UFC PPVs in 2025 have provided us with plenty of talking points, especially as the champion in every division has changed throughout 2025 (apart from one, Valentina Shevchenko).
From UFC 311 to UFC 323, each PPV has had its talking points, from title changes to viral knockouts. We rank the UFC PPVs in 2025 from best to worst based on a number of criteria: Quality of main event/title fights, viral moments, ‘big event feeling’ and fallout.
Without further ado, let’s rank the UFC PPVs in 2025!
UFC PPVs 2025 – Worst to Best
UFC 313
UFC 313 didn’t live up to expectations at all. A fight card that consisted of 10 fights saw one or two highlight reels, a lacklustre main event and not a whole lot of talking points. Magomed Ankalaev defeated Alex Pereira in a uneventful main event and the co-main event saw a rematch between Justin Gaethje and Rafael Fiziev that we didn’t need to see.
The highlights were a knockout of the year contender from Mauricio Ruffy and a breakout performance from Ignacio Bahamondes.
UFC 312
UFC 312 was another lacklustre event. The build up was good with the champion, Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland going back and forth, however, the fight was one-sided in favour of the South African. The co-main event saw domination from Zhang Weili over Tatiana Suarez. With nine out of the 12 fights going to decision, it was a long night. On top if this, it made no sense to have the PPV in Australia, with none of the main eventers or co-main eventers having any connection to the country. One of the more forgettable UFC PPVs in 2025.
UFC 321
One of the most disappointing UFC PPVs of the year took place in Abu Dhabi at UFC 321. The main event saw Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane fight for just 4:35 to a no-contest due to an eye poke. It was a devastating end to a fight that was only just warming up.
The co-main event saw Mackenzie Dern win the strawweight belt and an impressive performance from Umar Nurmagomedov saw the main card gather strength heading into the main event.
Embed from Getty ImagesQuillan Salkilld’s knockout of the year contender was certainly the highlight of the card, alongside Ludovit Klein and Mateusz Rebecki’s war.
UFC 315
UFC 315 provided a number of decent talking points. In the main event, Jack Della Maddalena upset Belal Muhammad in an entertaining main event and Shevchenko defeated Manon Fiorot in a fun flyweight clash. It was another decision-heavy main card with four of the five fights going the distance. It’s so low on the list because it didn’t feel like a big fight week leading into the card.
UFC 311
Kicking off UFC PPVs in 2025, UFC 311 wasn’t actually too bad on paper. There were four finishes in the five main card fights, including a fun fight between Jiri Prochazka and Jamahal Hill. Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov put on an entertaining co-main event where Merab retained his belt.
What really let UFC 311 down was the main event. Arman Tsarukyan had to withdraw from his scheduled lightweight title fight with Islam Makhachev, meaning Renato Moicano had to step in. Whilst it’s great that the title fight was kept on the card, the fight was never going to be competitive.
UFC 318
The main event of UFC 318 did a lot of the heavy lifting for this event. The retirement bout for Dustin Poirier against his former two time foe, Max Holloway. The fight was a one-sided one in favour of the BMF champ, Holloway, however, the spectacle of Poirier’s retirement was favourable.
The main event completed a run of eight straight decisions after six straight finishes on the early prelims and prelims.
UFC 314
UFC 314 was a blockbuster event for a number of reasons. Alexander Volkanovski answered questions by winning the vacant featherweight title against Diego Lopes. The co-main event saw a step up in competition for Paddy Pimblett as he defeated Michael Chandler and we had the debut of Patricio Pitbull, albeit in a losing effort.
It was a solid event, plenty of talking points and a number of impressive highlights to look back on. The fallout from the event is fairly significant as Pimblett has received an interim title shot after the Chandler win.
UFC 319
Although the main event wasn’t entertaining, the main card of UFC 319 was impressive. Khamzat Chimaev dominated Du Plessis over 25 minutes, not giving him a chance at any stage. Lerone Murphy scored a knockout of the year contender over Aaron Pico in the co-main, grabbing many headlines.
Carlos Prates slept Geoff Neal with a spinning elbow and Michael Venom Page looked impressive against Jared Cannonier. Murphy and Prates rightfully stood out at UFC 319 and the fallout of Chimaev finally being crowned champion felt big.
UFC 320
UFC 320 was a great PPV. The main event saw Alex Pereira blast Magomed Ankalaev away in a little over a minute to reclaim his light heavyweight title. He answered plenty of questions that everyone had about him after UFC 313 and silenced a lot of naysayers.
The co-main was a one sided domination at the hands of Merab over Cory Sandhagen, almost finishing him. Prochazka again put on a fight of the year contender, coming from behind to finish Khalil Rountree Jr. Youssef Zalal recorded an impressive submission.
UFC 316
UFC 316 felt big and that’s why it’s our third on our list of UFC PPVs for 2025. The main event saw the rematch between Merab and Sean O’Malley, where the former put a stamp on the rivalry with a finish in the third round.
The co-main event felt like a formality, with Kayla Harrison finishing the champion, Juliana Pena, setting up a future bout with Amanda Nunes. Patchy Mix’s UFC debut had a lot of excitement surrounding it, however, he didn’t live up to expectations. Kevin Holland also scored an impressive finish over Vicente Luque to open up the main card.
UFC 323
UFC 323 provided a number of interesting talking points, especially for the lower weight classes. The main event saw the end of Merab’s long undefeated streak at the hands of his former opponent, Petr Yan. Yan is up for performance of the year after dominating the champion in impressive fashion. The co-main event disappointed with Alexandre Pantoja suffering an injury 26 seconds into his bout. Payton Talbott scored a breakout victory when he retired Henry Cejudo.
Other highlights saw Chris Duncan and Terrence McKinney and Iwo Baraniewski and Ibo Aslan putting on exciting, entertaining short but sweet fights.
UFC 317
UFC 317. The second on our list of best UFC PPVs in 2025.
We had Ilia Topuria step up in weight to clash with Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight belt, a fight that felt big heading into it and a fight that afterwards shot the winner, Topuria, to super stardom. The co-main event saw further domination from Pantoja, finishing Kai-Kara France in a one-sided flyweight title bout.
We had a fight of the year contender between Joshua Van and Brandon Royval, which ultimately set up the UFC 323 co-main event, making it significant.
Other highlights saw Gregory Rodrigues brutally knock out Jack Hermansson, and Talbott rebound from his first career loss.
The main event saw huge questions asked, answered and without a doubt had plenty of talking points surrounding it.
UFC 322
Drum roll please… Congratulations UFC 322, the BEST of the 13 UFC PPVs in 2025.
It ticked all of the boxes that you want from a PPV event. Talking points? Check. Big event feeling? Check. Viral moments. (Big) check. A phenomenal event.
The main event was a one-sided beatdown of a well-rounded, respected champion when Islam Makhachev defeated Jack Della Maddalena. It wasn’t the most entertaining fight of the year without a doubt, but the systematic demolition of a champion from a P4P king was outstanding.
The co-main event had tonnes of hype heading into it, however, again, we had a one-sided systematic beatdown when Valentina Shevchenko dismantled Zhang Weili over 25 minutes. What was billed as the biggest fight in women’s history played out in a one-sided affair.
The highlights saw four back to back performance of the night winning knockouts from the next generation. Michael Morales, Carlos Prates, Benoit Saint Denis, and Bo Nickal all scored stunning knockout finishes on their ways to victory.
Morales and Prates shut the door on the previous generation at 170lbs, Saint Denis slept a veteran in just 16 seconds and Nickal proved he’s more than just a wrestler.
Elsewhere on the card, Ethyn Ewing upset the odds, defeating Malcom Wellermaker via decision and Kyle Daukaus continued his UFC comeback with a short night at the office.
A truly amazing event.
