2025 in UFC explained

The year 2025 is the 33rd year in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States.

Releases and retirements

These fighters have either been released from their UFC contracts, announced their retirement, or joined other promotions:

Debut UFC fighters

The following fighters fought their first UFC fight in 2025:

Suspended fighters

The list below is based on fighters suspended either by (1) United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) or World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for violation of taking prohibited substances or non-analytical incidents, (2) by local commissions on misconduct during the fights or at event venues, or (3) by the UFC for reasons also stated below.

width=3%		width=10%	Name	width=8%	Nickname	width=10%	Division	width=7%	From	width=7%	Duration	width=27%	Tested positive for / Info	width=7%	By	width=7%	Eligible to fight again	width=3%	Ref.	width=10%	Notes
	Arman Tsarukyan	Akhalkalakets	Lightweight		9 months	Pre-fight altercation with spectator during UFC 300	NSAC		[1]	$25,000 fine; additionally, if he issues an anti-bullying public service announcement approved by NSAC, sentence can be reduced to six months with fight eligibility on October 12, 2024
	Hamdy Abdelwahab	The Hammer	Heavyweight		6 months	Exogenous testosterone	CSAD		[2]
	José Henrique Souza	Canela	Welterweight	March 8, 2023	2 years	19-Norandrosterone and 19-Noretiocholanolone	USADA	March 8, 2025	[3]	Parted with UFC as of Spring 2023.
	Braxton Smith	The Beautiful Monster	Heavyweight	April 19, 2023	2 years	Exogenous testosterone and/or its precursors	USADA	April 19, 2025	[4]	Parted with UFC as of June 2023.
	Khusein Askhabov	Lion	Featherweight	February 8, 2024.	2 years	Methandienone (aka Dianabol or D-Bol) metabolites	Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD)	February 8, 2026	[5]	Askhabov was released by UFC
	Walt Harris	The Big Ticket	Heavyweight		4 years		CSAD		[6]

The Ultimate Fighter

The following The Ultimate Fighter seasons are scheduled for broadcast in 2025:

Season	Division	Winner	Runner-up	Ref
The Ultimate Fighter 33[7]	Flyweight
	Welterweight

Events list

See main article: List of UFC events.

Scheduled events

Event	Date	Venue	City	Country	Ref.
UFC Fight Night 256		Arena CDMX	Mexico City	Mexico	[8]
UFC Fight Night 255		The O2 Arena	London	England	[9]
UFC Fight Night 254		UFC Apex	Las Vegas, Nevada	United States
UFC 313		T-Mobile Arena	Las Vegas, Nevada	United States	[10]
UFC Fight Night 253		UFC Apex	Las Vegas, Nevada	United States	[11]
UFC Fight Night 252		TBA	Seattle, Washington	United States	[12]
UFC Fight Night 251		UFC Apex	Las Vegas, Nevada	United States	[13]
UFC 312		Qudos Bank Arena	Sydney	Australia	[14]
UFC Fight Night 250		The Venue	Riyadh	Saudi Arabia	[15]
UFC 311: Makhachev vs. Tsarukyan 2		Intuit Dome	Inglewood, California	United States	[16]
UFC Fight Night 249		UFC Apex	Las Vegas, Nevada	United States	[17]

Past events

See also

• List of UFC champions
• List of UFC events
• List of current UFC fighters
  • 2025 in Professional Fighters League 2025 in ONE Championship
• 2025 in Absolute Championship Akhmat
• 2025 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki
• 2025 in Rizin Fighting Federation
• 2025 in Oktagon MMA
• 2025 in Brave Combat Federation
• 2025 in UAE Warriors
• 2025 in Legacy Fighting Alliance

External links

• UFC past events on UFC.com
• UFC events results at Sherdog.com

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2024-06-25 . Arman Tsarukyan fined $25K, suspended nine months by NAC for UFC 300 fan altercation . 2024-07-15 . MMA Junkie. en.
2. Web site: UFC suspends Hamdy Abdelwahab six months for second drug test failure, points to supplement. mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Matthew Wells and Nolan King. 2024-07-31. 2024-07-31.
3. Web site: New UFC signee Jose Henrique suspended by USADA before promotional debut . MMA Junkie . 3 June 2023 . 1 June 2023.
4. Web site: Braxton Smith Accepts Sanction for Violation of UFC Anti-Doping Policy . USADA . 7 July 2023 . 27 June 2023.
5. Web site: Staff . 2024-03-26 . Khusein Askhabov Saddled with Two Year Ban Following Doping Violation . 2024-03-27 . Cageside Press . en-US.
6. Web site: 2024-03-21 . Midnight Mania! The Big Ticket's Big Suspension . 2024-03-21 . MMAmania.com . en.
7. Web site: Holland . Jesse . 2024-11-01 . How to become a UFC fighter: TUF 33 open casting call, weight classes and application details . 2024-11-01 . MMAmania.com . en.
8. Web site: UFC’s 2025 Plans For Mexico Reported, Including Noche UFC In Guadalajara. mmanews.com. Kyle Dimond. 2024-11-21. 2024-11-21.
9. Web site: UFC returns to London for Fight Night event on March 22. mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Farah Hannoun. 2024-11-12. 2024-11-12.
10. Web site: UFC announces 2025 schedule including slew of new events. mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Nolan King. 2024-11-16. 2024-11-16.
11. Web site: UFC encaminha Luana Dread vs Montana de La Rosa para março, em Las Vegas. 2024-11-06. 2024-11-07. agfight.com. Diego Ribas. es.
12. Web site: Report – Brendan Allen set for rematch fight with Anthony Hernandez at UFC Seattle in February. lowkickmma.com. Ross Markey. 2024-11-19. 2024-11-24.
13. Web site: Jacqueline Cavalcanti vs. Julia Avila in the works for Feb. 15 UFC card. mmafighting.com. Guilherme Cruz. 2024-11-05. 2024-11-05.
14. Web site: Return of UFC Octagon puts Sydney cage on the world stage. nsw.gov.au. NSW Government. 2024-10-16. 2024-10-16.
15. Web site: A Professional Slap-Fighting Contest Heads to Riyadh Season. saudimoments.com. Staff. 2024-09-12. 2024-09-18.
16. Web site: Islam Makhachev vs. Arman Tsarukyan 2 Reportedly Booked for 2025. si.com. Drew Beaupre. 2024-11-05. 2024-11-05.
17. Web site: Matchup Roundup: New UFC, PFL, Bellator fights announced in the past week (Sept. 30-Oct. 6). mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Nolan King. 2024-10-07. 2024-10-07.