Last year when I did my fighter of the year articles, the female fighter of the year came from the PFL and not the UFC. Last year, I gave that distinction to Dakota Ditcheva who really became a star in 2024. However, this year, the award is going back to the biggest promotion in the world.
In fact, the award was decided in a head-to-head matchup that took place just over a month ago at UFC 322. That night, former strawweight champion Zhang Weili moved up to flyweight to challenge Valentina Shevchenko (26-4-1).
Shevchenko showed why there are weight classes as she bullied and dominated Weili over the course of five rounds. That win without a doubt solidified her as the 2025 Fighter of the Year in my book.
After regaining her flyweight title at Noche UFC last year, Shevchenko’s first title defense this year came against Manon Fiorot and Shevchenko was the underdog. Shevchenko showed that she was still the best in the world as she defeated Fiorot.
The Shevchenko – Weili fight was a rare opportunity where the UFC had the top two P4P fighters in the world fighting for a world title. It was build as an ultra competitive super fight and it ultimately ended up being a one-sided victory in favor of Valentina Shevchenko. An honorable mention could go to new strawweight champion Mackenzie Dern, but overall, 2025 belongs to the bullet.
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