Fight grades: UFC 317 was the best pay-per-view of 2025

On paper, this year's combat paper for International Fight Week didn't look to unrecorded up to the expectations fans person set. Admittedly, Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira for a vacant title didn't leap disconnected the leafage compared to erstwhile IFW lawsuit headliners. However, with lowered expectations, UFC 317 not lone cleared the bar, it solidified itself arsenic the champion combat paper of 2025 frankincense far.

Whatever you wanted retired of a combat card, you got: melodramatic finishes, ascendant performances, frightening knockouts, thrilling slugfests and the crowning of a caller prima arsenic Topuria became a two-division champion with a brutal knockout of a fan-favorite and aboriginal Hall of Famer.

Just however bully was UFC 317 aft the main event? Pretty damn good.

After each pay-per-view, we measure the prime of each matchup and the combat paper itself based connected accomplishment displayed, competitiveness and what is astatine stake. Here are the combat grades for each 11 UFC 317 bouts.

Men's flyweight: Brandon Royval vs. Joshua Van

Result: Van defeats Royval by unanimous decision

Grade: A+

This was a certified banger that formally announced the accomplishment of Van arsenic a rubric contender. A combat contested wholly connected the feet with nary lulls successful the enactment is arsenic bully arsenic it gets. Van and Royval bushed each different bloody and shattered the grounds for full important strikes landed successful a fight.

Just erstwhile it seemed that Van was moving distant with the combat with his precision punches, Royval kept pressing guardant and connected with a bid of strikes successful Round 2 that enactment fans connected the borderline of their seats. You could consciousness the play entering the last circular with the combat hanging successful the balance, and the flyweights came to amusement out. Big shots were thrown and connected, arsenic neither combatant backed down. But Van would propulsion distant aft knocking down Royval successful the last seconds. This was fantastic. Remember erstwhile determination were rumors of the UFC shutting down the flyweight division? Thank the MMA gods that didn't happen. Go retired of your mode to ticker this frontrunner for combat of the year.

Lightweight championship: Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira

play

0:51

Ilia Topuria celebrates KO decorativeness to triumph lightweight title

Ilia Topuria defeats Charles Oliveira via knockout successful the archetypal circular to triumph the UFC lightweight title.

Result: Topuria defeats Oliveira by first-round KO

Grade: A

When a antheral has a solemnisation meal the nighttime before helium wins a satellite rubric successful a 2nd value class, it's omniscient to instrumentality him seriously.

Topuria called his shot, stating helium would decorativeness Oliveira successful the archetypal round, a feat that hasn't been done against the Brazilian since helium was a featherweight a decennary ago. What did Topuria do? Not lone did helium triumph the grappling exchanges, helium knocked "Do Bronx" retired acold with a azygous punch. New value class? No occupation for Topuria. The existent occupation is for the remainder of the UFC.

Middleweight: Jack Hermansson vs. Gregory Rodrigues

play

0:55

Gregory Rodrigues KOs Jack Hermansson successful the 1st round

Gregory Rodrigues knocks retired Jack Hermansson with a beardown left-handed punch precocious successful the archetypal round.

Result: Rodrigues defeats Hermansson by first-round KO

Grade: A

This was arsenic frightening a knockout arsenic you volition ever see. Rodrigues waited for his infinitesimal and unleashed a near hook that turned Hermansson's lights retired earlier helium deed the mat. An arsenic convulsive hammerfist followed that near Hermansson unconscious for respective minutes. There has been disapproval sent referee Herb Dean's mode for being excessively precocious to halt "Robocop" from landing the further blow, but it each happened truthful accelerated that Dean apt ne'er would person breached up the combat successful time. It was scary to watch, but it's inactive an fantabulous finish.

Featherweight: Hyder Amil vs. Jose Miguel Delgado

play

0:52

Jose Delgado lands vicious genu en way to KO win

Jose Delgado lands a immense genu to Hyder Amil and finishes him disconnected with a knockout triumph conscionable 26 seconds into their fight.

Result: Delgado defeats Amil by first-round TKO

Grade: A

How bash you rip distant somebody's undefeated grounds and marque a sanction for yourself? Ask Delgado, who drilled Amil with a beauteous genu up the mediate to unafraid the knockout successful conscionable 26 seconds. Wicked work.

Lightweight: Terrance McKinney vs. Viacheslav Borshchev

play

1:14

Terrance McKinney wins via submission successful conscionable 55 seconds

Terrance McKinney takes Viacheslav Borshchev down and forces him to taxable conscionable 55 seconds into the archetypal round.

Result: McKinney defeats Borshchev by first-round submission

Grade: A

McKinney continued his streak of blink-and-you'll-miss-it fights, arsenic helium burned done Borshchev successful conscionable 55 seconds. The accelerated modulation from treble limb takedown to anaconda choke to mounted guillotine was mindblowing. Of McKinney's 24 nonrecreational MMA fights,17 wins person travel successful the archetypal round.

Men's flyweight championship: Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Kara-France

play

0:57

Alexandre Pantoja dominates with crushed crippled to bushed Kai Kara-France

Alexandre Pantoja dominates to bushed Kai Kara-France by submission successful the 3rd circular to clasp his UFC flyweight title.

Result: Pantoja defeats Kara-France by third-round submission

Grade: B

This was sheer dominance by Pantoja, who continues to physique his lawsuit for MMA's top flyweight. Kara-France could not find an opening to onshore with his powerfulness due to the fact that the champion neutralized his astir important asset. It was simply a crippled of feline and mouse, arsenic Pantoja yet worked his mode to a rear-naked choke finish.

Men's bantamweight: Payton Talbott vs. Felipe Lima

play

1:03

Payton Talbott finishes hostile successful lightning-quick 19 seconds

Payton Talbott improves his undefeated grounds to 9-0 with a speedy decorativeness implicit Yanis Ghemmouri.

Result: Talbott defeats Lima by unanimous decision

Grade: B-

In a vacuum, this combat was coagulated but not indispensable viewing. For Talbott, it demonstrated his improvements successful grappling since his past fight, a nonaccomplishment to Raoni Barcelos successful January. Talbott is inactive increasing arsenic a fighter, but it was awesome to spot however helium has evolved successful a fewer abbreviated months. The combat was much of a measuring instrumentality than thing you request to spell retired of your mode to watch.

Welterweight: Niko Price vs. Jacobe Smith

play

0:52

Jacobe Smith finishes Niko Price successful the 2nd round

Jacobe Smith locks successful a rear-naked choke connected Niko Price and forces him to taxable precocious successful the 2nd round.

Result: Smith defeats Price by second-round submission

Grade: B-

Welcome to the UFC, Jacobe Smith. Price had thing for Smith, who plowed done him and controlled the enactment with a takedown successful the archetypal round. Aware that Price was vulnerable, Smith took him down again successful Round 2 and finished the occupation with a rear-naked choke. Easy enactment and a agleam aboriginal for Smith.

Lightweight: Beneil Dariush vs. Renato Moicano

Result: Dariush defeats Moicano by unanimous decision

Grade: C

If you look up the explanation of "workmanlike," a representation of Beneil Dariush volition apt greet you. This show was arsenic workmanlike arsenic it gets for Dariush, who survived an aboriginal knockdown to grapple his mode to a unanimous decision. Nothing flashy here. Dariush got it done again, but you apt won't beryllium impressed by the combat itself.

Women's flyweight: Viviane Araujo vs. Tracy Cortez

Result: Cortes defeats Araujo by unanimous decision

Grade: C

Cortez had arguably her astir implicit show successful the Octagon. She did astir everything right, starting with a grappling-heavy archetypal circular to forestall Araujo from opening up her discourtesy successful the 2nd and 3rd rounds. Cortez was ascendant and punctuated the combat by bullying Araujo with crushed and lb successful the last round. However, the deficiency of enactment from Araujo successful the 2nd fractional of the combat didn't marque this a must-see fight. Instead, it whitethorn beryllium remembered arsenic the nighttime Cortez turned the country and became a existent rubric contender.

Heavyweight: Jhonata Diniz vs. Alvin Hines

Result: Diniz defeats Hines by unanimous decision

Grade: C

This wasn't your emblematic lumbering heavyweight matter successful which 2 giants are wholly exhausted and bore fans to sleep. Diniz was crisp with his striking and kept a coagulated pace, portion Hines showcased exceptional resoluteness arsenic helium refused to halt coming forward. It wasn't needfully competitive, arsenic Diniz utilized Hines arsenic a punching container for astir of the fight, but this was a coagulated heavyweight scrap.

UFC 317 combat paper grade: A

With a combat of the twelvemonth frontrunner and aggregate convulsive finishes, UFC 317 easy takes the spot of the year's champion combat card. There was play (Van-Royval), scares (Rodrigues-Hermansson), jaw-dropping finishes (Topuria-Oliveira) and dominance (Pantoja-Kara-France). Most importantly, determination was not an outright atrocious combat astatine UFC 317. It's been a comparatively anemic twelvemonth for PPV events, and immoderate scoffed astatine the capper to International Fight Week, but UFC 317 delivered arsenic a can't-miss show. Every combat instrumentality should watch.