Undefeated UFC fighters are dropping like flies in 2025 and fans are taking notice.
Jean Matsumoto’s defeat at UFC Seattle on Saturday marked the 11th time this year that an undefeated fighter has lost their zero.
Matsumoto suffered a split decision defeat to MMA veteran Rob Font whose victory meant the former’s perfect record was tarnished.
The Brazilian bantamweight lost for the first time in his 17-fight MMA career, meaning he joined a growing list of fighters who have got an unwanted loss in 2025.
Umar Nurmagomedov, Tatiana Suarez, Payton Talbott and Shara Magomedov are among the 10 other previously undefeated fighters who also tasted defeat this year.
Nurmagomedov lost a bantamweight title fight to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 311 last month, while Payton Talbott suffered a shock defeat to Raoni Barcelos on the same card.
Briton Michael ‘Venom’ Page snapped the undefeated streak of Russia’s Nurmagomedov in Saudi Arabia and Tatiana Suarez was well-beaten by Zhang Weili in her first attempt at UFC gold.
Matsumoto was a clear favourite heading into his bout with Font, and his defeat left fans worried for two of the promotion’s biggest stars.
Several fans have responded to the jaw-dropping statistic that revealed 11 out of 17 undefeated UFC fighters have lost in 2025.
One took to X and said: “I hope Khamzat doesn’t fight this year,” while another added: “Topuria next.”
Both Topuria and Chimaev are expected to put their unbeaten streaks on the line this year in huge UFC title fights.
Topuria was the UFC featherweight champion, but vacated the 145-pound strap to move up a division and challenge for the lightweight title.
‘El Matador’ has welcomed a fight with Dustin Poirier to cement his name in the division, but it is believed that the Spaniard will eventually face lightweight king Islam Makhachev by the end of the year.
The 28-year-old has won all 16 of his professional MMA bouts, having secured UFC gold for the first time by knocking out Alexander Volkanovski just four years and seven fights into his spell with Dana White’s promotion.
Chimaev, meanwhile, is undefeated in 14 fights and is set to take on Dricus Du Plessis for the UFC middleweight title in 2025.
He last appeared at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi, where he shattered Robert Whittaker’s jaw into pieces with a devastating first round rear naked choke submission.
Speaking on a potential mouthwatering clash with Chimaev, middleweight champion du Plessis left no doubt over his future UFC plans.
“Khamzat’s first,” he said, speaking on his next fight after beating Sean Strickland at UFC 312 in February.
“…I want to make sure that this belt – the middleweight title – that there’s no question I’m the GOAT of the middleweight division.
“You have Anderson Silva, in my mind, he is the goat of this division, and you have [Israel] Adesanya, who has done incredible things.
“But it’s not about how many times you defend (your title), it’s about who you fight, how you’ve defended it and what period of time you’ve done it in.
“I want to make sure there’s no question that I am the best middleweight.”
There is yet to be any official announcement from White or the UFC regarding who Topuria or Chimaev will fight next.
However, there’s no doubt both fighters will be acutely aware of the challenges that lie ahead of them.
American middleweight Bo Nickal, welterweight title challenger Shavkat Rakhmonov, and Brits Lerone Murphy and Mick Parkin are all undefeated in MMA, with all four expected to fight in 2025.