UFC/MMA best ‘Fighters of the Year’ 2024 - Top 5 List

Recapping the top athletes responsible for some of the most exciting and legacy-building moments of the years.

Andrew Richardson is a professional fighter who trains at Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, Calif., providing MMAmania.com (and its readers) with expert technical fighter breakdowns, insight and analysis you can't get anywhere else.

What is fighting about if not establishing one’s self as the top dog and carving out a lasting legacy? There are hundreds of athletes on the UFC roster and countless thousands of fighters around the globe, so it takes something particularly special (a golden strap is certainly helpful) to really stand out from the pack.

Let’s checkout 2024’s “Fighters of the Year.”

5. Dakota Ditcheva

I cannot say I knew much about Dakota Ditcheva prior to the start of 2024. She was undefeated in five previous Professional Fighter’s League (PFL) fights and won their European Women’s Flyweight tournament, but if we’re being honest .... how many of us are really keeping up-to-date on the various regional subsections of PFL?!?

I certainly know her now. If this were breakout fighter of the year, Ditcheva is undeniably the top pick. Not only did Ditcheva fight and win four fights in the last 12 months, but she did so in incredible fashion. The “Dangerous” English talent stopped each of her opponents, and three out of four victories came via knockout.

The only knock against her claim to be higher up on the list of competition quality. Talia Santos is the only top-ranked fighter of the bunch, but even so, the manner in which she easily disposed of a former UFC title contender who pushed Valentina Shevchenko to the break deserves to be mentioned.

Ditcheva might just be the best Flyweight on the planet right now. Her case could easily be argued with a straight face. That wasn’t true a year ago!

4. Joaquin Buckley

2024 might just go down as year of the Buck.

Seriously, nobody was considering Joaquin Buckley as a real Welterweight contender back in January. His status has completely changed. Though already 2-0 at 170-pounds, Buckely still had some real work to do in earning a ranking and convincing the general fanbase to forget about his Middleweight losses to Nassourdine Imavov and Kevin Holland.

Mission accomplished! Battering Vicente Luque into submission at the start of the year was a quality moment, and a quick turnaround against the gigantic Nursulton Ruziboev in his home city of St. Louis really went a long way in establishing “New Mansa” as a formidable Welterweight talent. He finished the year strong by continuing his quest to clear out the 170-pound old guard, stopping former title challengers Colby Covington and Stephen Thompson in violent fights.

It’s safe to say the 170-pound move was a success. No longer outrageously dwarfed by his competition, Buckley has been able to demonstrate new wrinkles in his technical skill set and game planning alike. He enters the new year as a player in a busy title picture, and I can’t wait to watch his next bout.

3. Dricus du Plessis

Relatively few UFC champions picked up more than a single title victory in 2024. Weighing quality of victories vs. volume of wins is the name of this ranking game, and “DDP” ranks well in both aspects.

The year began for the South African with a split-decision over Sean Strickland, a five-round “Fight of the Night” that scored him the UFC Middleweight crown. Strickland can whine as much as he’d like and is getting his undeserved rematch in February, but for my money, it was a fairly clear “Stillknocks” victory.

The “Stylebender” grudge match really boosted Du Plessis’ profile. Israel Adesanya came into the fight rejuvenated — though still not at his physical peak, I would argue — and with an intelligent game plan, but Du Plessis still ended up steamrolling him. Though the rounds may have been back-and-forth, it consistently felt like Du Plessis was gaining ground on Adesanya, coming closer on his wild swings and getting better entries on his takedowns.

I understand this article is an isolated 12 month period, but can we take moment to recognize the overall talent of Dricus Du Plessis? I’m not sure his ugly juggernaut style will ever get the respect it deserves. He’ll forever be an underrated tactical talent with unmatched physicality, and his UFC career is still just getting rolling at 8-0.

I look forward to the eventual Khamzat fight.

2. Alex Pereira

“Poatan” was the only UFC champion to fight and win three times this year. Not only did he win, but all three victories came via knockout. He effortlessly finished a pair of former champions and beat up a Top 10-ranked contender. He’s a popular pick for the top 2024 pick overall, and based on the quality and volume of wins, that’s a perfectly fair choice.

Every Alex Pereira fight is awesome. He’s the only star UFC can rely upon. The 37 year old’s UFC career won’t last forever, so take a moment to appreciate him while he’s atop the mountain. Most any other year, he would walk away with a unanimous “Fighter of the Year” crown.

There’s just one issue ...

1. Ilia Topuria

There should be no doubt that Ilia Topuria is the best fighter of 2024. In fact, I think he’s the best in the world outright. Every so often, we see fighters who appear on the scene, look like future champions, and then eventually struggle or fade away outright.

Not “El Matador.”

Topuria’s talent was incredibly evident by his second UFC fight, when the top-notch grappler suddenly developed ungodly knockout power. He continued his rise unabashed and unbothered by the rising competition levels, repeatedly battering his foes to bloody pulps in one-sided affairs.

Would Alex Volkanovski — still the best fighter in the world for those smart enough not to hold a short-notice loss up a weight class against him — be any different? Not at all, as it turned out. In just minutes, Topuria was already inching towards “The Great,” coming closer and closer to the kill shot.

Max Holloway entered his bout with Topuria riding a serious wave of momentum, three wins capped off by the tremendous Justin Gaethje KO at UFC 300. Indeed, the Hawaiian boxer looked very sharp in his title bid, and still the feeling was the same. Sure, Holloway landed some good jabs, but it was obvious from the opening few minutes that Topuria’s right hand was landing too often for any sustainable success.

In a combined 20 minutes, Topuria viciously knocked out the two best Featherweights of the last decade. There is no higher level of competition. There is no better way to dispatch an opponent. It might just be the best pair of back-to-back wins ever.

Ilia Topuria is your fighter of the year.

Honorable Mentions

• Alexandre Pantoja
• Diego Lopes
• Merab Dvalishvili
• Carlos Prates
• Renato Moicano

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