Complete list: Here’s the top 10 Best UFC fights In 2023

The Best UFC Fights of 2023. Photo via UFC (Twitter)

2023 was quite a year for the UFC!

The majority of the promotion’s division have new champion’s going into 2024, and we have also seen a bunch of future champs entering the world leading MMA stage, showing off their skills.

During the past 12 months, the outstanding fighters on the UFC roster clashed in some future classics that will be remembered for years to come.

Click ”Next” to check out the best UFC fights in 2023!

10. Sodiq Yusuff vs Edson Barboza

Edson Barboza. Photo: Per Häljestam-USA TODAY Sports

The main event between featherweights Sodiq Yusuff and Edson Barboza turned out to be a fight-of-the-year contender.

Yusuff took on a pressure-heavy game plan which paid off in the first round. Barboza was dropped and hit with some devastating hooks in the first minute, but somehow managed to survive the onslaught.

The Brazilian 37-year-old came back strong in the second round, and was able to do a lot of damage in the next four rounds in a comeback that was nothing but sensational. After the final bell, Barboza stood as the winner via unanimous decision with 49-46, 48-46 and 48-46 on the scorecards.

9. Yair Rodriguez vs. Josh Emmett

Josh Emmett and Yair Rodriguez will clash at UFC 284. Photo via Instagram

At UFC 284 in February, striking phenom Yair ”El Pantera” Rodriguez clashed with the heavy-hitting Josh Emmett in a highly entertaining fight and the interim featherweight title on the line.

Rodriguez started the action with a series of creative and hard kicks, including a punishing blow to the body that really seemed to hurt his opponent.

Emmett had a more boxing-heavy approach and eventually connected with a devastating punch that dropped Yair ”El Pantera” to the canvas. However, the Mexican didn’t appear hurt and the fight continued on the mat.

In the high-paced second round, Rodriguez landed a couple of hard body kicks to the same spot that hurt his opponent in the first round.

He was pouring on with slick combinations and kicks before attempting a flying knee that took the fight to the ground. Rodriguez stayed busy off his back before securing a triangle submission that made Emmett tap at 4:19. The victory was Rodirguez’s first via submission in the promotion and what better way to win the interim featherweight title?

8. Dan Hooker vs. Jalin Turner

Dan Hooker. Photo via Instagram (@danhangman)

The lightweight clash between tough fan favorites Dan Hooker and Jalin Turner had a ”Fight of the Night” vibe to it when it was announced and certainly lived up to all expectations.

It looked like Turner would get the win when he landed a devastating head kick, but his opponent somehow survived and came back with a barrage of heavy hits of his own. In the end, Hooker got the nod by split decision but broke his right arm in the process.

Both lightweights were sent to the hospital after the brawl and Turner later revealed that he was shaken to his core during their medical checks.

”Seeing him in the hospital messed me up. I was like, dang, I really took years off this man’s life. He couldn’t be with his family, he had to get surgery. I felt so bad,” Turner said months after the fight at UFC 290.

7. Irene Aldana vs. Karol Rosa

Photo via UFC (Twitter)

At UFC 296, top ranked bantamweight’s Irene Aldana and Karol Rosa clashed in the most entertaining fights of the year.

Mexico’s Aldana saw the fight as a chance to bounce back from a failed attempt to claim the  bantamweight gold in June, while No. 9 ranked Rosa from Brazil intended to climb the rankings towards a title shot.

Throughout their three-round striking battle, the two bantamweight’s threw almost 700 (!) combined strikes, and landed close to half of them. Rosa out-landed her opponent, but Aldana was the one who did the most damage with her solid and sound boxing.

After three rounds of punishment, the Mexican stood as the winner via unanimous decision, both fighters bagged another $50,000 with a well deserved Fight of the Night bonus.

6. Brandon Moreno vs. Alexandre Pantoja 3

Alexandre Pantoja. Photo via Twitter

The flyweight title fight between Brandon Moreno and Alexandre Pantoja served as the co-main event for UFC 290 in July.

Then-champ Moreno broke his right hand in the very first round but still fought at an incredible pace and

After five rounds of absolute top drawer action, Pantoja made his third win over his rival and became the UFC 125 lbs champ for the first time. However, the fight could have gone either way as one judge gave Moreno four rounds, another gave Pantoja four rounds, and the deciding judge had it 3-2 for the Brazilian.

5. Guram Kutateladze vs. Elves Brener

Guram Kutateladze and Elves Brener. Photo via UFC (Twitter)

The lightweight scrap between Swedish-Georgian Guram Kutateladze and Brazilian prospect Elves Brener turned into one of the most entertaining UFC fights of the year.

Kutateladze was a step ahead in the beginning of the fight as he landed heavy knees, elbows and punches that cut his Brazilian opponent, who’s white hair quickly turned red.

The blood and bruises didn’t seem to bother Brener who remained confident during the three-rounder.

In the third round, the Brazilian 26-year-old landed a heavy left hook to the side of Kutateladze’s head. The Swedish-Georgian stumbled backwards and after taking a few more punches the referee intervened and saved him from taking more damage.

4. Kelvin Gastelum vs Chris Curtis

Kelvin Gastelum. Photo: Jason Silva – USA TODAY Sports

Middleweights Kelvin Gastelum and Chris Curtis went toe-to-toe and blow-for-blow during three action packed rounds at UFC 287 in April.

Former interim title challenger Gastelum put on his best performance since fighting Israel Adesanya at UFC 236 in 2019, and had his best success early in the bout. Curtis came back strong in the last round with his solid boxing.

After three wildly entertaining rounds that put the crowd on their feet, Gastelum stood as the winner via unanimous decision with 29–28, 29–28 and 30–27 on the scorecards.

”I thought I won, the numbers back it it,” Curtis said afterwards. ”Tough fight and good for Kelvin Gastelum, but that headbutt cost me the fight on optics.”

3. Shavkat Rakhmonov vs Geoff Neal

Shavkat Rakhmonov and Geoff Neal in one of the best UFC fights in 2023. Photo via Instagram (@shavkatrakhmonov94)

The undefeated rising star Shavkat Rakhmonov stood against his toughest opponent to date as he took on Geoff Neal on UFC 285 in March.

The 28-year-old passed the test despite some rough moments. The American had him rocked in the third round, but couldn’t find the shot that put Rakhmonov down. Instead, the undefeated Kazakh was able to find his 17th stoppage win as he hurt Neal with a clean right hand before finishing him with a standing rear-naked choke.

As this text was written, Rakhmonov just secured his 18th stoppage win in 18 fights, six of them in the UFC. What a position to be in as we’re entering 2024!

2. Justin Gaethje vs. Rafael Fiziev

Justin Gaethje. Photo via Instagram (@justin_gaethje)

The jab made the difference in the fight between elite lightweights Justin Gaethje and Rafael Fiziev.

The effective lead straight punch is surprisingly often forgotten by MMA fighters, who rather throw single punches than setting up their combinations with a jab.

Fiziev started the high profile lightweight bout with great success, landing heavy shots, but when Gaethje implemented his effective left jab in the third round, he completely took over the fight.

The action packed co-main event turned out to deliver everything it expected and then some. After the final bell, Gaethje eventually stood as the winner via a hard-fought majority decision.

1. Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski

Best UFC fights in 2023. Photo via UFC (Twitter)

No surprises here!

The best UFC fight of 2023 was the lightweight title bout between reigning champion Islam Makhachev and challenging featherweight champ, and pound-for-pound king, Alexander Volkanovski.

It was two of the most skilled guys in the world competing at a level that not many can match, but many still believed that Makhachev was a number too big for the featherweight champ.

That turned out to not be the case at all.

Volkanovski showed an impressive ability to defend Makhachev’s takedown attempts, and when the fight took to the ground, he was calm and collected and able to weather the storm.

The lightweight champion, on the other hand, showed his striking skills through the first couple of rounds, winning many exchanges with the fast and mobile Volkanovski.

In the fourth round, Makhachev took his opponents back and stayed there for the duration of the round, which seemed to convince the judges that he was the winner, event though Volkanovski took the fight to Makhachev in the fifth and hurting him with a left hand and finishing the bout in top position.

In the end, Makhachev stood as the winner via unanimous decision with 48–47, 48–47 and 49–46 on the scorecards.

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