MMA best of 2026 midyear: Gaethje's title victory earns three awards

It has been a high-profile year so far for mixed martial arts.

In May, two pioneers of the sport, Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano, came out of long retirements to headline the inaugural foray into MMA by Jake Paul's Most Valuable Promotions. That event drew nearly 17 million viewers, according to Netflix. Earlier this month, the UFC put on a historic event at the White House in front of an invitation-only audience of politicians, celebrities and military personnel, and reached another 17 million.

The fight card in Washington, D.C., concluded with a massive title bout upset, but it was not the only belt-winning surprise in the first half of 2026. In addition to Justin Gaethje taking the lightweight belt from previously unbeaten Ilia Topuria in the main event at UFC Freedom 250, middleweight Sean Strickland also handed reigning champion Khamzat Chimaev his first defeat at UFC 328 in May. Carlos Ulberg shockingly overcame a first-round leg injury to knock out Jiří Procházka for the light heavyweight title at UFC 327 in April -- and it wasn't even the best fight on that card.

So many big moments, and we're only halfway through the year. An ESPN panel voted on superlatives for the first six months of 2026. Here are the results.

Best event: UFC 327

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Josh Hokit, Curtis Blaydes put on potential fight of the year

Percentage of the vote: 50%
Others receiving votes: UFC Freedom 250, UFC 324

Other events have been more star-studded (Rousey vs. Carano launching MVP MMA, for example) or more star-spangled (UFC Freedom 250 at the White House), but in terms of fight quality, nothing so far this year beats UFC 327. The April event in Miami had a little bit of everything: a shocking title-winning turnaround (badly injured Ulberg knocking out Procházka), a heavyweight slobberknocker (Josh Hokit outslugging Curtis Blaydes), a grand exit (Cub Swanson ending his 22-year career with a knockout of Nate Landwehr), a prospect finally reaching potential (Aaron Pico beating Patricio Pitbull) and a fighter showing off her pound-for-pound bona fides (Tatiana Suarez submitting Loopy Godínez). And there was plenty more to like on this deep, deep fight card. -- Jeff Wagenheim

Best men's fighter: Justin Gaethje

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Justin Gaethje stuns Ilia Topuria at UFC Freedom 250

Percentage of the vote: 100%

Is there any doubt? All Gaethje did was beat up a previously unbeaten champion on the White House lawn in the main event of the UFC's highest-profile fight card -- not just the biggest of the first half of 2026 but in the promotion's entire 33-year history. Gaethje, a sizable underdog, seized control of the lightweight title bout from the start, persevered after Topuria put him in trouble, then swung the fight back his way to bloody up Topuria and leave him sagging on his stool after Round 4, unable to continue. This was Gaethje's second victory of the year, and the first, a battering of Paddy Pimblett in January to earn the title shot, was even more dominant. It's going to take quite a feat over the next six months for another fighter to surpass Gaethje as fighter of the year. -- Wagenheim

Best women's fighter: Alexa Grasso

OH MY GOODNESS

ALEXA GRASSO FINISHES MAYCEE BARBER!!

📺 @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/dMNRIKuLEt

— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount) March 29, 2026

Percentage of the vote: 50%
Others receiving votes: Joselyne Edwards and Ronda Rousey

Few fighters went into 2026 with more questions around their immediate future than Alexa Grasso. Following her historic victory over Valentina Shevchenko for the UFC women's flyweight title in 2023, Grasso went 0-2-1, and the two losses were pretty one-sided. But on March 28, Grasso looked anything but defeated from that three-year skid. Her knockout (or was it a submission?) win over Maycee Barber, who was riding a seven-fight win streak and highly motivated, was as memorable a finish as we'll see all year. It has been an overall quiet first half for women's MMA, with zero UFC title fights and few women fighting more than once thus far, but Grasso took advantage of her opportunity. -- Brett Okamoto

Best fight: Justin Gaethje defeats Ilia Topuria by TKO4 at UFC Freedom 250

Percentage of the vote: 75%
Others receiving votes: Blaydes vs. Hokit

Gaethje vs. Topuria had everything you want in a championship fight. The oddsmakers foresaw a mismatch in Topuria's favor, but Gaethje made it clear from the start that he would be no pushover. He took charge of the fight with an aggressive attack that put Topuria in the unfamiliar position of fighting off his back foot. Topuria eventually found his rhythm, and his left hook found Gaethje's midsection, dropping the challenger in Round 2 and threatening to end the fight. Rather than forcing Gaethje to stand up, though, Topuria followed him to the canvas. Big mistake. Gaethje used the grappling time to recover, and when he did climb back to his feet, he was refreshed and ready to finish the battering he'd started. Topuria's face turned into a bloated mess. He was wiping blood away from both eyes throughout the third and fourth rounds. His corner then waved off the fight before Round 5 began, and Gaethje had just enough energy to take his iconic backflip off the top of the cage in celebration of the biggest victory of his career. -- Wagenheim

Best KO: Carlos Ulberg defeats Jiří Procházka by KO1 at UFC 327

Percentage of the vote: 50%
Others receiving votes: Grasso def. Barber by KO1; Sean O'Malley def. Aiemann Zahabi by KO2

It feels like we say this all the time in MMA, but it's true: If Ulberg's championship moment in Miami were a scene straight out of a movie, it wouldn't be believable. A first-time UFC title challenger suffered a catastrophic knee injury in the opening round, forcing him to fight on one leg. He then rebounded to land a perfect shot that knocked out Procházka. We all saw it, and it was still hard to believe it actually happened. Ulberg has flown under the radar during his career -- and history will probably remember Gaethje's UFC championship moment at the White House far more than Ulberg's knockout on one leg -- but this deserves to be recognized as one of the wildest knockouts in UFC history. -- Okamoto

Best submission: Alice Ardelean defeats Polyana Viana by SUB2 at UFC Fight Night

Polyana Viana taps and Alice Ardelean gets the win!

📺 @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/QnUc8skEEE

— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount) May 16, 2026

Percentage of the vote: 50%
Others receiving votes: Rousey def. Carano by SUB1; Michael Chiesa def. Niko Price by SUB1; Mario Bautista def. Vinicius Oliviera by SUB2

All these years into UFC, and we're still seeing things happen for the first time. Alice Ardelean's first comments on this historically rare capsule lock submission, in which Polyana Viana secured a body triangle from the bottom position, were, "She calf-sliced herself." It was a funny, raw reaction to a finish we're unlikely to see again any time soon. Full credit to Ardelean, who immediately recognized Viana's mistake and took advantage of it. There have been more technically advanced submissions in the first half of the year, and bigger moments -- but none that were more one-of-a-kind than Ardelean's. -- Okamoto

Breakout fighter: Quillan Salkilld

Percentage of the vote: 63%
Others receiving votes: Joselyne Edwards

There's a tried-and-true formula for establishing yourself as a star in MMA: compete frequently, finish fights and turn in occasional charismatic moments on the mic. Quillan Salkilld is 2-0 in 2026, with two first-round finishes, making him a perfect 5-0 in the UFC. He's been doing this long enough now that the UFC is giving him bigger opportunities and better competition in higher-profile spots. And he's thriving in every area. His last win -- a first-round knockout of Beneil Dariush in his home country of Australia in May -- established him in a way he's never been before. When a fighter can exceed expectations, even as expectations rise, that is when a breakout happens. -- Okamoto

Most improved fighter: Aaron Pico

Percentage of the vote: 50%
Others receiving votes: Gabriel Bonfim, Ciryl Gane and Lone'er Kavanagh

At this point, it's probably safe to assume that Pico's story is just supposed to include heartbreaking, adversity-filled moments. His professional career began with a loss in one of the most high-profile debuts in MMA history. And then in 2025, his UFC debut produced a disastrous first-round knockout loss. And yet, Pico looked sharper than ever in a bounce-back win over Pitbull in April. He looked more comfortable, even though he felt he was fighting for his job at UFC 327. He looked more fluid and well-rounded, outclassing Pitbull in every area of their three-round fight. Pico is still young at 29 years old, and it looked like he was putting it together in April. -- Okamoto

Best moment: Gaethje leaves UFC Freedom 250 finally undisputed

Percentage of the vote: 63%
Others receiving votes: Rousey and Carano return at MVP MMA 1; Cub Swanson retires after KO win at UFC 327

If you're a football fan of a certain age, you might remember that the playing career of John Elway was defined for years by him creating championship opportunities, only to then lose in those big moments. The Hall of Fame quarterback lost three Super Bowls early in his career before finally leading the Denver Broncos to back-to-back championships in 1998 and 1999 and retiring in glory. Maybe it's a Colorado thing, because hockey Hall of Famer Ray Bourque, who came up empty again and again during two decades in Boston, finally lifted the Stanley Cup in 2001 after a late-career trade to the Avalanche. And now the Rocky Mountains have Gaethje. After falling short in two previous shots at the UFC lightweight title, the 37-year-old Colorado resident finally arrived at the mountaintop. Gaethje did it in front of his family and once again thrilled fans he's been entertaining with breathtaking performances for years -- only this time there was gold at the end of the rainbow. -- Wagenheim