Justin Gaethje has been nominated for the 2026 ESPY Award for Best Fighter after a major championship victory and a three-fight winning streak.
Gaethje, 37, is 28-5 and is coming off a stoppage win over Ilia Topuria to claim the UFC lightweight title at the UFC White House event in Washington, DC. The run has positioned "The Highlight" among this year’s top combat sports names.
The 2026 Best Fighter field includes athletes from across boxing and MMA, with the ESPY honor recognizing "Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly." Previous winners of the award include Merab Dvalishvili, Sean O’Malley, and Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The ESPYS air on July 15 at 8 PM ET on ABC, with replays on ESPN and ESPN+ as the combat sports world finds out if Gaethje will leave with the "Best Fighter" hardware.
