Athletes
The Newcomers | 2025 Half-Year Awards
There Were Some Epic UFC Debuts In The First Half Of 2025. Take A Look At Which Five Newcomers Have Our Attention
Who were the top rookies to make their way to the Octagon in the first half of 2025? Read on to find out as the highly unofficial half-year awards season begins…
Bantamweight Malcolm Wellmaker KOs Kris Moutinho In Round 1 at UFC Atlanta on June 14, 2025.
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Bantamweight Malcolm Wellmaker KOs Kris Moutinho In Round 1 at UFC Atlanta on June 14, 2025.
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It didn’t take long for Malcolm Wellmaker to make an impression – 1:59 to be exact – and when he knocked out South African prospect Cameron Saaiman to win his UFC debut in April, it marked “The Machine” as a fighter to watch in the 135-pound weight class. So we watched, and then he did it again in his home state of Georgia in June – this time against Kris Moutinho. Throw in his quick KO of Adam Bramhald on Dana White’s Contender Series last summer, and Mr. Wellmaker has had a heck of a 12 months. Better yet, he got to quit his job as a union pipefitter, has charisma for days, and has every trait to become a big star in this game.
2 – JooSang Yoo
If you show up to the UFC with the nickname “Zombie Jr.,” in tribute to “The Korean Zombie,” Chan Sung Jung, you need to give the fans something special. And that’s just what JooSang Yoo did in his Octagon debut in June, needing just 28 seconds to dispatch Jeka Saragih and move to 9-0 as a pro. And while the 31-year-old Yoo got a late start in the sport, he looks to be the real deal thus far. TKZ should be proud.
3 – Jacobe Smith
As a three-time All-American for Oklahoma State University with an unbeaten pro MMA and Sayif Saud and the Fortis MMA team behind him, Jacobe Smith should be getting the full hype train treatment. But I didn’t feel that buzz until Saturday night, when the Dana White’s Contender Series grad moved to 2-0 in the UFC with a second-round submission win over Niko Price. Add in his debut knockout of Preston Parsons, and that’s two finishes over two solid UFC vets. If you’re not on that hype train yet, get on, seats are going fast.
4 – Tallison Teixeira
At 6-foot-7, Tallison Teixeira looks the part of a legit heavyweight contender, but in addition to his physical gifts, Texeira has technique to go along with it, and when you consider that he’s just 25, we might be talking about this young man for years to come. After a two-minute knockout of Arthur Lopes on season eight of the Contender Series, Teixeira needed just 35 seconds to halt Justin Tafa in his UFC debut in February. Now he’s matched up with Derrick Lewis next weekend in Nashville’s main event, and that alone should tell you how the UFC feels about the Brazilian’s upside.
5 – Azamat Bekoev
A two-time LFA champion, Russia’s Azamat Bekoev still seemed to come out of nowhere when he made his UFC debut in January. Two knockout wins over highly regarded middleweight prospects Zachary Reese and Ryan Loder later, Mr. Bekoev is under the radar no longer. And while some might sit on a hot start like that, Bekoev will be back in action in August, facing another up and comer in Torrez Finney.
Others receiving votes – Marco Tulio, Ateba Gautier, Quillan Salkilld, Jose Miguel Delgado, Mario Pinto, Austin Vanderford, Andreas Gustafsson
