MMA enthusiasts may be eagerly anticipating the first event of 2025, UFC Fight Night: Dern vs Ribas 2, but there’s still much to reflect on from the thrilling year of 2024.
From jaw-dropping knockouts to spine-tingling submissions, UFC CEO Dana White has unveiled his personal selection of the top five performances from the past year. The question now remains: which fighter will ultimately claim this prestigious accolade?
In total, there were 42 unique events throughout 2024, during which 174 post-fight bonuses were awarded to fighters, amounting to approximately $9.9 million given out to winners of ‘Fight of the Night’ and ‘Performance of the Night’.
Among the impressive tally of 174 post-fight bonuses, 22 fighters each secured more than one $50K check, with Shara ‘Bullet’ Magomedov leading the way with three bonuses and Carlos ‘The Nightmare’ Prates taking home an outstanding four bonuses this past year.
When it comes to pinpointing the single best performance of 2024, UFC CEO Dana White has recently disclosed his picks for the top five octagon triumphs of the year, with all nominees having earned at least one post-fight bonus.
The first nominee is Ilia ‘El Matador’ Topuria, recognized for his remarkable featherweight title-winning performance against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 in February.
Despite being a slight underdog against ‘The Great’, very few fans anticipated that Topuria would deliver such a brutal knockout, with only 33% of Tapology users backing him before the event.
Next up is Max Holloway, nominated for his iconic BMF title victory against Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 in April. The fight culminated in a last-minute KO that felt straight out of an action film.
Given his remarkable achievement, it’s no surprise that Holloway walked away with both the performance of the night and fight of the night bonuses, totaling an impressive $600,000.
The third nomination highlights Alex ‘Poatan’ Pereira, specifically for his second-round knockout of Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303 in June. This was one of three world title victories he secured that year.
While Pereira could have been nominated for any of his wins, this particular fight stood out, as he convincingly out-landed the former champion with a score of 38-7 in significant strikes.
Dana White’s fourth pick goes to Khamzat Chimaev, thanks to his astonishing submission victory over Robert Whittaker at UFC 308 in October.
Most fans expected Whittaker to provide Chimaev with his biggest challenge yet, but few anticipated that ‘Borz’ would so decisively end the fight within the first round.
Finally, the fifth performance was delivered by Ilia Topuria, who once again made waves by knocking out Max Holloway mere minutes after Chimaev’s victory, thereby retaining his 145-pound title.
This achievement is particularly noteworthy as it marked the first time Holloway had ever been finished, and Topuria had boldly predicted such an outcome in the months leading up to the fight.
In summary, Dana White’s top five UFC performances of 2024 are as follows:
– Ilia Topuria vs Alexander Volkanovski – UFC 298, February 2024
– Max Holloway vs Justin Gaethje – UFC 300, April 2024
– Alex Pereira vs Jiri Prochazka – UFC 303, June 2024
– Khamzat Chimaev vs Robert Whittaker – UFC 308, October 2024
– Ilia Topuria vs Max Holloway – UFC 308, October 2024
Who do you believe deserves to win the performance of the year?
Source link
