As 2024 comes to a close, there’s a bit of uncertainty surrounding Ilia Topuria’s future. What’s completely certain, however, is that the reigning UFC featherweight champion had a one-of-a-kind year inside the octagon.
Who, in the history of the UFC, can claim to have knocked out two of their division’s three greatest fighters while they were still in their primes, in back-to-back fights, in one calendar year? Topuria can.
For that reason, Topuria is MMA Junkie’s 2024 Male Fighter of the Year.