The last five fighters who have won ‘Fighter of the Year’ at the World MMA Awards have all lost their first fight the following year. Does this mean that the UFC Fighter of the Year curse is real?
UFC Fighter Of The Year Curse – Is It Real?
Being crowned the ‘Fighter of the Year’ is a momentous award when it comes to the UFC. Being deemed the single best fighter over the course of an entire year is quite the achievement.
However, is it a bad thing for a fighters career to win it? Many MMA fans believe that there is actually a UFC Fighter of the Year curse.
Every year, the World MMA Awards are presented by Fighters Only magazine to exceptional performance in various aspects of mixed martial arts. Many fans and enthusiasts deem it the single most prestigious award event in all of MMA.
Each year, the Fighter of the Year is presented with the Fighters Only silver statuette. Last year it was Alex Pereira who was crowned Fighter of the Year at the World MMA Awards for his run of five straight victories at light-heavyweight. Four of which were for the UFC Light-Heavyweight Title.
However, there is a real conversation now that there is a genuine UFC Fighter of the Year curse. This comes after Alex Pereira lost at UFC 313 in his first fight of the following year since being crowned Fighter of the Year at the World MMA Awards.
Pereira was beaten by Magomed Ankalaev in his first fight of 2025, with the Fighter of the Year curse striking once again. Now, fans are adamant that the UFC fighter of the Year curse is a real thing and is very much alive.
Last Five Fighter Of The Year Winners Have Lost First Fight The Following Year
With Alex Pereira losing his first fight of 2025 after being crowned Fighter of the Year form 2023/24, this now means that each of the last five winners of Fighter of the Year at the World MMA Awards have gone on to lose their first fight of the following year.
Former welterweight king Leon Edwards won the 2022/23 UFC Fighter of the Year. During this period, Edwards won three UFC Welterweight Title fights, including his dramatic head kick knockout of Kamaru Usman to first win the title and then two successful defences.
However, in his first fight of 2024, Edwards was beaten by Belal Muhammad. The same happened to Alexander Volkanovski the previous year. The Australian was crowned UFC Fighter of the Year for 2021/22, but lost his first fight of 2023 to Islam Makhachev.
The year before that it was Kamaru Usman who won Fighter of the Year at the World MMA Awards for 2020/21. As previously mentioned, he lost his first fight the following year to Leon Edwards in August 2020.
Former long-reigning UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya was crowned the UFC Fighter of the Year at the 2019/20 World MMA Awards. Again, Adesanya lost for very first time in his MMA career in his first fight of the following year in 2021 against Jan Blachowicz.
Whether or not you think the UFC Fighter of the Year curse is real or not, you can’t ignore the fact that it is at least a huge coincidence.
Will the 2024/25 Fighter of the Year winner buck the trend and continue their hot streak, or will they go on to lose their first fight of 2026 when it happens? We’ll find out next year!
The fighter of the year curse is real pic.twitter.com/UAD8YDixkm
— Nathan Hovde (@nathanhovde) March 30, 2025
Eight Of Last 10 UFC Fighter Of The Year Winners Have Lost Their Next Fight The Following Year
On top of the last five UFC Fighter of the Year winners losing their first fight the following year, the curse actually goes back even further.
Daniel Cormier was the Fighter of the Year in 2018. He went on to lose his first fight of 2019 against Stipe Miocic.
Max Holloway didn’t fall to the Fighter of the Year curse though after winning the prestigious award in 2017. His first fight of the following year resulted in a victory over Brian Ortega at UFC 231.
However, before that Conor McGregor was crowned the UFC Fighter of the Year in both 2015 and 2016. After winning the award for 2015, McGregor lost his first fight of 2016 against Nate Diaz in their first fight.
‘Notorious’ bounced back in 2016 with victories over Diaz and then Eddie Alvarez, winning him the Fighter of the Year award for a second consecutive year. However, after a 23 month absence from the octagon, McGregor did lose his next fight.
Technically the Irishman didn’t lose his first fight of the following year, as he didn’t actually compete in 2017. That being said, he lost his next fight after winning the 2016 UFC Fighter of the Year to Khabib Nurmagomedov in October 2018.
Robbie Lawler was the UFC Fighter of the Year in 2014, but he didn’t lose his first fight of 2015. This means that eight of the last 10, or even eight of the last nine, UFC Fighter of the Year victors have gone on to lose their first fight of the following year. Crazy.
List Of World MMA Awards Fighter Of The Year Winners – Last 10
| Year | Fighter of the Year |
|---|---|
| 2023/24 | Alex Pereira |
| 2022/23 | Leon Edwards |
| 2021/22 | Alexander Volkanovski |
| 2020/21 | Kamaru Usman |
| 2019/20 | Israel Adesanya |
| 2018 | Daniel Cormier |
| 2017 | Max Holloway |
| 2016 | Conor McGregor |
| 2015 | Conor McGregor |
| 2014 | Robbie Lawler |
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