Standouts of Year 2025
To kick off our 2025 Eternal MMA Awards, we’re shining a light on the amateurs who stood out in 2025. Breakout performances, big moments, and fighters proving they’re ready for the next level 🔥 These are ones to watch out for…
Knockout of Year 2025
In 2025, we saw so many iconic knockouts that even narrowing it down to the nominees was no easy task. There were countless finishes deserving of their own flowers; Chili’s KO at Eternal 95 on just 10 days’ notice, Kane Rickus’ head-kick KO at the legendary Eternal 100, and Sam Marles’ savage comeback KO at Eternal 95, just to name a few.
But one moment stood above the rest. Darcy Vendy’s walk-off, lights-out KO at Eternal 96 to retain his Eternal middleweight title in the main event. After weathering the storm from Blair Bretag in rounds one and two, Darcy stayed composed, picked his moment, and delivered a statement finish on the biggest stage.
A definitive Knockout of the Year 2025.
Breakthrough Fighters 2025
Many fighters made the jump to the professional ranks in 2025, and it was a year full of breakthrough moments. Immediate impacts were made across the board, but two fighters stood above the rest, so close that they were impossible to separate.
That’s why this year, we’re doing something special. For the 2025 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year, we’re recognising not one, but two athletes. Jesse Swain and Michael Alsop both turned professional in 2025, went undefeated at 2–0, and delivered back-to-back knockout finishes.
Both men wasted no time making a statement, debuting as pros and maintaining a 100% finish rate with quick turnarounds throughout the year. We’re excited to see what’s next for these two as they continue to build their careers, because this is only the beginning.
Submission of Year 2025
In 2025, we saw plenty of lightning-fast finishes, but one stood above the rest. A Round 1, 14-second armbar from Cyprian Rogozinski.
Cyprian returned in 2025 after a four-year layoff and made an immediate statement with back-to-back armbar submissions at Eternal 96 and 98. But it was his 14-second finish at Eternal 98 that truly separated itself, earning Submission of the Night.
A clear Submission of the Year 2025 🏆👊
Fight of The Year 2025
What a year 2025 was. Narrowing down the nominees for Fight of the Year was no easy task, with so many unforgettable battles deserving of recognition. Fights like Marles VS Law at Eternal 95, Vendy VS Bretag at Eternal 96, Filimoehala VS Kelly at Eternal 98, and Lam VS Van Ingen at Eternal 101 could each stand alone as award-worthy performances.
Choosing just one felt almost impossible, but one fight had everything you could ask for. Kevin Kophamel VS A’Keitheon Whitner delivered a relentless, back-and-forth war, with both athletes showcasing every facet of mixed martial arts. A true showcase of MMA that had fans on their feet and begging for more.
Kophamel VS Whitner: a very deserving Fight of the Year 2025.
Fighter of The Year 2025
What a year 2025 was for so many fighters, for so many reasons. Undefeated streaks were maintained, legacies were built, and the toughest challenges were accepted. Fighters proved they could not only win, but return weeks later and deliver back-to-back statement performances. Many athletes put their name on the map and established themselves as real threats inside the Eternal Cage.
But one fighter stood above the rest. Darcy Vendy is your Eternal MMA Fighter of the Year.
Headlining two championship events, Darcy showed why he is the king of the middleweight division.
At Eternal 94, he took on Mat Myers in a grueling title fight, pushing the pace and securing a vicious third-round rear-naked choke. Three months later at Eternal 96, he returned to defend his belt again, delivering a Round 2 lights-out knockout against Blair Bretag.
Two championship fights, two finishes, and extending his win streak to 6 in a row, Darcy proved in 2025 that when the stakes are highest, he delivers. Finishing elite opponents, defending titles definitively, earning Darcy his place as Eternal MMA Fighter of the Year 2025.
