Top 10 Fights of 2024
Another year in the books for the great sport of mixed martial arts and with that we have had some incredible fights this year. With so many to go over it is impossible to give all of the great fights their spotlight but I narrowed it down to ten fights that stood out this year so let's take a look at the best fights of the year 2024.
10. Trey Waters vs. Billy Goff
This matchup saw two men coming in off impressive debut wins going head to head and it delivered as this wild fight saw both men land massive shots with Waters trying to keep Goff at range as he charged in with long combinations. The fight ended with a unanimous decision win for Waters although many believe Goff did enough to get his hand raised as he was the one pressuring for most of the fight.
9. Jiri Prochazka vs. Aleksandar Rakic
This matchup years in the making went down on the historic UFC 300 card and lived up to the hype for how long it lasted. The first round saw Rakic put on a clinic landing big shots on Prochazka both to the head and legs although the former champion remained unfazed and continued to pressure Rakic no matter what came back his way. Early round two saw Rakic land a ridiculous elbow to the chin of Prochazka who somehow appeared completely unaffected continuing to press forward until he landed a massive right hand that had Rakic on the ropes which Prochazka did not let him off of by sending him to the canvas and ground and pounding his way to a wild comeback knockout win.
8. Joshua Van vs. Edgar Chairez
One of two fights from this card makes the list here as these two Flyweights went to war on the prelims of one of the biggest cards of the year from the Las Vegas Sphere. With Van returning just a short time after suffering a knockout loss many questioned if his chin would hold up here and after eating some massive shots from Chairez there were no more concerns there although it did seem like the fight was getting away from him until he dropped Chairez and completely stole momentum late which he carried to a unanimous decision win.
7. Petr Yan vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
One of the final main events of the year gave us five rounds of fun and violence as these two former champions collided at Bantamweight with heavy title implications. Both had their moments over five rounds, with Yan starting faster than usual and looking crisp but Figueiredo showed his power at times, wobbling Yan on multiple occasions. After five rounds, it was clear Petr Yan won the decision but Figueiredo still gave a solid showing and kept this one entertaining for every minute.
6. Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier
When this was first announced there was some debate as to whether or not Poirier should have gotten a shot at the title, but by the end of this fight there was no doubt he belonged in there with the pound-for-pound best in Makhachev. This was not an easy fight for the champ, who on paper got a finish and won the rounds, although that was not the story of this one, with Poirier having a lot of success stopping the dominant wrestling of Makhachev and landing hard combinations that led to some tense moments for team Makhachev. In the end, Makhachev secured the fight-ending choke to put a stamp on a gritty performance but from start to finish this fight had a certain energy that made it very fun to watch.
5. Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway
It did not last the five rounds scheduled, but the two and a bit we got was some of the most intense action I felt when watching a fight this year. The stakes of this fight were as big as any this year, with Topuria coming off his title-winning knockout of Alexander Volkanovski and Holloway having won the BMF title with his knockout of the year against Justin Gaethje. The fight was a very close striking battle for the most part, with Topuria landing a big takedown at one point, although not much was done with it. The third round saw Topuria land a straight right that had a clear effect on Holloway, who backed up and circled away as Topuria began to launch violent bombs at him until eventually landing the left hook that would crack the legendary chin of Holloway sending him to the floor and ending the fight.
4. Brandon Royval vs. Tatsuro Taira
This five-rounder from the Apex gave us one of the most technical matchups of the year, with both men showing well-rounded skillsets, although it was clear they each had a strategy. As the fight progressed, it became clear what each man had to do, with Royval getting the better of the striking and Taira being the much better grappler. The fight was as back and forth as any all year, with them trading rounds and neither man able to separate themself, leading to a split decision that came down to round one. Royval got his hand raised in the end, which most agreed with, as Royval received around 80% of the round one voting on the Verdict scorecard.
3. Myktybek Orolbai vs. Mateusz Rebecki
This fight showed the depth of the Lightweight division as these two battled looking to earn a shot at the rankings. The damage built up early in this one with Orolbai's face being a complete mess that would've caused many doctors to stop the fight but he was allowed to continue and he did by pressuring like a zombie as the two traded big shots with Rebecki getting the better of most exchanges. The fight ended in a split-decision win for Rebecki who was a sizeable underdog entering the matchup.
2. Alex Pereira vs. Khalil Rountree Jr.
This fight was a shocker when it was first announced as Rountree Jr. was ranked much lower and came in off a win over a short-notice Anthony Smith that hardly warranted a title shot yet when it came time to fight Rountree Jr. came out ready to go, winning the first two rounds and even dropping the dominant champion early although it was in the third round that Pereira found his rhythm. The damage of Pereira's jab had started to mount on Rountree and it was clear he couldn't keep up the rate he had in the past few rounds so with him slowing we saw Pereira enter flow state landing beautiful combos eventually crumbling a badly damaged Rountree to the canvas in the fourth round, ending what was a phenomenal striking display from both men.
1. Esteban Ribovics vs. Daniel Zellhuber
This gets my Fight of the Year award as it was the definition of non-stop action. The first two rounds were back-and-forth battles with Zellhuber using his length to try and maintain range and Ribovics charging in with ridiculous combos to get inside. The third round was when this went from a great fight to an all-time great as early on Zellhuber landed an elbow that dropped Ribovics and put him in a good position to win the fight. Then Ribovics landed a huge right hand that completely took Zellhuber's balance and had him running to try and survive for almost the rest of the round. The scorecards were split, with the first two rounds being very close but the clear third round for Ribovics helped get him the decision win.
What was your favorite fight this year? Let us know in the comments!
