While another year of MMA has come and gone, the exciting MMA fights of 2026 will soon fill arenas the world over with screaming fans eagerly awaiting a high-octane bout or two. After the holidays are over in a couple of weeks, the wait for the exciting MMA fights of 2026 will linger a little bit longer.
After the close of business at the UFC Apex facility on Dec. 14, MMA’s top promotion, the UFC, began a six-week hiatus between shows. This is the longest gap between cards that the UFC has had since the organization was forced out of action in the early spring of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on athletic competitions.
All told, it was a 55-day moratorium on action before the UFC returned to action in an empty VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville for a rescheduled UFC 249. While there is no pandemic causing this particular hiatus, there’s an adage that we’ve got to keep in mind here: “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”
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Looking at the Exciting MMA Fights of 2026
It’s in that spirit that we spend a few minutes during the ongoing holiday hiatus from major MMA to take a look at the exciting MMA fights to come once the 2026 schedule of events begins in a few short weeks. As has become customary in pieces of this ilk, a couple of ground rules will be addressed before we press forward here on this day:
This is not a countdown piece. Therefore, we won’t be going in descending order for the purposes of this article.
Secondly, this piece will not be localized to one specific promotion. Organizations outside of the UFC can and will be considered here, as well. With that, let’s begin our look at the exciting MMA fights of 2026.
Exciting MMA Fights of 2026: UFC Interim Lightweight Championship: Justin Gaethje vs. Paddy Pimblett: UFC 324 (Jan. 24)
According to a popular song lyric, “Let’s begin at the beginning, a very good place to start.” On Jan. 24, Enterprise, NV will serve as the host city for the first flagship event and first event proper for the UFC in the new year.
That night, UFC 324 inside T-Mobile Arena will be headlined by a championship fight doubleheader, including the main event of the evening for the UFC Interim Lightweight Championship between No. 4 contender Justin Gaethje (26-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) and No. 5 contender Paddy Pimblett (23-3 MMA, 7-0 UFC.) This was announced on Thanksgiving Day during halftime on The NFL Today on CBS.
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While Ilia Topuria’s hiatus from defending the permanent UFC Lightweight Championship continues, the promotion still has title stakes ahead in the first of the exciting MMA fights of 2026. Gaethje has posted a 3-2 record over the course of his last five fights, including a unanimous decision win over Rafael Fiziev (12-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) this past March.
Paddy Pimblett is a tough customer at the shop, however. Since joining the UFC’s active roster in the summer of 2021, “The Baddy” has yet to be bested inside the fabled Octagon, going 7-0.
Last time out, he secured a third-round knockout victory against Michael Chandler (23-10 MMA, 2-5 UFC.) Pimblett has quickly risen through the ranks and is now 25 minutes of action or less to win a title in one of the most exciting MMA fights of 2026.
Exciting MMA Fights of 2026: UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship: Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes: UFC 324 (Jan. 24)
We continue our look at exciting MMA fights of 2026 by looking at the first half of the UFC 324 championship doubleheader. The co-main event of the evening of the first flagship event of 2026 happens at women’s bantamweight.
Incumbent champion Kayla Harrison (19-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC) defends her title for the first time against returning Amanda Nunes (23-5 MMA, 16-2 UFC) in the co-headliner. Harrison and Nunes have a history with one another.
The two contestants in the upcoming fight for the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship were former teammates at American Top Team until the former left the Florida facility in 2022. This makes one of the exciting MMA fights of 2026 even juicier.
Harrison is unbeaten at 3-0 since joining the UFC roster in 2024. This past June, she locked in a kimura to capture the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship versus Juliana Pena (11-6 MMA, 8-4 UFC) in UFC 316.
She used her post-fight interview with Joe Rogan to call out Amanda Nunes to a contest for her first defense. Nunes, who was in the crowd that night, was quick to accept. This is her first fight since coming out of retirement.
In June of 2023, she bested Irene Aldana (15-8 MMA, 8-6 UFC) by way of unanimous decision. By the time UFC 324 rolls around, she’ll have been out of action for over 31 months. Can she bring home a victory in one of the most exciting MMA fights of 2026?
Exciting MMA Fights of 2026: PFL Lightweight World Championship: Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Alfie Davis: PFL Dubai: (Feb. 7)
We move on in our look at exciting MMA fights of 2026 by advancing the calendar to the day before Super Bowl LX. On Feb. 7, Dubai is the destination for the first card of the PFL’s schedule in the new year.
PFL Dubai is headlined by the fight for the PFL Lightweight World Championship between current divisional titleholder Usman Nurmagomedov (20-0, 1 NC MMA, 2-0 PFL) and 2025 PFL Lightweight Tournament Champion Alfie Davis (20-5-1 MMA, 3-1 PFL.) PFL Dubai will be the first PFL card of the promotion’s restructured format. Effective in 2026, the World Tournament format utilized in 2025 will not be conducted.
Nurmagomedov, who successfully crossed over from the late Bellator MMA after the PFL bought Bellator in 2023, has yet to lose as a professional. with an October 2023 win in the landmark Bellator 300 being retroactively reversed to a no-contest after he returned a positive drug test. This past October, he scored a unanimous decision win against Paul Hughes (14-3 MMA, 2-2 PFL) after five rounds in a rematch of a fight from Jan. 25.
Counting Bellator and PFL fights, Usman Nurmagomedov is undefeated at 8-0 with one no-contest. Anytime that you have an awesome fighter on a card, that makes his or her fight an exciting one. Nurmagomedov’s first fight of 2026 will be one of the most exciting MMA fights of 2026.
Alfie Davis swept his way through last year’s PFL Lightweight World Tournament, capturing the belt in the 155-lb bracket with a unanimous decision versus Gadzhi Rabadanov (26-5-2 MMA, 7-1 PFL.) You couldn’t ask for a better five rounds or less of action if you tried. It’s a champion against a champion for high stakes.
Exciting MMA Fights of 2026: PFL Middleweight World Championship: Costello van Steenis vs. Fabian Edwards, Part II: PFL Madrid (March 20)
While the second half of March will be dominated by the 2026 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament (also known by its alliterative title, March Madness,) the second day of the Round of 64 in the venerable hoops tournament will also feature one of the exciting MMA fights of 2026 inside the SmartCage. Madrid plays host to the battle for the PFL Middleweight World Championship on the day of the spring equinox.
In the PFL Madrid main event, current titleholder Costello van Steenis (17-3 MMA, 2-0 PFL) will rematch against 2025 PFL Middleweight Tournament Champion Fabian Edwards (16-4 MMA, 3-1 PFL) on a card that’s also forecast to feature the return of AJ McKee in a featherweight contest with Adam Borics. This is a rematch more than five years in the making.
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Back in September of 2020, these two men first met in Bellator during Bellator Milan. That night, van Steenis triumphed (split decision) after 15 minutes of action. A lot has changed in the years since the original fight.
van Steenis has posted a record of 4-1 in his last five fights and is currently on a three-fight winning streak. This past July, during PFL Africa 1, he submitted Johnny Eblen (16-1 MMA, 2-1 PFL) with a rear-naked choke with just a few seconds remaining on the first-round clock to secure the strap.
The March 20 fight serves as his initial defense of the 185-lb title, but his opponent’s got revenge as the top priority on his list. Fabian Edwards will come into this early spring encounter with a record of 4-1 himself over the past five contests.
Like Alfie Davis in the lightweight ranks, Edwards made his way through the 2025 PFL World Tournament unscathed at 185 this past year. During the final card of the tournament on Aug. 21, he connected on a head kick to knock out Dalton Rosta (11-2 MMA, 9-1 PFL) to secure the tournament belt.
Feb. 7 brings about a champion vs. champion contest in Dubai. A month and a half later, one of the most exciting MMA fights of 2026 features another such tilt. College basketball can take a seat on the bench for a little while that day.
Final Thoughts
We hope you’ve enjoyed this look at some of the exciting MMA fights of 2026. Which of these fights are you looking forward to the most when the calendar flips to the new year? Let us know in the comments.
