{"id":646186,"date":"2025-12-22T08:54:01","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T07:54:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/?p=646186"},"modified":"2025-12-22T08:54:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T07:54:07","slug":"top-5-ufc-upsets-of-2025-feat-petr-yan-nassourdine-imavov-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/top-5-ufc-upsets-of-2025-feat-petr-yan-nassourdine-imavov-and-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 5 UFC Upsets Of 2025 &#8211; Feat Petr Yan, Nassourdine Imavov And More!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The fight game has always been full of surprises. One punch can change everything. A perfectly timed submission can end years of hype. That&rsquo;s what makes UFC so addictive to watch. You never really know what&rsquo;s going to happen when that cage door closes, no matter what the betting odds say.<\/p><p>This year gave us some absolute shockers. We are talking about massive favorites getting completely dismantled by fighters nobody believed in. The Top 5 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ufc.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>UFC <\/a>Upsets Of 2025 reminded us why this sport is so unpredictable. Champions fell. Undefeated records got shattered. Veterans showed the young guns that experience still matters. Let&rsquo;s break down the biggest surprises that nobody saw coming.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. Nassourdine Imavov Knocks Out Israel Adesanya<\/h2><p>Former two-time champion Israel Adesanya got knocked out cold in February at <a href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/mma\/\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>UFC<\/a> Fight Night in Saudi Arabia. French fighter Nassourdine Imavov landed a thunderous overhand right in the second round that sent Adesanya crashing to the canvas. The finish came at the 4:30 mark after Imavov followed up with ground strikes.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Nassourdine Imavov stops Israel Adesanya, remove his teeth calls for winner of UFC 312 title fight&#128514;<br><br>handed Adesanya his third-straight loss at UFC Saudi Arabia<br><br>A THREAD &#129525;&#128562; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/nSFUemqP56\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>pic.twitter.com\/nSFUemqP56<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Kingsley (@realkingss) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/realkingss\/status\/1966389278889361798?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>September 12, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure><p>Adesanya had looked sharp in the first round, landing heavy kicks and using his trademark feints. But Imavov stayed patient. Early in round two, he pawed with a jab that caught Adesanya&rsquo;s attention. Then he came over the top with that devastating right hand. Adesanya tried to recover, but Imavov pounced immediately and pounded out the finish. This was Adesanya&rsquo;s third straight loss, dropping his recent record to 1-4 in his last five fights. Imavov moved to 4-0 in his last four fights and inserted himself directly into the middleweight title conversation.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. Brendan Allen Breaks Reinier De Ridder At UFC Vancouver<\/h2><p>Brendan Allen stepped in on short notice and forced heavily favored Reinier de Ridder to quit on his stool after four brutal rounds. De Ridder&rsquo;s corner threw in the towel before the fifth round could begin. Allen earned the TKO victory and destroyed de Ridder&rsquo;s title shot dreams in the process.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&#128680; OH MY GOD RDR JUST QUIT ON HIS STOOL IN A TITLE CONTENDER FIGHT!!!!!<br><br>BRENDAN ALLEN WINS!!!<br><br>ARE YOU KIDDING ME???????? <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/UFCVancouver?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>#UFCVancouver<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/2bUOGqT3Pa\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>pic.twitter.com\/2bUOGqT3Pa<\/a><\/p>&mdash; ACD MMA (@acdmma_) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/acdmma_\/status\/1979734767030657479?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>October 19, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure><p>De Ridder was riding a four-fight UFC win streak and had just beaten Robert Whittaker in July. He was ranked number four and seemingly one win away from facing new champion Khamzat Chimaev for the middleweight belt. Allen was ranked ninth and took the fight on three and a half weeks notice after Anthony Hernandez pulled out with an injury.&nbsp;<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Joshua Van Wins Flyweight Title Via Freak Injury<\/h2><p>UFC 323 delivered a shocking title change in the co-main event. Joshua Van became the new flyweight champion after Alexandre Pantoja suffered a gruesome arm injury just 26 seconds into the first round. The 24-year-old Van won by TKO in the strangest way possible.<\/p><p>Pantoja threw a right roundkick to Van&rsquo;s head. As Van blocked the kick, Pantoja used his left arm to brace his fall. Something went horribly wrong with his shoulder in that instant. It was clearly a freak accident, but the damage was done. The referee immediately stopped the fight when it became obvious Pantoja couldn&rsquo;t continue.&nbsp;<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Not the way he imagined it I&rsquo;m sure, but Joshua Van becomes a UFC champion at 24. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Nx1OOyUUKU\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>pic.twitter.com\/Nx1OOyUUKU<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Owen &#129355; (@owenswdMMA) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/owenswdMMA\/status\/1997535599738401259?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>December 7, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure><p>This wasn&rsquo;t a traditional upset in the sense of one fighter dominating another. But it was shocking nonetheless. Pantoja had been a dominant champion, and nobody expected his reign to end 26 seconds into a fight because of an injury. Van became the second-youngest champion in UFC history behind only Jon Jones. Sometimes in this sport, luck matters as much as skill. Van was in the right place at the right time, and now he&rsquo;s got UFC gold around his waist.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Raoni Barcelos Ends Payton Talbott&rsquo;s Unbeaten Streak<\/h2><p>The first major upset of 2025 happened at UFC 311 in January. Veteran Raoni Barcelos completely dominated rising prospect Payton Talbott, winning by unanimous decision with scores of 30-27, 30-27, and 30-26. Talbott entered as a massive -1200 betting favorite. And Barcelos was getting zero respect from the oddsmakers.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Raoni Barcelos defeats Payton Talbott by unanimous decision! HUGE upset <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/UFC311?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>#UFC311<\/a><br><br>(30-27, 30-27, 30-26) <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/M8PlycxgCP\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>pic.twitter.com\/M8PlycxgCP<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ChampRDS\/status\/1880812101314416846?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>January 19, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure><p>The 26-year-old Talbott had been one of UFC&rsquo;s most hyped prospects. He was undefeated at 9-0 and coming off a 19-second knockout. Everyone expected him to dominate. Instead, Barcelos took him to school. The 37-year-old Brazilian scored eight takedowns and threatened with multiple rear-naked choke attempts. He controlled the ground game from start to finish. The veteran closed the show with heavy ground-and-pound. Barcelos said during fight week that he felt disrespected by the betting odds. He backed up his words with a perfect gameplan and flawless execution. Talbott learned a valuable lesson about experience versus hype.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Petr Yan Dethrones Merab Dvalishvili At UFC 323<\/h2><p>This was the year&rsquo;s biggest upset, saved for the final pay-per-view of 2025. Yan shocked the world by completely dominating Merab Dvalishvili to recapture the bantamweight title at UFC 323 in December. The Russian battered Dvalishvili for five full rounds, winning by unanimous decision with scores of 49-46, 49-46, and 48-47.<\/p><p>Dvalishvili came into UFC 323 riding a 14-fight win streak. He had already defended his title three times in 2025 alone, beating Umar Nurmagomedov, choking out Sean O&rsquo;Malley, and dominating Cory Sandhagen. No UFC champion had ever defended their belt four times in one calendar year. Everyone assumed &lsquo;The Machine&rsquo; would make history. But Yan had other plans.&nbsp;<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">PETR YAN DEFEATS MERAB DVALISHVILI BY UNANIMOUS DECISION!!!<br><br>AND NEWWWWW!  (49-46 x2, 48-47) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/UFC323?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>#UFC323<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/gxWGaYGbz5\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>pic.twitter.com\/gxWGaYGbz5<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ChampRDS\/status\/1997549159692566935?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>December 7, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure><p>He stuffed 27 of Dvalishvili&rsquo;s 29 takedown attempts while landing five of his own. The body shots were brutal. Yan&rsquo;s precision striking opened cuts on Dvalishvili&rsquo;s face and visibly hurt him with devastating kicks to the ribs. This was total revenge for Yan, who had lost to Dvalishvili back in March 2023 by unanimous decision.<\/p><p>(Image Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie &ndash; Imagn Images)<\/p>\n<div class=\"mm-layout mm-layout-type-post mm-layout-slot4\">\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The fight game has always been full of surprises. One punch can change everything. A perfectly timed submission can end years of hype. That&rsquo;s what makes UFC so addictive to watch. You never really know what&rsquo;s going to happen when that cage door closes, no matter what the betting odds say. This year gave us [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":646188,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_mux_skip_reasons":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1783],"tags":[3745,7476,1965,3217,6630],"class_list":["post-646186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mma","tag-brendan-allen","tag-joshua-van","tag-nassourdine-imavov","tag-petr-yan","tag-raoni-barcelos"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Top 5 UFC Upsets Of 2025 - Feat Petr Yan, Nassourdine Imavov And More! - The Playoffs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"From massive betting underdogs to unexpected finishes, these fights flipped predictions and changed careers when nobody saw it coming.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/top-5-ufc-upsets-of-2025-feat-petr-yan-nassourdine-imavov-and-more\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Top 5 UFC Upsets Of 2025 - Feat Petr Yan, Nassourdine Imavov And More! - The Playoffs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"From massive betting underdogs to unexpected finishes, these fights flipped predictions and changed careers when nobody saw it coming.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/top-5-ufc-upsets-of-2025-feat-petr-yan-nassourdine-imavov-and-more\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Playoffs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-22T08:54:07+01:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Top-5-UFC-Upsets-Of-2025-Feat-Petr-Yan-Nassourdine-Imavov-And-More0A.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2479\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1652\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Zaid Quraishi\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ThePlayoffsEN\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ThePlayoffsEN\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Zaid Quraishi\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/top-5-ufc-upsets-of-2025-feat-petr-yan-nassourdine-imavov-and-more\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/top-5-ufc-upsets-of-2025-feat-petr-yan-nassourdine-imavov-and-more\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Zaid Quraishi\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/ccd5901be00586ad6098d47c91b67e29\"},\"headline\":\"Top 5 UFC Upsets Of 2025 &#8211; Feat Petr Yan, Nassourdine Imavov And More!\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-22T07:54:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-22T07:54:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/top-5-ufc-upsets-of-2025-feat-petr-yan-nassourdine-imavov-and-more\/\"},\"wordCount\":946,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/top-5-ufc-upsets-of-2025-feat-petr-yan-nassourdine-imavov-and-more\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cdn.theplayoffs.news\/en\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Top-5-UFC-Upsets-Of-2025-Feat-Petr-Yan-Nassourdine-Imavov-And-More0A.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Brendan Allen\",\"Joshua Van\",\"Nassourdine Imavov\",\"Petr Yan\",\"Raoni Barcelos\"],\"articleSection\":[\"MMA\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2025\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/top-5-ufc-upsets-of-2025-feat-petr-yan-nassourdine-imavov-and-more\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/top-5-ufc-upsets-of-2025-feat-petr-yan-nassourdine-imavov-and-more\/\",\"name\":\"Top 5 UFC Upsets Of 2025 - Feat Petr Yan, Nassourdine Imavov And More! 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Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. 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