The 2025 ESPY Awards will take place on Weds., July 16, 2025, in Los Angeles, California, but the winner of the ‘Best UFC Fighter’ award has already been revealed.
During the UFC Nashville broadcast, UFC Bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili was announced as the winner, beating out nominees: Dricus Du Plessis, Islam Makhachev, and Kayla Harrison.
For what it’s worth, the award evaluates performances from July 1, 2024, to June 20, 2025, which explains why Ilia Topuria was not included among the nominees.
Dvalishvili (20-4) kicked off his 2024 by defeating Henry Cejudo via unanimous decision at UFC 298 (and that wasn’t even considered in the voting process). Seven months later, he finally got a title shot and captured the UFC Bantamweight title by dominating Sean O’Malley— who won the 2024 ESPY — at UFC 306.
In his first title defense, “The Machine” defeated Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 in Jan. 2025, and then turned around five months later and tapped O’Malley in their rematch at UFC 316 (watch highlights).
Dvalishvili aims to defend his title twice more in 2025, a challenging goal given only four pay-per-view cards remain without scheduled title fights. If anyone can achieve it, he can.
His next test is likely Cory Sandhagen.
