With Covid-19 marking tough times for sport around the world, 2021 has marked a phenomenal year for the UFC with president Dana White even claiming the fanbase has grown by 40%.
Whilst the company is responsible for the marketing and promotion of events, it would be meaningless if the fights didn't deliver, and this year they have exceeded expectations.
Newfound stars such as Paddy Pimblett and Ian Garry have made their debuts, whilst legends such as Junior Dos Santos and Demian Maia have retired from the sport.
The year has marked seven new UFC champions, blockbuster pay-per-view events, huge upsets and lots of highlight-reel knockouts.
And from the best upset to the best promo, here's our UFC awards for 2021...
Best fight
Rafael Fiziev vs Bobby Green - UFC 265
It may have been buried on the prelims, but Fiziev vs Green in August was an instant classic. Both men landed over 100 significant strikes each in a three-round stand-up war.
Fiziev's success in the early rounds would clinch him the win, despite a late fightback from the always entertaining Green.
Alex Volkanovski vs Brian Ortega - UFC 266
After an uneventful two rounds, the fight looked to be over when Ortega jumped on to a guillotine choke as Volkanovski turned purple, but somehow the Australian survived.
He battled through several more submission attempts from Ortega later in the fight and ended up outstriking the submission specialist to get the decision win.
Petr Yan vs Cory Sandhagen - UFC 267
Yan vs Sandhagen is undoubtedly one of the most technical fights in MMA history, with the two bantamweights putting on a striking affair for the ages at UFC 267.
The fight was encapsulated by an exchange at the final bell which saw Yan throw a spinning back heel kick, only for Sandhagen to counter with a flying knee.
But it would be Yan who get the unanimous decision nod to win the interim title on the night.
Justin Gaethje vs Michael Chandler - UFC 268
It's not often a fight backed to be Fight of the Year lives up to the hype, but Gaethje vs Chandler at UFC 268 did that.
The pair put maximum effort into every strike as the first round was a back and forth of Gaethje being hurt, only for Chandler to be wobbled by a big shot.
A bloodied and battered Chandler still welcomed the onslaught in the third round and it would be Gaethje who would get the nod by decision after an epic 15-minutes.
Winner: Justin Gaethje vs Michael Chandler - UFC 268
Best KO
Kamaru Usman vs Jorge Masvidal - UFC 261
Coming into UFC 261, Usman's striking was being severely overlooked against the former street brawler Masvidal, despite being the reigning champion.
Usman would silence his critics by landing a perfect one-two combo to render Masvidal unconscious for the first time in 12 years.
Cory Sandhagen vs Frankie Edgar - UFC Vegas 18
The fight would only last 28 seconds, but that's all Sandhagen would need to score a devastating flying knee knockout against the veteran Edgar.
As Edgar stepped into range, Sandhagen jumped out of nowhere to land the knee and even walked off before the referee stopped the fight.
Chris Barnett vs Gian Villante - UFC 268
Looking at the physique of the 19-stone Barnett, you would have never predicted someone his size could produce such impressive kicks.
Barnett made amends having lost his UFC debut by producing a spinning back heel kick to knockout Gian Villante, then front-flipped in style to celebrate the win.
Jiri Prochazka vs Dominick Reyes - UFC Vegas 25
In his first UFC main event, Prochazka scored his 10th consecutive knockout against former title challenger Reyes.
His unique striking style was on display throughout and the Czech floored Reyes with a devastating spinning elbow in the second round to get the win.
Ignacio Bahamondes vs Roosevelt Roberts - UFC Vegas 34
Buried away on the prelims of a Fight Night card in August, Bahamondes produced an insane spinning hook kick knockout against Roberts.
The Chilean tricked Roberts by targeting his body with a spinning back kick several times throughout the fight, only to aim it to his head in the last ten seconds of the fight.
Winner: Ignacio Bahamondes vs Roosevelt Roberts
Biggest upset
Dustin Poirier vs Conor McGregor 2 - UFC 257
Whilst Poirier wasn't a big underdog heading into his rematch with McGregor seven years after their first fight, few backed him to knockout the Irishman.
But he became the only person to ever do so, dropping him with a right hand after a flurry of punches and finishing with ground and pound.
Anthony Hernandez vs Rodolfo Vieira - UFC 258
Multiple-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion Vieira was backed to easily submit Hernandez when they fought in February, being the biggest favourite on the card.
Amazingly, Vieira's cardio went out the window by round two and Hernandez - a purple belt in BJJ - submitted the accomplished grappler with a guillotine choke.
Jan Blachowicz vs Israel Adesanya - UFC 259
Six months after winning the vacant light heavyweight title, Blachowicz looked to make his first defence against middleweight king Adesanya.
His 'Polish Power' proved too much for Adesanya as he upset the odds to win a one-sided unanimous decision, handing Adesanya his only loss in MMA to date.
Julianna Pena vs Amanda Nunes - UFC 269
When Pena entered her fight with the female 'GOAT' Nunes having not fought in 12 months and being 2-2 in her last four outings, almost nobody gave her a chance.
But Pena believed in herself and that's all that mattered.
She survived the early power of Nunes to swarm her with punches of her own, eventually choking out the champion to provide arguably the biggest upset in UFC history.
Winner: Julianna Pena vs Amanda Nunes - UFC 269
Fighter of the year
Kamaru Usman
It's been a remarkable year for the pound-for-pound No.1 with three successful defences of his welterweight title.
'The Nigerian Nightmare' picked up finishes against Gilbert Burns and Masvidal before winning a decision against bitter rival Colby Covington in November.
Charles Oliveira
In one of the best comeback stories in UFC history, Oliveira went through constant losses at lightweight to becoming the titleholder.
'Do Bronx' won the belt by knocking out Michael Chandler in May and defended his belt by choking out Poirier to top off an excellent 2021.
Ciryl Gane
It's been a great year for the accomplished kickboxer Gane, whose striking has proved levels above the rest of the heavyweight division.
'Bon Gamin' won decisions against Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Alexander Volkov before stopping Derrick Lewis to win the interim title in August.
Islam Makhachev
The protege of now-retired UFC great Khabib Nurmagomedov, Makhachev has continued to impress even when his opposition improves.
The Dagestani has won all three of his fights this year by submission and will likely get a title shot if he can get past Beneil Dariush in February.
Winner: Charles Oliveira
Female fighter of the year
Julianna Pena
'The Venezuelan Vixen' submitted Sara McMann in January, but it was her jaw-dropping win against Nunes that earned her a spot on the list for female fighter of the year.
Valentina Shevchenko
Can anyone beat Shevchenko at 125-pounds? 'Bullet' has been unstoppable at the weight class and defended her title twice this year.
Shevchenko brutally elbowed her way a win against Jessica Andrade in April and did the exact same against Lauren Murphy in September.
Manon Fiorot
Former IMMAF world champion Fiorot has been one of this year's breakout stars in the UFC, picking up three wins.
Living up to her nickname of 'The Beast', she scored stoppages in her first two UFC appearances before winning a decision against Mayra Bueno Silva in October.
Rose Namajunas
Namajunas entered 2021 with one mission, getting her hands back on the UFC strawweight title.
'Thug Rose' did just that - and more - by knocking out Weili Zhang in April to win the belt and defending it in their rematch by outpointing 'Magnum' at UFC 268.
Winner: Valentina Shevchenko
Promo of the year
Max Holloway's "best boxer" shout
Over the years there have been many instances of fighters trash talking during fights, but Holloway set the bar extremely high in his January fight with Calvin Kattar.
Holloway caught word of the commentary team and shouted he was the "best boxer in the UFC", all whilst avoiding punches from Kattar and landing his own strikes.
Fiziev calls out Hasbulla
After his hard-fought win against Green at UFC 265, Fiziev left fight fans around in the world in hysterics after calling out internet star Hasbulla.
He snatched the microphone from Daniel Cormier and said: "Hasbulla, Hasbulla. You've taken everything I worked for my whole life in UFC.
"If you want money fight, you fight with me bro!"
Ian Garry's UFC debut
There was a sense of nostalgia when watching Garry's post-fight interview after he won his UFC debut against Jordan Williams.
'The Future' vowed to bring the "takeover part two" to the UFC, following in the footsteps of his countryman McGregor.
Paddy Pimblett calls Instagram "lizards"
Pimblett made his long-awaited UFC debut in September and - much like Garry - passed the test by scoring a first-round stoppage.
But it would be his interview with Megan Olivi after the fight for which 'The Baddy' would capture headlines, calling out Instagram for disabling his account.
"I'm not really calling anyone out, the only thing I wanna call out is the company Instagram. Give me my account back, ya lizards," he said.
Winner: Max Holloway's "best boxer" shout
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