MMA Fighting’s midyear rankings have delivered a dead heat at the top, with Justin Gaethje vs. Ilia Topuria and Josh Hokit vs. Curtis Blaydes sharing the No. 1 spot for best UFC fight of 2026 so far.
MMA Fighting’s voting panel produced a tie for Fight of the Midyear in 2026, highlighting a wild first half of the year that featured title fights, upsets, and historic settings.
Justin Gaethje defeated Ilia Topuria in the main event of UFC White House to become undisputed lightweight champion. Gaethje vs. Topuria took place on June 14, 2026, on the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, DC during the UFC Freedom 250 event.
Heavyweights also crashed the list in a big way, as Josh Hokit defeated Curtis Blaydes at UFC 327 on April 11, 2026, at Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, in a bout that now sits alongside Gaethje–Topuria atop MMA Fighting’s 2026 midyear fight rankings.
Another standout mentioned in the midyear rundown is Joshua Van’s first flyweight title defense. Van defeated Tatsuro Taira by fifth-round TKO in a flyweight title bout at UFC 328 on May 09, 2026, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Ahead of the clash, Taira summed up his approach with a simple line: “Let’s just throw heaters.”
Van entered UFC 328 as the newly crowned flyweight champion, while former titleholder Alexandre Pantoja was unable to rematch Van due to rehabbing an injury suffered in his loss to Van.
