The 10 | Abu Dhabi Excellence

Though it didn’t have the sudden momentum shifts and palpable tension of some of the other top fights of 2020, the rematch between Volkanovski and Holloway was even closer than their first encounter, which was a hotly debated decision in its own right.

After going back-and-forth for 25 minutes in their first go-round, the Australian champion and Hawaiian challenger engaged in another dogged battle drawn out over the full five rounds in the sequel, prompting numerous re-watches, countless debates, and calls for a third consecutive bout, even though Volkanovski once again earned the nod and held a 2-0 edge in their championship series.

FOLLOW @UFCNEWS: On Facebook | On Instagram | On X | On Threads

This was a fight that really makes you appreciate the little things and the minute details that can determine the outcome a fight: a low kick here, a quick counter combination inside there, the consistent volume and pace of each man, the divergent emotions washing over their faces as the verdict was announced.

The mark of a great fight and tremendous rivalry is if you would happily sit down and watch the two combatants continue to battle one another time and again, and that was the case with Volkanovski and Holloway, who did, eventually fight for a third time, with “The Great” winning the third going away.

Brandon Royval vs Kai Kara-France (UFC 253)

Here’s a list of things that happened in the opening 30 seconds of this fight:

• Kara-France cracks Royval with a right hand that turns his legs to jelly
• Royval stumbles like a baby deer trying to instantly work forward after getting cracked
• Royval lands a spinning back elbow at the same time as Kara-France connects with a right hand to the side of his head
• Royval maybe hits Kara-France with an illegal knee as he’s trying to scramble to his feet
• Jon Anik and Paul Felder understandably lose their minds on comms

NEW: UFC Glory Days | Robbie Lawler On Conor McGregor, The Greatest Fight Of All Time, And More

Royval then started working his limber, awkward, attacking jiu jitsu before dropping him with a knee and looking for a guillotine choke late in the first. They continued trying to decapitate one another out of the chute to start the second round, with Royval climbing into a guillotine choke after Kara-France looked to change levels and drive forward for a takedown, forcing the City Kickboxing man to tap.

Though it lasted less than six minutes, this one rightfully took home Fight of the Night honors at UFC 253 and stands as a permanent reminder of the kind of action you can expect whenever either of these two men step into the Octagon.

Joaquin Buckley vs Impa Kasanganay (UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs Sandhagen)

This wasn’t just one of the best performances from “Fight Island” or the top knockout of the year in 2020: this was one of the absolute best knockouts of all time and remains so to this day.

This was the kind of thing you conjure up in your head when you’re a little kid doing karate moves on imaginary attackers in the backyard.

It’s the kind of thing that you whip up with the right combination of joystick moves and button mashing on fighting games like Tekken and Street Fighter.

The Biggest Winners From Noche UFC 2025

It’s the kind of thing you see in a movie or television show that makes you say “That would never happen!” out loud because it’s just not the kind of kick you ever expect to see landed inside the Octagon.

But Buckley landed it perfectly, freezing Kasanganay in place momentarily before he fell to the ground. As incredible as it was — and it was completely bonkers — the fact Buckley thought to throw the kick and actually pulled the trigger deserves some acknowledgement because coming up with this on the fly, in the heat of battle, and rolling the dice with pretty dang impressive too.

Brian Ortega vs Chan Sung Jung (UFC Fight Night: Ortega vs The Korean Zombie)

Ortega looked like a completely different fighter in every imaginable way in this fight, and it remains his signature victory, in my opinion.

Returning for the first time since getting stopped by Max Holloway at UFC 231, “T-City” turned up with his head shaved and Bic’ed, brandishing crispy hands that we had never seen from him before. Sure, he never minded getting into a dust-up and would willingly trade lefts and rights in the past, but Ortega looked like a standout striker in this one, picking apart and busting up “The Korean Zombie” over five rounds to get himself right back into the win column and the championship chase.

I honestly don’t know what was more memorable — the fact that Ortega was rocking a cue ball or that his hands looked so darn good, but either way, this was a standout effort that remains one of the best performances to take place in Abu Dhabi over the years.

Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Justin Gaethje  (UFC 254)

There was a moment late in the first round of this fight that really accentuates just what a different level Nurmagomedov is on compared to his contemporaries, especially on the canvas. It’s easy to miss, but after finally dragging Gaethje to the ground, the lightweight champion moves in sequence with Daniel Cormier’s commentary, slipping his leg between the challenger’s knees and climbing into mount effortlessly.

You just don’t do that kind of stuff — not against high-level competition; not when everyone knows the ground is where you’re best; not 15 seconds after finally dragging an elite fighter like Gaethje to the ground in the waning moments of the first of five rounds.

That sequence became a precursor to what followed, as Nurmagomedov quickly brought the fight back to the canvas in the second, quickly transitioning to mount again before locking up a mounted triangle choke that put Gaethje to sleep.

NOCHE UFC REWIND: Final Results | Lopes' Post-Fight Interview | Who Won Bonuses?

What followed was beautiful as well.

Nurmagomedov fell to his knees in the center of the cage, overcome with emotion after competing for the first time following the passing of his father. After getting the title wrapped around his waist, “The Eagle” announced he was walking away from the sport, hanging up his gloves with a perfect 29-0 record and a place in the pantheon of all-time greats.

Max Holloway vs Calvin Kattar (UFC on ABC: Holloway vs Kattar)

Not only was this one of the best individual performance to take place in Abu Dhabi, but it’s on the short list of the best performances of all time for me, and that’s saying something because I have watched a ton of fights.

Kattar is an excellent fighter — a legitimate Top-5 featherweight at the time — and Holloway beat him with scores of 50-43 twice and 50-42 once. He set multiple records during the 25-minute affair, and spent portions of the final round doing his best Muhammad Ali impersonation, shouting at Kattar and the broadcast crew that he was “the best boxer in the UFC” before dodging an incoming shot and countering with a no-look right hand that landed flush.

SPECIAL FEATURE: Kyle Daukaus | The D'Arce Knight Returns

The popular Hawaiian was fired up for this one and turned in an absolute masterclass in striking, pace, and pressure, making it crystal clear that despite entering off consecutive losses, he was still an force to be reckoned with in the 145-pound weight class.

Dustin Poirier vs Conor McGregor 2 (UFC 257)

There are times when fights stand out as much for the anticipation and feel they create in the audience before the action gets underway as they do for what actually transpires inside the Octagon, and this is one of those times.

McGregor had returned at the start of 2020 intent on competing multiple times and attempting to make another run at the lightweight title, but the pandemic put him on the sidelines for the remainder of the year following his January win over Donald Cerrone. A year later, he was back and facing off with an old rival in Poirier, whom he beat when the two were featherweight hopefuls at UFC 178.

Poirier was coming off his unanimous decision win over Dan Hooker the previous summer and still very much at the top of his game. Where McGregor was the electric rising star when they met the first time, “The Diamond” was the entrenched, top-tier talent heading into their second meeting, but the Irishman still carried that aura of being able to dial up a big performance on command heading into this one.

READ: Updates to UFC Vancouver

McGregor closed the distance immediately, but Poirier worked to keep him off balance, taking him down early before they battled in the clinch for much of the round. Just when McGregor started connecting with shots in space, Poirier got busy landing calf kicks and cracked him with a right hook that prompted him to smile and point at the former two-weight champion.

McGregor kept attacking early in the second, but Poirier beat up his lead leg, and when “The Notorious” one started over-extending on his shots and reaching a little, Poirier cranked up the pressure and output, eventually putting McGregor on the canvas to bring their series even at one win each.

Islam Makhachev vs Alexander Volkanovski 2 (UFC 294)

The two titleholders had met for the first time earlier in the year, with Volkanovski venturing up to challenge Makhachev for the lightweight title at UFC 284 in Perth. One of the most elite pairings to ever grace the Octagon, it was an ultra-competitive fight that Makhachev won by unanimous decision, but the consensus coming away from the bout was that the featherweight champion’s stock had actually risen more than his lightweight contemporary, as Volkanovski was able to push the Dagestani standout more than anyone had in years and had Makhachev eagerly awaiting the horn at the end of the fight.

Fans and pundits heaping praise on Volkanovski didn’t sit well with the lightweight titleholder, and when Charles Oliveira was forced off this card after suffering a gnarly cut in training, the Australian stepped in for a short-notice rematch. While Makhacvhev hadn’t competed since their February encounter, Volkanovski did, returning to featherweight and running over interim champ Yair Rodriguez in the main event of UFC 290, which only further bolstered his standing as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the business.

READ: 2025 Topps NOW | Noche UFC

But in the rematch, Makhachev made a statement, becoming the first person to knock out Volkanovski by connecting with a perfectly timed, perfectly executed high kick a little over three minutes into the contest.

There was the usual rush to “yeah, but…” the performance based on Volkanovski taking the fight on short notice, however, if it would have been an element used to amplify the greatness of his achievement had he won, it has always felt a little disingenuous to place it as an asterisk after Makhachev’s win.

This was a brilliant performance from one of the best fighters on the planet, period.