Now that we have reached the halfway point of 2026, and with 21 UFC events in the books through the first six months of the year, it’s a great time to look back at which fighters have seen the biggest breakthroughs.
We’ve seen some amazing moments in some incredible locations, with tons of highlight-reel knockouts and slick submissions.
From Canada to Australia to Las Vegas to China all the way to the White House, it has been an incredible six months of fights all over the world.
There’s a week between events before the second half of the schedule begins July 11 for UFC 329 and the return of Conor McGregor, so let’s look back over the past six months to highlight some of the standout performers.
Here are 10 breakthrough fighters from the first half of 2026.
Despite being nearly a decade into his UFC career, you absolutely have to put Gaethje as the top breakout fighter of the year so far. At UFC 324 in January, Gaethje pulled off a minor upset when he defeated Paddy Pimblett to capture an interim UFC lightweight title. That set up Gaethje with an incredible opportunity as he was booked against the other lightweight champion, Ilia Topuria, in the main event of UFC Freedom 250 at the White House.
Gaethje entered the bout as a massive underdog, with very few people giving him a chance to win the fight against the undefeated Topuria, but Gaethje pulled off one of the most monumental upsets of all time when he beat down Topuria for four rounds before the Spanish-Georgian star’s corner threw in the towel and stopped the fight.
The win over Topuria on the White House lawn catapulted Gaethje into true superstardom, with the American defeating a foreigner on his home soil, and everyone is talking about him these days. MMA fans knew for years that Gaethje was one of the most exciting fighters in the sport’s history, but now the whole world knows after what he did on the grandest stage ever. And for that, he’s the top breakthrough fighter from the first half of 2026.
Is there anyone who has generated more headlines, good or bad, in 2026 than the heavyweight? The former NFL practice squad player for the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals made the transition to MMA in 2023 after his football career ended. He won his first five fights before getting a shot on Season 9 of Dana White’s Contender Series in August 2025, where he picked up a TKO win to earn a UFC contract.
The UFC turned Hokit around quickly, and he beat Max Gimenis in November 2025 to get his first win. He then knocked out Denzel Freeman at UFC 324 in January. With the UFC looking for fresh heavyweight contenders, Hokit was matched up against veteran contender Curtis Blaydes at UFC 327 in April. In what was arguably the Fight of the Year, Hokit defeated Blaydes for by far the biggest win of his MMA career, earning two bonuses for Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night, and drawing rave reviews from UFC president Dana White and United States President Donald Trump, who were both cageside that night in Florida.
Immediately after the fight was over, Trump asked White why Derrick Lewis – Trump’s favourite UFC fighter – was not on the UFC White House card. White immediately spoke to UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard, who called Hokit while he was being transported to a Miami-area hospital after the war with Blaydes, asking him if he could fight Lewis in June. Hokit said yes.
At UFC Freedom 250, Hokit knocked out Lewis to improve to 4-0 in the UFC with three finishes, and inch one step closer to a heavyweight title shot. Unfortunately for Hokit, his mouth got him in trouble, as his post-fight speech was heavily criticized for the disparaging comments he made.
You might not like Hokit’s schtick – even Dana White has admitted he’s not a fan of the way Hokit conducts himself in his interviews – but you cannot doubt that this man knows how to fight.
He is one of the biggest stars in the UFC right now, and with one more win, he will be fighting for the UFC heavyweight title in 2027 against the winner of the presumed upcoming heavyweight title unification bout between Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane.
At UFC Mexico City in February, England’s Lone’er Kavanagh showed the MMA world why he is one of the best flyweights in the world when he beat down former UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno over 25 minutes in the main event. Given Kavanagh had been knocked out by Charles Johnson in his previous fight, the fact that he not only defeated Moreno, but won every round of a five-round fight, was something few saw coming. We all knew that Kavanagh was talented, but this performance was beyond impressive, as he laid waste to Moreno on the feet and made the future UFC Hall of Famer look like an amateur.
At just 27 years of age, Kavanagh is one of the top flyweights in the sport, and he is right smack dab in the middle of his prime. Kavanagh battles Brandon Royval at UFC 329, and if he wins that fight, he’ll be right there in line for a future title shot.
In February 2024, middleweight Pyfer earned his first UFC main event opportunity, but he blew it when Jack Hermansson beat him by decision. Since then, Pyfer has been on a roll, winning four fights in a row, including a TKO win over former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya at UFC Seattle in March. That was Pyfer’s second chance at a UFC main event, and he made good for it with the biggest win of his career to date.
We all know Dana White loves Pyfer – after all, who can forget White’s infamous “Be like Joe Pyfer” speech in 2022 – so look for him to get a top-five opponent in his next fight, as he might only be one win away from fighting for the belt.
Australia’s Quillan Salkilld has had a true breakout so far in 2026, as he’s now ranked in the top 10 at 155 pounds after knocking out respected veteran Beneil Dariush in his last bout at UFC Perth in May. Salkilld is just 26, and he has won 12 straight fights since losing his pro debut in 2021. He is 5-0 so far in the UFC with four finishes, including going 2-0 in 2026 with the aforementioned win over Dariush plus a submission win over Jamie Mullarkey.
Given Salkilld is currently ranked No. 8 in the UFC lightweight division, don’t be surprised if he fights someone such as Mateusz Gamrot in his next fight, the No. 6-ranked lightweight whom Salkilld has called out.
Serbia’s Uros Medic punched his ticket into the UFC’s welterweight rankings when he knocked out veteran striker Geoff Neal in a brutal fashion at UFC Houston in February. It was Medic’s third straight knockout win inside the Octagon, and by beating Neal, it set Medic up with an amazing opportunity.
On Aug. 1, Medic headlines the UFC’s first card in his native Serbia when he battles top-15-ranked Daniel Rodriguez in what should be an absolutely amazing fight between two welterweight strikers. Should Medic beat Rodriguez in his home country, look for the UFC to give him a top-10 opponent next as he continues to work his way up the 170-pound ladder.
A standout on Season 9 of Dana White’s Contender Series last summer, it has been an exceptional start to Marwan Rakhiki’s UFC career in 2026. So far this year, the 24-year-old from Morocco, who fights out of Australia, is 2-0 with stoppage wins over Harry Hardwick and Ollie Schmid. He is 9-0 in his MMA career with nine knockout wins, and if he continues to deliver exciting fights as he has, he’ll quickly become a fan favourite and get more exciting matchups from the UFC matchmakers booked.
We also have to give a shoutout to the Canadian, who jumped into the top 15 of the UFC welterweight rankings when he beat Gilbert Burns in the main event of UFC Winnipeg in April. That was Malott’s fourth straight win, and it improved his UFC record to 7-1 overall. Beating Burns is a big deal, as “Durinho” was the gatekeeper to the top of the welterweight division before he retired after losing to Malott. Look for “Proper” to fight once more in 2026, potentially headlining another UFC Fight Night card in Canada before the year is up if the UFC returns up north, against someone ranked in the top 10.
The UFC heavyweight division has several exciting prospects these days, and one of them is “The Balkan Bear” Brandon Pericic. The 31-year-old Australian is a teammate of UFC legend Israel Adesanya and Co. at City Kickboxing, and like his famous training partner, Pericic is a true knockout artist. Since joining the UFC last year, Pericic is 3-0 in the Octagon, including 2-0 so far in 2026 with knockout wins over Louie Sutherland and Shamil Gaziev. He’s now ranked in the top 15 at heavyweight, and he is poised to get a tough opponent in his next bout. Look for the UFC to book Pericic against someone highly ranked on a numbered card before the year is up. Depending on how quickly that fight ends, Pericic could fight two more times in 2026.
At women’s bantamweight, no fighter has made a bigger rise up the rankings than Edwards, the UFC’s only fighter from Panama. Edwards has won five straight fights, and she’s 2-0 so far in 2026 with wins over Nora Cornolle and Norma Dumont. She is also one of the top finishers in the women’s weight classes, as she’s stopped opponents in four of her last five bouts.
“La Pantera” is currently ranked No. 1 in the UFC women’s bantamweight division, and she will likely fight the winner of the upcoming UFC women’s bantamweight title fight between Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunes either later this year or in 2027. Regardless of when that is, there is no doubt that Edwards is fighting for a title next, given how impressive she has been inside the Octagon the last few years.