Roundtable: Who is the best fighter of 2025 so far, plus more mid-season awards

Merab Dvalishvili, Ilia Topuria, Jack Della Maddalena, and Kayla Harrison

We’re halfway through the 2025 campaign and while there’s been plenty to gripe about in the world of MMA, fans have also been given some fantastic first-half highlights that we’ll still be buzzing about by year’s end.

Despite the PFL putting on a bunch of fun cards, these mid-season awards are unsurprisingly dominated by UFC fighters. But who are the current leaders of the pack? MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck, Jed Meshew, Damon Martin, and Alexander K.