2024 was filled with action sequences and shocking moves. Fighters like Alex Pereira, Max Holloway, and Ilia Topuria greatly impressed us all. Well, Pereira and Topuria fought more than once and won all of their bouts this year. While the winners celebrated their victory, the story was a bit different on the other side of the coin.  

2024 was also the year that filled a few fighters’ hearts with nothing but disappointment. Today, let’s shine some light on the fighters who had nightmarish performances this year, hoping that they return to dominate in 2025.

1. Johnny Walker

Johnny Walker came into the Octagon in January with a 3-fight win streak and a no-contest in his last bout. We all had quite some expectations from the Brazilian fighter as he stepped into the Octagon against Magomed Ankalaev in a rematch. Little did we know that even though he was leading in the first round by 1 point, he would get knocked out cold in the second round. Well, that was to be expected given Walker threw a lot of wild hits. 

We expected Walker to come out strong in his next bout against Volkan Oezdemir. But even that was to no avail. As soon as the bout began, ‘No Time’ dominated the Octagon and even knocked Walker down once. But the Brazilian light heavyweight jumped back into action with a high knee but received disappointed chuckles as he failed and stumbled down. That pushed Oezdemir to send a flurry of fists that knocked Walker out cold. 

And the most heartwrenching moment? It was watching Walker lying down straight like a log, leaving the referee in charge checking on him. This indeed became a meme in the UFC realm and a giant disappointment in Walker’s professional MMA career. 

1. Jamahal Hill

Jamahall Hill experienced the toughest blow when Alex Pereira knocked him out with a strong left hook in the very first round. The man with the hands of stone had already damaged Hill early on in the fight. The left hook simply finished the job. However, ‘Sweet Dreams’ began claiming that Pereira cheated his way to victory. According to Hill, when he seemed to have kicked the ‘Poatan’ in the groin, he believed that Herb Dean would give Pereira some official time off. But the Brazilian signaled that he was okay, and closed the distance during that time to send the knockout punch, while Hill had his guard down. 

Putting the blame on the referee in charge further put Hill in muddy waters. Arguing with a fan on X, “Sweet Dreams’ defended himself by claiming that Dean stepped behind him, blocking his left side. And all of that happened in a span of the 4 seconds that were supposed to be used for Pereira to recover from the groin kick. He claimed, “This all happened in 4 seconds so to say that didn’t play a factor is ret–ded!”

Even though he was knocked out by Pereira, ‘Sweet Dreams’ considered himself a superior force. He continued his disrespect for the Brazilian champ by yawning during Pereira’s title defense against Khalil Rountree Jr. No doubt, his actions were met with even stronger reactions from the fighting community.

1. Paulo Costa

The man with the secret juice, Paulo Costa used to dominate the MMA cage till 2019 faced two of his most unfortunate defeats in 2024. Following his victory over Luke Rockhold at UFC 278, we believed that he would rise even higher in 2024. But alas! His fight against Robert Whittaker resulted in a unanimous decision win for ‘The Reaper’. It’s true that ‘Borrachinha’ has a strong chin and a lot of stamina. But that was a thing of the past. 

Costa fought once again at UFC 302, where he faced Sean Strickland. But that was deemed to be one of the most boring fights of the year. A completely lackluster bout with both Strickland and Costa dancing in a not-so-intense battle, receiving nothing but boos from the crowd. Given his last performance, the world of mixed martial arts lies in doubt regarding the Brazilian’s future. 

1. Justin Gaethje

Well, Justin Gaethje’s pain is the deepest of them all. He suffered the most brutal KO of his entire life during his fight against Max Holloway at UFC 300. In case you hadn’t noticed, UFC 300 carried 2 of the 5 nightmarish fights on the list. It was the last second of the last round when Holloway knocked ‘The Highlight’ out. And he just fell down in a slump with his face scraping the canvas. As impressive as it was for Holloway, it was an equally heartbreaking fight for Gaethje. 

But there’s another reason why it was more troubling for the former BMF champion. Initially, he was in line to fight Islam Makhachev for the lightweight championship. But he made the worst mistake of his life by taking up the fight against Holloway. Not only did he lose the fight via a KO, but he also lost the chance to fight for the title. 

Now, the fighting community is left discussing Gaethje’s retirement instead of his next fight. Even the former BMF champ said, “If I ever go to sleep, like I just went to sleep, I’m done. I’m not doing it two more times. I’ll do that one more time if I have to, I’m not choosing that, but it’s always a possibility, and if it happens, I’m done. But outside that, I don’t know…”

1. Alexander Volkanovski

But the one fighter who faced a steep decline in 2024 was Alexander Volkanovski. He had lost his pound-for-pound top spot to Makhachev, coming to UFC 298. But the undefeated Ilia Topuria proved to be a bit too much for him to handle. One of the greatest featherweight fighters lost the bout to ‘El Matador’ via a KO. However, he can still rise and reclaim the title, right?

He is the number 1 featherweight contender in the UFC and Topuria agrees he deserves a rematch. We might also witness the Spaniard going up against Holloway in a rematch. Even Diego Lopes and Movsar Evloev are in the title picture. And even if the matchmakers put Topuria against Volkanovski for a rematch, the outcome might not be so different.

The year is ending with pretty strong memories, with fierce KOs and disappointing falls. While heartbreaks are necessary for a fighter’s growth, they can certainly push them toward total retirement at times. Come 2025, they’ll traverse through the action sequence yet again. But this time, with a bit more energy and focus.

Do you think we missed anyone? Who was the one that impressed you the most in 2024? Drop down to the comments below and let us know what you think.