played as a three-rounder and not five rounds, resulting in Gamrot achieving a convincing performance over Klein, netting an easy decision triumph.
The rest of the contests didn’t necessarily rile up the combat sports community, either. Opening the card, the once ferocious Zachary Reese logged a lackluster unanimous decision win in his meeting Duško Todorović. Also, a women’s featherweight affair between Ketlen Vieira and Macy Chiasson somewhat soured the mood of the evening after the Brazilian beat the Ultimate Fighter champion. The win itself wasn’t anything to write home about, but it still felt wrong after Vieira requested the pair’s original contest at 135-lb be moved up a weight class after having issues making bantamweight.
